The morning was bright and clear. The air was crisp, cold, and a light breeze was the only thing stirring the crystalline tranquility. The students stood on the edge of the cliff, looking out across the rolling green canopy of the forest below. The trees formed a perfect green ceiling, obscuring whatever was on the forest floor.
Raynor looked to his right, each student was on an individual plate, facing towards the forest. Next to him was Vasren, staring straight ahead with his coat flaring out behind him in the wind. Two spaces down from vasren, astrid and Natalie waved encouragement at him. He smiled and blew them a kiss, causing them both to smile in amusement.
Professor Ozpin walked out in front of them, shadowed as always by professor goodwitch. He took a sip of his omni-present coffee and looked across the students before introducing the initiation.
"Good morning students, and welcome to your initiation. Today marks your first step on the road to becoming a huntsman,or huntress. Your mission will be to battle your way to the north end of the forest and retrieve a relic from the forest temple, you will guard that item as well as your ranking overall".
Professor goodwitch stepped forwards then, and began to issue her own instructions.
"To further clarify this event each of you will be put into teams, today." A couple of people blanched while a few grinned openly.
Professor ozpin continued. "Each of you will be assigned a partner who will remain with you for the next four years, they will be the first person you make eye contact with after landing".
Quite a few eyebrows went up at this, but none protested.
"Now, best of luck to you all." Professor ozpin said, as the small platforms launched the students into the air one by one. Raynor looked to the right at vasren, who was crouched on his plate, one leg braced against the back edge while the other was bent like a spring. He cast Raynor a quick glance and a nod before he too soared into the sky, coat flapping like a pair of odd wings.
Astrid pulled her limbs into a skydiver's X, looking around at the other students as they spread out, each initiating their own landing strategy. To her left she saw Raynor, his sword pointed earthwards as a bright blue blast exploded from the haft, slowing him down and causing her to shoot past him, Natalie spun, her weapon chopping the air like a helicopter. Suddenly with a whooshing sound vasren shot past, his limbs drawn tight to his body like an arrow. Astrid neared the trees and upholstered her dagger-pistols loosing a flurry of shells at the ground to guide her in. As she neared the canopy she sank the blades into a branch, swinging her around the limb in a loop, allowing her to hit the ground rolling, guns up in case of any threat.
Just above her she saw vasren, going dangerously fast. He cocked his right arm and hit the ground hard, his fist snapping forward to impact first, sending shock waves out from his point of impact, dust and smoke wreathing him as he landed. He simply held his pose for a moment, right fist straight on the ground, cracks in the ground spiderwebbing from it, his coat draped across the ground behind him.
Astrid ran towards him, concern writ across her face. She stepped coughing into the dust cloud. Ahead of her she saw his shadow rise to its feet, red energy crackling around his right fist, lighting him from the side with its baleful glow.
The wind picked up suddenly and blew the smoke away, allowing vasren to turn and see her.
They locked eyes...
Natalie, stalked through the undergrowth, thorn held out to her side, blade low and haft running along her arm to jut above her shoulder. Her eyes roved through the undergrowth, scanning for threats. Ahead of her a student in an orange shirt and black combat trousers landed and rolled ahead of her. He unlimbered a sword and pistol and scanned the area. Natalie contemplated greeting him but decided she would rather team up with someone she knew and so decided to skirt around instead. She continued to creep forwards stealthily and scan the undergrowth, wary of Grimm.
Suddenly the branch in front of her detonated thunderously, spraying her with shrapnel, and startling her to jump backwards. She brought the blade of thorn up to her chest level, activating the gun in the haft as she got to her feet. A little ways off the other student stood, pistol pointed at her head and sword in guard position. Their eyes met and he relaxed, smiling ruefully at her.
"I'm sorry about that, you startled me". He said, laughing nervously.
Natalie's shoulders slumped, there went her chances of partnering up with Astrid or Raynor. She relaxed her stance as well, walking towards him and punching him lightly in the shoulder.
"So what's your name?" She asked deactivating the gun and relaxing her grip on thorn.
He put his pistol in its holster and extended his right hand.
"I'm Ben, I uh... Guess we're partners now huh." He said, shaking her hand.
Natalie smiled reassuringly, he seemed sweet, maybe being partnered with him wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Natalie," she replied, looking around her.
Ben ran his fingers through his hair, no. On closer inspection she realized they were red brown feathers, covering his head closely where hair would have normally grown.
"I'm a hawk type Faunus... Does that, uh bother you?"
Natalie blushed slightly, embarrassed at being caught staring.
"No not at all, it's just I've never seen a bird Faunus before". She said, patting his shoulder reassuringly.
Ben pointed towards one edge of the clearing, "the temple is that way, I saw it on the way down".
Natalie nodded and began to turn around limbering thorn across her back.
KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH
Natalie and Ben spun around, just in time to see a deathstalker charge towards them, claws batting trees out of the way like saplings as it stampeded towards them. Natalie dove out of the way to dodge its mad berserker rush. Ben rolled and slid beneath its clattering mouthparts. Emerging behind it, pistol slamming round after round into its soft underbelly. The giant scorpion screamed in pain, slashing at him with its huge stinger.
The gun at the spine of thorn's blade spat crimson flame at the enraged Grimm, shells exploding on its armored carapace. The monster slammed its claws on either side of Natalie, trapping her. A stinger as big as a man raised up high into the air, ready to smash her into a pulp in one blow. Ben vaulted over the deathstalker's back blasting its bright orange eyes with his pistol. It thrashed in pain, tossing the Faunus boy like a rag doll to smash against a nearby tree. He slumped, the impact stunning him.
Natalie rushed forwards to the attack, swinging her blade in glittering green arcs, dust igniting the blade with an ethereal green glow. Thorn cross hatched the deathstalker's carapace, carving deep grooves that bled smoke. It's claw slammed into the ground next to her, flinging her backwards to land hard against a tree. Natalie saw stars for a moment, struggling to her feet and looking up just in time to see the enormous stinger driving down at her.
Natalie felt herself shunted sideways, knocked clean off her feet from the side. It was Ben, he had knocked into her from the side. Saving her from the gigantic Grimm scorpion.
He had doomed himself.
The stinger plunged through his body, pinning him to the tree. He remained impaled on the barb for a moment, blood welling around it, dripping to the ground. He coughed blood. Not dead yet.
Natalie opened her mouth in a silent scream, horrified at the fate of her partner.
The scorpion roughly flung the dying boy to the ground and turned to face Natalie, gigantic claws and mouthparts clattering.
She rose to her feet, thorn in a white knuckled grip at her side. Green mist coalesced around her hands and feet, running along her weapon and swirling about the blade.
She let loose a cry of pure fury, charging the deathstalker and hacking at it with thorn. She moved at blinding speed, dodging between its claws and slashing stinger. Thorn carved its armored head deeply, the scars burning a deep green. She severed two of its legs, slashed off its mouthparts, sliced away the bottom pincer from one gigantic claw.
But the deathstalker was not dead yet. It's claw smashed her from her feet, knocking thorn from her grasp and stunning her. The Grimm let out a scream of triumph,
Premature as it turned out.
A coruscating stream of blue energy lanced down from the trees, severing the stinger from its tail.
Raynor.
He leapt from the tree he was on, his blade spinning about himself in dazzling blue streams. He landed on the scorpions head, driving the blade of his sword through one of the scars made by thorn. Lightning arced from the sword and burned across the carapace, burning the jewel-like eyes in their sockets and causing the whole creature to convulse and smoke. It's insides boiled from the scars in its armor. Raynor leapt from the creatures back and ran toward Natalie who was cradling the corpse of the Faunus boy in her arms.
Raynor collapsed his blade and stowed it, kneeling down by her. Ben spluttered and coughed. Natalie gasped and held his face looking into his eyes.
"Did... Did we win?"
Natalie nodded.
"Guess I succeeded at least once in my life then" he made a spluttering sound that might have been laughter.
He struggled to a sitting position.
"I'm glad I was your partner, Natalie, if only for a short while. Graduate for me would you, and remember me".
He slumped forward and coughed once more.
"Don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault".
He sighed, blood gurgling out of his mouth and onto Natalie's tunic, staining the fabric.
He died in her arms.
Natalie stood up shakily, thorn trembling in her grip. She turned to Raynor, tears standing in her eyes. Raynor leaned down and closed bens eyes, then moved his hands to cover the ugly wound in his stomach.
He put his arms around Natalie, who buried her head into his shoulder and cried. He rubbed her back, just holding her. He didn't know how long they stood there, it could have been thirty seconds or ten minutes. Eventually Natalie extricated herself from his arms and took one last look at her fallen comrade before moving off through the trees, Raynor in tow.