Finally at the end of the Introduction arc. The team's all here and about to get their name. Sadly, no one guessed at the name, so no shout out this week. Also realized I forgot to even give Honey's last name, meaning it should've been pretty easy to work out.
Was excited to get over 100 views last Friday alone. Still hoping to hear from you guys on your thoughts thus far, but figure that will come in time. For now, I'll just enjoy the handful of likes.
An awkward silence hung over the cafeteria as Lilly and Honey hurriedly scarfed down their lunch. Since they were the last to return, the other first-years had already eaten and were waiting in the auditorium with Miss Goodwitch, who had instructed the two of them to quickly get something to eat before the Team Ceremony. Lilly almost died of embarrassment when she realized everyone was waiting on them, although Miss Goodwitch assured her that the previous pair had only recently arrived. It didn't help that the clean faces and outfits of everyone else indicated they all had time to shower and change already.
Lilly and Honey had practically sprinted to the cafeteria, finding it empty save for a single janitor and two box lunches on the table closest to the serving lines. Even the kitchen staff had tired of waiting and were too busy prepping for dinner to bother with their meals. Whether it was the exhaustion of Initiation or the emptiness of the enormous room, neither Lilly nor Honey said anything as they inhaled their cold hamburger and fries. Tossing their trash in the nearest receptacle, they beat a hasty retreat and returned to the auditorium. Thankfully, almost no one took notice of their return as Miss Goodwitch was busy giving instructions.
"In a few minutes, the rest of the student body will arrive to observe your Team Ceremony, in which your team assignments will be revealed, along with the team name and leader." Miss Goodwitch paused, clearly expecting the resultant chatter. As the noise died down, she adjusted her glasses slightly and continued. "As some of you have likely realized by now, each pair will be matched based on the relic chosen. Before we begin, I will call each team up to the platform and instruct you on where to stand. I will also be giving you your room assignment and updating your scrolls with the information. Your scroll will act as your room key and will only work on your room. Any attempt to access another team's room uninvited is forbidden, and will be dealt with harshly."
Miss Goodwitch's stern glare at the end of her statement made it clear who would be dealing with anyone foolish enough to break that rule. Several of the students visibly shuddered at the thought.
"As your team is called up, please present your relic for collection." Lilly instinctively patted the damaged black knight in her pocket for reassurance. Hope she isn't mad about the damage it took. Considering how beat up she and Honey were, Lilly felt their relic's condition suited them well. "Black bishops, please report to the stage."
The group of armored boys strode forward from the crowd. Looks like some of the pairs have already found their matches. Wonder who has our match? Lilly quickly zeroed in on Weiss. While Weiss's partner would be a pain, Lilly still hoped that her plan to team up with Weiss had panned out.
"Maybe we should try to find our team while we wait," Lilly suggested to Honey as she started towards Weiss. Honey quickly followed after her with a quick agreement.
Weiss, trying to ignore the red bundle of energy beside her, spotted Lilly's approach and attempted to distance herself from Ruby. Naturally, Ruby followed her new partner, either not realizing or not caring how one-sided the conversation continued. Considering the telling-off Ruby had gotten yesterday, Weiss's aggravated silence was probably an improvement.
"Any idea how to turn this thing off?" Weiss asked, motioning to Ruby.
"No clue. Let me know if you find out. Might be useful someday." Lilly's easy retort caused Weiss to smile briefly. "This is my partner, Honey, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Schnee." Honey nodded politely as she stepped beside Lilly. A little formal, but at least my partner is respectful. Lilly doubted the same could be said of Weiss's partner, who had finally taken the hint and quieted down for a moment.
"Thank you," The heiress curtsied elegantly in response, "and please, call me Weiss."
"Weiss and I met last night," Lilly explained to Honey before turning back to Weiss. "I tried to find you after we landed, but you already had a partner. Unfortunately, we got separated by that, um, fire." Lilly stumbled on her words, remembering exactly what – and who – had caused the fire.
"Sorry about that. If someone had bothered to communicate during combat," Ruby wilted slightly under Weiss's glare, "maybe we could've travelled to the temple together. So, which chess piece did you retrieve?"
"We have a black knight." Lilly held out their relic, grimacing slightly at the sight of its damage. "What about you?" Please be black knight, please be black knight, please be black knight.
"We got the golden knight!" Ruby quickly blurted as she pulled out their relic. Lilly tried to hide her disappointment at the non-matching piece in front of her. So close. Maybe Pyrrha got the other black knight.
"White rooks, please report to the stage." Lilly's hopes were further dashed as Pyrrha made her way to the stage with Jaune and two others.
"Unfortunately, Pyrrha also wound up on a different team." Weiss looked longingly at the champion on the stage, no doubt mourning the untimely demise of her dream team. Somehow, Pyrrha's idiot teammate must have mistaken the recipient of the look, as he visibly straightened and waved at Weiss.
"Guess it could've been worse." Lilly tried to cheer Weiss up over her unfortunate pairing. With both Weiss and Pyrrha on other teams, Lilly wondered who was left for her team. Well, there goes everyone I know except…
"Hey there, teammates! Was wondering where you wandered off to. Figured we'd track you down, considering Xiao-Long you had us waiting." The bane of Lilly's existence approached from behind with the book girl from last night, but came to an abrupt halt as Lilly turned with eyes wide. Lilly's disappointment at who wouldn't be on her team suddenly changed to terror at the thought of who would be.
Noooo! I can't be on a team with her! Worse, what if they make her leader? I should've stayed in that tree and let the fire take me. There has to be some mistake! I demand a recount! Surely they can give us a do-over. Maybe Honey and I can be our own team! Better yet, Weiss wants off her team. She can come with us and Yang can take Ruby. How about a trade of the two?
Lilly's mind raced for some way to escape being teamed with Yang. It wasn't until Ruby spoke up that Lilly snapped out of her mental frenzy.
"I think I finally figured it out. With our last names, we can be Team BRXS! It's strong, easy to say, and best of all, a type of red!" The randomness of Ruby's pontificating gave Lilly enough clarity to notice the knight piece in Yang's hand – specifically, the gold color of the knight. Lilly sighed in relief, content that the disaster had been avoided after all.
Weiss shook her head as she turned back to Lilly. "Somehow, I'm not sure it could've been any worse." Lilly's eyes widened at the realization that Weiss had landed on a team with both Yang and Ruby. Her own relief at dodging both sisters quickly overwhelmed any pity for her friend.
"Hi, Yang." The quiet greeting from beside Lilly caught her off-guard as Honey waved to Yang. "I didn't realize Ruby was coming to Beacon, too."
"Hey! It's…Honey, right?" Yang seemed a little unsure if she got the name right, but was rewarded with a smile from Honey for guessing right. "Yeah, Ruby got invited to Beacon by Ozpin after stopping a dust robbery in Vale. Pretty awesome, right?"
As Ruby muttered something about her knees, all of them were surprised by Yang's revelation. Well, all of them except Blake, who had likely already been subject to Yang's bragging on her sister. So that's how she got in? All she did was stop some random crook from knocking over a store? Anyone with aura could've taken on a street thug. Guy probably ran the moment she pulled out that ridiculous weapon of hers.
Weiss's reaction shocked Lilly further. After a quick contemplative pause, Weiss turned to her partner and spoke in a friendly tone. "On behalf of the Schnee Dust Company, thank you for your service." Even Ruby was shocked by the sudden change in demeanor, as short-lived as it was. "However, don't think this makes us friends." Turning back to Lilly once again, Weiss asked, "Any idea who's on your team?"
Before Lilly could answer, Miss Goodwitch called for the black knights to come up. Near the other end of the stage, two other students began to ascend the stairs to the side. "Guess I'm about to find out."
"Ah, Miss Azura, Miss Viella, glad you could make it." Lilly felt a little odd being addressed by last name, but simply nodded in response. Up close, Lilly was surprised at how tall Miss Goodwitch stood, easily towering over most students and making her seem even more daunting in person. "Do you have your relic with you?"
Color fled from Lilly's face as she gingerly pulled out the knight and presented it to Miss Goodwitch. "Y-yes ma'am. It was like this when we found it," she rushed to add. Lilly wasn't sure if the relics themselves were important or valuable, but felt it better to be on the safe side and make it clear that they weren't the ones to damage it.
Miss Goodwitch accepted the knight and assured Lilly it was fine. Lilly was pretty sure she heard her mutter something about it serving Ozpin right before she continued, "Since I'm assuming you haven't had a chance to meet your teammates yet, allow me to introduce Smit Brendis and Randi Asmer. I will need your scrolls so that I may enter your room assignment. Your belongings have already been moved to the appropriate room, so you may head straight there after the ceremony to settle in. Classes will begin tomorrow morning." Miss Goodwitch had evidently already collected the other two's scrolls. Lilly quickly handed over her scroll as Honey did the same. "Feel free to speak with one another while I handle this. It will only take a minute."
As Miss Goodwitch walked over to a nearby table, Lilly turned back to the unknown half of her team and smiled. "I'm Lilly, and this is Honey. Sorry we took so long. Temple was pretty much flattened when we got there, so it took a while to dig out our relic."
The brown and red haired guy in front of her tensed slightly before reaching out and shaking their hands. "Smit Brendis. No worries about the wait. Gave Randi and I a chance to get to know each other a bit." Lilly was surprised at how warm Smit's hands felt. Maybe he's just nervous or something.
Next to Smit stood a slightly taller girl in full armor, a wolf-shaped helmet pinned between her left arm and side. Randi's Eastern Mistralian skin contrasted with the silver-gray hair that hung down in a simple low ponytail. A pair of canine ears poked through her hair while a large tail swayed gently behind her, just far enough to be visible on either side before reversing and disappearing behind her again. Lilly had seen faunus before, but there weren't many back home on Patch. She definitely had never been so close to one before. Can't see what the big deal is. Other than the ears and tail, she looks just like a normal girl would. Shoot, that guy with the Mohawk over there is weirder looking than her.
"Nice to meet you both. Hope we get started soon. I'm looking forward to relaxing for a bit." Randi's smooth voice was slightly deeper than Lilly's own with barely any accent to speak of. Despite continuing to look directly at Lilly and Honey, the ears on top of her head would occasionally adjust towards different noises in the room. Lilly noticed her tail begin to sway further out as they began chatting. Wonder if I can tell anything based on her tail? Imagine she'd be pretty bad at poker.
The four teens tried to keep the conversation going, desperate to avoid an awkward silence as they waited. Smit, thankfully, soon took over, excitedly describing a Grimm encounter during Initiation. "Had to have been a whole pack of Beowolves. I fought off a few, but one managed to knock me down. Then, Randi just showed up out of nowhere and took it out. A big one snuck up behind her, but she speared it through the throat without even looking!" Lilly wasn't sure how reliable Smit's story was. Randi seemed content with his telling, except for a slight chuckle at his mention of a whole pack. Then again, a little embellishment was fine.
Before Smit could heap any more praise on his partner, Miss Goodwitch returned and handed over each of their scrolls. "Your scrolls should now have access to Beacon's student system, which contains your class schedules and important announcements, as well as contact information for the faculty and all team leaders. Your room assignment and a map of the school grounds can be found there as well. Further announcements will be posted using this system, so make sure to reference it often. Information on this system will be updated at the end of the Team Ceremony, as the team names and leader information will need to be entered."
Lilly quickly selected the Beacon icon on her scroll and looked at the map. Their rooms were located several floors up, but there was a pair of elevators just around the corner from them. Each of the rooms on that hall had the word 'Team' followed by a blank line, which Lilly assumed would be updated that evening. No spoilers here, unfortunately.
Miss Goodwitch cleared her throat to regain their attention and continued, "Now, for the ceremony, you will be called up after the golden rooks – Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, and Jaune Arc. When you come up, I would ask that Miss Asmer take the lead, followed by Mister Brendis, Miss Viella, and Miss Azura at the end. When you turn to face the audience, Miss Azura should be on the right, with Miss Asmer on the left. The Headmaster will state your names and what relic you collect. He will then announce your team name and leader. After that, please turn around and walk off the way you came up to make room for the next team. Please remember to stay quiet when the Headmaster is speaking so that we can proceed quickly through each team. We also ask that any applause be held until after the team leader is announced for each team. The faster we can get through each team, the faster you can be dismissed to your dorms for the evening."
After a quick practice of where to stand, Miss Goodwitch dismissed them and called Weiss's team to the platform. Lilly noticed that the auditorium was beginning to fill with older students, who stayed to the rear of the room. Having been through this ceremony before, the upperclassmen instinctively left the front open for the first-year students as they chatted amongst themselves. Wearing the Beacon uniform, most of them paid little attention to the new students before them. One group of boys near the front of the upperclassmen were looking at Weiss's team and chatting excitedly. Lilly's suspicions on their topic were confirmed when she heard one of them mention the number eight, to which his buddy quickly disagreed and said nine.
Great, the only ones that even care are just ogling us. Dad would have a fit. Randi must have heard them too, as she leaned over and told Lilly, "Apparently, you're a seven, although their leader seems to think eight." Randi's salacious wink had Lilly turning as red as Smit's shirt. Then again, what Dad doesn't know won't hurt him.
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Lilly carefully took her place beside Honey on the stage and tried to calm herself. Public speaking was one of her greatest fears, but standing silently in front of a crowd was almost as bad. She desperately tried to focus on Headmaster Ozpin and block out the crowd of students to her right, but there was no way to ignore the feeling of dozens of eyes watching them in silence.
Just stand still and pretend they're not there. The more she tried to focus on being calm, the tenser she became. Hopefully, no one noticed her slight sway as she shifted her weight between each foot, taking solace in the repetitive pressure and expending some of her nervous energy. Why can't he speak a little faster? Say our team name and get us out of here!
Ozpin casually looked them over for a moment as their photos appeared on the screens overhead. "Randi Asmer, Lilly Azura, Smit Brendis, and Honey Viella. The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as…" Oh, come on! Wrap it up already! "Team LHSR."
Team Laser? What kind of a name is that? Kinda pushing it on that color rule a bit. Lilly managed to keep a straight face as the name was displayed above them. Wait, if my name is at the start of the team name…
"Led by Lilly Azura." Ozpin smiled at her as the polite applause began, but Lilly was still frozen to the spot. Is he serious? I'm team leader? Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, OHMYGOSH! I'm team leader! With a slight lurch, Lilly quickly reached forward to shake Ozpin's slightly outstretched hand. Her feet didn't get the memo in time and she stumbled slightly, managing to catch herself before her face could become acquainted with the stage floor. Ozpin smirked slightly and accepted the handshake, congratulating her on the appointment.
In the back of her mind, a voice reminded Lilly that she was the only one to shake his hand after the announcement. Gah! I was supposed to walk off the stage already! What am I doing? She realized, far too late, that Ozpin had merely been holding his hand out toward the screen nearby, as he had done with each team announcement.
With a quick smile, Lilly turned and found her team waiting to follow her offstage. Honey looked as red as Lilly felt, while Smit was barely holding back laughter. Randi, quickly seizing the role of Lilly's favorite teammate, stood calmly as if nothing unusual had happened. Way to impress your new team, Leader Lilly.
Shaking off the sarcasm in her own mind, Lilly hastily walked offstage, with her team following behind. As they passed Weiss's team, Lilly kept her eyes locked ahead and tried to ignore Xiao-Long's laughter. A few snickers from the crowd behind her proved her recovery was not as smooth as hoped, but the noise quickly died down as Ozpin began to introduce the next team.
I can't wait to call home and tell them all what happened! Probably leave off the awkward acceptance at the end. Violet would gush about her awesome big sis, likely bragging to her friends as well. Mom would be proud of her. Dad would probably be more focused on the boy on her team than her position.
Of course, now came the problem of figuring out how to lead a team. Honey seemed the type to just follow along regardless, but she wondered if Smit or Randi were upset at not being made leader. Maybe they didn't think she'd be good enough. I'll have to figure out their thoughts and assure them I'll do a good job. Maybe Weiss and I can strategize together as team leaders. For his own safety, we'll leave Jaune out of those meetings. After all, surely Weiss would be the leader of…
"Team RWBY. Led by Ruby Rose."
"What?!" The word burst from Lilly's mouth before she could stop it, but was drowned in the obligatory applause. How could the fifteen-year-old be named leader? I understand not picking Yang, but you've got Weiss Schnee in front of you! Surely that Blake girl would be a better choice, at least. Judging by the look on Weiss's face, Lilly wasn't the only one doubting the Headmaster's decision.
Once RWBY had left the stage, Ozpin congratulated all of them and turned the platform over to Miss Goodwitch. "Students," she began as the room silenced upon her arrival, "congratulations again on your team assignments. Please make your way to your respective dorms." Muffled conversation began in the back of the room as the older students exited the auditorium, no doubt knowing all of the information being given. "If you have any issue using the access panel for your room, please contact me immediately so that it can be resolved. Supper will begin service in two hours, with serving lines closing two hours later. Your class schedules are posted for you to view, starting with History class at nine sharp. Breakfast will be available starting at seven. You are dismissed."
The newly formed Team LHSR made their way to the nearby elevators and began to ascend Beacon. With three of them still carrying weapons, including one in full armor, Lilly felt a little cramped. She shifted slightly to her right and felt her elbow bump into Honey's side. She stepped back slightly at the contact, only to poke Smit in the stomach with one of the tonfa on her back. As she stuttered an apology, the doors finally opened, allowing them to pour out toward their room.
Rounding the first corner, Lilly passed the first set of rooms and came to a stop in front of their door. Just to be certain, she pulled up the floor map again and saw that the room had been updated with their team name. The door they had just passed belonged to RWBY, while CRDL was across the hall and JNPR across from RWBY. Hopefully, the walls are sound-proof. The last thing Lilly wanted was to hear Yang through the wall.
As the door opened, the first thing Lilly noticed was how close the beds were to each other. Lined against the far wall with a large window between the middle two, there was just enough room to get in and out of bed between each pair. Lilly hoped she could get a bed next to the window but decided it would be polite to figure out if anyone else had a preference first.
Smit seized the brief hesitation to announce "Dibs on a window bed!" as he belly-flopped on his chosen bed to their right. "Whoa, this bed is soft!"
Randi began to inspect their new room and quickly discovered an in-suite bathroom on the right. Honey split to the left and took the bed near the wall. Seeing an opportunity to claim her prize, Lilly walked to the other window bed and sat down to inspect the short bookcase beneath the window. Four small stacks of textbooks were neatly arranged on the bottom shelf. Surprisingly, the History book was only the second largest, as a red-leather bound book entitled "The Mighty Monster-Mashing Mustached Man's Memoirs" dwarfed the rest of the texts. Lilly wondered what kind of class would require such a titanic tome, but figured class concerns could wait until tomorrow.
A large closet sat opposite the bathroom along the wall shared by RWBY, which Honey was currently investigating. Several matching school uniforms currently hung in four small groups, likely a few sets for each of them. Beside the closet door sat all of their luggage, waiting to be unpacked.
All right, team leader. Time to act like it. We haven't spoken to each other since before the ceremony. Need to find something to get everyone talking. Lilly tried to come up with a topic that would interest everyone, but encountered an obvious problem. I don't know anything about them! Wait, maybe that could work.
"So, I was hoping we could get to know each other a bit," Lilly began. Randi and Honey both turned to face her as Smit's head poked up from his pillow. "Guess I'll start us off. First of all, I'm really excited to be named team leader and hope I can live up to it. Feel free to let me know if there's something I could do better as leader." No one showed any negative reaction to her being leader, causing Lilly to quietly let out a sigh of relief before continuing. "I grew up on Patch, a little island just off the coast of Vale. Studied at Signal before coming here. I've done a lot of research into battle tactics, so I'm hoping to design some battle plans for us to practice later."
"Heard a couple other people talking about Signal. You know any of them?" Smit asked. Lilly thought the question a little pointless, but realized Smit was probably just trying to keep the conversation going. Nice to have an extrovert to keep things moving. On the bed behind her, Honey leaned forward, interested in her response as well.
Lilly tried to think of who she had seen from Signal thus far. The school was pretty large, despite the sparse population on Patch. Vale didn't have the space to build an additional school and expanding the wall would be both costly and dangerous. Lilly often wondered which of those aspects discouraged their politicians more. Patch, on the other hand, had a lot of open space, and the surrounding water meant the Grimm were limited in number. Plus, being so close to Vale, the coasts were easily guarded to protect from water and amphibious Grimm, so the risk of building there was rather low and land was still cheap. Being close to a major city like Vale, attendance was quite high. While Lilly could recognize many of her former classmates, she didn't know many of them that well.
Strangely, the one she knew most was now living next door, but was also her least favorite. "I've seen a few already, but I don't know many of them that well. I was kind of a loner at Signal. Yang was in my class, but we weren't really close." That's an understatement. "She and her younger sister, Ruby, are next door. Never really interacted with Ruby, since she was two years behind me. Other than that, there isn't anyone who really stands out to me."
Honey looked disappointed for some reason, but Smit was clearly intrigued. "Yeah, about that. How did she get into Beacon so early? Is she like some prodigy or something? Guess that would explain how she got put as a team leader despite her age." Smit contemplatively stared toward their shared wall with RWBY, as if his gaze could penetrate the drywall and ascertain the answer directly from the hooded source.
Lilly shrugged and explained the best she could. "Yang said something about her helping stop a robbery in Vale. Not sure any of the details, though." Mom asked me to be nice, but this is the best I can do. Hopefully, they'd all realize in time just how horrible Yang was, but Lilly would let them make their own decisions. As long as they never bring her into my room, at least.
The next question caught Lilly off guard, especially since it came from her quiet teammate behind her. "You…don't really like Yang, do you?"
The question hung in the air as Lilly looked back towards her partner. Guess she noticed earlier, not that it was hard to tell. Then again, Yang was pretty uneasy around me, too. With no reason to hide her obvious disdain, and knowing Honey already knew, Lilly answered honestly, "We don't get along. You have to understand, she and I were have known each other for years. She…well, let's just say some things happened a few years back that really hurt me, and leave it at that."
"Well, if it's been so long ago, why not try to start over?" Honey timidly asked, unintentionally echoing Lilly's mom the day before. The idea of trying to mend the fences Yang had smashed didn't appeal to Lilly. Judging by Yang's behavior so far, she wasn't exactly looking to apologize either. Not that a simple apology would make up for what she did. Honey continued, "I mean, she lives right next to us and will be in all our classes. Plus, you and Weiss are friends, so why not try to get along with her team?"
Lilly could admit the argument made sense, but had no desire to waste her time on that pursuit. True, she planned to hang out with Weiss more, but their friendship shouldn't rely on how she felt about Yang. Besides, by the looks of things, Weiss would probably need a chance to get away from the sisters and vent. Lilly had already established herself as the go-to option for that.
Honey, with a hopeful look, was waiting on Lilly's response still. "She doesn't really like me much, either. I'll try not to cause trouble, but I can't promise things will ever improve between us." Turning to the rest of the team, "I won't be offended if any of you become friends with their team, but I just don't see it happening for me. Anyways, I'm sure you're sick of hearing about me. What about you, Honey. Where are you from?" Tired of dredging up the past, Lilly tried to get back on track. She didn't even feel bad throwing her shy partner under the bus, since she had been the one to push about Yang.
"M-Me? Oh, um…" Honey clearly wasn't prepared to have the attention on her so suddenly and tried to gather her thoughts as she suddenly stood from her bed. "I used to live in a large village a few days east of Vale, but Mom and I moved here a few years ago. She used to be a Huntress, but stopped when she had me. Now, she works here in Vale."
Lilly wondered why Honey only mentioned her mom. What happened to her dad? Was he a Huntsman, too? Many Huntsman eventually retired to civilian life, although they usually stayed outside the major cities and acted as the de facto security against Grimm. For one to move to the city from a village was unusual, though not unheard of. If her husband died on a mission or something, Honey's mom might have decided she couldn't raise her child alone while being a Huntress as well. Maybe staying in a place with so many memories was just too much for her.
Worried that talk of her dad might be a little much, Lilly tried to steer the conversation towards easier topics. "You said you lived in Vale. Where did you end up going to school?"
Honey looked a little startled by the question at first, but quickly regained her composure. "Um, I used to go to a small academy near our village, but transferred to somewhere closer to Vale when we moved. Mom also helped me train a lot after the move. What about you, Smit? Where are you from?"
Smit seemed unfazed by the sudden shift and quickly began, "I'm actually from Atlas. Never been to Vale before Beacon. Really prefer the weather here." Honey giggled at Smit's joke before he pressed on. "Studied at Alsius, but started a year later than most. Couldn't afford it at first, but Alsius's headmaster gave me a scholarship to attend." Understandably, Smit seemed quite proud of the last part.
"What kind of scholarship?" Lilly asked. I haven't heard of many scholarships being given out, especially when someone would already be behind a year.
"Headmaster wanted me to attend, but we told him it was too expensive. He offered a full scholarship to help us out."
Smit's answer raised more questions, which seemed to be his intent. Lilly could tell he was enjoying the attention and decided to humor him a little longer. "Full scholarships are pretty rare. What did you do to get that?" So help me, if he drags this one out, I throttle him right here.
The victorious smile on Smit's face confirmed Lilly's suspicions as he finally gave some detail. "There was an explosion at the dust refinery. I rushed in and managed to take down one of the guys that set it off. Also managed to save the supervisor, who was trapped inside due to the damage."
As he no doubt planned, the rest of the team was shocked by the story. Even Lilly had to admit that sounded pretty heroic. A dust refinery was basically a giant bomb if something went wrong. Rushing into a burning refinery, taking on some psycho bare-handed, and saving some random guy was pretty impressive for someone who hadn't even started training at an academy yet. "What made you rush in like that?"
"Well, the supervisor happened to be my dad. Sounds cooler to tell it the other way, though." Smit grinned sheepishly as Lilly shook her head slightly. Yeah, I'm sure the rest of your story sounds totally lame if you only did it to save a family member. Sheesh, this guy is ridiculous.
This time, Honey had a question. "But who would do something like that? I mean, why would you blow up some random factory full of innocent workers?"
Lilly had her suspicions, knowing the turmoil in Atlas lately. Smit's smile was quickly replaced by a much darker look. "Some of those animals from the White Fang." Smit practically spat the words out as his fists tightened for a moment. The moment soon passed as he lightened up slightly, looking to Randi. "Not that I have any problem with faunus. My dad works with quite a few, and they are practically family. But the White Fang are absolute garbage. Aren't even loyal to their own. Footage showed that there were at least four that infiltrated the refinery that evening, but they left their buddy behind when things went south. Just glad I was able to take care of one of them." Judging by the look in his eye, Lilly had a feeling the terrorist wasn't apprehended afterwards. Yikes, need to keep an eye on that.
"Well, Randi, I guess that just leaves you." Smit quickly passed the focus onto his partner, who had been quietly standing at the foot of her bed the entire time. During the conversation, she had removed her armor, which had somehow retracted into what looked like an oversized backpack made of metal. She currently had on a simple gray athletic shirt and a pair of loose-fitting jeans. The only design on her shirt was the crest of Vale with the words "BEACON ACADEMY" around it. Honestly, Lilly was jealous of how comfortable her teammates' clothing selections looked. Had to go for something flashy didn't I?
"Not much to tell. I grew up in Mistral. Travelled around a lot as I got older. Haven't been in school for the last few years, as I never stayed anywhere long enough. Took some lessons when I could, but mostly just kept moving around. Also got some training from some local Huntsmen at a few villages along the way. Pretty much been on my own for the last two years." Unlike her overly expressive partner, Randi calmly summarized her entire history in a few short statements with a completely neutral look, shrugging slightly at the end.
Not much to tell?! No formal schooling, yet she got in to one of the most prestigious academies. Travelled around in the outskirts of Mistral, which is surely crawling with Grimm. Forget Smit's story, this sounds far more interesting!
Before Lilly could figure out where to even start, Smit beat her to a question. "Wait, you travelled alone? What about your dad? You said he helped you make your armor. Did you leave home early or something?"
Randi briefly glanced out the window with a sad, far-off look. She recovered after a few seconds, but Lilly was pretty sure she knew what was coming next. "My village was hit by a swarm of Grimm when I was twelve. My parents didn't make it out. I managed to escape with a neighbor's family and we made it to a larger village nearby, along with a few others. Stayed there for a few years, but never really belonged. Eventually, I decided to set out on my own and got some work carrying letters and things between the villages to earn some extra lien."
The room fell silent at Randi's revelations, despite her not seeming overly bothered by her own story. No wonder she was able to get in here. She's basically been a junior Huntress for the past two years. Probably fought off more Grimm than all of us have seen combined.
Hoping to dispel the oppressive silence that had returned, Lilly tried to find a safer point to focus on. "So…your armor is mecha-shift?" Lilly pointed at the odd bundle of metal plates by Randi's bed.
"Oh, yeah. It wasn't at first, but an experienced smith in one of the larger villages I visited helped me add that. Makes it easier to carry and store when needed, plus it's really easy to put on. Just have to strap on the pack and let it reform around me. Also made sure my helmet, shield, and spear can strap onto the back in either form. Basically, everything I need is readily available at all times."
Lilly felt that was a much better option than having to call in a rocket locker all the time, although it had to be pretty heavy. Judging by her well-toned muscles, Randi was probably used to it. The spear didn't stick out very far, so she assumed it was also mecha-shift, although just in the haft to allow it to extend to full length.
"I'm gonna grab a quick shower before dinner." Lilly still felt a little grimy from Initiation, having not been able to clean up before the ceremony. "Again, I'm really looking forward to leading this team and getting to know everyone better."
Lilly quickly grabbed a clean school uniform from the closet and headed to the bathroom, snatching her toiletry bag from the stack of luggage nearby. Honey quickly grabbed her own suitcase to begin unpacking, as Smit returned to his face-down enjoyment of his new bed and Randi grabbed a stack of textbooks and sat down at a desk near the room's entrance. The awkward tension from before had vanished, replaced by an informal atmosphere. While they were still getting to know one another, the team definitely seemed more relaxed together.
As she locked the bathroom door behind her, Lilly let out a contented sigh and turned on the shower. Phase one complete. Maybe this leadership thing isn't that tough after all.
In case anyone is wondering, the team name was actually the starting point for this story. Character's names were designed to fit the lettering. Don't worry, it doesn't mean one of them is going to suddenly develop a Semblance that lets them shoot lasers from their eyes or something. I have other reasons, which will show up later on (probably revealed in Chapter 7).
A bit of an info dump on backstories for all four at the end, but I felt it made sense in a way. Basically just met and know they will be together for at east four years. Only natural that they at least try to get to know each other. I tried to lay some basic groundwork for each of them here, although each has a fully-developed backstory, as it's important to know what drives your characters. There will be more information throughout, such as Honey's parents and Smit's encounter with the White Fang. Also, trying to start hinting at the Lilly vs Yang dynamic. There is good reason for their behavior, but you'll have to stick around to find out.
Next Chapter: Classes start and Team LHSR gets to interact with their fellow students a little. More hints at things.
