Mad props to /u/PartFootball for reading through this mess.

If you haven't already, go read his story : Dark to Light - Book One of the From Ashes Trilogy

Chapter Ten: The Tour

A dorm.

There's a concept I was unfamiliar with. I understood that it was supposed to bring the teams together, but for someone like me who had never shared a room with someone else, the thought of sharing living space with four strangers seemed a bit daunting.

I had woken up late in the morning to find Jaune sitting by my bed, a school uniform in one hand and a plate containing breakfast in the other. The latter I was grateful for, however I didn't quite know what to do with the former.

Now it's not that I didn't understand the idea behind a uniform more that I had never actually had to change into anything so... fancy. The fabric was soft and the quality rivaled my father's armor. I had to look questioningly at Jaune for the blonde to laugh and confirm that this was mine.

"I was given leave for Professor Goodwitch's combat training this morning to help you with orientation," he said, scratching the back of his head "I don't think they know I've managed to get lost five times in the school yet…"

I laughed while changing into my new clothes. "When is class starting this afternoon?"

He pulled the schedule up on his scroll, "we have 'Aura Theory' with Professor Goodwitch at 1:00 and then you are supposed to go to Professor Port's classroom a 3:15 for 'Advanced Grimm Tracking'..." Jaune furrowed his brow before continuing," That's a second year class, but I guess you are a bit ahead of us in that subject."

I checked my scroll for the time. "It's only 10:30. What are we supposed to do until then?"

"Well for starters, I'm going to show you to our team's apartment. We didn't get the standard rooms as our team is bigger. On the plus side, Team RWBY also got an apartment and it's just opposite of ours!"

I followed him into the maze of white corridors, gardens, and buildings that was Beacon. I was soon very happy to have a person guide me through all of this as I committed the layout to memory.

"So Sky…" the blonde failed horribly at pretending to be making light conversation. "How exactly did you get into Beacon? You aren't exactly normal." His eyes grew wide at the realization of what he'd just said.

I raised an eyebrow at the question and chose to ignore the fumble. "I got invited: official letter, stamp and everything."

My companion grumbled something I couldn't quite understand under his breath and I noticed a corridor that seemed familiar.

"Um, Jaune? Haven't we been here already?"

He froze at that before turning to me with a sheepish grin. I sighed. We eventually managed to make our way to the dormitory after getting directions from other students.

The apartment was very spacious, three bedrooms connecting to a living area. The first room had been claimed by Pyrrha and Nora while the second one was occupied by Jaune and Ren. I looked to the team leader, surprised I had gotten the third room to myself before he immediately dismissed it.

"Being a team with boy and girls, we figured that it would be better for the ladies to get their own room, and I spent most my life sharing a room with my sisters so I didn't really feel comfortable getting the room alone." He smiled innocently.

I stared at him, blank faced. The leader, the man, the guy who the team was supposed to follow… couldn't sleep alone. Great.

He cleared his throat before continuing, "Well, its time to go eat! The rest of the team should be waiting for us in the dining hall."

I blinked. "Right… How about I lead this time? I remember the way."

…...

The dining hall was a sight to behold in itself. I looked around, mouth agape, unable to process the size of it. The entire population of my village would have been able to fit in that hall.

A few laughs to my right caught my attention and I turned to see see the rest of team JNPR and RWBY, along with Kokuran, laughing at my reaction. I blushed a bit as I made my way towards them.

"I hope you weren't hoping to hide the fact you were from outside the kingdoms, DeWinter! I think you just made that clear to about half the school," Kokuran said in between laughs.

"Oh stop pestering him you! It's not his fault he's a small village boy," Weiss admonished him while unsuccessfully trying to hide her own smile.

I raised my hands in the air as I sat down at the table "Geez! Pick on the weak guy, go ahead! I totally didn't leave the hospital two hours ago or anything!"

"I wouldn't exactly call you weak..." Nora mumbled under her breath before Ren could silence her. The whole table suddenly found the content of their plates very interesting.

I looked to Pyrrha, who awkwardly tried to avoid my stare, before laughing.

"Guys, I knew she was going to tell you. Let's just say I have a condition and leave it at that. I'm sure there will be plenty of occasions to showcase it while we're here"I said before shifting the topic to something cheerier. "Now! where does one get fo-" I hadn't finished my sentence before a plate stacked high with pancakes was pushed in front of me.

"The lunch of champions!" I looked up to see Nora handing me syrup. Ren facepalmed at his friend's eating habits.

Pyrrha was thankfully able to point me in the direction of the kitchen where I was able to procure a nice juicy steak with a sizable portion of mashed potatoes. I came back to the table as the teams were talking about classes.

"... so then Port launches into his fourth 'epic' story about his youth and-" Kokuran stopped his story as I sat back down " You are in for a snooze fest with Port's class this afternoon."

"Ah, yes. Jaune mentioned this was a second year class?"

Weiss looked up from her schedule "Well, considering you have been tracking live Grimm for about half your life and Kokuran is a- OW!" Ruby elbowed her mid sentence. Weiss glared at her as she continued "... is Kokuran… some classes have been judged below your level and you were bumped up."

I shrugged at the explanation as I deemed it satisfactory, although I did catch Blake glaring at Weiss, as well as the slight twitch in her bow. Kokuran seemed to not take offense at Weiss's attitude towards him so I let it go. Instead, I turned to Ruby, who was engrossed by weapon magazine..

"Hey, Ruby?" She raised her gaze to meet mine. "I'm guessing you could show me the way to the forge after class? I need to go pick up MoraBea."

The young girl in red immediately agreed, the idea of getting a better look at someone else's weapon too alluring to pass up. Her sister turned to face me, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Woah there! You wouldn't be putting the moves on my little Rubes now, would you, hot shot?" Ruby became as red as her cloak and choked on the milk she was drinking while the blonde pressed on before she could object. "Cause I know how it starts. Meeting up at the forge and all of a sudden things heat up." Everyone groaned at the pun, Ruby wildly flailed her hands around.

I laughed. "No no! Nothing of the sort, just a friendly request for directions. I really do want to see the Forge of Beacon though… You can't even understand Xiao Long I've been waiting to see it." Weiss threw her hands in the air in disgust, while Yang burst out laughing before coming over to sit next to me.

"We are going to get along great!" She said, wrapping her arm around my neck.

I winked at Ruby and grinned. It was time to give the older sister a taste of her own medicine. I leaned in close to Yang's ear and whispered, "Besides… If I wanted something hot, I'd just stay Yin and get me some Yang."

Her face immediately became as red as her sister's while everyone else stared at us confusedly, having not heard what I'd said, except for Kokuran, who gave me a thumbs up, and Blake, who tried and failed to hide her smile.

I scooted away from Yang, who was still blushing, and stood up while looking at the time. "I guess class is starting soon, shall we go?"