Following Flawless Footsteps
Chapter 1 - Welcome to adulthood
A young boy once asked his father why his family were all Hunters and Huntresses. His father laughed gently, a deep laugh that showed years, if not generations of experience.
"Cobalt, we are Hunters because we enjoy it. We enjoy the feeling of knowing we are bringing peace to many people, even if they don't know it." It was the same thing he would tell his other children, when they eventually asked. It was a simple, but effective speech.
Cobalt felt at ease for many years following that chat, dedicating his every waking hour to be just as good a Hunter as his father before him. He aimed for Signal academy, then on to Beacon, the most prestigious Hunter training academy in all of Vytal. All his family for the past four generations had gone through Beacon, some even going on to become professors after graduation.
Upon reaching seventeen, Cobalt was finally ready to begin training at Beacon, both mentally and physically. His body had been trained in the gym, his mind at Signal. He wasn't a popular kid, but he didn't mind. It prepared him for the outside world, how not everyone will want to be your friend, how some people you work or even live with can be against you and everything you stand for. Maybe that was a bit extreme, but no one could deny that Cobalt held a dark air around himself wherever he walked.
For the last day of summer, Cobalt spent most of his time indoors, packing his bags and cleaning his weapons. His weapons of choice were a pair of three-quarter length silver pole staffs, each doubling up as a gun: Dusk was his right-hand weapon, housing a high calibre pistol in the barrel, and Dawn was his left-hand weapon, holding a buckshot shotgun. They were weighted so that most damage would come from the poles themselves, rather than having to rely on the guns at all times. Small indents on the handles of the staffs allowed for quicker swings without losing grip, but a trigger could be flipped down on each so that the gun components could be used mid-swing, especially with Dawn's shotgun.
Cobalt himself wore a royal blue, ripped sleeve jacket over a long sleeved cyan shirt, the jacket acting as a vertical holster for his staffs, with each one sticking slightly above each of his shoulders. He wore light, comfortable trousers which faded from the same blue as his jacket at the top, down to black at the bottom. His family crest, a large black raven, was emblazoned on the back of his jacket. His hair was also a vibrant blue, much like the rest of his family, and hung in a long fringe over the whole left side of his face, covering his left eye pretty much permanently. His visible eye was deep blue, seemingly reflecting light like an actual cobalt gemstone.
Having sat in peace for well over an hour, something had to ruin it. That something was his little sister Rhea, only three years old but already full of the Ravenscroft spirit, who came toddling into his room in the same adorable manner every small child seems to pull off.
"Big brother, why are you going away?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she did.
Turning around slowly, deliberately, Cobalt looked his sister in the eye and lowered himself to her level, over half his own height, before speaking, "I'm going to be like daddy, Rhea," his voice was trusting and deep, a voice that could calm any situation, "I'm going to hunt the monsters."
"I wanna be a Huntwiss when I'm big, just like you!" Rhea beamed, joy never more pure than that of a child looking up to their favourite sibling.
"Huntress Rhea," her brother corrected her, something he never grew out of as a child.
"Hmmf, well, if I wanna be a Huntwiss then I will!" the Ravenscroft spirit showing in her young voice.
Cobalt stood back up to his full height, looking down on his sister and ruffling her light blue hair, "Whatever you say Rhea, now go find Adalwin, I'm sure he wanted to see you about something." Lies. The middle sibling, Adalwin, was in the garden, practicing his sword skills, clearly not wanting to be disturbed. However, what kind of older brother would Cobalt be if he didn't annoy his little bro every now and again?
"Ok Cobalt, bye bye." And with that, the room was once more silent, Cobalt suddenly feeling aware of every slight sound around him: the tick of his clock, the hum of his radio, his bag falling to the floor as the weight became too much for it. Admittedly, that was a bit louder than the other noises and it drew Cobalt from his trance, moving over to his bed to pick the bag up off the floor.
Today was the day that Cobalt's adult life would begin. He was looking at the airship to Beacon with his bag slung over his shoulder, careful not to damage the holsters on his back. He saw a variety of people making their way to the transport, human and Faunus alike, some humans showing why Cobalt resented being the same species as them, picking on the Faunus students just for being Faunus. It made him sick how ignorant people could be.
A rainbow of colour passed him before the final call went out for the students to board the ship, the reality of the situation sinking in. He was almost where he wanted to be, and all he had to do was take three more steps into the awaiting carriage. Once inside, he saw that this was a brand new airship, and he was probably on its first flight. There was plenty of space for the 30 or so people on board to stand in comfort, though some chose to sit on the chairs and floor. As the doors closed and the engines hummed into life, Cobalt decided he would wait before trying to find someone to talk to, didn't want to look needy now.
Before anyone could speak to him, a hologram projected itself onto each wall of the carriage. It was of an elderly looking man, but one you wouldn't want to mess with. He spoke in what was supposed to be an authoritative voice, but one which came across all monotone and robot-like thanks to the speakers, "Welcome, future Hunters and Huntresses, I am Professor Ashensand, and I am here to welcome you to Beacon Academy. You are all here because of your skills in combat and strategy, which will eventually, yet currently wild and untamed, lead you on into a future of protecting Vytal from all that seeks to harm it." There was a break, and whispers were rising up from the crowd.
One girl in particular stood out to Cobalt, one with blonde hair and a purple cloak, who stood alone saying to herself, "That's going to be me one day."
The hologram of Professor Ashensand spoke up again, more clearly this time, "When you land, make your way to the grand hall at the centre of campus, where you will be introduced to your teachers and learn the basic rules of Beacon. I expect nothing less than the best from you. Good luck." And with that, the hologram left the walls and chatter erupted amongst the gathered students, eagerly discussing what had just been said and what they expected later.
"That guy can't be a hunter, he's ancient!"
"Yeah, but he obviously knows what he's on about."
"How strict is this place?"
"I don't care, I just wanna kill stuff."
Cobalt just sat back, resting down on one of the wall-mounted seats to listen in on snippets of conversation. Some of the people here seemed like they knew what was to come, but others looked like they had been plucked off of the street that morning, fear in the eyes of far too many people.
He was content just to watch and listen, but someone came and sat next to him, lowering the seat next to his and sitting down with an audible thud. "Hey, what do you think of that guy?"
"Hmm?" Cobalt didn't register the question, still trying to process that someone was talking to him.
"Professor Ashensand, what do you think?" fair to say, through the soft, slightly-too-sweet voice, this guy was persistent, albeit a bit rude. Before replying, Cobalt thought it polite to take in the peace-breaker's appearance. He looked to be a bit shorter than Cobalt, and not as muscly. That's not to say Cobalt was superhuman, he just liked to keep in shape. The boy wore simple looking, caramel coloured shorts and a t-shirt to match. A brown cloth sash was wrapped around his waist, partially concealing a hunting knife on each hip, which Cobalt estimated to be about a foot long each. He had a bit of armour on his arms, long bracers which trailed down over the backs of his hands from just below his elbows and shoulder guards aimed to cover his whole upper arms. Both parts of his armour were plain bronzed metal, not looking like it hadn't even been used in real combat yet.
"Nice to meet you too," Cobalt quipped back at the toffee haired boy.
"Oh yeah, sorry, forgot to ask your name," the boy rubbed the back of his head nervously, a silly smile spread across his face, "I'm Bailey, what's your name, blue?"
"My name is Cobalt Ravenscroft, pleased to meet you Bailey," formal but effective, no point in not being polite to him.
"Why are you pleased, I could be a dick for all you know?" he said in a half-joke fashion.
"Fine, go away then," Cobalt was never one for unfunny jokers.
"Wait wait wait!" the joker was waving his hands in front of his face now, trying to wipe the mistake of a joke from existence, "I'm not a bad guy when you get to know me."
"I'll keep that in mind… for when I get to know you," the Ravenscroft stood up, moving towards the door as he saw Beacon's landing pad approaching.
"Hey, wait up Cobalt!" Bailey attempted to call after Cobalt, but he had already lost him in the crowd of people. How did he do that? The confused boy thought to himself, before soon giving up and heading back over to his seat.
About a minute later, the airship had landed and people had begun filing out. Cobalt aimed to get away from Bailey as soon as he could, hoping he would find someone of his calibre to associate himself with. He saw the same people from before, still laughing at the Faunus girl with floppy dog ears. It looked like she took none of their jokes to heart, she just walked away from them and pulled her cloak's hood up over her head, standing taller than most people around her. That was the kind of person Cobalt wanted to know, so he decided to break pace and speed up a bit, since the girl was already much further away from the ship than him.
As he got closer, he saw the girl's true height seemed to be around six and a half foot, a few inches taller than Cobalt. She wasn't a slender girl by any stretch of the imagination, her earthy-brown cloak hiding most of her muscle from anyone looking at her from behind. Even though her hood had been pulled up over her head, strands of long, oaky brown hair flowed down the front and sides of her chest. Combat trousers hid her muscular legs from prying eyes, durable but comfortable clothes designed for all sorts of uses.
"Excuse me, miss, were those guys bothering you?" he knew he sounded like something out of one of Rhea's story books, but it was polite to ask how a lady was doing.
"Cheers for your worrying, but I can take care of myself, hun," the girl had a very natural sounding voice, but with rough tones every now and again.
Getting level with the girl, Cobalt struggled to contain his nosebleed as he saw the girl's expansive chest, covered only by a pale brown tube top which barely reached the top of her breasts. He drew himself out of his daze quickly, subtle wiping away the small trickle of blood below his nose before continuing to speak, "Glad to hear it, so what may I call you?"
"You're far too formal for your own good," the girl jested, a slight shake of her head accompanying a soft giggle, "but you can call me Terra. Terra Harrows."
"Huh, I guess I am a bit formal, but nice to meet you Terra, I'm Cobalt Ravenscroft."
"Ravenscroft, huh? Like the Hunter family?" Terra's interest was piqued by this, her pace slowing a bit so Cobalt could slow down a bit.
"Yep, that's us," the Hunter-to-be gestured to himself with both arms, spreading them wide after pointing at his chest.
"Wow, never thought I'd meet one of you guys, you're legends!" Cobalt blushed at this, it was the first time someone had wanted to meet him.
"I'm flattered Terra, but my family are the Hunters, I'm just in training. We are all equal here."
"I'm glad someone thinks like that," she replied flatly, gesturing behind her with her head.
"People like them make me sick," Cobalt spat at the floor, "and I can't apologise enough for their ignorance."
"It's fine, really," Terra patted Cobalt's back firmly, "they don't bother me anymore, but not every Faunus can ignore them like I can." A silent nod was exchanged between the two, then they remained in that silence until they reached the hall. It was surprisingly full, many other students already gathered in the wide hall. The pair assumed that they were the last airship to arrive, and that all these students had gathered from other stations across Vale.
Once firmly inside and away from the draft of the door, Terra took her hood off, revealing the true length of her hair. It went down almost to her butt, but as they took their seats, near the back of the room, her hair trailed down the back of the chair instead. Everyone else from their carriage followed them in shortly, filling the rest of the hall.
The hum of conversations died down as a microphone was tapped against the stand at the front of the hall, sending loud bangs through the speakers. Professor Ashensand stood at the pedestal, with three other people stood behind him. There were two females and another male professor, all much younger than Ashensand, his sandy brown suit doing nothing to make him look any younger. "Greetings, future Hunters and Huntresses," Ashensand began, "and welcome to Beacon, the elite amongst Hunter training academies, drawing in the best hopefuls from across Vytal. Some of you out there will go on to do great things in the name of Beacon, and we will always be here to support your development."
Light applause rose from the crowd, but it was silenced as one of the other professors stood up and moved towards the stand. He was considerably younger than Ashensand, about 30 years old at the oldest, and had jet black hair and wore a slim suit, also black. He tapped the microphone before speaking into it, "Thank you Professor Ashensand, I will take it from here." his voice was crisp and every word was said with emphasis, "Students, my name is Professor Artemis Nightshade and I will be taking you for most of your early classes, specifically, your initiation test tomorrow morning." Cobalt and Terra shared a quick look between themselves, slightly worried looks on their faces. "You will be sent into the Emerald Forest to retrieve a relic, returning in teams of two. More will be revealed to you in the morning by myself and my twin sister, the other Professor Nightshade you see before you, Luna Nightshade." He gestured with his hand behind him towards one of the female professors sat behind him. Her appearance was almost identical to her brother's, except a more feminine frame and longer hair.
Artemis continued speaking after his sister took a bow, "The other lady on the stage will be your Aura training teacher, Professor Opal Radiance." Again, he gestured with his hand, the appropriate lady standing up once more. She had shimmering blonde hair that went just passed her shoulders and a smile warmer than any star that seemed to never leave her face. Her clothes were pure white, her blouse and skirt combo accompanied by a rapier at her waist.
After Professor Radiance sat down, and the few immature wolf whistles had died down, Artemis finished the introduction speech, "You will now go to the dorm room where you will ALL be spending the night. This will be a good chance for you to get to know some of your peers, some of which you will be spending the next four years with, so please, try not to kill anyone." A veil of silence had been cast over the students, until some of the more restless ones took the joke as a cue to leave, dashing for the nearest exit while most just sat and watched them fall over their own feet.
A third-year student led the new guys to the dorm room, but Cobalt and Terra were too far behind them to get a good look.
Once they arrived, Cobalt was greeted by a familiar voice, "Hey Cobalt, over here!" Bailey was sat in the middle of the room, the edges having already been claimed by the quicker arrivals, and he was calling Cobalt with no shame at all.
"Do you know that guy?" Terra whispered as she leaned her body across to Cobalt.
"Sadly, I do, but at least we have beds now," Cobalt replied, his head dropped down by his chest with embarrassment. The pair walked over to Bailey, in the very centre of the room. It was where Cobalt wanted to be, but not the company he was expecting. They sat down on two of the mats around Bailey's already claimed bed roll.
"Hi, I lost you when we got off the ship, where'd you go? And who's your friend," his questions grated against Cobalt's ears, but it was better than being with people he didn't know at all, so he allowed himself a small smile at the company.
"Sorry Bailey, I wasn't… feeling myself," that sounds believable, "and this is Terra, we met up before going to the hall."
"Oh, hi Terra, I'm Bailey," he offered his hand for a shake, which Terra took full advantage of, almost crushing the poor guy's hand.
Noticing what she did, as well as Bailey's eyes tearing up, Terra put her hands to her mouth with a little out of place gasp, "Sorry sorry sorry, I don't know my own strength sometimes."
"It's ok, I know mine and it isn't a lot," the toffee haired lad whimpered out, clutching his throbbing hand. He looked up to see his assailant's face, then he noticed her ears, "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh you have the most adorable ears!" he practically squealed at the sight, "Can I touch them? Please?"
"Uh, sure thing Bailey," she certainly wasn't expecting that, but she didn't mind the attention. She leant her head forward and was met halfway by Bailey's eager hand, which was much softer than she thought it would be for a guy.
He sat stroking her ears and head for a few minutes, Cobalt watching with a bemused look etched on his face. He thought Bailey was odd, but this was beyond what he thought he would do; you don't just ask a Faunus to play with their animal bits! Thinking that a couple of minutes was long enough, Terra cleared her throat loudly, snapping Bailey out of his stroking trance; trances seemed to be common today.
"Sorry about that, I just… your ears were just…" the words struggled to escape Bailey's frantic mouth.
"It's fine, hun," Terra reassured him, putting an arm around his shoulder and pulling him close, a bit too close for his liking, "if I'm honest, I liked the attention."
"Anyway," Cobalt interrupted, readjusting his fringe to better cover his left eye, "I never asked much about you two earlier. Bailey, care to start?"
"Sure thing Cobalt," he cleared his throat a few times before he found the right words, "well, my name is Bailey Shweetz, and I have lived in Vale all my life. I've seen 11 Vytal tournaments that I can remember, and since the very first, I have wanted to be like the people I saw competing. I later attended Signal before ascending to where I am now, my trusty knives seeing me through any hardships," he tapped the mentioned items at his waists before continuing, "these guys have a small power supply in the handle, which I fitted myself to allow me to electrocute something I hit, nasty if I stab into something then turn it on." A mischievous grin crossed his face, clearly thinking of how he misused the electric function.
"My turn, I think." Terra picked up after noticing that no one had taken centre stage in the conversation, clearing her throat before she began, "Cobalt, you already know, but my name is Terra Harrows. Much like you Bailey, I was bought up in Vale and watched the tournaments as a kid, but not until I was already at Signal. You may have noticed the bulge under my cloak, which is…" she took her time removing the robe, tapping her feet in a drum roll style. When she dropped the cloak to the floor, the boys eyes were drawn to the massive double-edged sword strapped to the Faunus' back, shimmering in the late afternoon sun. It had to be almost as long as Terra's body, and just as powerful. "You boys like my puppy?"
Bailey saw the chance for a joke, and he took it by the balls, "Let's just say I wouldn't like to see it in heat."
"You know that's offensive, right?" Terra shot Bailey an annoyed glare, but then broke into a large smile after Bailey's face dropped its smile, "Just kidding hun, I don't take offense like that, but you might want to keep the Faunus jokes on the lowdown, not everyone is as friendly as me."
"To be fair, humans aren't much better," Cobalt pointed out, winking in Bailey's direction.
"Hah, too true," Terra leaned back on her 'puppy', the point digging into the floor slightly, "your turn Cobalt."
The Ravenscroft leaned his head back, his fringe momentarily moving from covering his eye, just long enough for Terra to spot the hidden eye. This sparked her interest, so she spoke up again before Cobalt began, "Don't mind me asking, but why do you cover your eye?" Bailey was now equally interested, leaning in closer to Cobalt.
"Well, I guess because it's not mine," he said, almost nonchalantly, as if that was a totally normal thing to say. Both listeners mouths were wide open in a mix of shock and confusion, their eyes questioning what their mouths struggled to say. Noticing the strange looks he was receiving, Cobalt thought it best to continue speaking, "I guess I should explain it a bit more then? Well, when I was young, I lost my eye to a stray sword swipe during my father's practice, my own fault really, I got in the way and he didn't see me coming. My left eye was made useless and it needed urgent treatment, so we headed straight for the hospital. However, the only thing they could do there was offer me a Faunus' eye, since he had just, y'know, passed on. Since I was young, my body wouldn't reject the new eye, so it would mean I would keep my sight." He released a deep breath, the others' mouths finally closed, but their interest no less there.
"Well?!" the others said together.
"Fine, but I don't like doing this," he warned them, slowly moving his hand up to his fringe, the other two leaning in just as slowly. Cobalt lifted the blue veil, and hidden underneath was a pure white wolf eye, which seemed to draw in all the light from around it. Bailey and Terra were both close enough to touch Cobalt's face now with theirs, and he could feel their breaths on his stubble, so he moved his head back, drawing the others forward and causing them to fall onto his legs and chest.
After helping the others back up into a sitting position, he replaced his fringe over his face, smoothing it out like it was before.
Bailey spoke up, and a rather intelligent question came from his lips, "So, I guess that makes you part Faunus?"
Locolocko: Well, after only weeks of deliberating, I did a thing! Cheers to my good friend Aristotle for the inspiration, all of which coming from his story "The Black Knight", in which Cobalt is a character but older, since his story follows the RWBY series timeline.
Cobalt: What the...? Where am I? Who are you?
Locolocko: Well, I am you and you are me, hi Cobalt. I write your life and this is just a place where we can chat.
Cobalt: Ok, that's only slightly creepy.
Locolocko: Don't complain or I'll unwrite you.
Cobalt: Fine, fine. So what are you doing now?
Locolocko: Just a quick afterword to the readers, y'know, kind of like signing off.
Cobalt: Right, just do it quick, I want to go to sleep.
Locolocko: Ok, well, bye readers, see you next time! Oh, and I don't own RWBY, just as a disclaimer.