"Hello, and welcome to Beacon, my name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among the privileged few that have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is…" Ivy had started to ignore what Ms. Goodwitch had to say as she looked out the window of the ship. When compared to her home back in Mistral, Vale had a more modern vibe to it. Yet, despite this more modern atmosphere that was presenting itself to Ivy, it felt cold and hollow to her. This impression however, could be due to her feeling homesick. Lost in her own thoughts, Ivy failed to notice the mammoth of a human being who had walked up beside her.
Beacon soon became visible to the naked eye, and with that students began to crowd the glass, eager to get the first glimpse at their new school. The giant next to her, whom she had still failed to notice let out a whistle.
"Definitely not home anymore." He said, directing his words towards Ivy.
It took her a moment to realize that someone was trying to talk to her. It took a moment longer to realize that there was a crowd surrounding her. Her eyes widened for a brief moment with surprise as she realized she was no longer alone. Finally she responded to her neighbour.
"Oh… Yeah… Very different." she replied, still somewhat inattentive.
Her neighbour seemed to take note of Ivy's brief moment of surprise and confusion. To counter this, he extended his hand to the black haired girl.
"Sorry, I should probably introduce myself," he said "I'm Bran."
Ivy looked at Bran. He was a hulking behemoth of a human being, standing at what Ivy estimated to be seven foot nine. Alongside his height, he was quite muscular, which could be seen simply by looking at the massive arms that protruded from his red, sleeveless shirt. With his shirt he also wore bright orange pants that had what looked like a drawing of a meteor stitched onto his thigh, presumably his symbol. He had hair that was lightly coloured, though it was so short that it was difficult to specify just which colour it was, as well as bright orange eyes to complete the look. After taking a moment to both compose herself and regain focus, she extended her hand towards Bran and spoke.
"My name is Ivy," she said enthusiastically "I'm from Mistral."
Bran beamed as he shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you Ivy."
"Nice to meet you too." She replied in turn delighted to have someone to talk to.
Bran, obviously feeling a bit uncomfortable in the large crowd, shuffled his feet, unsure on how to make more room for himself. Ivy noticed this, and gave him an empathetic smile.
"Wanna get out of this crowd?" she asked.
Bran gave a quick nod followed by a "Mmmmmhmmm." and began to make his way out of the crowd, followed in short by Ivy herself. After finally exiting the crowd, they began to search for some free seats. They found two by the back and made their way for it post haste.
"So where are you from then?" asked Ivy "You don't look like you're from Mantle and you said that this isn't like your home, so you're either Vacuo or Mistral. Am I right?"
"Vacuo's the correct answer." said Bran in response to Ivy's Question "Good old desert country, I miss it already."
Ivy pondered her next response. "If you miss it so much, then why not go to Shade?" she hesitated, realizing that she had in fact sounded quite rude. "I mean you seem nice, but why come here?"
Bran took a few seconds to give an answer, looking as though he were in deep thought about it. "Gotta spread my wings some day yunno? Besides, hunters and huntresses travel quite a bit, so why not do some of my own beforehand?" he paused, satisfied with his answer. "What about you? Why here and not Haven?"
Ivy gave thought on her own reasons for choosing Beacon, her dark green eyes narrowed as she searched for her own answer. "I guess I've always liked the idea of a clean slate," she stated, confident that it was a sufficient answer. "I'm not a criminal or anything, just the idea of knowing next to no one really appealed to me."
"I get it." said Bran "Don't worry, I think this is gonna be fun."
On the opposite end of the flying ship, a racoon tailed faunus dressed in white and red seemed to be aimlessly strolling through the craft. He was listening to music on his headphones and bore a blank, yet not oblivious look on his face. Despite the appearance of having no objective, he was, in fact, simply searching for a seat. It was getting a bit too crowded by the glass for Gwyn's comfort. As he scanned the crowd, he saw a few familiar faces from Beacon here and there, like a girl dressed in yellow with long blonde hair. He didn't take the time to say hi because he would rather keep to himself. He finally found an open seat on a small bench and took it for himself. Soon after Gwyn had taken his seat, he realized that there was, in fact someone else sitting next to him. At the moment, his neighbour was asleep. Said person next to him wore a black coat that trailed down to his over regular looking clothes which had blue accents and plating on it. He sat, hunched over with his Black hair draping over his face.
Turning his attention from the person beside him to the crowd of people by the window, Gwyn became lost in thought. He twirled the four crystal necklace in his hand while his eyes looked back to the stranger next to him. A voice came from the person next to him.
"Can I help you?" asked his neighbour.
Gwyn replied with a surprised "What?"
The stranger beside him opened his eyes to reveal heterochromic eyes, one brown and one a bright, icy blue. He stared at Gwyn, making him feel very uncomfortable. The face of the person next to him twisted into a small grin.
"I said What are you looking at Gwyn?"
Taken aback by the stranger's knowledge of his name, Gwyn hesitated before he managed to form a coherent reply.
"Ummmm, I'll be honest, I was just zoning out… and… umm, how do you know my name?"
The unknown student next to him re adjusted himself to a more comfortable position in his seat to reply.
"You checked into the flight just before me, and I have a good memory. Also, when someone dresses like that, they're not exactly one to blend in. White really sticks out." The stranger motioned to Gwyn's outfit as he spoke.
Gwyn looked down as if to confirm it were still the case.
"Well technically, it's white and red." he said with a wry smile.
"Whatever it is, it hurts my eyes. I saw another person dressed in similar colours, she was giving some poor guy an earful for whatever reason. Don't think you're her though."
"And why is that?" asked Gwyn.
"Because she was wearing a dress." he said with a chuckle.
A small laugh escaped from Gwyn as well.
"Umm, who are you by the way?"
"Sinen Viksima."
"Is it okay if I call you Vick?" asked Gwyn
Sinen let out a laugh before going deadpan.
"If you do I'll kill you."
They both laughed quite loudly after that. Gwyn was surprised, when he first saw Sinen, he didn't seem like the kind of person to be easygoing. Life was full of surprises and apparently Sinen was one of them.
Bran walked alongside the girl clad in purple and green. Ivy had started talking more since they had first met which put Bran at ease. He was worried at first about meeting new people especially considering his background. The fact that there was at least one person willing to talk to him was a victory for his first day at Beacon. They disembarked from the ship once it docked and watched as a tall blonde and scraggly looking student push by them to find the nearest trash can. Bran couldn't blame him, he had locked himself in one of the washrooms on the ship when it first took off. It seemed that flying disagreed with him as well. A small breeze was flowing through Beacon causing him to shiver slightly.
"What's wrong?" asked Ivy
"I'm from Vacuo remember? The cold does not exist there, not really anyways."
"I'm sure you'll get used to it." remarked Ivy.
"I guess I will," he replied "So, what's Mistral like then?"
Ivy paused to consider her answer.
"I grew up in a small village in the swamps of Mistral which was, well, about as pleasant as you'd expect. I moved to the city when attending Sanctum which was more pleasant, the city itself is nothing special but it keeps us safe. Can't say much about Haven Academy though, never visited there." Ivy paused, satisfied with her answer. "How's Vacuo?"
"Hot, hot ,hot, and slightly cooler at night. I never really visited the city myself, stayed more out in the wilderness."
Bran saw Ivy's jaw drop slightly in shock.
"You lived outside the kingdoms? That sounds terrifying."
"If you know what you're doing it's not too bad and I knew what I was doing. So do the people I lived with."
"You've got to tell me some stories about that sometime." Said Ivy
"I will," replied Bran "But not right now, I think we should get to the assembly now."
Bran and Ivy followed after a crowd of other students into an assembly room. They pushed pass a few people to find a spot with a good view of the stage. On this stage stood a tall slender man with grey hair, tinted spectacles, a cane, and a coffee mug. It had to be Ozpin.
Ivy leaned over and whispered to Bran
"Yunno I always expected him to look like, I dunno, older, maybe with a beard. Know what I mean?"
"Not entirely, but I'll humour you." he said with a grin
Ozpin took a moment to scan the students before him before speaking .
"I'll, keep this brief. You have come here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you an all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first steps."
With that, Ozpin strode off the stage while Glynda took his place.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight, tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready."
Then Glynda too walked down from the stage. Bran and Ivy looked at each other, both with a puzzled look on their face.
"Not exactly what I'd call an uplifting, welcoming speech." said Bran
"To be fair, I doubt being a professional hunter is always adventure and romance. Maybe it was a welcome to reality speech?"
Bran scratched his chin
"Maybe."
The two of them set off for the ballroom.
It was nearing nighttime in Beacon and Sinen was laying on his sleeping bag, staring at the ceiling. He was not thinking about anything in particular, but rather already preparing for initiation tomorrow. He currently wore regular pyjama bottoms with a long sleeved shirt and gloved hands. Sight focused on the ceiling, he was trying to ignore the sound of two bickering sisters near him. Giving up on being able to find any bearing of peace at the moment, he began to close his eyes to fall asleep. A moment later there was an audible thud as Gwyn fell onto his own sleeping bag net to Sinen. No longer, wearing his toque, Gwyn's white hair draped over his forehead.
"Sup?" said Gwyn
"Well, first I was trying to prepare for tomorrow and that wasn't working. Then I tried to get some sleep, now I guess I'm not doing that either."
"Nope, not happening." smirked Gwyn
Sinen made a rude gesture at Gwyn who let out a small chuckle in response. Sinen twisted onto his side to face Gwyn.
"Have any ideas as to how they'll divide the teams?" asked Sinen.
"I dunno," Gwyn said in reply "Roll of the dice? Observation of our skills? Could be anything really, they don't really say much about it do they?"
"They really don't," responded Sinen with a nod of agreement "We should try to be on the same team though right?"
"Definitely." Gwyn replied, fist bumping Sinen lazily as he responded. "I hope tomorrow goes well."
Sinen let out a quiet "bah!" and waved his hand in a dismissive manor. He readjusted so he was lying on his back again, staring up at the ceiling.
"If everything goes well tomorrow, it means nothing interesting happened. Besides, I'm looking
forward to going up against Grimm." Sinen said.
Gwyn responded with a perturbed look which in turn caused Sinen to laugh. The room darkened abruptly which the two took as a signal to go to sleep. Sinen's voice broke the silence for a brief moment.
"See you tomorrow."
"Mhmm."
Ivy awoke to the sound of the loudest, most hyperactive morning person she had ever heard. Said person was in the process of waking up her own friend but had also woken quite a few others, including Ivy. She groggily gathered together her belongings, washed up and ate. She headed for her locker so she could grab her gear for initiation. She was halfway to the lockers when she ran into someone familiar.
"Pyrrah?"
"Ivy? How are you?"
"I'm good thanks, I didn't know you were going to Beacon!"
Pyrrah gave a sheepish smile.
"Yeah I never really talked to anyone about where I was going. It's nice to see you."
"Right back at you. I gotta go grab my gear. See you in the field maybe?"
"If we're lucky then perhaps."
Pyrrah waved goodbye and flashed a brilliant smile to Ivy as she watched the mostly raven haired girl rush towards the locker.
Ivy arrived at her locker and was met by a terrifying sight.
A man was present before her in a mask entirely made of a thick metal which also covered the mouth, there was a glowing patch over one eye while the other remained exposed and was bright orange. He wore two plated gauntlets which had the words "GOOD" and "LUCK" engraved across the knuckles. In his left hand was a large Axe with a saw blade where a regular blade should be, with an opening at the tip and a trigger near the bottom. If the man wasn't so large, he would be holding it two-handed on principle. A metallic voice came from the mask.
"Hey, you like the helmet?"
Ivy shook her head to rid herself of astonishment.
"Bran? You look terrifying!"
"That's the point."
"How do you see out of it?"
Bran tapped the glowing patch on his right eye.
"This compensates for any peripheral vision lost."
"And the weapon?"
"I call it Glassed Fire." he said, clicking a button that made the blade spin "It's a saw bladed axe that fires.. well, let's actually keep that a surprise."
Ivy put her purple streaked, black hair into a ponytail and opened her locker. In there was a set of muted green and purple armour with a mace that had a dark purple head and a green shield. She strapped on her greaves and bracers followed by the breastplate which made an audible clanking noise as she dawned it. Finally came the helmet which looked like a cowl with plating at the back of the head and purple tinted goggles over the front. She did up the metal chin strap and grabbed Woodland Guard and Midnight Storm and placed the shield on her back and the mace in a loop in her belt. She nodded at Bran and they made their way to their destination.
While Bran and Ivy were leaving, Sinen and Gwyn were still getting ready. Sinen sat grinning at Gwyn with his two-handed langes messer sword; Sky Shrike draped across his back while he fiddled with the many pocket that he had strapped to his belt.
"Seriously? Just that? No armour? No Gear? Just civilian clothes?" mocked Sinen
"Laugh all you want." snarked Gwyn, rolling up his sleeves to reveal a blue tattoo on his left arm as he holstered his axe, Tundra Fissure on his back. "It's done me good so far and I'm not gonna change."
"How the hell do headphones help you in a fight anyways?" said Sinen, his words conveying a tone of dry cynicism.
"Hey! Don't knock the headphones."
Sinen stopped fiddling with his belt, stood up and brushed off his coat tails. He readjusted his gloves, the left one being a full glove and the right being fingerless and made sure his coat was fit snuggly enough around him to keep his sword from jostling against him through its built in holster on his back. They started off towards initiation but had to stop briefly when Gwyn realized he nearly forgot his four crystal necklace and rushed back to get it. After that brief moment they made their way to the cliff by the Emerald Forest.
Each hunter and huntress was told to stand on a specific platform before initiation began. Sinen found himself standing on a platform next to the girl he had seen giving someone a hard time on the ship. She wore white and red just like Gwyn and carried a dust rapier. He looked at her and gave her a smile which was met with an ice cold glare and a head turn. 'Note to self' he thought, 'stay off her team.' Sinen gazed down the row looking for Gwyn who was standing between a big guy in a disturbing metal mask and a girl carrying a mace and shield. He keened his ear to Ozpin who explained that the first person they made eye contact with in the forest would be their partner. This statement was met with an amusing cry of dismay from a younger looking girl in red and black near the end of the line. He thought he might have heard her name before too, it was Ruby if he remembered correctly.
Bran was barely listening to Ozpin as he explained what they were doing. To his credit though, Bran heard enough to actually know what he was doing. It had been too long since he last saw some action and was itching for the platform to launch. He looked over at Ivy past a white and red Faunus and nodded his head at her. She returned with a smile, constrained by the chinstrap of her helmet, but a genuine smile all the same. He felt the unfamiliar cool breeze brush by his bare arms. He scanned the forest, he couldn't see anything in the trees unlike the unshaded desert of Vacuo. Hopeful the branches would help soften his landing, but the prospect of not being able to predict where the Grimm would be added a small layer of doubt to his very apparent enthusiasm. He felt his platform move and let go a cheer of enthusiasm as he was flung into the air, and soon, towards the uncertainty of the Emerald forest.
Gwyn glanced nervously as the first few people were launched into the air. He knew how to properly land from a great height, he just didn't like the concept of having to do it in the first place. He assumed an athletic stance and began to brace for the incoming spring. He took out his axe in preparation for helping himself land. He was glad that he wasn't the only one who was nervous though. It seemed as though the guy at the very back didn't even know what a landing strategy was. The person in the mask to his immediate left was launched into the air with an adrenaline fuelled "WOOOOOOOOOOOO" streaming from his voice. He felt the force of the platform increase underneath him, extended his legs and pushed off the platform and into the air.
Ivy kept readjusting her armour, listening to it jostle rather than Ozpin's directions. She knew she had to land, find a partner (hopefully Bran), find a relic, and find a way out. It was a simple task and not something that overly concerned her. She was looking forward to working with a team and she hoped that they'd get along well. Grimm weren't a worry either, as a matter of fact Ivy was rather looking forward to the beginning of initiation amongst the uncertainty from others around her. She began to hear the telltale spring noises of the platforms and her fellow classmates being launched into the air. She heard and saw Bran as he was launched into the green below. Knowing that her launch was coming, she pressed a button on her shield that condensed into a rectangle across her arm and notched her mace into it, watching it become a gun. She watched as the person next to her was launched and braced herself. The platform began to push on her and she began to push off of it in turn and let the feeling of weightlessness take her.
Sinen had paid attention to every word that had exited Ozpin's mouth, hoping that he could glean as much information from the professor's mouth as possible, hoping he might slip up and give beneficial information. However, details on the task at hand were quite vague compared to what Sinen hoped to glean from Oz. He tried not to smile as he performed his final equipment check before he himself was launched into the air. Finding the artifact within the forest would be easy. As for the landing, he smiled as he pulled out from his belt a knife with a rope attached to it. There was a mixture of excitement and fear in the air that was palpable to him which only contributed to his own excitement. He pulled his sword slightly out of it's scabbard just to check that everything was copacetic with his weapon. He scanned for a safe spot on the forest to land, but judging off of the first few students who had already been launched, it was out of his range in terms of sight. He furrowed his brow and refocused. He jumped with the spring of his platform, rope-dart in one hand and extended his arms spread eagle as he soared towards the forest.