Chapter Fourteen
When they entered the hall they were taken aback by how large it was, the ceiling was so high up and was constructed of glass which was a brilliant orange in the afternoon sun. The room was decorated with little tables scattered around the main stage which was currently empty. Damian was surprised to see that they were not the first to arrive, there was a group sitting at a table to the far right of the stage, one of them caught his eye, a faunus boy with perky snow-white ears and a blood red blind fold – a fashion statement Damian wondered – it was a relief for him to see other faunus looking so in place. As Damian sat down he realised that his team were talking about something but he was to interested in scoping out the other team to take much part. Along with the White faunus boy there was an agile looking black human with spiky grey hair and a set of black headphones on. Next to him was a tanned girl with a orange cloth mask over her mouth which almost matched her short strait hair. Finally, there was a pale, brown haired girl a huge sword sitting next to her – it looked about six feet long and about a foot wide – Damian looked closer and realised that they were all armed. Maybe he was the weird one he thought to himself.
"Sup Damian, ma man how's it hangin'?" Damian was awoken from his slumber to see Brett and his team.
"Oh you know." Damian said with a giggle.
"Paddington what you giggling about?" Oscar asked
"Oh you lot just look super out of place in grey uniforms."
"Oh I thought you had a funny joke to tell us." Rylee said disheartened.
"If you wanna hear a joke I've got one," Nathan stated "So a Grimm walks into a bar an-." Gagana jabbed him in the side.
"Oh come on Gagana that one wasn't even rude or offensive." She didn't respond.
"Anyway see you dudes latter." Brett said as he walked over to a free table. Ryu and Gagana stated discussing plans about renovating the dorm room which caused Damian's mind to wander again. As he scanned the room a new group entered with not just one or two but a full four man faunus team. One was tall, – almost as tall as Damian –, had long spiky grey hair almost forming a main, and he was physically ripped with huge biceps that could be seen through his shirt. Behind him walked a purple haired girl in an orange hat, she wore a smile so large it was almost hilarious except it just came off as creepy. Next to her was a slender faunus with long black tipped ears and an eye patch – what's with all the injuries Damian thought to himself – he looked very sentinel-like, scanning the room in a similar way to the way Damian was himself. Their eyes met and he gave a little smile and a nod and continued. Damian though had lost track of the last team member but then realised that the orange haired girl was hiding behind her slender companion. She looked up to him then to Damian and have a little wave before she joined her group sitting round one of the tables next to the stage. Damian calmly waved back and realised that his team were all looking at him confused.
"Who you waving at?" Nathan asked.
"Oh just some other students." Damian replied.
"Who are they?"
"I don't know. I was just being friendly." Nathan looked at him, paused then said.
"Mmm ok whatever floats your boat just try not to zone out so much our initiation will be soon."
"Yea sure." Damian replied as he went back to scanning the room. No one else had arrived yet so Damian closed his eyes and begun to think. There are sixteen students here now, Crimson's team are still to arrive and if the eight new students are from a training group like the one I experienced then there should be another four students to show up assuming they all passed. That's twenty-four students total. Currently at least six are armed so really I'm not the weird one, Nathan and Ryu are just too paranoid but something seams wrong, I just figure out what it is. Damian's train of thought was broken by someone poking him in the side. Slowly he opened his eyes to see Mary standing there smiling.
"What's up sleepy head? You look ready to hibernate." Damian smiled limply and said.
"Just been thinking about a bunch of things."
"Aww poor guy shouldn't abuse that brain of yours on such tasks." Damian sat up properly, Nathan and Ryu were talking to Timothy and Crimson was doing a little spin to show off her uniform. Damian considered responding to Mary but she was still a bit too unpredictable in his mind so instead he prodded Nathan on the shoulder.
"Hey Nathan when is this supposed to start?"
"Oh look who's awake, and I'm not really sure, probable whenever the teachers arrive."
"We have guests." Mary said gesturing towards the door. Damian and Nathan looked over to see the supposed last group. First to enter was a thin girl with half white, half black hair, she wore a disdainful look on her face.
"What's this bitch's problem?" Mary muttered aloud.
Behind her was a smaller girl with bold crimson hair that was tied into two short pig tales. She was also carrying a blood red and white battle axe – which was almost the same size as her – on her back. Nathan nudged Mary and said
"Looks like someone is trying to steal your thing." Mary looked back indignantly.
"Bitch please, she don't got nothing on this." She said pointing at herself. After the red girl was a powerful looking girl, she was wearing a blue coat over her shoulders and was effectively dragging a timid and dejected green haired boy along with her. Once they sat down the main door closed its self and a light shone onto the stage. Ironwood walked forward into the spot light.
"Greetings students this evening we shall be officially assigning your teams, teams that you will work, study, live and grow with. So without further ado will Ms Bianca Lenoir, Ms Lyssa Marine, Mr Newt Spiegel and Ms Crimson Heartfilia please make your way onto the stage."
The last team to enter strutted on to the stage. All bar Newt looked very proud and dignified about being called up first. As they walked, a screen flickered into view, showing the name and a portrait of each student. As the students walked onto the stage the four teachers walked out from behind the curtain they were Ruaridh, Gwynn, Lafayette and Miss Sherwood.
"For their ruthless battle type and surprising levels of cooperation, I present to the room TEAM BLANK!" there was a small round of applause and Gwynn walked forward
"Next can we have a Ms Maya Brass, a Ms Qiu Lin, a Mr Yuki Inari and to finish up a Mr Demir Sharp?" The white haired faunus boy and his team walked up to the stage.
"For their perfect swordsman ship, and team work I present to you TEAM BLADE!" all four of them took a low bow, the other students clapped and they filed of the stage and Gwynn stepped back while Ruaridh walked forward.
"I now have the pleasure of presenting to you our academies own speed freaks Brett Tawny, Rylee and Ramon Teal and Oscar Citrine." Brett and his team took this as a cue to run up to the stage and do a front flip onto it as appose to walking. This caused some of the students clap and Crimson even gave a loud whistle. Brett walked up to Ruaridh and shook his hand before filing into line
"Here we have our fast acting opposed to fast thinking team," the audience let out a little chuckle, "TEAM BRO!" the whole team pumped their fists at the announcement of their new title then ran and jumped off the stage and walked back to their table.
Ironwood wood walked up to centre stage again.
"Now for my hand picked team of misfits," he put on something between a smile and a frown, "can Damian Carmine, Nathan Glas, Ryu Lu and Gagana Arkid please get up here." Damian decided to take Ironwood's tone of familiarity as a compliment as he got up and walked to the stage. It seemed that Nathan had has well as when he got to Ironwood instead of shaking his hand he put it up and motioned for a high five which he ignored and pushed Nathan into place.
"I present to you the already notorious team Dragon!" Damian and Nathan punched the air with the announcement, Scarlet gave a wolf whistle and Gagana looked like she was about to die of embarrassment and they all bowed and walked back to their table.
Lafayette stutter into the spot light. "Alright students let's start to wrap this up so we can move on to more fun things." Ruaridh and Ironwood shot her looks and she giggled awkwardly, "So ugh yea Scarlet, Mary, Richard and Timothy get your butts up here… Please" Scarlet lead them to the stage and vigorously shuck Lafayette's hand before gathering in centre stage.
"Let's have a big old Atlas welcome for the electrical and explosive team STORM!" Timothy and Scarlet let out YAHOOs and Scarlet through her hat high into the air and as she caught it bent low into a bow, the boys did the same and Mary gave a little curtsy before they walked back.
Miss Sherwood gracefully tiptoed up to the microphone,
"Good evening students before I introduce the last team I have a little something I'd like to say,"
"Boo!" Lafayette interrupted.
Miss Sherwood shot her daggers and continued with more haste
"Anyway I was just going to say when James, I mean Professor Ironwood let me join this school I was the only faunus, the only outsider but now I see a school were people from all walks of life are welcome so on that note let me introduce our exclusively faunus team. Can Ulrik Selestial, Cheshire Purpura, Ross Under-grove and Amber Meadow please take to the stage?" The four students walked onto the stage Ulrik looking confident, cheesier with her mad grin and Amber hiding behind Ross as usual.
"I hope this will be the first step in us working together for a better future for all of us. Now let me introduce team URSA." Like the teams before them they bowed low and returned back to their table.
"I know some of you may have found this ceremony long and tedious," Ironwood said with a glance to Lafayette," but we must all do things from time to time that we do not enjoy, even or especially if we have no incentive for doing so." He then clicked his fingers and little holes opened up on all sides of the room. From these holes emerged little robots, some carrying metal domes, others instruments.
"Admittedly we all want a little reward from time to time so here is one to all my new students." The robots started placing food on all the tables and a band stated playing in the back of the hall.
"Well doesn't this look tasty!" Nathan said, practically drooling.
"These robots are so cute." Ryu said as he tried to hug one.
"Ryu leave it alone it's probably very busy, but you are right, they are very cute." Gagana said as she took a plate off one of the robots. Damian raised a glass of cola
"To the birth and success of team Dragon, may are enemies burn and are treasures be grand."
"May are days be long and prosperous." Gagana added.
"And may we also snag a princess or two along the way." Nathan added. The boys chuckled, Gagana rolled her eyes cruising not them to continue laughing, she grinned to show she wasn't too annoyed.
After a couple minutes of eating and chatting Ryu who had fallen silent for a bit spoke up.
"Guys do you think we'll ever find a dragon?"
"Of course not, they are just things that your told about as kid so you'll behave." Gagana replied.
"Well I think they do." Nathan said with an unexpected tone.
"Yea me two." Nathan added.
"Wait you three are serious." Gagana asked.
"I don't see why they couldn't" Ryu replied.
"I mean you get some weird and wonderful Grimm so what's stopping you getting a large one with two legs, two wings a tale and breaths fire." Nathan said casually.
"No your wrong Nathan," Ryu said, which took the other to by surprise," it would have four legs, two is a wyvern."
"Really guys what's the difference, they are both made up?" Gagana said trying to inject some sends into the conversation.
"The difference," Damian relied, "is the number of legs. And I hate to burst your bubble but dragons ARE real."
"What about wyverns?" Nathan asked.
"Nathan, my friend, as normal I think you've missed the point." Ryu sighed.
"Yea Nathan. Ryu is right, so Damian do you have any evidence to back up this claim."
"I do actually," he took of his blazer and rolled up he's sleeves leaving his shoulders bare.
"Damian bringing out the guns?" Scarlet called from a table over. He waved her off and continued.
"She these scars." He pointed to a set of three parallel scares on each of his shoulders, "I got these when I was nine years old."
"Ok what do your scares have to do with dragons?" Gagana asked quizzically.
"I got them when I was attacked and carried away by a dragon." Nathan put his hands out and motioned him to pause.
"Hold the fucking phone. You were attacked by a dragon at the age of nine, how are you still alive. I feel like we are missing some crucial details." Gagana and Ryu nodded in agreement.
"Ok I'll start from the beginning."
"I do love flash backs." Nathan interrupt.
"Wanna hear my story then shut up. Anyway as I said it started eight years ago when I was nine years old. I was on a camping trip just south of the frozen planes with my parents."
"Question?" Ryu asked. Damian didn't answer but he didn't continue so Ryu went ahead. "Where is that."
"The frozen planes are the they area of Mantel were it is constantly snowing or ice covered. So yea we were a little below that and while on a walk a saw something in the sky and asked my dad what it was, he didn't know but almost as soon as I had asked it swooped down and grabbed me and attempted to take me away."
"Well what stopped it?" Ryu asked on the edge of his seat.
"I was saved by a traveling huntsman and his team, they are actually the reason I wanted to become a huntsman."
"Yea ok but who were they?" Gagana asked
"They went by the name of team Angel, and the man who saved me was called Arthur …" Damian paused to look and Nathan who had frozen eyes wide open and mouth dropped, "Arthur Glas?!" They both pointed at each other.
"Holy crap that was your dad?!"
"Holy hell you were saved by my dad!"
"Well this is quite the little revelation we have here." Gagana giggled at the two boys.
"Small world when you think about it." Ryu said with a snigger.
"We should probably get going back to our room well have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow." Damian said as he stood up.
"Hey Damian wait up." Scarlet called as she jogged over.
"What's up Scarlet?"
"You know where the student rooms are right? Mind taking us and BRRO with you."
"Yea no problem lets go, I'm tired."