"Alright, I do want to be your partner, I really do," Rusty began. "But, in the event that I find a cute girl, would you be mad if I partnered up with her instead?"
Greyson sighed, but could not stop the first traces of a smile from coming to his face as he raised his scroll to the locker room door. A clunking noise assured him it had unlocked properly. "No, I wouldn't be mad."
"Got it. You know what? You're a good friend, man," Rusty thanked. "I promise we'll still hang out even if I'm on a different team."
Greyson entered his combination into his locker and opened it. Inside, he saw everything he needed. Blitz and Nimbus, two short, one-sided swords that folded into shotguns, were propped up against the inside of his locker. On top of his grey sweatshirt with black hood and sleeves, fitted black shirt of a tough microfiber plastic complete with his symbol in silver, and black jeans, sat his sheaths, gloves, and a belt of shotgun shells he wore across his body, under his sweatshirt. Greyson never much liked armor, thinking it to be cumbersome. He freshened up, changed clothes, and slid his weapons into the sheath on his back. He looked into the mirror in back of his locker. With a look of mild discontent, Greyson adjusted the symbol on his chest, making it more visible. It was a cloud with a lightning bolt striking down from both ends, one sword vertically positioned straight down the middle.
Countless first-year students stood on concrete platforms on the edge of a cliff overlooking a sea of green. The sky above was clear and calm, in stark contrast to the mounting dread and uncertainty among the students on the edge of the cliff. Greyson was calm. He had been hunting grimm for much of his life, after all. Nothing, save for maybe a large nevermore or deathstalker, was of much trouble anymore.
Yet still, he was uncertain. He had no idea how teams would be formed. No matter how he met them, unease crept in whenever he allowed his mind to wander from grimm, to the idea of being paired up with three total strangers for four years.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin announced.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams,"
Glynda Goodwitch added. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well," Ozpin explained calmly. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
This was met by indistinct murmurs of protest and perturbation from the other students. Greyson grit his teeth, and allowed himself to take one deep breath. He knew if he made one mistake today, that mistake would lead to four years of consequences.
"After you have partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."
"Sounds like a pleasant day," Greyson muttered, just quiet enough for the administrators not to hear. A few of the people around him uttered nervous laughter.
The girl next to Greyson, with a dark red pixie cut swiping across her forehead and hidden partially by a slouchy black beanie, smirked in muted amusement. Greyson looked to her with a smirk of his own.
The girl met him with a scowl, and Greyson turned his gaze away.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will guard that item, along with your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
"Yeah, um, sir?-" A tall, thin boy with yellow hair and blue eyes apprehensively inquired.
"Good! Now take your positions." Ozpin interjected.
Greyson focused intently on the Emerald Forest. "So... how do I land?" he thought. "Blitz and Nimbus kick, but not nearly enough to slow my fall to the point I'd be safe." His eyes narrowed as he continued to strategize. "I want to lose as little aura possible, so I should avoid direct impact with anything..."
"Um, sir? I've got um, a question..." the same boy stammered.
The stern girl to Greyson's left was launched skyward. Greyson closed his eyes and took a deep breath to slow his heartbeat. He bent his knees against the force he knew would come any second.
Next thing he knew, he was flying too.
The first girl launched held her beanie as she soared through the air. She looked to the trees hundreds of feet below her with a stoic, almost bored, gaze, even after realizing she had not the slightest idea how to land. Just before the treeline, an idea popped into her head. Risky, but her only choice. She bent back her right arm, covered by a large bladed shield, as if she were winding up a punch. Slamming into a tree, she dug the shield's sharp end into the trunk, and grit her teeth through the intense impact. As gravity pulled her down, she closed her eyes, feeling chunks of bark and splinters of wood flying in every direction. She began to slow.
Suddenly, a thick branch caught under her right leg, sending her toward the ground. She was caught by another branch, this one ramming into her stomach.
"Damn, that hurt..." she bitterly commented, pulling herself up. The ground was still no less than fourty feet below. Even a perfect drop would mean two broken legs in a forest full of Grimm. She sat quietly, pondering her next move.
Bushes began to rustle below. Immediately noticing the sound, she pulled herself next to the trunk of her tree, perching attentively like a predator waiting in ambush for its prey. Her copper eyes narrowed.
"Ergh! Get- off- me- dammit!" A voice shouted from the bushes. Rusty popped into the small clearing at the base of the large pine, ripping thorns from the sleeves of his jacket. "Ow, it got me..." he noted, raising his palm about a foot from his face. Waves of reddish brown aura crackled around it.
"Think, Ember... do you want to be this person's partner?" the girl in the tree pondered, silently examining the strange boy below.
And another one?" Rusty asked in disbelief, turning over his hand to reveal a second thorn, embedded in waves of aura. He sat down after plucking it out. "I wanna go home," he lamented.
"Nope," Ember concluded. She glanced backward. There was one other tree, with a branch about ten feet down. She pondered whether it, only a few inches across, would hold the weight of her jump.
"Woah, what're you doing up there?" Rusty shouted up to Ember.
Ember grimaced in irritation, and let out a deep breath. "I'm finding a way down. Out of here," she explained frankly.
"Hey, I'll help you!" Rusty offered.
Ember turned around. "No, I don't need-"
Their eyes met, and Rusty grinned. Ember swore under her breath.
Rusty pulled a metal disc about the size of a saucer from his pocket, and threw it up to Ember. The disc was attached to a steel cord, which wound around a branch just above Ember's head. Rusty's yo-yo-esque weapon dangled in front of her eyes, as if to taunt her.
Without a choice, Ember clutched the disc, and began to rappel to the ground below.