Here's chapter two! It's kinda short, and I apologize, the next chapter will be longer.
I hope you enjoy!
A week passes before Jackson is discharged from the hospital, and as agreed he's handed his fatigues and rifle as soon as the doctor hands his discharge papers to him.
His chest rig had been cleaned of blood, and much to his excitement he had been told by Yang -the girl who had rescued him- that Beacon was a combat academy.
When he leaves the hospital room he's welcomed by Yang, who agreed to show him around the school until he had learned the layout of the building.
"Hey there! You ready to go eat some real food?"
He hikes the sling of his rifle further up on his shoulder and nods, a small grin on his face.
"Alright, follow me!" She waves him along, and he walks beside her down the halls, his new set of ears picking up every sound as his boots quietly thump on the dark carpet.
When they get to the cafeteria he adjusts his rifle so it's across his back and follows the blonde to the serving the counter, where he heaps his tray with food and grabs a mug of coffee.
The bustling cafeteria looks confusing at first, but when he sees Yang waving at him from a table he quickly heads over and sits down next to her.
"Alright guys! This is Jackson, he's the guy Blake and I found in the emerald forest. He's starting classes in a couple days."
A girl in a white dress looks across at him and gives a tiny sneer that he notices.
"I'm Weiss, this is Ruby, Blake, and you've already met Yang."
He waves to everyone, trying to be as friendly as possible.
"Hi! Nice to meet you!" Ruby chirps, giving an excited wave.
"Hello." Blake doesn't even look up from her book.
Jackson smiles and digs into his food, his ravenous eating gaining the attention of half the table. When he's done eating he looks around and notices the stares he's getting.
"Oh erm...sorry...please excuse my manners.." he hangs his head in embarrassment, pulling his rifle close to his side before he takes a swig of coffee from his mug.
"I'm going to head outside for some air...I'll see you in a bit Yang." He stands up and grabs his tray, killing the last of his coffee before walking off.
He walks out a side entrance and sits down at the base of a tree with his rifle across his lap.
"God damn it...my first interaction with new people and I act like a fucking pig..." he grumbles, hanging his head and staring at his rifle.
He sits there and fumbles with the magazine for a half hour, trying to think of how to make things up to the girls.
"Hey freak!" A voice yells, causing him to look up and left, towards the source.
Four people that could best be described as jocks walk up and form a semicircle around him, being unable to completely encircle him thanks to the tree at his back.
"How can I help you gentlemen on this fine day?" He feigns ignorance as he slaps the magazine into the rifle and presses the bolt release, slamming a .308 round into the chamber.
"You can give us your money you animal."
Jackson furrows his brow, and shrugs before standing up. "I'm not entirely sure I have any, let me check."
He loops his sling over his right shoulder and under his left, letting the rifle hang across his chest as he grabs his wallet from his back pocket and opens it.
"Hey, you're in luck. I've got a twenty in here." He pulls the twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and holds it out in between his index and middle finger, putting his wallet back in his pocket with the other hand.
The leader, a bulky guy with dark orange hair takes the money and looks at it before dropping it and grabbing Jackson by the shirt collar. "Don't give me some useless piece of paper, give me your Lien or I'm going to beat the shit out of you." He snarls, lifting Jackson up off the ground.
Jackson chuckles and grins. "You won't if you want your buddy with the Mohawk to live." To prove his point he flicks his eyes down to his rifle, which is across his chest, but aimed at the man standing next to him. "Put me down or he loses a kneecap."
The guy holding him glares at him before setting him down and letting go.
"Good job, now I want everyone to take five steps back."
They wisely follow his instructions, and he grabs his rifle with both hands.
"Alright, now all of you get the hell out of here before I change my mind about letting you go."
They grudgingly walk away, their eyes throwing razor sharp glares at him until they're out of sight.
He sighs and unloads his rifle, putting the magazine back into his chest rig before slinging it on his right shoulder. "Who were those assholes?" He mutters to himself as he walks in the opposite direction.
"I may be able to help you out with that." A voice makes him jump a little, and Blake emerges from behind a tree. "That was team CRDL, and they are the biggest bullies to Faunus that you'll ever meet here at Beacon."
"Bullies huh? Just because I have these bear ears?"
Blake nods. "Ozpin told me about your situation and wanted me to keep an eye on you, and help get you acquainted with Faunus customs."
He looks her over, looking for any Faunus features, and draws the conclusion that her features are hidden under her bow. "Alright, I assume it's not going to be a five minute talk, so lead the way."
Blake walks back into the trees and motions for him to follow. He follows alertly for several minutes before she jumps up to a low branch and sits down on it.
Jackson just sits down and leans against the tree while looking up at her.
"So what do you want to know first?" Blake asks, pulling her bow loose to reveal a pair of black cat ears.
"What's taboo in social interactions? Cause I imagine it's some serious stuff."
"Well, any touching of Faunus traits is a no-go unless you're dating, or really good friends. Jokes aren't cool either."
"Okay...I assume there's some deeper meaning to plenty of actions?"
Blake nods. "Yes. Letting someone rub or scratch your ears would be like saying their family or you're very comfortable around them. The touching of a tail is like saying 'you're mine' in a romantic way. For bear Faunus like yourself having someone scratch your back is a simple friendly gesture, while for a cat Faunus like myself it's a big deal. There's marking, which if a Faunus is in heat and she really likes you she'll rub all over you. It's a way of saying 'he's mine' by putting her scent all over you."
She waits for all this to sink in, and soon Jackson nods slowly.
"So while they take on some physical traits a Faunus also takes on some mental parts of their animal counterpart?"
Blake nods in response. "I wouldn't have worded it that way, but yes. For instance, there's dietary urges, such as I really like tuna, and a rabbit Faunus friend of mine really enjoys salad, in your case you might crave salmon or berries. There's also habitual things that are affected, for instance that same rabbit Faunus is very shy and quiet, and I really don't like being the center of attention for an extended period of time. I've noticed that you're very shy and polite, but when it comes to be time for it you don't take shit from anything."
Jackson thinks about it for a minute and chuckles. "Yeah, that sounds about right."
Blake taps her chin in thought repeatedly. "Oh yeah, if anyone asks you to join the White Fang, don't accept. They're a terrorist organization."
"A terrorist organization huh? How violent are they?"
"They rob trains on a monthly basis, and they've bombed multiple crowds."
"I see..." His dark gray eyes have a thoughtful gleam in them as he runs his thumb in circles on the stock of his rifle. "That could be fun..." His grin bears the attitude of a seasoned hunter.
"What!? No, no you are not joining the Fang."
"No no no, I'm not talking about joining them. I'm talking about hunting them."
Blake deadpans, her ears laid flat against her head. "You'll just be painting a big target on your back. Don't do this, you'll just end up dead." She pleads, jumping down to stand next to him.
"It's just a thought, I'm not going to carry through with it until I get plenty of ammunition and a bit more experience in hand-to-hand." He holds his hands up to his shoulders in surrender. "But, I want you to help me learn stealth. How to be silent like you."
This catches Blake off guard, he wanted her to teach him something that she'd done instinctively, something she never paid attention to.
"It's...it's difficult. But I'll try."
Jackson keeps his grin as he stands up and watches Blake tie her bow back around her ears.
"Alright, let's head back. Yang should be starting her workout soon, so you could join her if you want." Blake walks past him and through the bushes, leading the way to the school.
They walk into the weight room to the sight of Yang laying into a punching bag with a series of crosses, jabs, and hooks, each impact of her fists making the ground quake around her. The hits get more forceful with every swing until a right cross rips the bag from its mounting and sends it flying into the wall with a resounding crash.
"H-holy shit!" Jackson yells in surprise, drawing Yang's attention.
"Oh, hey guys!" Yang yells across the room, wiping the sweat off her brow with a towel. "Come to get sweaty?"
"Hell yeah! You ready to get ran into the ground?" Jackson grins as he takes off his rifle and webbing, leaving it leaning in the corner next to the lockers.
"You can try!"