A/N: This next cycle of chapters details the initiation in its entirety. Partners will be made, Grimm will be fought, and, as you can tell, everyone will get a shot at being POV. One for each character, and then two chapters to tie it together, show them get the end of the hill, and lastly, TEAMS. From there on out, it'll be somewhat slice of life with key events popping up and the occasional action sequences. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Ruby

The young huntress fluttered her eyes open just as she started her descent, flattening herself ever so slightly so she would slow down enough to gain her bearings. Reaching behind her as the pit of excitement in her stomach blossomed, Ruby pulled her sweetheart Crescent Rose off of its usual place behind her back, keeping it in it's compact sniper form. Using all her strength to hold onto her weapon without letting the rushing wind snatch it from her hand, the young girl positioned the rifle in front of her so that she could take out any obstacles in her way. Falling at this angle so it was almost as if she was flying into the forest from the side was risky business, and she couldn't risk letting anything get in her way.

Green almost instantly filled her vision, her teeth gritting in anticipation. She shot three quick blasts, each on hitting the tree tops in her way so she could continue soaring until she found the right moment to land. She had a plan already, but it required being deeper into the trees so she could let Crescent Rose open safely into her scythe format.

As if on cue, and opening appeared in one of the nearby cedars she was passing. Expertly swirling and unlatching the proper mechanisms, Ruby gracefully hooked the blade of her scythe around the thick branch, flipping herself over once, then twice, before unhooking herself and landing deftly on the forest floor below her.

"Yang!" she shouted, dashing into the rather empty forest below. She hadn't seen anyone else during her landing maneuvers, and her first priority was getting partnered up with her sister. Sure, she had met a lot of people during her first day at beacon, many of whom she felt strongly about, but being Yang's partner was a number one guarantee that the two would be on the same team; she was opening up to the idea of a different partner, but not having Yang on her team would be horrible.

Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang… Ruby repeated this over and over as she kept hurtling through the woods, scanning for that mane of blonde tangles. Well, if I can't find Yang, at least I'm not completely optionless, Ruby remarked to herself. There's Jaune. He's a nice kind of guy, funny too… but he didn't seem like he's that skilled at fighting. Plus, Ruby thought smiling, I don't think Pyrrha would be happy if I took her best friend away like that. So those two weren't going to be options anytime soon.

There's also Blake! She was pretty nice, and she so cool! Well, she is also rather quiet; on second thought, she doesn't seem to be that keen on conversation. Weiss seemed nice enough, how about her? She's got a super cool weapon, and she also wears combat skirts… She's a little arrogant, but at least she's not too mean about it.

I feel like I'm missing someone, Ruby thought, slowing down and now strolling in the forest. I'm positive I've met at least one other person here – "Whoa!"

"Hey, what where you're – oh! It's you."

"Hi Weiss! I almost didn't see you there! Hope I didn't startle you or anything!"

The heiress dusted herself off. "It's alright, Ruby. I thought you were… someone else."

The two stood there, a short awkward silence splitting the two halves of their conversation. "So… I guess we're partners, then? For four whole years?"

Weiss nodded slowly. "Well, that is what Headmaster Opzin said, right?" She motioned sharply before starting on her way. "Come on, we need to get a move on if we're going to get those relics and get out of here."

"Right!" Ruby replied with gusto, dashing after her new partner. The forest laid out ahead of them, green and brown melding together, light playing patterns on the forest floor.

"So, Weiss," Ruby asked after a few seconds of silence, "any idea where these relics are? Or what they look like? He wasn't too specific about that."

Weiss, face scrunched in concentration, almost didn't seem to hear her recently acquired partner. Instead, she was busy walking forward, eyes glued straight ahead, and an intensely determined look in her light blue eyes. Oddly enough, she didn't seem to be focused on anything; she was just, well… needlessly resolute.

"Uh, Weiss? Partner?" Nothing. "Vale to Weiss, come in Weiss. Paging Doctor Weiss? Weiss Weiss, bo Biess, ba-na-na-na-na fo –"

"I get it Ruby, you're there."

"Oh." Well, at least she didn't get a deaf partner; still, this girl was different than the one Ruby had grown familiar with over the course of the morning. "… are you okay? You seem a bit on edge."

"Ruby," Weiss responded, still not pausing in her march forward, "I'm doing everything in my power to try and get us out of this forest, and I can't have any distractions if I'm going to find my way to the temple."

This side of Weiss didn't come out earlier during breakfast and the lunch room; Ruby noticed she wasn't all too cheery and was more aloof than engaging, but this seemed more obtuse than the scythe-wielder might have guessed. "Weiss, it's okay, we're gonna find the relics, you can also enjoy the forest while we walk around."

"We didn't come here to "walk around" or enjoy the scenery, Ruby, we're here to get in and get out, deal with Grimm, and do that better and faster than the other students in here. Right?"

"Uh, yeah, but – "

"But what?" The duo had finally come to a stop, just below a large sycamore.

Maybe Jaune wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. "I just don't see why we need to march our way through like angry soldiers, is all. I mean, geez, it's been ages since I've been in a forest, and never one this big." The happy-go-lucky prodigy shook herself happily. "Just have fun, okay?"

Weiss's current expression, if used in a dictionary setting, would most definitely not be a good reference for the word "fun". One might even say it would go well in the thesaurus. Under "fun". As an antonym. Or maybe as a synonym for "party pooper".

After a good moment, Weiss sniffed indignantly. "Whatever," she retorted, spinning on her heel. "Let's just keep moving, maybe we'll find some interesting leaves along the way, or some kind of animal that won't try to kill us. So long as that bumpkin Nora Valkyrie doesn't destroy half this forest making a fool out of herself."

Something clicked in Ruby's mind. "Nora! That was the girl from this morning, with the pink? I almost forgot about her!"

"Then I'm sorry for jogging your memory, it would have been better if you had neglected to recall her horrible behavior."

Silver eyes widened, shocked. "What do you mean, she seemed pretty nice! I mean I didn't get to talk to her too much before she left, but – "

"And it was a good thing she did, she's a klutz and a dolt and I would rather she didn't try and bother our little group so much."

"Bother?" Ruby asked, surprised. "I don't think she would have bothered us, why do you say that?"

Weiss finally stopped making her way through the forest. She faced Ruby now, hand regally on the grip of her rapier, eyeing Ruby sternly. "Listen, we already started off on the wrong hook; she nearly destroyed my collection of Dust with her careless behavior. On top of that, she's loud mouthed, thick skulled, and has no regard the conventions of polite conversation, let alone anything below a monologue."

The shorter, younger redhead/brunette shook her head slightly. "Are we talking about the same Nora? The one at breakfast seemed a little shakier and unsure of herself, and nice enough to me."

Weiss shook her head. "Blake had a similar run in yesterday, Nora interrupted a conversation and spilt her drink on Blake's favorite book, then she wouldn't leave her alone and ended up spilling more everywhere, causing Blake and… whoever that guy was, to leave.

"Honestly, Ruby, I don't want anything to do with that girl. She's such a hazard, trust me on this. I think you're better off with Blake and I, I think we take this huntress business much, MUCH more seriously than most others here."

Ruby sighed; she did like Weiss, even if the older heiress was a bit more strict, but Ruby had really thought Nora wasn't half bad. She seemed like a fun girl; energetic, liked to talk, had a thing for sweets; almost like me, Ruby realized sullenly. The young huntress felt a rush of – she didn't even know. Hurt? Empathy for Nora? Uselessness?

"Weiss, I –"

"Shh!" Weiss abruptly raised an arm, cutting off any remarks Ruby was about to make. Her cold blue eyes darted back and forth over the brush. Ruby wanted to say more, but kept quiet. By the light footsteps and wary glances, it was obvious she had detected something. Something big, by the looks of it.

"What is it? Do you see any Grim? Or people?" Ruby whispered, maybe a bit too loudly for Weiss's tastes. It apparently was, as the heiress turned her ice cold glare in Ruby's direction, hushing her with a wave of the hand.

"Ruby, I said 'Shh'! And yes, we've got company." This time, she beckoned to her partner to come stand behind the large shrub she had made her way over to.

Ruby complied, tip toeing around branches and clutter on the ground as she quickly came by Weiss's side. The distance was too small and her semblance not developed enough for her to zip over in half a second without causing a ruckus or avalanche; with Weiss being in the mood she was, the younger huntress knew better than to risk their precarious friendship with any Nora-like antics. Peeking over the top of the hedges, Ruby gasped softly.

There, pawing the ground angrily and growling deep in the back of their throats, was nearly a dozen Beowolves.

Ruby grinned. Showtime, she thought to herself, drawing out her precious baby and loading in a new clip of ammo as her partner said something about timing, and tactics, and dying. Ruby didn't catch it; when there were butts to be kicked, only Ruby's sweetheart did the talking.