Chapter Two

Drake lifted his head and took a nice, long breath. He relished being outdoors, and had been feeling cramped ever since arriving to Beacon. It had only been roughly a day, but after getting off the ship he wasn't able to find a quiet place to flex his wings. While he didn't really care about scaring the other students, he also didn't want to make a bad impression on potential future teammates.

With that thought he looked to his left. Lined up with him were other students. They were each instructed to stand on some metal square. Drake figured that it would drop them into a cavern and they would have to use their wits to get out. He then looked to his right, and frowned. There should have been more students here based on how many were on the ship to Beacon. He looked forward and scanned the forest in the valley below. The trees were so thick it simply looked like a weird sunken in meadow at first glance.

"Hello first year students!" Drake heard a booming voice exclaim. Drake turned towards the voice, and was met with the image of a big man with a bushy beard.

"As some of you may have guessed," the man began, "today is initiation! Today, you will find out who will be with you for your next four years! However, you will not be choosing your own teams." Everyone looked a bit uneasy at this. Drake, however, figured as much. What would be the point of sticking with what is comfortable? Hunters and huntresses live demanding lives, and instilling flexibility early on would be valuable for the students.

"The platforms you are standing on will launch you into the forest. After landing, the first person you lock eyes with will be one of your teammates and your partner. Together, you will make your way to the north of the forest, and find some ruins. In the ruins, there will be relics. Pick one, and then make your way back here. Any questions?"

Nobody said anything. Drake unfolded his wings a bit in anticipation. He should have known that they wouldn't be underground. It would give an unfair advantage to Faunus. Still, it didn't sound too difficult.

"One more thing…" the man said in a dark tone, "the Creatures of Grimm infest the forest. While we teachers will be monitoring you, we will not help you if you get into trouble. Death is a very real possibility."

This surprised Drake a bit. It also revealed why the professor never bothered with his name, it might not matter to some of the students here.

"Now, we will launch you one by one, starting from your left. Ready? Now, go!"

The furthest student was launched into the air. Drake crouched down and fully raised his wings above him. When it was his turn, he pushed his wings down as hard as he can to add to the lift, and soared higher than any other student. At the apex he stretched his wings out fully and began to slowly glide down. Beneath him, he saw other students launch into the forest. He also saw that other students were being launched from other locations into the forest. He then looked north to see if he could find the ruins. He spotted it about three miles away from where he was. He considered gliding directly there, but figured that he would find a partner easier further back in the forest.

Drake let his wings fall and began to plummet to the ground. He twisted his body so that his head was pointed to the ground. Right before he hit the canopy, he swung his feet down and extended his aura downward. He crashed through the trees and landed in a crouched position. He looked around, and cursed under his breath.

Before him was a Dire. Drake slowly reached for one of his throwing knives. Dires were pack Grimm, and if there was one, there were three or four more. While his landing wasn't exactly quiet, if this Dire was a scout it could be killed before it alerted the pack. ..

Drake heard a noise behind him, and cursed again. He didn't need to look to know that another Dire had appeared behind him. He took one knife in each hand, and braced himself. The Dire in front of him charged, and Drake could hear that the one behind him did the same thing.

He drew his wings to his full height and yelled. It had the intended effect. The Dire faltered slightly and Drake used his wings to propel forward. Seconds after his feet left the ground, Drake twisted and faced the other Dire. This Dire had also been spooked, and had actually stopped charging. Drake threw his knifes. They sailed through the air and found a home in the Dire's skull plate. One was embedded in the forehead, and the other rested within the left eye socket. Drake twisted again and saw that the other Dire was still charging. He shifted slightly and clotheslined the charging Dire. He hit the ground and had the Dire still in his arms. He locked down the Dire's legs with his free hand and legs, and began to choke the life out of it.

After several moments, the beast stopped thrashing. Drake got up, and stiffened. He didn't realize it during the fight, but he was surrounded. The Dires around him sat down and began to howl. A Dire nearly as big as Drake padded forward, and Drake reached back to grab his knives. This time he grabbed three knives per hand. He crouched into a battle stance, when suddenly a tree sailed over him and nailed the approaching Dire. The Dire was launched into a huge oak behind it, and then fell with a thud, motionless. The other Dires growled and backed away slowly.

"Guess we're partners." said a gruff, sharp voice from behind.

Drake turned around. In front of him was a behemoth of a man. He was good foot taller than Drake, and had arms that were roughly the size of Drakes torso. He wore a simple black shirt and matching cargo pants. On his back was strapped the biggest war axe Drake had ever seen. No, it wasn't a war axe, or at least not entirely. On the other end of the "axe" was a massive war hammer. Drake wasn't sure what to call the unwieldy weapon, but he was sure that its owner could use it.

"Name?" the man asked curtly.

"Drake." The man nodded.

"Gabe. We better get moving." Gabe turned and began to walk. Drake jogged to catch up, and said

"The ruins are only a couple miles away. I was able to launch a bit higher and see the location from there."

"You lead then," was the only reply. For the first time in his life, Drake felt bad for those he had intimidated in the past.