Flae awoke to silence. He looked around to see that everyone else was sleeping, so he quietly got up and headed for the locker room where his equipment was stored the last night.
Upon opening his locker he found Element Spica and his revolver, alongside his new combat uniform. A brown leather jacket with armor plates, a pair of black cargo pants, and an armored vest.
Trev had helped him put it together, but the metal used for the plating and armor vest was all made by Flae's Semblance; Crystal Forge, which infused various types of metal with an ice-like crystal that reinforced the metal.
He had learned that it was a family Semblance when he was younger, but he hadn't gotten to truly test it before...
"Urk…" Flae felt his head hurt at the painful memories. He quickly shook it off before donning his outfit and weapons.
He then headed back to the ballroom to wake Tiras up.
Sirena let out a huge yawn as she awoke before trying to rub sleep from her eyes.
"Ugh...coffee." she groaned with a craving for her favorite beverage. She sleepily tried to grab her Scroll, but ended up grasping something else instead. It felt...feathery?
"Heheh..that tickles…" came a soft male voice which made Sirena jump up in surprise.
"What the...oh right, that's Tiras." Sirena sighed in relief before she heard snickering.
She turned to see Flae in combat gear holding in laughter.
"What, what's so funny?" she inquired with a stern look.
"O..oh sorry...it's just...you and Tiras have terrible cases of bed head right now…" Flae gasped out between breaths.
It took a few seconds for Sirena to realize what he had said. She then frantically tried to pat her silver hair down.
"Anyway...while you two get over your hair fiasco, I'm gonna grab breakfast! See you in the locker room!" Flae laughed out before leaving.
Sirena was still trying to fix her hair as Tiras woke up.
"Huh? Sirena, what are you...oh." Tiras trailed off as he tried to hold in his laughter.
"Don't look at me like that. In fact, your hair is just as bad." Sirena commented on Tiras' spiky brown hair.
"Huh? Oh crap! Haha, it's all over the darn place!" Tiras laughed out as he felt his head.
Sirena gave him a flat look.
"Seriously, do you guys not realize how important a girl's hair is?" she sighed.
Flae casually walked to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast, and he was surprised that it wasn't that crowded.
"Initiation starts in an hour and a half...Do people want to get indigestion?" Flae sighed before admiring the buffet of food that had been laid out.
He snatched a plate before piling on eggs, bacon, and a few pieces of toast. He then grabbed an apple before noticing something by the drinks.
"Soda?...For breakfast? Awesome!" Flae exclaimed as he picked up a can of People Like Grapes. He then noticed Brianna, sitting by herself.
"Hey, mind if I sit with you?" Flae asked with a smile as he walked up.
"Um...sure." Brianna nervously replied.
"Are you really sure? You don't sound like it." Flae pointed out.
"Y-yeah...Sorry, I'm really not good with people." she muttered before turning back to her meal.
Flae decided that it was okay, so he sat down across from her before digging into his breakfast.
"Do you normally eat this much?" Brianna inquired as Flae wolfed his food down.
"Yeah, but not as a kid. It's strange. Normally it's when someone's in their pre-teens that they eat like wolves. You know, because of growth spurts and all that." Flae said in between mouthfuls.
"I didn't know that." Brianna replied as Flae's eyes widened.
"Wait...how?" Flae stammered.
"Um...well…" Brianna stuttered, trying to explain herself.
Flae raised his eyebrows at this, but a sudden yell caught his attention.
"Hey Flae! Mind if we come sit with you?" Tiras yelled from the cafeteria's entrance.
"Sure, come on over!" Flae yelled back while Brianna was trying to stop him.
"I..I told you I'm not good with people!" she cried.
"Well the best way to get over that is to meet some new faces! Don't worry, they're harmless! I think…" Flae teased, much to Brianna's chagrin.
Sirena and Tiras quickly grabbed their breakfast before sitting at their table.
"Nice to meet you Brianna! I'm Tiras, and this is Sirena." Tiras boisterously introduced while holding a blueberry muffin.
"Y-yeah...nice to meet you." Brianna quietly replied.
Tiras tilted his head in confusion, but before he could say anything Flae gave him a look.
"She's shy. Don't go overboard." Flae tried to convey.
He got another confused look in response, but it seemed that Flae's message got through.
"So, who's wondering what our test will be?" Sirena asked, looking much more perky with a mug of coffee by her side.
"Considering how Ozpin's speech went yesterday, I'm thinking he'll just casually drop us into the Emerald Forest with instructions to follow." Flae deadpanned.
"But aren't teams supposed to be formed today as well? How's he going to do that?" Tiras replied.
"Hm. Good question." Flae muttered before a large crowd of sleepy students entered the cafeteria.
"I think that's our cue to head to the locker room and gear up." Flae stated as they all finished their breakfast.
Tiras opened his locker where his rifle was stowed and donned a simple kevlar vest with a built-in bandolier. He then grabbed his rifle and started loading it.
"Hey Tiras, don't marksmen normally have a sidearm?" Flae cut in, startling him.
"Uh, normally that's what the spear mode is for. But I suppose you have a point. What about you Flae?" Tiras asked as he loaded the last round into Crossfire.
Flae chuckled as he punched his fists together.
"Meet Element Spica, a pair of Dust Infused Yo-Yo Gauntlets. I also have a pocket revolver on hand as my backup weapon." he explained with a big smile.
"Woah..wait...yo-yos? Seriously?" Tiras raised his eyebrows at Flae's choice of ammunition.
Flae nodded before he noticed something behind him.
A man with messy dark blue hair and a halberd on his back seemed to be heckling a pair of girls. One of the girls had long light blue hair; while the other had long ruby hair with a pair of red cat ears.
"Ugh, I'm betting fifty Lien he's giving the redhead trouble." Tiras groaned in annoyance.
"Tell you what, I'll give you that money if I go over there and get my ass handed to me." Flae joked with a smile on his face.
"And if you put him in his place?" Tiras chuckled back in reply.
"You won't question my yo-yos. Deal?"
Tiras nodded and watched in anticipation as Flae casually walked over.
"I'm telling you, she's had enough. Why can't you just leave her alone?" the blue haired girl shouted.
"Because you never know if she could be some filthy White Fang trying to infiltrate the school!" the halberd wielder replied.
"Um..Azure, I think we should just get going." the redhead cat Faunus tried to get them away from the man.
"Excuse me? Might I ask what the commotion is all about?" Flae politely asked, getting everyone's attention.
"Hey, you tell me, couldn't this Faunus here be a member of the White Fang?" the man argued while pointing at the redhead.
Flae looked at the two girls, and while the redhead had a nervous look; the girl called Azure gave him a solemn look.
"I don't think so." Flae replied without any heat, much to the man's annoyance.
"What, ho-" he began but Flae cut him off.
"You see, the Vale branch may have gone off the deep end but that's no reason to lump every Faunus you see with them. Besides, I can tell that she's here as nothing more than an eager first-year, raring to begin her training as a Huntress." Flae calmly explained before walking over to the redhead.
"What's your name sir?" she nervously asked.
"Flae. Flae Frostbrand. It's nice to meet you." Flae held out his hand for a shake.
"Scarlet Maron. You can just call me Scarlet though, and this is my childhood friend Azure." she replied happily while shaking his hand.
A grunt interrupted them however.
"How can you be so casual about this...animal?" the man spat which visibly dampened Scarlet's mood.
"You know, we're all animals." Flae replied with a smirk.
"Huh? What do you me-!" the man started but Flae forcefully grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Flae was glaring daggers at him.
"We're all animals, but it's our responsibility to not become monsters. Otherwise, you're no better than a Grimm." Flae stated coldly before letting him go.
The man stared him down but just turned to leave instead of retorting. Flae noticed a name on his jacket however.
"Hey Zaffre? Have a good trip!" Flae called out.
Zaffre turned towards Flae before tripping onto his face, getting laughs out of the two girls. He quickly picked himself up before stalking out of the locker room. Tiras then walked over.
"Geez! Was that just a coincidence or what?" Scarlet laughed out.
"Nope, look closely." Flae said, drawing everyone's attention to an almost invisible wire.
"Wait, if I'm not going crazy, did you just set that up Flae?" Tiras questioned before getting a nod from Flae.
"Man, sorry for questioning your yo-yos."
"It's fine. Just make sure it doesn't happen again or you might find yourself hanging upside down the next time you wake up." Flae casually replied.
Tiras felt a shiver go down his spine before a loud voice boomed through the intercom.
"Would all first-years please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately." came Ms. Goodwitch's voice.
"Well, we'll see you there!" Scarlet happily replied as she and Azure left the locker room.
Flae quickly undid his tripwire before Tiras spoke up.
"Hey, where are Sirena and Brianna? I thought they followed us after breakfast?" Tiras inquired as he looked around.
"You're right...oh wait, I think I hear them." Flae replied, and as if on cue, Sirena and Brianna came barreling into the locker room wearing their combat uniforms.
"Sorry! Sirena got lost so I had to track her down." Brianna panted out.
"I did not get lost! I just forgot my combat outfit in the ballroom." Sirena replied.
Flae looked over the white armor plated combat dress Sirena had donned.
"So, are you a fan of combat skirts or is this something your brother picked out for you as well?" Flae joked.
"No this is something I like, but my brother did buy it for me. Why do you ask?" Sirena tilted her head to the side.
"Well...it's just because…" Tiras stammered before Flae cut in.
"Your skirt's pretty short and your nightgown was quite form fitting. Does your brother have a thing for exhibitionism?" Flae bluntly said, much to Sirena's chagrin.
"No he does not! It's just a practical joke and can we please just forget about last night!?" Sirena cried out in panic, much to everyone else's amusement.
"Come on, let's head to the cliff." Tiras chimed in.
Sirena had calmed herself down as she stood on top of a metal plate with Beacon's symbol on it. She focused her attention on Professor Ozpin and Miss Goodwitch standing in front of all the first years.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Professor Ozpin started before Miss Goodwitch stepped forward.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard the rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates...today." she explained, getting murmurs from the students.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Professor Ozpin continued.
Sirena mentally went over a list of people she would want to be teamed with. Brianna was shy but charming, Tiras was pretty cool, and Flae wouldn't be such a bad option if he wasn't from a rival family.
"That being said, the first person you make with contact after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin stated, getting a few shocked expressions.
Sirena really needed to find Brianna or Tiras then.
"After you've partnered up, you will have to locate one of six gemstones that have been placed in caverns throughout the Emerald Forest. Our instructors will monitor you but will not intervene. Bring your gemstone back to the top of the cliff where we will regard it as well as your performance. There will be opposition along the way, so do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path...or you will die." he finished.
"That was a little more inspiring than our welcoming speech." Siren thought, but her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she felt something moving below her.
"Wait, what is..GAH!" Sirena cried before the pad she was standing on launched her into the air.
The rest of the first years watched in horror as Sirena went tumbling through the air.
"Welp, let's get this show on the road!" Flae exclaimed as he was launched next.
The rest of the students were then flung towards the forest as Professor Ozpin casually took a sip of his coffee.
Sirena kept tumbling for awhile before she drew her daggers and stuck herself into a tree. The force she felt hurt, but she endured it before dropping down onto the forest floor.
"Okay, gotta find Tiras or Brianna." she quickly said before dashing into the foliage.
Hopefully she could find a cavern as well.
Tiras simply waited to get closer to the ground before he spread his wings and landed on a tree branch before looking around with his rifle scope.
"So, where are those caverns? I'm sure if I head towards one of those I'll meet someone along the way." he said to himself before noticing one in the distance hidden by leaves.
He then quickly jumped from his tree and stalked towards its location.
Brianna had no idea for a landing strategy, so she simply activated her Semblance out of panic. Surprisingly when she crashed through a few trees and into the ground; all she felt was the impact without the pain.
She picked herself off the ground as she realized that she had landed in front of a cavern entrance covered in leaves.
"Well, isn't that convenient? I should see what else my Semblance can do sometime." she murmured to herself as she made her way inside.
"Woo-hoo! This is awesome!" Flae laughed out as he flew over the Emerald Forest on his hoverboard. He looked around before firing a yo-yo towards a tree branch and grappling towards the ground while placing his hoverboard back on his belt.
He hit the ground with a light thud before looking around. It seemed that he was alone, until he noticed a familiar flash of silver hair.
"I don't want to seem like a stalker, but I also don't want Sirena to run into that Zaffre guy." Flae said to himself as he headed towards the silver hair.
Sirena hacked her way through a few branches with her daggers before a low growl caught her attention. She turned to see not only a cavern entrance, but also a few Beowolves.
"Alright then." Sirena readied herself for battle as they circled her.
One tried to attack from behind, but she quickly slashed it down before the others descended on her.
Sirena put a few magnum rounds into one before stabbing another. She then barely caught another growl from behind and dodged a swipe from an Ursa Minor.
"Darn it." she muttered under her breath, knowing full well that her rounds wouldn't pierce its hide.
The Ursa charged toward her, only to have something wrap around its neck.
A yo-yo.
Sirena watched in horror as Flae lunged forward and drove his wristblade into the back of the Ursa's neck before flipping over its head.
"And you're done!" Flae exclaimed before putting a revolver round through its skull.
It quickly dissipated as Flae turned towards Sirena.
"Well, nice to be your partner Sirena!" Flae said with a wide smile.
"Y..Yeah. Same here." Sirena nervously replied.
What would her parents say about this?
"Anyway, let's go find that gemstone." Flae stated as he headed towards the cavern entrance.
Brianna peered into the cavern and saw nothing more than darkness.
"You know, Faunus have night vision." Tiras' voice came from behind.
"Wagh!" Brianna shrieked in surprise.
"Shhh! We don't know what's in there!" Tiras quietly scolded.
Brianna quickly apologized before staring back into the cavern.
"So, I guess we're partners." Brianna flatly stated.
"You don't have to sound so disappointed." Tiras chuckled as he took the lead.
They quietly snuck through the cave, Brianna staying close to Tiras since she could hardly see...before Tiras halted himself.
"Beowolves ahead, over half a dozen of them. And they're all around the gemstone. Guess they were attracted to its shine." Tiras muttered as he pulled something out of his bandolier.
"There's no choice but to go through them right?" Brianna asked.
"Yep, so I'll toss a flare in before trying to take as many down as I can, but you'll need to grab the gemstone while I cover you."
"Um..okay. I'm ready." Brianna nervously replied before Tiras lit a flare and threw it towards the Beowolves.
They let out a surprised snarl as Tiras drew his rifle. Three Beowolves charged at him, but he took them down with ease.
Brianna took her chances and charged forward with her whip, pummeling a Beowolf to the side as she snatched the light blue gemstone beneath her.
"I got it!" Brianna cried out as Tiras took down another Beowolf.
They then bolted for the entrance with the rest of the Beowolves hot in pursuit.
"Come on! We have to get to the cliff!" Tiras shouted as they ran.
Sirena and Flae looked into the cavern entrance before Flae grabbed a long thick branch off the forest floor.
"I'll go first, just let me make a torch." Flae explained as he wrapped a piece of cloth around the branch before covering it in Fire Dust. The branch practically burst into flame as Flae used a lighter.
Sirena then followed Flae as he headed into the cavern.
It seemed to be a rather dull cave, if just a bit damp. Sirena kept walking forward until Flae held his arm out.
"What is it?" Sirena asked before looking ahead of her.
There on a pedestal, was a light blue gemstone.
"We found it!" Sirena exclaimed as she took a step forward.
"Hold up." Flae interrupted once again, much to Sirena's annoyance.
Flae looked ahead and saw that the majority of the floor was covered in leaves.
"Uh oh...Sirena, you might want to stay back. If I'm right, there are Arachnid nests under these leaves." Flae explained.
"Arachnids? Are they Grimm?" Sirena asked.
"Yep. Nasty little things that'll crawl all over you and leave you frantically trying to bat them off. Their poison's pretty lethal so it's better if we just avoid them; but I'd rather not leave a bunch of them hanging around. So here's the plan: You hold onto the torch while I go retrieve the gemstone. When I grab it, you set fire to these leaves."
"But what about you?" Sirena worriedly asked.
"Don't worry, I'll be on my hoverboard and will be able to get out if they wake up. Just be ready to drop the torch and run." Flae assured her.
Sirena nodded as Flae brought out his hoverboard.
"Okay, I'm off." he said with a hint of nervousness.
Flae carefully hovered over the leaves as Sirena nervously held the torch.
"Come on…" Sirena murmured to herself as Flae reached for the gemstone.
As soon as he lifted it from the pedestal, Sirena noticed a few Arachnids coming out.
"Um...Flae?" Sirena stammered.
"NOW!" Flae barked as Sirena dropped the torch and ran back towards the cave entrance. Flae quickly followed with the gemstone in hand, but the Arachnids were flowing out now and a few latched onto his left arm.
"Agh!" Flae cried out in pain as they bit against his Aura. He quickly squashed them with his gauntlet before throwing a Fire Dust crystal back towards the nests.
It exploded, flinging Flae and forward on his hoverboard while taking care of the pursuing Arachnids. Flae landed outside face first, but he quickly recovered and checked his arm.
"Flae! Did you get bit?" Sirena asked in panic.
"Didn't go through my Aura thankfully. Let's get back to the cliff." he reassured her.
They then heard loud footsteps and moving foliage.
"That sounds like trouble." Sirena muttered.
"Let's go help then, I doubt the Academy wants to file a student casualty report today." Flae deadpanned as they quickly headed towards the movement.
"Run Brianna!" Tiras shouted back as he burst past a branch.
"Hah..hah...hah.." Brianna panted as she was barely able to keep up.
They just burst into a clearing before seeing two Beowolves lunge towards them, only to see them slashed to pieces by Scarlet and Azure.
"Are you two okay? We heard the growling and got here as soon as we could." Azure calmly said while twirling her spear.
"Y..yeah...just...agh...let me catch my breath." Brianna said while clutching her chest.
They were then interrupted by a series of footsteps. Beowolves burst out of the foliage and started to encircle them.
"This..doesn't look good." Tiras muttered while transforming Crossfire into spear mode.
"We gotta hold them off while Brianna recovers. Let's do this!" Scarlet barked while brandishing her gauntlet claws.
All three of them fended off the Beowolves with precise slashes before a terrifying sound rang throughout the air.
"Oh no, is that…" Scarlet muttered before a large creature slammed down in front of them.
"Yep...A Griffon, and an Alpha variant at that." Tiras sighed.
"Come on. Let's take it down!" Brianna said, having recovered her breath.
Scarlet and Azure tried to slash at it, but it quickly dodged into the air before diving towards them. The two girls were sent flying as the Griffon then charged at Brianna and Tiras.
"Crap!" Tiras exclaimed as he readied himself for a blow...but it never came.
A yo-yo had wrapped around the Griffon's neck.
"Tiras! Catch!" Flae shouted as he burst into the clearing and threw his revolver towards Tiras. Tiras caught it as Flae circled around the Griffon on his hoverboard.
"Get its wings!" Flae ordered while wrapping his strings around the Griffon's neck.
Tiras fired the remaining rounds at the left wing just as Sirena appeared and took out the right wing.
"Now!" came Flae's voice, which was met with many cries. Tiras turned to see not only Scarlet and Azure, but a few other first years brandishing their weapons.
The Griffon didn't stand much of a chance now as they shredded it.
Flae stood near the front stage in the amphitheater to witness the team formations. He was there alongside Sirena, Brianna, and Tiras. The first group of four to step up consisted of two human males, a female fox Faunus, and Zaffre from earlier. One of the males had short black hair and brown eyes while the other had long golden brown hair and crimson eyes. The Faunus had beautiful snow white hair with a pink tint and white fox ears. Zaffre still had an arrogant look on his face though.
"Cenna White, Russet Goldsong, Mika Amari, and Zaffre Whisperwind. The four of you retrieved the ruby gemstones. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRMZ (Crimson), led by...Cenna White!" Professor Ozpin announced as applause rang out before the next group stepped up.
Flae was happy to see that Scarlet and Azure weren't on a team with Zaffre, but with two other guys instead. One of them with orange-tinted brown hair standing up there looked like he was from Atlas with how stiff he was; but the other was a complete contrast with brown reddish hair, a lion's tail, and relaxed body language.
"Scarlet Maron, Azure Mistclaw, Fall Lightheart, and Rufous Emberwillow. The four of you retrieved the sapphire gemstones. From this day forward, you will work together as Team SAFR (Sapphire), led by...Scarlet Maron!" Ozpin continued as Scarlet had an ecstatic expression on her face.
Finally it was time for Flae and his friends to step up.
"Flae Frostbrand, Sirena Fiori, Brianna Sage, and Tiras Bradley. The four of you retrieved the aqua gemstones. From this day forward, you will work together as Team FSBT (Frostbite), led by...Flae Frostbrand." Ozpin finished, much to Flae's shock.
"Me? As leader?" Flae muttered to himself before Tiras slapped him on the back.
"Congratulations Mr. Frostbrand." Ozpin said to him as Flae gave him a light smile in return.
"This is shaping up to be an...interesting year." Ozpin muttered.
Flae would have picked a less cryptic word.
"I wonder if my father and mother would want to meet my team?" he wondered to himself as he lost himself in the applause in the amphitheater.