(A/N: I went through and re-edited the Chapter and reposting it, sorry if you see it again!)
When we awoke the next day, our first test was going to start. Everyone headed into the locker rooms to go get ready for the day and to change our clothes. I ran into Ruby and Yang while I was walking towards the area we were supposed to be at and waved at them. While there, we saw Pyrrha Nikos, Miss Untouchable herself. She was flanked by Weiss and Sapphire, both of them looking to achieve some kind of ulterior goal. Again, I can sense the snootiness from a mile away. Ruby looks at Weiss and says to herself, "Man I hope that I don't get put onto her team."
"Oh? So, the rumor is true?" I asked her. I heard when I was getting here that we were going to be put on teams and those teammates were going to be our teammates for life. I wanted to be on a team with Ruby and Yang since they are the most familiar to me than anyone in this school. Ruby nodded her head, then continued to watch Pyrrha, Weiss, Sapphire, and now Jaune who appeared. Judging on Jaune's posture, I want to say he's trying to swoon one of them. From the looks of it, he's trying to swoon Weiss? I guess he has a death wish or something huh? Or at least a really high tolerance of rejection. Once the girls finally left a defeated Jaune we walked up to him.
"No luck huh?" I stated matter-of-factly to him.
"I don't get it, ladies love confidence! I don't know what I'm doing wrong…" Poor guy sounded so defeated.
"Snow angel probably wasn't the best start." Yang said to him. We both left after that to get ready of the test. There, we were assigned platforms and Professor Goodwitch went over the rules. The rumors were true, but there's a bigger catch. The first person we lock eyes with once we land is going to be our partner for the rest of the school year, meaning that they're going to be a part of your team no matter what. Let's hope that Ruby is going to come in clutch but there's no telling what's going to happen. We have to go into the Emerald Forest to find relics that Professor Ozpin placed in the ruins that are there. Of course, the Emerald Forest is filled to the brim with Grimm, monsters that seem like mindless, murderous beings. They seem to be attracted to the misfortune and despair of others. How are we getting there? Getting launched from the platforms and landing using our own "Landing strategy."
That's when people started getting launched. First to be launched was Sapphire, who was assigned an end of the platform, Jaune had the other end. I was in the middle of Yang and Ruby, who was on the end of where Jaune was. I prepared for launch as the platforms seem to give three clicks before launch. Jaune, who couldn't grasp what a landing strategy was kept asking Ozpin questions. I tuned him out and focused on the launch. I knew what I was going to do when I got launched: there's trees everywhere so I can hook onto a branch using my weapon and swinging down from there.
I take flight behind Yang and Ruby was right behind me. I take a moment to survey my surroundings, and find the biggest tree I could land on, since those normally have the sturdiest branches. I see Sapphire use her weapon, a Whip, to hook onto the branches around her. The quiet girl descended quickly and gracefully, like a dancer gliding through the wind. On the other hand, the girl with the crop top took an axe that's twice her size and chop down a tree in one slice and started to ride the tree down to the ground. Pyrrha broke a couple of branches and perched onto a branch, there she heard Jaune Arc struggling to catch his balance. She took her Javelin and fired it into Jaune's direction. You hear a big *THWOMP* and somehow hear Jaune yell "Thank you!" followed by a "Sorry!" from Pyrrha. The rest of the people that I know I missed land, as I found a branch that can hold me, my weapon and the velocity and gravity of how fast I was coming in. I took my weapon, a pair of tonfas, and combined them together. I hooked them onto what looked like the strongest and longest branch and basically ziplined down the branch and entered the Emerald Forest.
Upon landing, I immediately started running into what I was hoping to be the correct direction, and kept my eyes open for people to be my partner, I ran through several scenarios in my head of who I could run into. Best case would definitely be Ruby or Yang, as they are the people I'm most familiar with. After them, maybe Blake? She'd be pretty nice to talk too, but it might be a little one-sided. She looks like a capable fighter though. I wouldn't mind Pyrrha either, to pair with someone that renowned would be a giant blessing. Jaune would be… awkward at best. He definitely seems clumsy when it comes to combat, but he would be nice company to have. The Heiresses would be the last resort, although at least Sapphire is nicer than Weiss. While running, I hear this melodic tone ring out. Once I pinpointed where it came from I sprinted in that direction, there I noticed several Ursai casually napping like they aren't Grimm which are supposed to be scary and ruthless. There, standing in the middle of several napping Ursai, was the quiet girl. When she finished playing the Ursai were sound asleep, and it seemed like the noise of the forest that was teeming with humans now wasn't going to wake them anytime soon. I walked up to her, and once again she whirled her body to face me, this time making the dress she was wearing flow a little bit. We locked eyes, and she smiled a very small smile.
"Clair." She said, bowing her head slightly in my direction. I stuck out my hand, but she flinched at it since I did it really fast.
"Sorry, was trying to be polite. The names Noah." I retreated my hand and instead did the same notion Clair did. "Nice to meet you." I added. She smiled at me again. We stood there amid the sleeping Ursi just kind of staring at each other. "We should probably keep moving towards the objective." I said. She nodded and started dashing towards the opposite end of where we came from. I followed suit, watching as someone who has limited mobility due to her attire somehow have so much speed. There was something about her that made me feel calm, but I couldn't figure out what about her made me calm. Maybe it was her demeanor or the way she carried herself. She seemed proud in who she was, and it was nice to see. I noticed a building in the distance and called out to Clair that our goal was near. I was excited to finally be able to grab our objective and get out. We were lucky to not run into any Grimm so let's hope it stays that way. When we got to the ruins, I noticed that one of the guys from the landing platforms was just leaving, but I didn't pay him any mind. I studied the "relics" we were supposed to grab, and realized they were just regular chess pieces. Before we were able to pick our piece, Blake and Yang emerged from the forest. I shot finger guns at Yang, who reciprocated the action. She went over to the relics and inspected them.
"I guess y'all weren't the first people here." She said, looking at us. Clair and I, in unison, shook our head no. She looked back at the relics, "How about the cute little horsey?"
"I guess it's better than nothing." Blake said, giving Yang a small smile. That's when a whole bunch of crazy things happened. This girl with orange hair and a sliver and pink dress on came riding in on an Ursa, followed by a male in green with a pink extension in his hair. The girl had plenty of energy to spare, but the guy looked tired. "Did she just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake stated in disbelief. The girl pushed past all of us and grabbed the white rook piece singing "I'm queen of the castle!" That's when the guy in green called out her name, Nora. She just laughed and called out to him using his name Ren. That's when started to drop out of the sky but was intercepted by a flying Jaune. Overhead there was a Nevermore, a bird like Grimm, flying above us and from the direction of where Jaune flew back from, Pyrrha runs out of, being chased by a Deathstalker, a Scorpion Grimm. Ruby comes down and joins the group, and that's when we hear Weiss's voice come from the direction of the Nevermore.
"How could you leave me like this!" She screamed from up there.
"I told you to jump!" Ruby yelled back to her.
"She's going to fall…" Blake said matter-of-factly.
"She'll be fine." Ruby said to him
"She's falling." Ren deadpanned.
That's when Jaune had the bright idea that he was going to catch Weiss in mid-air, completely forgetting that there's a thing called gravity, and he wasn't going to be able to break it. I guess Jaune did catch Weiss after they completed the fall, but with his whole body and not just his hands. That's when Pyrrha flew towards us after the Deathstalker struck her. The moment that we thought this was over, purple crop top and athletic pants literally soars into me and knocks the wind out of me. Sapphire runs after her, a little bit out of breath.
"I was aiming for the ruins, but I managed to hit you, Sorry!" She managed to say between her breaths. "I'm Sapphire Alaster, although I'm sure you've heard of me. Pleased to make your acquaintances." She curtsied and we all except Clair waved back, Clair curtsied back to her. Purple crop top however was laughing extremely hard she could have keeled over.
"Sapphy, please tell me we can do that again, that was SOOOOOOO much fun!" She said, unable to control her excitement. "We never formally met, names Tina, kind of a huge deal if you ask me. Just ask around, people have heard of me." I look at Tina and smirked a little bit.
"Do you know Tina?" I said to Clair. She play-thought for a moment before shaking her head no with a small smile. "Thought so, thanks!" Tina stuck out her tongue in response.
"Meanie.."
"What was making you r- "I started to say before I saw the King Taijitu emerge from where they come from. I sighed in defeat. "Ask and ye shall receive huh." We faced the two ground Grimm, the Nevermore was encircling us from in the air.
"Well, the gang is all here! Guess we can all die together!" Yang deadpanned, knowing fully well that our situation is the least ideal situation.
"Not if I have anything to do about it." Ruby said, and she started darting towards the Deathstalker at breakneck speed. She tried to attack the Deathstalker but failed, causing her to retreat to us. Yang and I tried to meet her to make sure she wasn't injured but the Nevermore shot its feathers at us. The feathers blocked the path of Yang and I and captured Ruby's cape, trapping her. This made her a prime target for the Deathstalker and King Taijitu. When we thought the worst was going to happen to her, Weiss and Clair sped through the feathers and, with Clair amplifying Weiss's dust abilities, Weiss froze both the Deathstalker's tail and the King Taijitu's body. That's when Weiss looked at Ruby.
"You are so childish. And dim-witted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style. And I suppose, I can be a bit... difficult... but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So, if you quit trying to show off, I'll be... nicer." Ruby, who was extremely appreciative of Weiss's kindness, agreed to her condition. She thanked both her and Clair and we went back to the group.
"Well… what do we do now?" Yang asked us.
"Well, we know our objective. Grab a relic and get to cliffs, that should be our main priority. We don't have to fight the Grimm." Ruby said to us.
"Run and live to see another day… That's an idea I can get behind." Jaune said to us. Tina and Sapphire appeared to already pick the last of the pair pieces, so it just left Jaune, who choose the other White Rook piece, Ruby, who took the other White Knight piece, and I, who took the last White Bishop piece. We took our pieces, looked at each other and shared a small smile as friends.
"We should get going, there's no telling when the Grimm will get free." Ren said to us.
"Right, alright people let's move!" Tina said to us and ushered us all to the cliffs. We ran like our lives depended on it and hoped for the best as we ran.
I guess the best wasn't going to happen today huh?