The autumn air was crisp and cool, whistling softly as it carried fallen leaves across the expansive courtyard of Nikos Academy. The large, circular area was still somewhat crowded, with deposits of individuals or small groups scattered about. Most made idle chitchat, nervous about what lay ahead. Some silently sat, pondering where to go from here. Others simply looked lost, either staring dejectedly at a map or simply looking around for where to go, their pride disallowing them to ask for help. Yet, the young man walking into the courtyard fell into none of these camps. He knew exactly where he was going, he just hadn't gotten there yet.
The man paused at the statue situated in the center of the yard; a towering depiction of the academy's namesake, hoisting her spear into the air in a triumphant pose. He looked down at the surrounding water feature, looking at his reflection. Staring back at him was a bison faunus, with darker skin than most, and white horns poking out of his skull. His eyes were a deep brown, and his black hair rested in a high-tied ponytail that flowed in the wind with his simple brown jacket and pants. His gaze was drawn slightly upward, to the placard resting at the base of the statue. Rather than the expected memoriam message or dedication, it was merely the word 'DESTINY' in all capital letters.
"Heh, destiny? That's a pretty word." He said out loud, chuckling to himself.
"What makes you say that?"
The voice appeared so suddenly that the man nearly jumped in surprise. He then noticed there was a woman sitting on a bench nearby. A white cloak sat around her neck, parted to allow her body to rest comfortably. Within the cloak, harnesses of at least a half dozen oversized handguns could be seen, and the inside of the cloak itself was lined with countless knives. Her silver hair seemed to not stop, reaching almost to the ground from her seated position. He then noticed her arms resting behind her head, both of which were entirely metal to the shoulder. Most mysterious, however, was the silver band tied around her eyes, seeming to block her vision. She stood up, walking to the man.
"Also, thanks. I've been wondering what that thing said for about ten minutes. God, is it so hard to raise or sink the font even a little? Like, I understand that few huntsmen or huntresses are blind, but there have to be, like, blind relatives right? Ugh, I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry." She stuck out a metal hand to the man. "The name's Alice. Alice Tuyet"
The man took the metal appendage in his own. "Donovan Stormbringer."
"Stormbringer? That's an unusual surname." Alice commented, stretching her arms back around her head. He tried his hardest to look at her without staring at anything, even though he knew she couldn't tell if he was anyway.
"It's a traditional thing. Where I'm from, you call yourself by the name of your tribe." He paused, turning back to the statue. "As for what I meant, destiny is one of those words that really is just pretty. It holds no worth, no value, nothing. Nothing's ever preordained, at least in my eyes. I like to believe we forge our own paths."
"We've known each other for a minute, and we're already into hard philosophy." She laughed heartily. "C'mon, it'd probably be bad if we missed the initiation speech. It starts in a few minutes."
Alice beckoned, and Donovan followed her, walking next to the blind woman. He was admittedly worried for her. How could a blind person be a huntress? No less, how could a blind person fire a gun, or throw a knife? He quickly brushed the worry aside, realizing that, hey, this is Nikos Academy. They wouldn't let you in here unless you were one of the best of the best. He figured there was something to it he couldn't see, ironically.
"Well. on that whole destiny matter, if it's not too heavy to start a friendship off with, I think I agree with you. As you can probably tell, if destiny is real, it probably had different plans for me. I mean, how many things am I missing?" She paused, giggling to herself. "The answer is two, by the way. I have the eyes, they just don't fuckin' work." She laughed loudly again. Donovan found himself smiling. He considered himself lucky to have run into someone with such a sunny disposition right off the bat.
"Well, to play devil's advocate, what if destiny planned for you to be a huntress all along, and just lead you into the path you ended up taking? You fought and trained hard, thinking you were defying fate, when in reality you were playing into its hands the entire time."
"Jeez, you sound like a supervillain or something." Her face twisted into a grimace, as she thought on his words. "But if that is the case, then what's even the point of arguing for or against it? You could, like, say that about everything."
Donovan laughed. "Now you're getting it! The best course of action is to seize our fates, because if there is destiny, then we're losing noting, but if there's not, sitting around waiting for it will leave you behind. All we can do is keep moving forward."
"You're pretty enthusiastic about philosophy for a huntsman." She paused, before sighing. "I wonder if Nero got here safe."
"Nero? Friend of yours?"
"Nero Rose? You don't know him?"
"Should I?"
"You're not from around here, are you?"
"No," he said, attempting to math out in his head how far his settlement was from Vale. He gave up after running out of landmarks after 200 miles. "Not at all."
"I'm sure you'll run into him eventually. He tells his story better than I do."
"I'll look forward to that."
The two walked onward, towards the giant tower of an academy that was looming over them.