Breathe.
Glancing at her feet, Saffron berated herself for not taking a map of the school from one of the elder students in the doorway. Now, shuffling along with mass of other students, there was nothing for her to do but follow the crowd and hope she ended up where she needed to be. Laughter and shivers of excitement pushed the crowd forward; hundreds of feet climbed the final flight of stairs.
Red and purple light painted her light skin an array of colors as Saffron passed through the grand doorway. Stain glass windows lined the upper walls, twisting patterns of color without any true shape transformed rays of light into pieces of ever changing art. Swallowing thickly, Saffron kept a smile on her face as she found a less crowded section of the room near the side. Her feet sounded too loud against the marble flooring; her heart too fast in her chest.
"Ow!" Saffron's green eyes widened in surprise, quickly moving away from the girl she'd knocked over. Sprawled on the floor, the girl looked almost pathetically small, with her tiny mouse ears and goggles that seemed too big for her head.
"Sorry," quickly remembering her manners, Saffron offered a hand, relishing in the small smile the girl gave as she took it. That's good, she didn't hate her. "I wasn't paying attention. I didn't mean to mow you over."
"Were you trying to figure out the process of replacing metallic salt with Dust to create the windows?" Saffron only blinked, but the girl continued on, "I think they had to use a less reactive base like copper oxide or nickel to stabilize the Dust's transformative properties, but I'm not sure." Every word flew over Saffron's head, so she laughed.
"I just thought they were pretty." As more students filtered into the room, Saffron had to raise her voice a tad, "I'm Saffron Oak, I went to Eminent Academy." It was a typical greeting, not to overbearing but just enough to start a conversation.
"That's a really good school, their weapon forging competition team always had some of the most creative guns. My name's Hickory Dock, I went to Mirador. And I agree, they are very pretty." Light, simple conversation flowed between them as the ballroom was finally filled and the grand doors were shut with a hush. Small groups huddled together, protecting themselves for the initial isolation. A few brave souls stood apart, eyes lazily watching the crowd with disinterest.
"I hope I can get into a class with Proffesor Lucent, he's one of the best weapon makers in the world. I used his theory of Compressive Chemistry as the foundation for my weapon." Hickory smiled slightly, relieved that Saffron hadn't walked away yet. Most people tended to get tired of her rather quickly, but Saffron seemed completely invested in the conversation. It was rather odd, for someone as lovely and confident as Saffron to talk to her. A flash of insecurity settled in her chest, and she couldn't help but compare Saffron's perfectly messy blonde hair with her own plain dark brown shoulder length hair. They were two very different girls. Both were rather petie, but Saffron was a powerful beauty with a stunning fashion sense. Meanwhile, Hickory felt she paled in comparison. Where Saffron was a color scheme of bright yellow, green, and white, Hickory was a simple brown and grey.
Pushing those thoughts away as the conversation picked up, Hickory reassured herself of her capabilities. While she wasn't a universal beauty like Saffron, she wasn't a troll either. Besides her brown, short sleeved jumpsuit and dark grey boots were suited for her work with forging weapons.
"I read a little of his work back at Eminent Academy, but it went over my head. It took me a long time to figure out my weapon, especially how to activate the release for the blade without activating the Dust compartment." Images of ash covered rooms and the smell of burnt hair made her shudder. She spent many hours in detention for blowing up more than one lab room, "Honestly, there are still some changes I want to make to it."
"I could help!" Hickory gave a small hop, clapping her hands together. "My parents owned a junkyard, so I'm really good at tinkering with all kinds of weapons." She paused, and Saffron had to admit that her excitement was rather endearing "I mean, if you want."
"Of course," A resounding clap silenced the room. Saffron automatically dropped the conversation as she turned to the raised platform. Three people, adults, stood poised over the sea of bodies. They were regarded as marvels, the very personification of what every person in the room hoped to become. Her eyes were first drawn to Vin Rosso, renowned Hunter and second in command at Reverie Academy. Slouching slightly, he seemed almost amused at their obedience as if they were overly eager puppies expecting a treat. To his left was another man, with an impossibly large physique and stern stare. Her gaze didn't linger on him long. Slightly in front of both men was the single woman of the trio. Saffron recognized her as Headmistress Rangi, with her dark skin and light blue hair. Gaze sweeping over her subjects, Headmistress Rangi stood like a proud queen over her congregation.
"Welcome, to Reverie Academy." Her voice was smooth, as if singing a lullaby; "It brings me and my colleagues great pleasure to welcome you to your new home. I am Headmistress Rangi, the head of Reverie Academy. Many of you have traveled to the far side of the world from many different walks of life in search of purpose, knowledge, training, or fame. To become Hunters and Huntress who have perfected your trade to the best of your ability. By being here you have chosen to give your life to protecting the innocent, and making waves in innovation. You are not yet there. There is still much for all of you to learn before you can bare the tittle of Hunters, but," she gave a gentle smile, her features melting into a look of fondness, "this is why you are all here. To grow as individuals with the help of some of the best Hunters and researchers the world has to offer. It will be a pleasure to take this journey with you. Now, Professor Vin," She turned on her heels, quietly walking away from the microphone to make space for Vin.
"She seems nice." Hickory readjusted her goggles, never taking her large brown eyes off the stage. Saffron nodded in agreement; at least she didn't call them all undisciplined worms. That's what happened to one of her friends who went to Atlas.
"Tonight, you will all sleep in the NorthEast Tower. Tomorrow you will be assigned a time slot to begin your initiation. Get lots of rest kiddos, I doubt it'll help though," He scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"He seems a tad arrogant through." Hickory muttered, sticking by Saffron's side as the crowd swept them out the door and presumably to the NorthEast Tower.
"Glad I'm not the only one who thought so." The girl in front of them turned around slightly, her golden orange eyes twinkling in amusement. "For a guy that hasn't been on the field in a long time, he's kind of a jerk," As they came to the center of campus, Saffron stole a few glances around. Off white brick buildings soured to the heavens, glares of light flickering down from the glass windows. Lush green trees decorated the courtyard as a tall, elegant marble fountain spouted a constant stream of blue and purple Dust. The campus was situated in the valley between two imposing mountains, as if the beating heart in the middle of the earth's chest.
"My name is Hickory, and this is Saffron." Yanked from her admiration, Saffron gave a full smile at the girl's knowing look. She caught her spacing out.
"Jerk's a bit of an understatement. But I guess he's got to make sure someone still thinks he's cool." Saffron chuckled lightly, and was met by Hickory and the girl's amused laughter.
"Ha, I like you! I'm Dawn. You guys from the same school?" The conversation carried on until they reached the tower. It, like all the other buildings, was a large circular building, but only had three of four stories. Upon arriving, sleek pearl colored robots separated them into different areas. Girls on the top two floors, boys on the lower floors. Giving a small wave to Dawn and Hickory, Saffron made her way to the highest floor. The other two girls were staying on the third floor, and even got to room together. As she walked down the cream hallway of the fourth floor, Saffron already felt annoyed by the overly pristine color scheme of the academy. Well, she told herself, at least the school takes good care of its facilities. Stopping in front of her assigned door, Saffron took a deep breath as she willed a smile on her face. First impressions were always important.
There wasn't even the slightest creek as she pushed on the silver doorknob. Stepping through the threshold, Saffron met two pairs of eyes staring at her curiously. Light streamed in from the wall to floor windows, deep purple curtains tied to the side.
"Hello," Saffron prepared to give the customary greeting of her name and old schools, when the girl closest to the closet scoffed and the other girl returned to her book, instantly planting a seed of doubt in Saffron's mind. Keeping her smile in place, Saffron made her way to the only empty bed and sat down. Shooting to her feet, the rude redhead, as Saffron had dubbed her, stomped out of the room. Face falling, Saffron bit her lip as a small wave of sadness washed over her. Great, she'd gone and made her roommate upset, what a wonderful way to start their relationship. Granted they would only be living together for a day, Saffron was starting to feel rather lonely without Hickory by her side. She didn't realize how easily she considered them to be friends from only a short visit. As a bird gracefully gilded past the window, Saffron hoped Hickory felt the same way. Glancing at the door, Saffron sighed heavily. It seems it was taking her a bit longer than normal to make friends at this school. She had no problems making friends back at Eminent Academy.
"If you're over there moping, stop it." A sharp voice cut though her musing. Glancing up, Saffron noticed the sun had almost vanished behind the horizon while she was pondering life away. The other girl in the room, who looked away before, was glaring at her with dusky violet eyes as she leaned back on her arms, legs crossed over the side of the bed. "You're distracting me."
Saffron's mouth fell open a bit at the girl's somewhat absurd claim, its not like she'd been fidgeting around. Yet, she didn't allow her anger to show, only gave an apologetic smile. No need to make someone else dislike her.
"Ah, sorry, I wasn't moping, but I'm sorry if I distracted you." Unsure of what to say next, she just let her sentence fade into a comfortable silence.
"Sure you weren't," the girl drawled as one of her eye brows shot up, her straight blonde hair falling to the over her shoulder a bit as her pony tail came loose. The neon pink streaks on the tips of her hair bushed at her purple leather jacket.
"I'm Saffron," Eyes widening at her outburst, Saffron could feel her cheeks heat up as the girl snapped her book closed, stood up, and strapped on her heeled boots.
"You know, for a Huntress, you're not really good at reading the room are you?" With that, the girl swept out of the room as if a smug cat after knocking a cup off the counter. When the door clicked shut, Saffron only stared for a moment, then flopped back on her bed and screamed into her pillow. Yeah, this was not going well.
The screen shuffled through names and pictures as if tasting each person's resume. Hickory's furry mouse ears tingled with anticipation as she waited to her timeslot for initiation alone. Dawn was chosen earlier, and left to prep herself back in their room. Sighing when she, once again, didn't see her name, she began to fiddle with the pocket watch in her deep pockets. The smooth form of the gadget brought her a sense of relief, and a bit of an itch in the back of her mind. There were some changes she needed to make to her weapon, and if her name showed up soon, she'd have a little time to get some of them in before the initiation. She didn't get a chance last night, one of her roommates had asked her to stop tinkering around midnight so she could get some rest.
A small smile came over her face as she remembered how interested Dawn was in her designs; she even let Hickory show her some alternative weapons she was thinking of.
"Man, if I knew it was going to take this long, I would have slept in later." The boy yawned as he stretched, the vambraces on his arms clinking slightly, then ran his fingers though long dark brown hair. Noticing her curious look, he put his hands in his pockets, and slouched a bit.
Hickory wasn't looking at him. Following her gaze, his teal eyes landed on his weapon holster. The handle of the teal gunblade poked out from its place, and Hickory couldn't help but feel a bit, well, underwhelmed.
"You ok there?" Hickory's eyes snapped up to meet his, and she gave a level stare. It wasn't unfriendly, but it also wasn't the happiest look aimed his way.
"You're weapon is inadequate." Silence. "I could make you a better one."
"Oh yeah?" The boy sounded amused, as if a small child challenged him to a race. That wasn't to far off. This girl was tiny, borderline the size of a kid. Then again, her jumpsuit had dark smears of oil, and the goggles on her head were slightly smudged. She obviously didn't dress like that for looks, practicality maybe. "I don't doubt it," Grabbing the handle, he pulled it out of the holster, turning it lazily in his hands, "I kind of made it last minute for my exit exam, but its good enough so I never really felt the need to change it."
"May I?" Struggling to push her excitement down, Hickory's eyes raked greedily across the gunblade. The blade was well made, with a slightly curved point and thick spine back that melted into a beautifully sharp edge. A fleur de lis was shallowly carved into the metal near the guard of the blade, which gave way to the barrel of the gun. Running her finger lightly over the chamber, Hickory frowned at the slight unbalance in weight. It wasn't a big deal, and would barely hinder him in battle, but there was just this itch in the back of her mind that couldn't stop thinking of over one hundred ways to improve the weapon.
"Well its about time," Stopping her inspection, Hickory smiled as her name appeared on the screen in big white letters. Handing the weapon back to its owner, Hickory almost cried, it would only take her a few hours to make the adjustments if he let her. The boy nodded his appreciation, turning on his heels as he gave her a small smirk and wave.
"Wait," Hickory ignored the few stares she gained from the volume of her demand, "I didn't get your name. I'm Hickory." The boy paused for a moment, glanced at the screen and back at her. Small world.
"Mark Sarcelle. Looks like we have the same time slots." That was convenient for him, at least he'd go into the test knowing someone on his field. It would take too much effort to learn everyone's name during his initiation; at least he had one down. Plus, as he watched her face light up, at least she wasn't annoying. A bit odd, but she seemed pretty smart.
"I can't wait, I've made some new modifications on my weapon I want to try out." They walked out into the courtyard together, birds glided silently between the vibrant green trees. Students milled around in groups, some wearing their school uniforms; the girls in yellow shirts and green skirts and boys in dark green dress shirts and black pants. If Hickory remembered correctly, the schools colors were meant to reflect the purity of the mountains. Others were geared up in their battle wear.
"Hickory!" The pair stopped as Saffron called from across the yard. A giant smile on her face as she ran over. The wind was knocked out of her as she sprawled to the ground, a hot flash of pain shot up her tailbone and was gone just as quickly. Blinking slowly, Saffron pushed herself up onto one knee.
"You again!" Saffron groaned as she made eye contact with her less than pleasant roommate. After their chat last night, the girls gave each other a wide perimeter, silently carving out their own space in the room and never venturing beyond it. Now, her roommate was towering over her, her violet eyes storming over as she glared down at Saffron with balled fist. "What is your,"
"Come now, Viola, I doubt she did it on purpose." A soothing voice playfully drifted over Saffron's head. Glancing back, Saffron caught sight of white hair and a bright red scarf. As she stood up, Saffron became intensely aware of the number of eyes that were staring at them. Pushing down a blush at the unnecessary attention, she berated herself for causing a scene. Couldn't she meet people without running into them this week? Hickory and Mark watched from afar, unsure of how to respond. It was obvious to Mark that Hickory knew the smaller blonde girl, but didn't really feel like getting involved.
Saffron's roommate, now known as Viola, gave the new boy a hard stare before straightening out her posture. Crossing her arms over her chest, Viola side stepped Saffron and walked passed her and the boy with the bright red scarf without a word. Students parted to the side as she glided away from them, her ponytail swinging lightly with each step as the pink highlights caught the sun's rays. Sighing, the boy playful wink to Saffron, his golden eyes shining as Saffron's caught a glimpse of a crescent moon struck by an arrow on the sleeve of his brown leather vest.
"Quite the spitfire isn't she?" With that he turned on his heels and jogged to catch up with the furious Viola. Best to calm her down before some other poor soul gets in her way.
Hickory and Mark casually walked over; Mark less than interested in the whole scene but didn't have anywhere better to be. Besides, he and Hickory were going to the same place, no reason to rush. As he was quickly introduced to Saffron, Hickory stared off in the direction the crazy girl went.
"I had no idea the Lune family even had a male heir." Saffron mumbled, tapping the tip of her finger to her lip. She'd never paid particular attention to the tabloids about the families of the rich and wealthy, but she was rather familiar with the Lune brand. She preferred it to the Schnees, who were know for using less than ethical practices to get their product to the market.
"Its not uncommon for the main heir to be kept secret to avoid attacks, after all, these kids are going to be some of the most powerful people in Remnant when they're older." Hickory shielded her eyes from the sun, shifting on her feet slightly. She wasn't particularly a fan of big Dust companies like Lune. While they had a cleaner record than most Dust companies, all of the big Dust giants used faunus labor because it wasn't as regulated. They could have the faunus work for longer hours in harsh environments for far less pay, and this usually led to less than ethical treatment of the workers. A bit of homesickness washed over her. Hickory grew up in an area were faunus were treated well by their human neighbors. She didn't have to experience the harsh prejudice that many of her people did, but that didn't mean she didn't have a few less than pleasant experiences.
"Yo, Hickory, its almost time for our turn, you ready to head over?" Mark yawned, picking at his shirt out of boredom.
"Yeah you guys should get going," Saffron gave a bright smile, "Go kick butt ok?" Her timeslot wasn't for a few more hours, so she might not get to see them again until the next day.
"Yeah, we will!" The group parted ways as Hickory and Mark made their way to the Transportation deck.
"Honestly, Viola, its not that bad. The teams may be randomized, but at least they took our preferences into account. Now we at least have a chance to be on the same squad." Primus sat up in his chair, one hand supporting his face as she watched the girl next to him glare out the window of the airship. She was always like this when things didn't go according to her carefully constructed plan. Ever since they were amateurs she strove for perfection, and it was never a pleasant sight when her plans broke apart. Leaning over, Primus purposely invaded Viola's personal space, taking slight amusement from her annoyed look.
"What?" She ground out, refusing to show him just how done she was with this entire situation. Oh no, she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. Small steps clicked on the metal floor as two more students entered the seating area. A mouse faunus and brown haired boy settled themselves down, and snoring sounded through the cabin as the boy instantly fell asleep. Rolling her eyes, Viola took a deep breath.
"Come on, V. Enjoy yourself, this is supposed to be fun!" Primus took a sip of his water as the door of the cabin closed. That was odd, he took a headcount, they were still missing three people.
"No, Primus," Viola hissed, lowering her voice so not be overheard. It was in vain though, in such a small area, every small noise was as loud as a cannon. "This is supposed to be training for our future, not a game. Stay focused on your goal."
"Always so stiff." Talking under his breath, Primus dropped the conversation for now. There was just no talking to her when she got in one of her moods. For a moment he felt extremely heavy as the airbus took off, hovering for a moment before making a hard turn away from the school. Anticipation and anxiety swirled in his chest; making him feel sick and giddy at the same time. Loosing his seat belt a bit, Primus took a moment to enjoy the view. As they rose over the peak of some of the lower mountains, the pilot carefully navigated through the chain of mountains. Bright green grass and thick groups of trees rolled up and down the base of several mountains, while some of the highest were dusted with white snow.
He couldn't get enough of the beauty and purity of the region. It was part of the reason he chose Reverie over Beacon or Atlas. In terms of academics, Reverie was on the same level as both, but it received a lot less press and therefore had far less prestige. It was still a household name, but its isolated location and lack of interest in most political areas caused it to be left out in many instances. That was the second reason he came to Reverie. Taking in a lungful of artificial air, Primus forced himself to think of happier things. This wasn't the time to dwell, he had to be mentally ready.
The rest of the ride was filled with silence. A quick descent into a grassy field, and the students filed out. Licking her lips from the slight dryness of the air, Hickory eyed the cave opening with slight curiosity. The mouth of the cavity was dark and serrated, as if the mountain was waiting to gobble them up whole. It wouldn't be much of a problem; the dark never was for faunus. Headmistress Rangi stood unmoving at the entrance, Vin standing slightly behind her as they came closer. She could feel her classmates' eagerness in the air, spurring forward her own excitement. Any doubt she had earlier were quelled as she stood face to face with the beginning of the rest of her life.
"I'm so ready for this," One of the boys was nearly vibrating with excitement, his bear ears twitching as he stared forward. The heavy kite shield on his back glimmered in the afternoon sun as the shadows of the mountain struggled to reach it.
"Just a moment more, young Thorben." Rangi folded her hands in front of her, her shirt ruffling in the slight breeze. It was always a treat to get to see the eager young students begin their journey, with only the heavens knowing what they would grow to accomplish. Casting a slight glance back at Vin, she hid a slight smile when he caught her eyes with a questioning look. Indeed, one never knew how the tides would change.
Sharp gust of wind slapped at their backs as a second airship landed beside the first. "Its about damn time." Vin mumbled, rubbing his hands together in slight sadistic glee.
Three students quickly exited the bus, painfully aware of their tardiness. Even if it was not their fault, it was still embarrassing. Resisting the urge to shout a greeting, Hickory gave a small wave as Saffron ran up behind her, giving her a slight nudge with her shoulder. Rangi clapped her hands to gain their attention.
"Welcome students. It's a pleasure to formally meet you. As much as I would like time for introductions, we are running rather behind. First I would like to apologize to you," She looked at the three late students, "for the mix up, and would like to commend you on your flexibility. Now, onto the test."
Raising an eyebrow at the fast introduction, Mark crossed his arms over his chest. He could feel small bugs graze past his arms, but did nothing to stop them. There were more of them than he could kill, so might as well let it happen.
"The eight of you will pass through this gate through eight separate entrances. They will place you in different areas of the field on the other side of the mountain. Once you exit those doors, your test is live. That means everything that happens will be closely monitored, and every Grimm is real, so don't hold back." Vin used his phone to display a holographic image of the layout, the blue picture flickered slightly due to the bad connection, "Once inside, make your way to the far side of the opening, where you will find a safehouse with four items. Pick one, and return to one of the entrance doors."
"Now I'm going to explain the team dynamic." Rangi was now rather robotic, "I'm sure many of you have heard of how they operate, but I'm going to explain it, so listen carefully. The first person you make eye contact with upon entering will be your permanent teammate, the other two members of your team will be determined at a later time."
Mark sighed, listening to the soft whistle of grass change to the rough crunching of rubble as he entered the cave with the others, sanding in front of a metal door. To his right stood a boy with loose white t-shirt and sharp green eyes; to his left, a girl with mismatching eyes of yellow and orange. Man, he really hoped he didn't get a loud teammate, that would be really bad for his naps.
"Open your door and step inside," Vin's command echoed as Mark yanked open his door. The inside was metal, around the size of a gym locker. Stepping inside with slight hesitation, the door slammed in his face. There was absolutely no room to move around. Shifting his knee slightly, Mark grunted when his leg hit the side of the metal wall. There was a loud thud from off to his right, and Mark pressed his back to the cool metal.
"Ow," it was a female, sounded slightly like the Saffron girl Hickory introduced him to earlier.
"Oh if you thought that was bad," There was a demonic quality to Vin's voice, "You're in for a bad time." A booming laugh sounded from outside his door, and he was flying. Slamming forward, Mark's ears were rushed with the sound of a rocket as he was propelled upwards. Then, the door opened, and Mark was thrown out.
In mid-air.
His heart shot to his throat. For a moment he felt weightless, then he was falling, faster and faster. The trees were coming to quickly as Mark ripped his gunblade from its holster, twisted his body and waited. His eyes watered as the air pushed back his eyelids. The moment he was near a tree, he slammed the blade into the thick trunk, carving a jagged line into the base of the tree to slow his descent. He gasped as he felt his arms almost yank out of his sockets with the impact, but grit his teeth before pushing off the tree and onto the ground. Sliding back, Mark had to dig his feet into the soil to finally come to a stop, clumps of grass and dirt were ripped from the ground. Breathing hard, he quickly looked around. The tree was absolutely destroyed, the top half sliced directly in half. Once good storm and it would come down. Gathering himself, Mark forced his feet to move forward; he couldn't dwell here. The air was colder, harsher, and the smell of bad intent reeked in the air.
He needed to regroup with the others, it would be bad to run into a Grimm out here alone. Pushing himself into a run, Mark felt a small smile come onto his face. It was about damn time.