Acceptance

It took some time to get the boy to the academy, unsurprisingly he weighed a lot more than I initially thought. Doctors and nurses were in awe when he came along, at that point his entire body was blue and the doctors were almost certain he was dead, until they ran checks. He survived.

I've watched over him for the past few days now, waiting for him to wake up. Instead he just laid there on the infirmary bed, his eyes as pale as the room surrounding him. He had his eyes open, as if he was awake, but he wasn't. He was comatose. And so far that hadn't changed. His face would contort every now and then, showing anger, and then fear. Never anything else. Probably a never ending nightmare. I thought to myself as his face once again changed to show fear.

The sound of footsteps resonated behind me, and I knew exactly who's feet it was making that tell-tale sound. I got up, straightening out my jacket as I did so, turning to face the stern looking huntress. "Glynda."

"Ozpin…I see our guest hasn't gotten any better since that beowolf hunt." She folded her arms as she said this, her voice hinting at the possibility that she thought he was a dead weight. And he was, until he woke up.

"Of course he hasn't." Silence followed briefly, the weird humming of the radiator somewhat increasing the awkward silence that filled the room. "How have the others fared in their hunts?"

"Not well, some of the hunters have gone missing, and others…well we know what happened to them. The Grimm seem to be getting bolder every day. Which is quite apparent given our friend over there." We both cast a look at the boy. Unsure as to what he brought to the table.

"Indeed, however the boy did well against the last five beowolves, didn't take him long to finish off what you started."

"If he had killed the majority, I would understand why you would want him here. I think he has no business in what you have planned for him. He's quite clearly imbecilic, walking through the emerald forest alone. It's practically a death sentence."

"But he survived." I pointed out, once again casting a look at him, and then back at her. "So he has to be competent in battle, to some degree."

"Or just lucky."

"In today's day and age there is no such thing as luck. The boy is hardy. You have to give him that much. Given how he dealt with the beowolves, he must have competence too."

"And if he's doesn't?"

"Then add that to the many mistakes I've made." The room went silent for a little while once more, Glynda squinted her eyes at me, as if trying to force my hand in throwing him out once he gets better. If he gets better…

"I am not a mistake." We both turned around, shocked to see the boy sitting on the side of his bed, his skin full of colour, and his eyes red as blood. He got up, rolling his shoulders a bit before turning to face us. He looked a lot different from when he was in a coma a few seconds ago. He looked ghoulish then, now, he looked…well and truly alive. The tattoo on the side of his neck started to change colour, from the white it once was to the now crimson red of his eyes. He didn't look very happy. "If I was a mistake I'd be dead. The beast born would have killed me, and we wouldn't be having this conversation." He looked at Glynda, a low growling sound rising the closer he got to us. "So you shouldn't disapprove of someone who exceeded your expectations already. I rememebr you saying it was a death sentence walking through that forest alone, and I survived. Not a lot of people survive death sentences." The words to flow from his mouth with a certain, anger to them. We had offended him. "So I think it's safe to assume I have a place at Beacon."

"Excuse me?" Glynda asked, shocked to hear the words coming out of the boys mouth.

"You heard. See, I didn't walk from Vacuo in the hopes of finding you for nothing." He looked at me. His eyes seemed to shift and swirl around the irises. The closer I looked the more I made out. His irises were made up of flowing red petals, all overlapping each other. At least that's what it looked like.

"You shouldn't make assumptions that won't bear fruit."

"You shouldn't fight in arguments that you definitely will lose. I do believe I belong at Beacon so…"

"Now now." I intervened. "Let us not jump to any conclusions just yet. Please sit down for the moment." He nodded and did as he was told. Obedient. I thought as he took residence on his bed again. "Glynda if you don't mind I'd like you to leave us for now." She gave me a look of disagreement before nodding her head and walking away. She'll come around. I turned to face the boy who locked eyes with me straight away. His unblinking eyes, almost menacing. His stare was bittersweet, cold and caring, angry and calm, evil and good. "Back out there, before you passed out I didn't catch your name." He sat upright for a moment.

"I am Senghor." He said, pride booming in his voice.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No." I blinked twice at that reply.

"You wish to come to my school, and you don't even know who I am." He stopped halfway through saying something. Something I said didn't click inside his mind, I had somehow confused him. He shook his head after rolling whatever was on his mind over a few times, and locked eyes with me again.

"Yes. I do. See I've been to a lot of places, and none of them appreciated what I was good at. Fighting and hunting things. I heard about this place, a place where I could be myself among everyone else and I wouldn't get judged." He looked at me and smiled as he spoke, like a child talking about anything that could become excitable. "A place where everyone is equal as long as they try. See where I come from, we didn't have anything else but to fight and hunt. I couldn't learn how to spell or read. But I'm a fast learner, learnt how to speak your language in a month, and learnt how to count. I just want to be able to be myself, to learn new things whilst out there with my fellow hunters and huntresses. It's all I've wanted since I came to Vale."

"Could you commit to a team?"

"I've committed to several during my time here, however they all betrayed me in the end. But yes. I can."

"Would you risk your life to save your team."

"Comes with the commitment." I smiled at him. He is in the right mindset.

"Well, Senghor, welcome to Beacon. You'll start with the next year of students in a few weeks."

"Thank you." He held out his hand, offering me a handshake I took it. He smiled a little before letting go.

"Now let's go get your weapons, we'll talk more along the way…"