"You know" Nuria started as she stared out the window at the slowly approaching school. "Got to admit that Beacon doesn't look as cool from up close as I thought it would back when I was a kid."

Lucina turned to look at her with a completely exasperated look. "Does it really matter? We aren't exactly going to the school for its architecture."

"Right ,right, my bad." Nuria apologized with a laugh.

It had been a few days since Ozpin had kindly "invited" the two of them to his school and they were now currently riding on one of the many airships heading for Beacon , the ship filled to the brim with new students ready and waiting for the chance to kill Grimm.

The two girls had abandoned the brown cloaks they normally wore and in their place had decided to go with outfits that were much more practical for combat. Nuria had gone with a brown t-shirt with a blue jacket over it, a jacket that was covered in pockets in order to hold as much extra ammo as she would need in the field. She had gone with a pair of blue jeans that the sales woman had sold to them on the basis that they were already pre-ripped around the knees, something that Nuria had claimed were worth the extra cost because of the fact that they came pre ripped and while Lucina couldn't comprehend why it was apparently worth it she didn't really want to argue about it. And to complete her look she had a pair of dark brown cowboy boots giving her quite the outlaw look.

Lucina on the other hand had gone with a much more reserved look for someone her age. If someone saw her on the street they would consider her outfit some kind of modified nun outfit. Its primary color was a light blue with stripes of white traveling down the sides of the dress as well as the sleeves. While someone from afar might think she belonged to some strange religion when they got closer they would notice that in fact the dress hugged her body very tightly and with the blade at her side and the missing coif she looked more like a priestess of war rather than a religious girl.

Nuria hadn't exactly been all that keen on allowing Lucina to wear what she considered "one of the most boring outfits she had ever had the misfortune of seeing", but when Lucina said she would let Nuria buy her some casual outfits and that this kind of outfit was useful for someone who used dust magic to such a high degree the brown haired girl finally relented.

Lucina could feel quite a few curious gazes from the surrounding teens, Lucina's dress and Nuria's exposed metallic hand drawing quite a bit of unwanted attention but neither girl bothered to pay attention to the stares, both having long ago grown accustomed to glares from strangers due to their previous line of work.

But the stares stopped when a projection of the woman who had captured them appeared in the center of the airship.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academe."

"Pshhhh, ya right. This sure is a "Privilege" all right." Nuria complained under her breath, causing Lucina to giggle under quietly and a few people nearby to stare at them strangely.

"Our world is currently experiencing an incredible time of peace and as future huntsmen and huntresses it will be your duty to keep the peace. You have all demonstrated the courage and strength necessary for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the skills to continue to protect our world." And with that the projection of Glynda Goodwitch disappeared leaving everyone crowded into the airship nothing more to do but enjoy the view as they continued their slow approach.

"…Vale's bigger than I thought it would be." Lucina eventually murmured as she stared down at the city, Vale being the first town she had ever seen that could be said to have actual architecture as opposed to buildings just cobbled together in haste to keep the elements away.

Nuria blinked a few times in surprise before smiling warmly and placing her still human hand on Lucina's head. "I almost forgot that this is the first time you've been to one of the big four cities. So, what do you think so far?"

"It's…big." Was all Lucina replied with, causing her companion to laugh at her expense.

"Thanks for the observation eagle eye, but in all seriousness its better for us if it's bigger. All the more dark alleys to slip into if we need to make a quick getaway." Nuria said, her tone becoming more serious as she continued, causing Lucina to pout slightly.

"…don't do something too obvious please."

"I know, I know. I'd rather not go to prison after all."

A few minutes later the Airship touched down, opening its massive doors to reveal an equally as massive courtyard flanked by towers taller than anything Lucina had ever seen along with rows of buildings one after another. While it was true that Lucina and Nuria had avoided going to town on the larger side Lucina had never expected Beacon to be about the size of Manara. Just how many Huntsmen and Huntresses were waiting inside with weapons primed?

But Lucina had no time to freak out at the prospect of having to possibly face down armies as Nuria gently pushed her forward and out into the bright midday sun. As the other hopeful huntsmen and huntresses moved towards the school Lucina and Nuria both moved forward and to the side and studied their surroundings.

"Ok so…do you have any idea where we're supposed to go now?" Nuria asked as she watched the other new students walk past.

"…aren't we supposed to go to the school?" Lucina answered with a confused expression, only receiving a exasperated look from Nuria.

"Ok well since you have no practical things to say I'm just going to go try and figure out where we're were supposed to go and make a few contacts while I'm at it. Stay around here alright." Nuria commanded and after receiving a nod of confirmation from her smaller companion she strolled off into the crowd, almost instantly waving down the nearest group of students.

"Ok…so now what do I do?" Lucina thought out loud with a sigh as she leaned against a nearby light post and closed her eyes in an attempt to alleviate the slight headache from all the new sights and lights assaulting her eyes. She could practically feel all the curious gazes from the other prospective students as they walked by her but she didn't open her eyes or even shrink back from the gazes. She had fully expected to get more than a few gazes for the first few weeks as she was wearing such a strange outfit compared to anyone else and that wasn't even taking into account the fact that she was small for her age and was at least a year younger than anyone else assuming she had been correct in assuming what her age was.

And while Lucina never enjoyed being the center of attention she could deal with this so long as it didn't continue on for too long. But at least they weren't bothering to come up and talk to her, leaving her to enjoy the sunlight and the sound of the wind blowing through hills that surrounded the courtyard.

Or she had been enjoying it up until the sound of an explosion echoed through the surrounding pillars, startling a few birds that had been relaxing just like Lucina.

Standing straight back up and opening her eyes wide she could see a thin trail of smoke rising into the sky back in the direction of the landing pad.

"What the hell was that?" Someone from the surrounding students asked their companions.

"Probably just some dumbass messing around with dust, just got to hope whoever they are they don't end up on your team right?" Another person replied in a mocking tone, causing a few of the people surrounding them to laugh.

Lucina for her part stared down the entryway in worry. As someone how used dust much more than anyone who surrounded her she understood the dangers of a dust explosion and how much damage it could do to someone without the proper aura shielding.

Should I…go and help? She questioned herself as she clenched her hands in worry. Neither Nuria nor Lucina wanted to stand out during their four years at Beacon, too many skeletons in their closets that would invite a lot of questions if someone found out about them. And getting involved with someone on the first day would introduce far too many variables for Lucina to know what exactly she could do to minimize her expose afterwards.

But at the same time Lucina couldn't help but recall her mother's words. "You know Lucina, the world may suck, filled with all this darkness and such, but its because its so bad out there that we've gotta try and make it better anyway we can. Even if that means just offering someone a helping hand."

Well...Nuria might get mad at me but I know I would like help if I just exploded. Lucina eventually decided with a sigh as she started to make her way back to the airship landing pads.

Most of the potential students had already cleared away from the landing pads, making their way to the school or wherever they were supposed to gather, so when a white haired girl walked past in a huff Lucina couldn't help but steal a glance at her. The girl was the very definition of prim and proper, a complete opposite of the life Lucina and Nuria had just removed themselves from, but that wasn't the thing that drew her attention. Instead she was more focused on the girl's aura, which swirled around her body like an icy winter storm. But despite that Lucina could see that the girls light was much brighter and warmer than most, a strange contradiction to be sure.

But the girl was either so angry that she couldn't notice Lucina's stare or she simply didn't care, as the icy girl strolled past her without even breaking her stride. Clearly she was in no need of aid, so was it just a freak accident?

Lucina got her answer when she heard someone flop onto the ground and sigh like the world was crushing their shoulders. Turning around she saw a girl just a few inches taller than her own height lying on the ground with a depressed look on her face. The girl was lying down right next to a small crater that had been carved out of the pathway, marking her as someone who had been directly involved in the explosion a few minutes ago. The girl had mostly black hair with the tips turning a dull red color, something Lucina couldn't imagine being easy to maintain. She wore a mostly black outfit but like her hair Lucina could see hints of red peeking out from under her sleeves and the bottom of her skirt. Underneath the girl Lucina could see a long bright red cloak sprawled out beneath her, making Lucina regret abandoning her own cloak. It would be so much easier to blend into the background if others were wearing cloaks as well.

But Lucina didn't really have any more time to appreciate the girl's wardrobe, as she walked up to the girl and offered her a hand, the girl cracking an eye open as Lucina's hand blocked the light.

"U-um…a-are you alright?" Lucina stuttered, not really all that comfortable talking to someone she didn't know.

The girl smiled nervously as she grabbed Lucina's hand, who promptly helped her up. "Oh I'm fine just…enjoying my first day at Beacon. Thanks for the help by the way. I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose"

"Lucina Lunimare."

"Nice to meet you Lucina."

The two girls smiled nervously at each other for a moment when a blonde boy walked up and forcibly coughed and drawing their attention. Lucina couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the boys strange appearance, not his physical appearance but that of his aura, or phrased another way his lack thereof. Isn't this supposed to be an advanced school for training? How could someone get in without even having their aura awakened? Is he someone like us? Someone who was forced to be here?

"That explosion looked pretty bad, you ok there?" the boy asked Ruby.

"Oh ya I'm good." Ruby said with a wave of her hand before a frown formed on her lips in apparent concentration. "Hey…aren't you that vomit boy from the flight in?"

The boy grimaced almost instantly before an annoyed expression crossed his face. "Hey! Motion sickness is quite a common issue that many people suffer from. Plus don't you think it's a little cruel to make a nickname for someone so soon? How would you like it if I start calling you Crater-face?"

"That explosion was hardly my fault! It was all because of that Princess." Ruby retorted angrily as she started to walk around the outside of the courtyard, the blonde boy falling into step alongside her while Lucina held back a little, not really comfortable with not just one but two strangers now involved in the conversation.

"Anyway the names Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, and the ladies love it."

Lucina couldn't help but pause at that. Did that name really roll off the tongue as easy as he claimed?

"Jaune…" She murmured quietly, drawing Ruby's and the boy in question's attention. "Jaune… Jaune… Jaune…Jaune…sorry, but it really doesn't roll off the tongue all that well." She eventually declared, Jaune's face now matching Ruby's cloak.

"Ok, ok I get it. Just…don't do that again alright uh…" Jaune started before realizing he didn't even know the name of the other girl.

"Lucina Lunimare."

"Cool." Jaune said with a smile, one that Lucina returned abet with a little more nervousness in her own smile.

The three were silent for a brief second, Ruby and Lucina not really all that good in making small talk with people they didn't know that well while Jaune was simply trying to figure out where exactly they were now. But Ruby eventually decided she had had enough of the awkward silence and decided to steer the conversation in the direction she was most comfortable with; weapons.

"Soooo…I've got this thing." She said as she whipped out a giant scythe from behind her back, the weapon unfolding in her hands and the blade cutting into the stone beneath them. Jaune leapt back in surprise at the massive complex weapon while Lucina simply blinked in surprise having not expected someone to draw out their weapon in the courtyard.

"Whoa, is that a scythe?" Jaune tried to confirm as he poked the end of the blade nervously.

"Yep, it's also a highly customizable, high impact, sniper rifle." She explained as she gently cradled the weapon like a much beloved pet.

"uhh…what?" Jaune dumbly questioned.

"It's a gun." Lucina clarified as she examined the weapon herself, impressed by its design.

"Yep, I call it Crescent Rose."

"Wow that's pretty awesome!" Jaune returned, Ruby's face lighting up in excitement the moment someone praised her weapon.

"So what do you two have?" Ruby asked as she returned Crescent Rose to its sheathed form.

"Uh well…I've got this sword and shield." Jaune replied as he drew his own blade and its sheath from his waist, the sheath itself expanding to form a shield.

"Ohhhh cool…what about you Lucina?" Ruby asked as she looked back at the black haired girl, who couldn't help but flinch slightly at her excited gaze.

"Just a sword…" She announced as she drew her own blade from its sheath and held it out with both hands for the excited girl.

Lucina's sword as slightly shorter than Jaune's but even at first glance one could see that the blade was meant for more than just cutting down Grimm. Down the center of the blade was a series or runic letters whose meanings were lost on Ruby and Jaune, but neither considered the fact that they might just be decoration. And rather than being comprised of steel like Jaune's the metal that comprised the blade was entirely black, so black that it seemed to absorb the light from its surroundings. But by far the strangest feature of the blade was about halfway down its length was a spot where the blade bent away in two directions for a brief time before joining back up father down the length of the blade, forming a complete circle in the middle of the blade large enough to stick a hand through.

"Wowww! That's so cool! So what it transform into?" Ruby practically shouted as she jumped up and down.

"uhhh…transform?" Lucina questioned blankly with a tilt of her head.

"Ya like, does it turn into a rocket launcher, or maybe something that shoots out saw blades?" Ruby elaborated as she continued to examine the blade, looking for any sign mechanical parts on both Lucina's sword as well as Jaune's.

"No its just a sword." Lucina replied, still very confused as to why her blade would need to transform.

"Ya same here, just a sword that my Great-great-grandfather used in the war." Jaune said as he returned his own weapon to its sheath, Lucina following suit.

"Oh…well I like them, not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days." Ruby said with a shrug as she skipped ahead slightly.

"Right…classics…" Jaune agreed quietly, almost as if he was talking to himself but Lucina didn't bat an eye at his strange behavior, everyone had secretes they wanted to keep after all.

Ruby nodded in agreement with Jaune before staring down at the ground with a nervous expression. "So uhhh…why did you two help me out back there, you know in the courtyard after everything?"

"Eh why not? My mom always says strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Jaune explained with a shrug.

"I see…" Ruby murmured as she stared back at Lucina, who simply nodded in agreement.

"You looked nice and well…I don't really know anyone here and you looked around my age so…" Lucina quietly trailed off, embarrassed beyond belief to be admitting to this stuff.

"Wait your not seventeen either?!" Ruby all but shouted as she jumped to stand in front of Lucina and grabbed her hands in excitement.

"uhhh ya I'm around sixteen I guess?" Lucina admitted, causing Ruby to squeal and shake Lucina's arms up and down.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! This is so cool! I mean sure, I noticed how your around my height and all, but I just thought you were really small for your age and stuff. But yay! I'm so glad that you're my age I was so scared about being the youngest in Beacon but this is just so cool!" Ruby continued to shout in absolute happiness and continued to shake Lucina's hands.

"Hey uhh…not trying to interrupt this beautiful moment or anything but…do either of you girls know where we're supposed to be going?" Jaune eventually cut in, interrupting Ruby's excited speech.

Ruby instantly let go of Lucina's hands and turned around to face Jaune. "Uhhh no I have no idea. I was following you. Do you know Lucina?" she asked, Lucina shaking her head in response.

"Huh, OK then…well do you think there's some kind of recognizable landmark or something, maybe a directory? you wouldn't think that finding the entrance at a school would be that hard." Jaune asked as he surveyed their surroundings, Ruby giggling at his complaints.

"oh, uhh...w-we can just wait for Nuria to come back." Lucina said as she sat down on the side of a nearby fountain, Ruby and Jaune starring at her in confusion.

"Who?" They both questioned with tilted heads, but before Lucina could respond a new voice called out.

"Oiii Lucinaa! Where did you wander off to?" A voice echoed though the courtyard, a voice Lucina didn't need more than a second to identify.

"O-over here!" She shouted back as Nuria rounded a corner with an annoyed expression, an expression Lucina knew all to well.

"Remind me Lucina, did we ever make a code where "staying put" meant "wander off"?" She asked as she crossed her arms.

"ummmm….no?"

"Then do you want to explain to me why you decided to do just that?"

"Oh uh, that was my bad." Ruby admitted as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, drawing a curious gaze from Nuria.

"Oh making new friends huh Lucina?" Nuria said coyly as she nudged Lucina on the shoulder, the younger girl turning her head down and shuffling her feet. "Nice to meet you, I'm Nuria, Lucina and I entered the school together." She continued holding out her metallic hand to Ruby, who didn't seem to notice the metallic fingers as she returned the gesture. "as much as I would just love to sit out here and talk we're supposed to gather in the entry hall for Ozpin's announcement and assuming your just as lost as Lucina here why don't you just all follow me."

The four of them walked though the main gate to find nearly every new student gathered before a stage.

"Hey Ruby over here! I saved you a spot!" A blonde girl called out from within the crowd, waving excitedly at the red and black dressed scythe wielder.

"Oh uh…I got to go, it was nice meeting all of you. I'll cya latter!" Ruby said as she moved through the crowd to stand by the blonde girl.

"So uh…do you mind if I hang out with you two for the moment?" Jaune asked as he turned to Nuria and Lucina.

"Don't really care myself so long as you don't do anything too stupid." Nuria replied with a shrug, Lucina simply remaining silent and letting Nuria take charge like always.

"Oh you don't have to worry about that, if there's one thing they say about Jaune Arc it's that he's as smooth as silk." Jaune said as he struck a pose.

"…and your done, bye bye." Nuria declared as she waved goodbye with her metallic hand, Jaune flinching, sighing, and walking into the crowd. "You certainly have an interesting taste in contacts Luci." She continued with a mocking smile, Lucina simply shrugging in response.

"He's nice...but I don't know if he'll last long in here. His aura's not even active."

"Seriously? He might not even make it through initiation tomorrow without it."

The two girls continued to talk about nothing in particular until Ozpin strolled up to the microphone to greet the new students by informing them that their efforts so far were nothing more than wasted energy in need of propose, and that they needed to take the first step before Glynda announced where they would be sleeping that night and that initiation would take place tomorrow just like Nuria said.

"kind of condescending for a guy who literally forced us into the school." Nuria growled before turning to Lucina and smiling. "So what do you want to do now?"

"Library?"

"...We really need to work on your concept of fun."

That evening the two girls sat in a corner of the ballroom, Lucina absorbed in a book she had managed to check out about "Legends of Remnant" while Nuria was engrossed in her own favorite habit, people watching. After Ozpin's speech the two girls had done nothing but explore the school that would serve as their de facto prison for the next four years, both impressed by the amount of money Vale had to be spending on the school. Apparently there wasn't a limit in the amount of money they were willing to spend on training new warriors.

"So apparently tomorrow they're going to be splitting us up into teams of four in addition to having us partner up with another person." Nuria quietly conversed as she watched the girl that had been by Lucina's side earlier in the day talk with a black haired girl who was also reading in her own little corner of the room.

"mmmm." Lucina made a non committal sound as she turned the page.

"We should be fine though, we've worked together much longer than most people here so we won't have a problem meeting up tomorrow."

"mmmm."

" I also hear that we have tame wild grim in nothing but our underwear." Nuria continued as she sent a pointed look at the younger girl, who continued to read unabated.

"mmmm…ow!" She tried to continue reading but was stopped when Nuria lightly smacked her on the head.

"You need to work on pretending to listen to people, and you could at least act like you're concerned about tomorrow.

"Why? It's not like we'll have any problems with Grimm." She pouted as she rubbed her head, honestly confused as to why Nuria was making such a big deal out of tomorrow.

Nuria opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything two figures approached drawing her attention away from Lucina and Lucina's attention away from the book.

"Heya Lucina." Ruby greeted with a smile and a wave, the blonde girl from earlier that day standing behind her with her hands on her hips and a smile of her own on her face. "I just wanted to thank you again for what you did for me today."

"Your welcome." Lucina replied as she put the book to the side and smiled.

"So you helped out my sis here huh? That makes you friends in my book too." The blonde girl spoke up as she bent down and held out her hand. "Yang Xiao Long, biggest badass of the Xiao Long family." She introduced herself as Lucina shook her hand.

"What are you talking about Yang, it's only you and dad after all so who else would be the biggest badass?" Ruby questioned with an almost embarrassed look, to which Yang only laughed loudly.

"Fine fine and the other girl is?"

"Oh right this is Nuri- oh my god you have a metal arm!" Ruby started to introduce Nuria before noticing the brown haired girls exposed right arm, her jacket missing in preparation of sleeping.

Nuria couldn't help but laugh as she flexed the mechanical arm for show, some gears inside clinking together while the sound of metal sliding against metal echoed through the room. "Yep, meet "The Devil's Right Hand". I made it myself with Luci's help here." She chuckled as she nudged Lucina's shoulder, the black haired girl lowering her head in embarrassment.

"Wowwww it's so cool! Is that your weapon? Does it transform into something? It looks so cool! And is that an Atlas designed ammo loader in its arm? What does it shoot?And it looks so cool!" Ruby continued to ask questions in rapid fire, both Lucina and Yang long forgotten.

"You bet it shoots, but I think I'll keep what it does secret for now, want to keep some tricks up my sleeve for tomorrow after all." Nuria replied, Ruby sighing in disappointment, before turning to face Yang. "Well it's nice to meet you Yang, I'm Nuria Embers."

"Same here." Yang replied before grabbing Ruby by the back of her pajama shirt and lifting her slightly into the air like a puppy. "See you two tomorrow. Who knows, maybe we'll be on the same team when all's said and done."

Nuria waved goodbye as the two siblings made their way back to their sleeping bags before leaning closer to Lucina. "So, how do they stack up?"

"They have strong auras and bright lights…but something about Ruby's eyes scares me." Lucina admitted as she watched the two leave. She had managed to hide it when she offered the black haired girl a hand earlier but the moment Ruby revealed her twin silver orbs Lucina could feel a strange shudder creep down her spine, something she couldn't explain away but disturbed her nonetheless.

"Her eyes?" Nuria clarified, Lucina nodding in confirmation. "Hmm…well, they both seemed nice enough to me but I guess if that's your impression I'll keep an ear to the ground when it comes to them. But enough of that, we have to get ready for tomorrow after all. Hopefully we won't lose our place here on the second day."