Briar Hare
The snow slowly swerved as it descended onto the white blanket at the bases of the black, dead trees. The two figures that stood there were face-to-face with each other. One was a teenage brunette with a brown outfit. She held onto a tall Bo staff. The other figure was a black-hooded, more mature woman with green eyes.
"Are you ready, Briar?" the hooded woman asked.
"I always am." Briar answered.
The hooded woman turned and approached a dead tree. She placed her gentle, pale hands on the bark and glowed. Suddenly, a rumble shook the snowy ground, but Briar gripped onto her staff even tighter. She didn't flinch for anything, especially he black vines that spontaneously sprouted from the ground and pointed at her. Instead, she spun her staff and prepared a battle stance.
The vines struck against her, but she deflected them and ran down them to where they connect on the ground. She jumped up and lodged her staff in the vine hole. The end of the pole lit up and sparks of electricity flew out. The vines involuntarily twitched in all directions.
Suddenly, one of the vines struck her in the face in a shocked twitch. When that happened, the hooded woman sighed and took her hands off the tree. The vines fell across the floor. As Briar stood back up, the hooded woman approached her.
"Well, that was a bit of a bust." She said.
"It was one strike, master." Briar defended herself.
"Briar Hare, that could've been a fatal strike from the talon of a Nevermore or the tail of a Death Stalker." The hooded woman said. "Assume that every attack could chop your head off or put a hole in your heart. That's just one mistake. Another was underestimating your opponent."
"Master Remi, with all due respect, how was any of that 'underestimating'?" Briar asked.
"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking, kid." Remi said. "That's why I dumped my last boyfriend. All he ever did was talk, talk, talk. But to answer your question, Briar, you didn't give that fight your complete focus. Were you even planning on using your semblance?"
"Why would I need to?" Briar asked. "It's not like it's a swarm of Grimm."
"That's what I'm talking about." Remi said. "I know the Grimm aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but that doesn't mean they're the dullest blades either. When I was younger, I learned the hard way that the Grimm had the capability to learn. You never know how adapted any Grimm creature can be. It's important to use any advantage you got. You can't just assume that an enemy would be weak enough to be killed in one strike; that's how you get killed in one strike. If you're dead set on taking the next step in your training, then we're not leaving this forest until you understand."
Briar sighed and compressed her Bo staff. When she placed it behind her belt, she turned to take a walk. Remi watched her disappear into the snow before jumping to a branch to rest in.
A few minutes later, Briar was walking and talking to herself.
"'Don't underestimate your opponent'. Like that makes much sense. I mean, it's not like a kitten is dangerous. And I doubt a puppy is going to burn a hole through me."
Suddenly, she heard the sound of monsters grunting in the white, snowy fog. She followed the sound to investigate. Very carefully, she saw a magnificent sight. A young girl with a red hood and a large, red scythe made of metal cut slew every Grimm surrounding her. She then zip-dashed through the remaining Grimm in a straight line striking with different attacks with her scythe. When, it was done, she rested her weapon and rested her silver eyes. Then, many bullet shells rained down from the sky around her. Suddenly, the girl in red caught sight at Briar watching from the forest and gave her an odd look.
"Uh, how much of that did you see?"
"Enough to be impressed." Briar answered walking into the clearing. "That was some impressive scythe-play, kid."
"It's also a gun." The girl added before extending her hand. "I'm Ruby."
"Briar." She shook Ruby's hand. "What are you doing in this forest?"
"Oh, well, that's kinda personal. You see, I was visiting my mom's…" Ruby stopped herself. "Hold on. I should be asking you the same question."
"Well, I'm here with my master." Briar said. "She brought me here to learn some kind of lesson as part of my huntress training."
"Your master's a huntress?" Ruby asked.
"Well, not officially." Briar answered. "See, she didn't need to go to school to learn how to defend herself. When I failed my last entry exam, Master Remi took me under her wing."
"She sounds like a cool lady." Ruby said.
"The coolest I know." Briar agreed. "Been under her tutelage for two years. Yet, I always seem to be missing something. She said I underestimate my opponent, but there are times when my opponent isn't all that threatening and I wouldn't want to overdo my combat. I can't continue my training until I understand."
"May I offer some bit of advice?" Ruby asked. "If you're worried about being too strong, then don't worry about that. I mean, I'm not as strong as my sister, but I get by. My Uncle Qrow once said 'fight smart, not hard'."
"Smart, not hard." Briar repeated to herself. "Thanks, Ruby. I think you just made my day. Good talk." She turned and ran back into the thick woods.
"YOU'RE WELCOME, I GUESS!" Ruby shouted out.
In only a little bit, Briar scampered back to her master, who was resting on top of a tree branch.
"Master Remi!" Briar called out. "I wanna try again!"
"Are you sure?" Remi asked. "I wouldn't blame you if you decided we should quit."
"I'm sure." Briar said. "Give me anything."
"Well, if you're absolutely certain." Remi said as she jumped down gently on the fluffy snow. "Let's give it another shot."
Remi placed her hands on the tree again and made it glow like before. Several black vines sprouted from the ground and attacked Briar such as earlier. Instead of attacking down the vines right away, Briar jumped side to side chopping as many vine parts as she could. When she was surrounded by vines, the closed her eyes and disappeared in the blink of an eye. She then reappeared to where she was a few seconds earlier.
Eventually, the vines were so small, it was safe for Briar to electrocute the base of the vines with her Bo. When the action settled calmly, Remi approached Briar, who stood proud.
"Well, it looks like your spirit hike was a success." Remi said. "What did we learn?"
"Patience and understanding, master." Briar said. "I realize what you're trying to teach me. I just needed to see it for myself."
"Excellent work, young one." Remi said. "Now, you are ready. Speak my three rules."
"Number one, protect the innocent." Briar recited. "Number two, do what you believe is right. And number three, no matter what happens, never lose hope for a better tomorrow."
"The next phase of your training has begun." Remi said. "I will not accompany you until you are ready."
"Really?" Briar asked. "Where will I go?"
"I recommend Ivy Town." Remi said. "There's an apartment there owned by a friend of mine. Now, go forth Briar Hare. Make the meaning of life proud."
Briar took one long look at Remi and smiled. She turned around trotting across the white blanket and pitch black trees. She looked back, but all she saw was the lone footprints left behind by her hunting teacher.
"Dr. Milo, how do you know that happened?" Glinda asked, "There were no witnesses and no hospital records for this one."
"Actually, there was a witness." Dr. Milo said making a gesture toward the lone man in the corner.
"Qrow?" Ironwood asked.
"Guilty." Qrow said. "See, I wanted to check up on my niece, so I flew on over for a quick glance. I just happened to also witness the whole thing."
"Well, Qrow, what's your professional opinion on Ms. Hare?" Ozpin asked.
"Good kid. Interesting semblance. And for an unofficially educated huntress, I got a good feeling from her aura."
"Thank you, Qrow." Ozpin said. "Now, Milo, I understand there's only one name on the list."
"Well, yeah." Milo said turning the pages in his file. "Quite an interesting one as well. Goes by the name of Douglas Cobalt."
"What?!" Ironwood gasped in shock. "I'm sorry, but that's not a good idea."
"James, I'm not sure I understand." Ozpin said. "Do you know this Douglas?"
"Not personally." Ironwood said. "But Winter Schnee worked with him briefly and gave me quite an interesting report. Trust me, I needed to read over it three times to understand."