*Raven*

Today was shaping up to be amongst one of the most stressful days in Raven Branwen's short life. In a matter of just a few minutes she had been separated from her brother, launched into the air for no real reason other than the headmaster being a sadistic bastard, and now she was partnered with some girl, who would just. Not. Stop. Talking.

As they made their way through the dense forest, the redheaded woman droned on and on about anything and everything as she skipped along the path. Her name was Summer Rose, she was 18 years old, had been born and raised in Mistral by her grandparents, and she had always dreamed of attending Beacon Academy. Apparently due to some complications, which thankfully was the one thing the girl didn't elaborate on, she had been unable to apply to Beacon until this year.

While viewing herself as more patient than her brother, Raven had long since begun to feel the thread of her patience unravel, stretching and bending until it felt as if it were about to snap in two. Her frustration had begun to bubble into anger her hand clenching subconsciously around Thurisaz's hilt as she trailed behind the other girl.

Still, not wanting to start this partnership off on the wrong foot, she tried to keep her replies short and what she hoped sounded like friendly. At the same time, Raven spent her remaining energy avoiding most questions Summer shot her way. The bubbly girl may have been open about seemingly everything under the sun but Raven was most certainly not.

The sun, which had been low in the east at the start of initiation, now hung high in the sky. It's heat bore down on the pair as they continued their trek through the forest. The humidity continued rising with each passing hour, causing the journey to become far more arduous. Then, just after noon, the pair stumbled upon a wide clearing.

The first thing they both noticed was a large river, which ran through the center of the clearing. This was to their mutual relief as their canteens were nearing empty. Across the river, directly opposite from them, was a large cliff which rose high into the air. The rest of the clearing was bordered on all sides by thick forest vegetation. Raven felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she glanced at Summer, who looked at the wall with annoyance clear in her eyes.

"Let me guess, what you saw is up there." The taller woman remarked, her voice carrying resignation for the answer she knew was coming. Summer cast a hand through her disheveled hair, knocking her hood off in the process, and closed her eyes as she let loose a groan. Finally, she nodded.

Raven looked back at the cliff and tried to think, on one hand she could easily transform into her avian form and reach the top in seconds, however on the other hand that would mean leaving Summer behind and as much as the girl had tested her patience, Raven was not keen on the idea of leaving her partner to fend for herself. Beyond that, who knew what kind of trap (read: sadistic machination) Ozpin may have set at the ruins. No, she decided, they would have to find a way up together. She was about to suggest they sit down and brainstorm idea's when Summer let loose an excited gasp and grabbed her arm, startling the other girl.

"Raven, take a look at the cliff face!" she exclaimed, pointing with her free hand towards the cliff face. Raven was about to ask what the hell she was on about when she noticed it. Raven did as the girl suggested and at first saw nothing but sleet grey rock rising into the sky. But upon closer inspection began to notice that part of the rock seem to jut out, just a bit, forming a series of handholds that ran up the cliff face.

"I see it." She muttered more to herself than to Summer.

"Looks like that's going to be our ticket up." Summer said excitedly. The red head turned her gaze to the clearing around them, pointing to the river before them she continued. "Let's fill our canteens and take a short break, then we can start climbing."

Raven mildly wondered who had died and made this girl queen but after taking a breath she calmed herself. She could almost hear her brother's voice in her head telling her to 'Play nice' This girl hadn't done anything wrong. Raven was just tired and a little bit annoyed.

She nodded in Summer's direction and the pair carefully approached the river. Once it appeared that there was no immediate threat, via lurking Grimm or Ozpin, they both visibly relaxed somewhat. Raven motioned that she would take an over watch position on a large boulder that sat next to the river while Summer went about filling the canteens. Unclipping her canteen from her belt and handing it to the girl, Raven turned and quickly made her way over to the boulder and scrambled atop it. Once there she placed a hand on Thurisaz's hilt and began scanning the edges of the clearing for activity.

A soft breeze began to sweep through the clearing, causing the trees to sway slightly. Raven allowed a small smile to grace her lips and did her best to enjoy the refreshing breeze. Movement from below her drew her focus and she found her gaze being drawn away from the edges of the clearing and towards her partner.

The older girl had removed her cloak and was presently kneeling down at the edge of the river. She wore a dark corset with a combat skirt and dark colored tights. Raven watched as the red headed woman cupped her hands and dipped them into the shimmering water. Summer then proceeded to splash the water in her face, letting out a soft sigh of relief as she did so, she ran her hands over her face and through her hair. Summer opened her eyes and her silver gaze locked with Raven's crimson. The girl blushed slightly and waved at Raven sheepishly.

Raven felt heat touch her own face as she raised her own hand to awkwardly return the wave. Then, she saw Summer's eyes shift from bubbling warmth to cold steel with the gaze now focused on something over Raven's shoulder. Raven felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up straight as a chill ran down her spine.

"Raven look out!" Summer called out as she reached for her weapon holsters.

Raven shifted her grip on Thurisaz's hilt and moved to draw the blade as she turned to face the unknown danger. Before she could bring the blade to bear, sharp talons sliced along her shoulder and she thrown off the boulder by the force of the Grimm colliding into her.

A terrible shriek echoed across the sky followed by the sound of Summer's pistols firing in quick succession. Raven tumbled through the air, sharp, burning pain erupting along her shoulder and down her back. She was dimly aware of Summer crying out to her one more time before she hit the freezing water below.

*Tai-Yang*

Hurtling through the sky at high velocity had not been how Tai-Yang Xiao Long had imagined starting his career as a huntsman. He had assumed that once on the cliff, Ozpin might send the freshmen out into the forest to kill Grimm as a test of their skill. But he had expected for the headmaster to instruct them to find their way down the cliff by whatever means necessary, though, he supposed this wasn't much different than that, just with the added twist of forced ascension.

He grit his teeth as he activated the blades on the end of his knuckle dusters. Outstretching his arms, he channeled his aura into the length of his limbs, praying silently that it would be enough to keep him from shattering his bones on impact. This could literally be the stupidest idea he'd come up with but at the moment it wasn't really like he had another option.

Thrusting his right hand out him caught the bark of a passing tree. His body was flung to the right as his momentum was suddenly halted. Tai-Yang took this opportunity to shove the other blade deep into the tree, halting him completely, at least for a second. The tree, weaker than it appeared and unprepared for the new weight and damage done by the blades, swayed violently for a moment then there came the very loud and very heart stopping sound of a serious of snaps and a great cracking rumble that traveled up the length of the tree. Tai-Yang paled and tightened his grip instinctively.

"Oh-shi- aaaahhhhhhh!" he exclaimed as the tree began to fall, snapped in half by the force of his landing. He tried to pry the blades lose but to no avail, they had driven too deeply into the wood. Tai could do little more than hold on for dear life and pray the tree didn't land on him. As the thing toppled to the ground. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He could do something, he could scream. Which he did, as loudly and with as many curses as he could think of.

'Great going Tai, killed on your first day at Beacon. Not by a creature of Grimm, no that would have been too easy. You get felled by the mightiest foe around, the everyday forest tree

The tree twisted as it fell, spinning Tai-Yang violently around until suddenly it jerked to a stop with such force that Tai's blades were ripped from the trunk, which also resulted in Tai being thrown unceremoniously to the ground which was about 10 feet below. He hit the hard packed dirt and felt the air rush out of him.

"Wow, was pretty fancy landing there, cowboy."

Groaning, Tai opened a single eye to stare up at a boy that seemed about his age with jet black hair, a large sword strapped across his back, staring down at him. Blood-red eyes glinted with amusement as he stared down at Tai, arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"You…should see me on a good day." He groaned out as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.

"I am sure you're the scourge of trees everywhere. Though most people tend to use an axe when cutting down those wooden beasts."

"See, that's what the trees are expecting. They are smart little buggers, you've got to get creative with them."

"Well, you're definitely that." The black haired boy said with a chuckle as he extended a hand to Tai. "Names Qrow Branwen, guess this means we are partners cowboy."

Tai took his hand and Qrow helped him to his feet. "Nice to meet you, my names Tai-Yang Xiao Long."

"Christ that's a mouthful." Qrow said, making a face that made Tai laugh.

"Yeah, most people just call me Tai."

"Well then, Tai, let's get going. I think I saw some sort of structure off that direction." He said waving a hand in a southeastern-ish direction. "Saw a lot of Grimm too, my bet? That's exactly where we are heading."

With a course set the pair began to trek through the Emerald forest at an even pace. Along the way they encountered several lower level Grimm, the odd Beowulf or two but beyond that the journey proceeded without much incident. That was until they heard the sounds of gunfire and the telltale growls of a large group of Grimm ahead of them. They glanced at one another, hands automatically resting on the hilts of their weapons.

"Sounds like we are a little late to the party." Tai said as he extended the blades on his knuckle dusters. Qrow grinned at him as he removed his sword from the small of his back and set it to rest upon his shoulder.

"Better to be fashionably late than awkwardly early. How about we go see if those Grimm are willing to take on a few more party guests. Hell we ca-"

"Raven, look out!"

Qrow's sentence caught in his throat as the shout echoed across the forest. His face paled, his eyes widened, and before Tai could say anything the black haired boy was off, running at a breakneck pace towards the source of the shout. Tai stood, staring after his companion, confused as to the sudden change in his demeanor. Shrugging it off, Tai took off after Qrow.