Cecil
Everything hurt. He had a terrible headache, and his body was very sore. He was lying on his chest on an uneven and hard surface, and he felt like he had just been punched by someone wearing an iron glove. He craned his neck upwards and scanned the room he was in to find it was all-too familiar. Squinting into the bright lights, Cecil slowly picked himself up and scanned the room. A number of students, ranging from maybe 18 to around 22 years old were staring at him, completely silent. His eyes at last fell upon the people who he was standing next to. Six other people lay face-down on the table they had landed on, or what was left of it. Exhaling, Cecil sharply drove his foot into the nearby person, a girl with raven black hair.
"Up and at-em, Sasha."
Keeping her eyes closed, she groaned and swatted his leg, completely oblivious to the situation around her. She mumbled at the person who had kicked her in the language of the Downside. Because the Downside was the amalgamation of all criminals from all over the Upside, they spoke many languages. Cecil and Tariq had mastered many of them, but over time, a common language evolved in the downside as a creole of the many languages of the Upside.
"Foda-se." (Fuck off.)
"Levante-te, preguiçoso" (Get up, lazy)
As Sasha sat up, he woke up the others as well.
"Soleil, levante-te." (Soleil, get up.)
The girl in gray's eyes rolled open as she too, sat up. It didn't take long to get the rest of the Dissidents awake, although most still kept their eyes closed
"Todos estão bem?" (Is everyone alright?)
A round of "Sim (Yes)" ran through them as they rubbed their eyes and held their heads. No one else dared move towards or away from these gibberish-speaking people who had materialized mid-air and demolished one of the lunch tables.
Lysander sniffed at the air, mumbling "Cheira bem (It smells good)"
Immediately, Sasha, Lysander, Soleil, and Riken leapt to their feet and made a mad dash towards the kitchen, with Cecil yelling after them
"Não toque em nada!" (Don't touch anything!")
The four hungry Dissidents completely ignored his warning and began wolfing down food. They hadn't eaten anything that had any flavor for a number of weeks. Food was scarce enough in the Downside, and they always ate either monster meat which was very tough and chewy, or whatever Tariq could find. The best way to make things safe was to essentially pulverize it and mix it with boiling water. While it did confirm the food wouldn't do anything worse than make them sick for a few days, it destroyed any semblance of flavor it might have had. So when the Dissidents were faced with the possibility of eating something besides gruel, they quite literally jumped at the opportunity.
The rest of the students stood paralyzed in fear, and Cecil figured he might as well address them.
"Umm…. hey guys."
Great start.
"So you probably remember me, but for those who don't, my name is Cecil Corax."
Soleil chimed from the side, mouth full of food.
"Isso é delicioso!" (This is delicious!)
"Cale-se, Soleil!" (Shut up, Soleil!), Cecil snapped back. He turned back towards the frightened students.
"So these are my teammates. Meet the Dissidents."
Tariq pleasantly waved a hand, Riken, Sasha, Soleil, and Lysander were too busy eating, and Roman was… Roman.
Roman alone was probably more terrifying than the fact that they had fallen from the sky. And he was just standing there.
One student tentatively raised their hand to ask a question, but it was drowned out by the sound of the Dissidents' eating
"feche a merda, Dissidents!" (Shut the fuck up, Dissidents!)
They ignored him and continued being way too loud in the silent lunchroom
"Obedeça seu leitor!" (Obey your reader!)
Immediately, all six of them fell silent and snapped to attention. Cecil pointed to the boy again, who spoke in a very quiet voice.
"Did you um… just fall from the sky?"
"Yes."
He turned and briskly walked towards the door, the rest of his company in tow before they were stopped by a very angry looking Glynda Goodwitch.
"Mr. Corax. Good to see you've returned after your vanishing act yesterday. And you've brought some friends, too. How… charming."
She was not happy, and the crop she always carried twitched in anger. Roman, in all his titanic glory, and still wearing his admittedly terrifying mask stepped forward and spoke in a voice so quiet that almost no one else heard him. But those who did described it like rolling thunder. Low and terrifying, signifying a storm approaching.
"Você precisa de mim para lidar com isso?" (Do you need me to deal with this?)
"Não, Roman, tenho isso" (No, Roman, I have this.)
"Apenas diga a palavra e eu estarei lá" (Just say the word and I will be there.)
The beast known as Roman took a respectful step backward, his three eyes never leaving Glynda. Even she seemed to shrink ever-so-slightly before him.
"I suppose we should go talk to Ozpin, huh?"
"His office. Now."
Glynda took a cold step backward and walked away hurriedly, doing her best to not show fear.
"Precisamos de nossas armas?" (Do we need our weapons?)
"Não." (No.)
They all moved out of the lunchroom as everyone else stared in shock, until a cheery voice from a certain red-wearing girl rang out.
"Cecil's back!"
In Ozpin's office (Cecil)
Ozpin stared in almost disbelief at the group in front of him. He had asked, begged the gods for help, and they sent him a stubborn seventeen year old. That seventeen year old proceeded to vanish from existence shortly after he arrived, and no one could find him. Then, he suddenly reappears in the middle of the dining hall, with six others, who all fell unceremoniously onto the table and ate all of the potatoes.
"I suppose we might as well start with introductions. My name is Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy, the building in which you currently stand. Please, tell me your name and occupation."
"I'm Ceci-"
"We already know who you are, kid." Qrow growled from the corner. He was on babysitting duty again. Cecil crossed his arms and pouted at Qrow. The Dissidents glanced at their leader, and Riken quietly mumbled
"Devemos dizer alguma coisa?" (Should we say anything?)
"Apresente-se" (Introduce yourselves.)
Without further ado, Sasha extended her hand towards the old headmaster, who stared for a second before taking it in a solid handshake.
"The name's Sasha Grimmus. I act as our backup leader and long swordswoman."
And so the introductions began.
"Tariq Andromedus. Emissary of the Scribes for the Dissidents. I am our hunting-horn and hammer wielder, though I prefer not to fight unless necessary."
"Lysander Lune, of house Lune. While I initially trained with the rapier, I currently serve as our group's gunner and ranged fighter."
"My name's Soleil! Soleil Aelius! I'm our demolitions expert, but I can also use short swords and daggers when we need someone quick."
A short boy, only 5'1", and skinny as a twig spoke next.
"I'm… Riken. Garu. I use magic."
Riken immediately stepped back to the side of Cecil, who softly put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Riken had never been good with strangers. At last, only Roman was left. He stepped toward Ozpin. Ozpin was tall, standing at around 6'6", but Roman still towered over him. Ozpin looked up at the mountainous figure without fear, even as all three of Roman's red eyes bored into him.
"Roman Nazegani. Fists and Lances."
And then he stepped back, casting a protective shadow on all his teammates. Unshaken, Ozpin spoke to them all, but more specifically, to Cecil
"We can house all of you in a double room, and we can feed you. However, those of you who should be attending school will need to attend classes, and those of you who chose to opt out must find some day occupation."
The rest of the Dissidents stayed silent as Cecil spoke for them.
"I will, of course, continue my classes. Sasha is 21, Tariq is… well we don't know how old Tariq is, and Roman is 27. Therefore, I believe it would be best for myself, Lysander, who is 19, Soleil who is 17, and Riken, who is 14, to attend classes. That way, we would not have to join other teams. I can vouch for all of them when it comes to combat experience, as we have all attended school together back home for a year. Until a dragon burned it down, but that's another story."
"So it would be yourself as leader, Mr. Corax, with Lysander Lune, Soleil Aelius, and Riken Garu as your teammates?"
"I believe that would be the best option."
"Then it is settled. You four will attend classes as team CLRS, or team colors. The other three will find day occupations and pay a rent fee unless they wish to move out. Does that agree with you?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. Your three teammates will join you in classes starting next week. Here is the key to your new room."
As the Dissidents moved outside of Ozpin's office, he called out.
"Mr. Corax? A word in private, please."
Cecil waved the rest of them on and stepped back inside.
"Did you mean to bring them here in such an attention drawing matter?"
"I didn't mean to bring them here at all."
Ozpin's eyebrows rose in mild surprise as he continued speaking.
"One more question before I let you go, Mr. Corax. Qrow, Glynda, could you step outside?"
The two teachers glanced at each other before nodding and shutting the door behind them.
"I am curious as to how you know about Ms. Belladonna's' unsavory past. I believe no one else known about it other than her old partner, Adam Taurus, her family, and myself. So how did you come to learn about it? I would like to keep student confidentiality, especially in cases such as herself."
How did he know about it? He hadn't read or asked about it, it had just come to him with his argument with her.
"I don't know, sir. When I got mad, it was just like I could see all her flaws and exploit them. As she doesn't want to talk to me, could you apologize for me when you next see her? I truly feel guilty for saying those things. And rest assured, I will not share them with anyone."
"Thank you, Mr. Corax. You are dismissed."