I was awoken rudely by the PA system, which was Goodwitch's voice telling us to start to shuffle towards the school Airship Docks. I got up groggily, adjusting my belts and ammo. Today was the Initiation test day. That meant that we were being put through some rigorous test in the Emerald Ruins, so that would be fun. As the copious group of groggy teenagers gathered on the running blockish Bullheads. No, those aren't bullheads. They're much too large, and too bulky. There was some murmuring among the crowd as they entered the large ships. It frankly looked like a drop ship you would see in video games. Large, bulky undercarriage with a plane like nose, a full 180 degree viewport. As the last of the space in the Drop ship was filled, the Aircraft took off, allowing for another ship to take its place. It was a total of three ships to load up the hundred or so freshman students. We flew for several minutes, and I took a note of the students in the ship. Poor popular blond was in the corner with a bucket. Poor kid, must suffer from motion sickness. I sat down by the cockpit entrance with Professor Port and Oobleck. Port had gone into his booming, droning outlandish stories of him battling hordes of Grimm. Oobleck just sighed, palming his face. We flew for only a few minutes when a gruff Flordinian voice came on the PA system. Krzzt- Hello ya muckruckers, get yo asses ready. There are two rules for the initiation test: Make it to the Central tower with a Game Relic, and th' First Peerson yo make eye contact' with is yo partnah for Beacon. Got that? I hope ya got a landen' stratagy! Tally Ho! Everyone looked at each other in confusion. The room was silent for a few moments until the bay doors on the floor opened. The poor unsuspecting students were unceremoniously dropped into the Landing Zone. I was lucky enough to be on one of the seats, so I was not dropped into the forested abyss below.
"Very well my boy! It seems you can't stay up here all day!" laughed Port, patting me on the back with enough force to make me stumble. If I had not been sitting, I would have fallen over. "Alright, alright professor. I'll get going." I forced a smile, looking down to the emerald landing zone.
"Uhhh… you guys wouldn't happen to have a parachute, would you?" I asked, chuckling nervously.
"Parachute? Of course not! It's that big of a drop My Boy!" Port boomed. Not that big of a drop my ass! It was easily 100 meters up, if not more! I looked at him incredulously. "If you don't jump now, I will have to, unfortunately, force you off this ship Mr. Cortez." said Oobleck calmly, unfolding his thermos. "Nope. nope and nope." i said quickly, grabbing the emergency rope by the bay doors and jumping. I could hear the rope unwind against the axel it was wound upon. One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds. I could feel the tick of time as I descended. 10 seconds and the rope was cut. "What in the hell took them so long?" I thought out loud. Then I screamed as I fell into the forest below. Not that I wasn't screaming during my rope descent. I was just louder now. I felt the impact of the tree branches as I cannoned through them. I had the strangest sense of deja vu.
Hrmm.
I braced myself to hit the ground, and shatter my legs on impact. I closed my eyes and made my peace with God. Gods? Did it matter?
You know, it's funny how time seems to slow when you're about to die. Just the feeling of… calm. I was by no means ready to go, but I guess I could feel that it would not be stopped. It was a calm kind of slow, like a lazy river. Gave you time to think. It could even be described as nice. Peaceful.
I did not expect for my legs to hit water. I rocked through the racing river, slowing my descent to a slow nothing. Then I was pushed and pulled down the stream with the might that can only be known as a powerful rush of water. I fought to get my head to the surface. Sweet sweet oxygen, how i missed you. I was pushed quickly into a large pond. Deciding that being in a lake was a bad idea. Mainly because while I can swim, swimming in sneakers, coat and belts is difficult. I breast stoked my way to the edge of the pool. I squinted upwards at the sky, trying to see if the Dropship was still here. Mainly so I could give it the bird.
Wait, is that my hat? I put my hand on my head as the familiar brown leather hat floated down, spinning in the air, lazy, slowly.
And so, with the last breath of the wind, the world itself held its tongue as the hat fell to the ashen ground.
The invasive thought entered my mind as my hat landed at my feet, as though it knew it was my hat, or perhaps I was its head. I chuckled, reaching down to pick it back up. It fit snugly on my head. My ears perked up at the sound of rapid gunfire. "Well, seems like someone's having a damned good time. Shame for them to do so alone.'' I smiled, hiking up the hill between us. I checked my phone, which was amazingly still intact and working after that swim. After a few moments of power trudging through wet clothes, I came to the top of the hill. Below me, about 15 meters or so, was a small pack of beowolves rushing against one man. Half plate training armor that was scratched but polished so it shone. Shield in one hand, and a one handed SMG looking thing in the other. Blond hair and emerald green eyes. Oh hey, it's mister Popular. I could only smile at seeing that I was not the only person who was not turned into a pancake upon impact. Pulling out my handy dander murder machine revolver. I took aim holding the gun at eye level, arm outstretched, the glowing eyes right on the sight.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Two of the wolves like grim fell, one of them taking one more bullet than I had hoped for. Another fell under a burst of SMG fire. The last few decided to run away. Mister Popular turned to face me as I descended down the hill. I lazily flicked my revolver to the left, popping the chambered cylinder out. Pulling three bullets from my belt, I pushed them into place.
"Hey, Thanks for the save there." same the chipper voice of mister Popular. I looked from under my hat as his gun shifted into a sword, and his shield folded in on itself to make a sheath. He put away his weapon, hostering it on his hip.
"No problemo. So, you got a partner yet, friend?"
"Friend? Well, my father always said that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. Sure, why not? You want to be my partner, Friend?" Mister. Popular held out his hand, the fingerless gloves having padding on the inner palm and an armored plate on the back of them. My own gloveless hand took it.
"Cortez. Sebastian Cortez. Nice to meet you." I said, meeting his eye.
"Richard Arc. you probably already knew that though. Everyone seems to. Yeah, probably didn't need to even tell you my name-" whatever confidence and command he had disappeared within moments of meeting. I blinked
"And why would I know your name?"
"You don't know who I am? Or who my parents are? Do the names Jaune and Pyrhha Nikos-Arc ring a bell?"
…
"Nope." The unbelieving open jawed stare i got for my answer was become a familiar and common occurrence
"Eh. Not that it matters. They're only successful huntsmen. And my mother is something of a living legend, not that that really matters, it's just that most everyone knows them, and therefore knows me, and tries to be my friend. Not that they are bad people, but rather that they don't really want to be my friend for being my friend you know? Wait, I'm rambling again, aren't I?"
"Yes, my long winded friend. Yes you are." I smiled. "Anyway, we have a game relic to find. You didn't happen to see one before we met?"
"Can't say that I have. When my parents were here, they were chess pieces. So, my guess would be to start looking for pawns or something." he shrugged, marching on away from the hill. I followed, mainly because I had no reason to go in any other direction. We followed the drainage stream of the lake until we came across a cliff that rose about 6 or so meters, and at the bottom was the cascade of water, dribbling into a curving stream that led into the forest. "There's something behind the waterfall." Richard said matter a factly.
"How the hell can you tell?" I said, reeling my head back in confusion.
"I can see a rock sticking out from behind it. And besides, I can hear the echoes of the water." he said. Hrm, not bad.
"Good hearing." I complimented in a grunt.
"Thanks. Now, how are we going to get down? I don't suppose that you got a rope-" he started, but by the time he had finished, I had both pulled my stolen rope off of my belt and was half way done tying it around a tree.
"After you, Supreme leader" i half joked, bowing at Richard. He rolled his eyes, and descended down the cliff side. I followed after him, leaving the rope there. "You're not bringing the rope?"
"Nah. I'd have to climb up to untie the knot, and then I would not have a way back down. Better to leave it up there. Saves us the trouble." I shrugged, letting the rope fall against the cliff. "Besides, the towers that-away, right?"
"I have no idea." came the plain response of my partner. "First things first, however. Waterfall."
"Of course." We waded into the wall of water, being the second time I got wet. Gracias a dios that my hat and jacket were practically immune to everything. Richard was not so fortunate however, exiting with soaking jeans and hoodie. The enclave hidden behind the waterfall was large enough to fit the two of us, perhaps more. Being near three meters tall and two meters wide. It lacked depth however, being less than a meter deep. But etched into the wall was a series of concentric rings with plates of stone placed on several of them, looking like some kind of Alchemy circle or something, or like an old model of the universe. I looked at the several symbols on the plates. The letters I, V, X, C and S were carved into them. "Hrmm. I have no idea what this even is." Richard said from behind me.
"Neither do I Rich. It looks like some kind of puzzle, but I have no idea what the goal of the puzzle is. Do those letters mean anything to you?" I questioned, not even looked back at my partner. He shrugged. "Nope. you got any ideas?"
"Does it look like I have any ideas?' I asked, just a little peeved. I hated puzzles, or rather, I loved puzzles. They were just infuriating. "Well, time to go to plan A." I finished my thought
"Which is?"
"Fuck with it until something happens." I turned around to face Richard Arc. the look of 'Are you always this insane?'
'Are you always this… Chaotic?" asked Richard Arc, in a growing state of shock as he came to understand and know the man that would fight and live with him for the next four years. Dear gods help him now. Cortez only laughed. I only laughed at his question. Poor man was not prepared for whatever hell we would go though.
The rings moved smoothly as I pushed them around, getting a feel for the puzzle. The outer ring was carved into a snake, the second had boar motifs. The third, bears. And the final ring had wolves on it. This can't be too hard, right?
It took way too damn long to solve. After hours of screwing around with the sliding puzzle, Richard and I finally solved the fucker. There were hidden balls behind the disks that you had to get to the center by moving the rings around, and it was all around annoying to do. We struggled for nearly three hours before the stone slab rolled to the side, revealing a stone pedestal, which contained a White Marble Bishop encased in glass. "There is most definitely some kind of trap here Cortez. We need to be careful. No one knows what Ozpin could have set up here…" My mind kind of stopped listening after that point. It would just be easier to take the bishop and run from whatever happened. I reached for my stowed shovel
Shlink!
Richard was inspecting the rest of the pedestal, looking for some kind of trap mechanism. I swung my shovel at the glass
Crash! Ahh, what a beautiful sound. Random shit breaking, absolute music to my ears.
"Cortez! What the hell?" Screeched Richard, immediately shooting up straight.
"No time, run!" i said, swiping the white stone bishop from its now broken case and decided to cola alta my ass out of there. I could hear stone grind behind me as I ran through the waterfall, and the clinking of Rich's armor as well.
"Holy Crap! They're Nosferu!" came the panicked yell behind me.
What? What was that? I turned my head to look behind me.
Apparently they are large bat looking fuckers. Hijo de puta, they can fly. Of course they can fly, they're bats. But the issue is that they can fly faster than Richard can run. They can almost out pace me running. But my speed advantage probably has to do with them having to avoid the trees. Something they are particularly bad at, thankfully. Wait, they're bats, right?
"Oi, Arc!"
"Yeah?"
"Do these things like loud sounds?"
A shrug was my response as he swatted away a bat with his sword. You know you're useless sometimes, right Richard? I thought. Unfortunately, I was too caught up in my own thoughts to recognize the hurling blackness of the Nosferu rush at me. I raised my arms to defend myself, but the impact never came. Instead I heard a dull Thump sound, kind of like an electric drum of some kind. I opened my eyes, to see the fading ripples of some light blue force field. I looked at my partner with confusion, seeing that his left hand was held out, glowing with the same blue light. I nodded in thanks and returned my focus to running ahead. We were approaching a downhill. "Hey Richard. Think you can lose em, Amigo?"
"Not without help, NO!" came the angry reply from behind me. I laughed, pulling out my phone. I tapped it a few times, pulling up my music app. Setting the volume to maximum, I hit the play button
The heavy sound of the electric guitar came out with a harsh grating, causing both the Nosferu to fall to the ground, attempting to cover their ears. The harsh blasting music from my device was giving us time for Richard to stab them though with his sword. It took only a few seconds for the bats to recover from the surprise Ozzy Ozborne. "What in the name of all things unholy was that?" asked a dumbfounded Richard as the surviving Nosferu flew away back to their cave.
"What, you don't like Ozzy Ozhborne?"
We just kind of stared at each other for a moment. "Tower?" I asked, pointing at the center of the basin
"Tower." confirmed Richard, and we descended to the bottom of the basin.
It took not 5 minutes before we heard commotion. Richard automatically lurched in the direction of combat, his instinctive drive to help people kicking in.
"No no no. We are not. We are going to the tower." I said, doing my best to prevent my chivarious partner from jumping in head first. He looked at me with a sad pout. I let out a keen half whine half groan. "I hate how you can do that." I grumbled, reloading my revolver. My legs found themselves chasing after this overly helpful blond idiot. We rushed through the dense deciduous forest, past tall pines and gnarled oaks and green leafed spruce trees, to find Mi Amigo Shawnold McDonald and some chick with dyed blue and purple hair defending a hill from a pack of beowolves. Richard, being the armored dumbass he is, rushed in with sword and shield. As he valiantly charged into battle to the aid of his fellow Huntsman, I decided to take a breather and stay behind. I did pick off a few of them from a range with my revolver though. Note to self: Fire dust based ammunition has less force than gunpowder does, so it took more ammo to kill a wolf than what i would have hoped for. Also, Fire dust rounds smell like ash and burning coal or something similar. Man, this is weird, I should be trying to get home, not shooting demon wolves and running through forests on a damned easter egg hunt for chess pieces.
"Friend Cortez!" Shawn's voice snapped me out of my pondering. "Join us in our march for the tower!" I jogged over to the group, greeting the multi-colored hair women. She introduced herself as Andromeda, shifting her semi auto rifle back into its spear form. The four of us marched on, Richard and Andromeda taking lead very quickly, bouncing directions and paths off of one another to get to the tower. It quickly devolved into an argument the first time, unfortunately.
"I'm telling you, it's this way."
"But that can't be right. North is clearly that way." a hand was pointed in some odd direction. I looked at Shawn with a forlorn expression. He shrugged from behind his bucket helmet.
"What does that have anything to do with anything?"
"Are you daft? We should be going Northeast-ish to get to the tower. We are heading in the opposite direction."
"We are not! We are heading in the correct direction, thank you very much, you-"
"Please, both of you. Stop it. Arguing will get us nowhere." Shawn intervenes, stopping the two's old married couple's level of bickering. Bless your soul, Mi Blindado Amigo. I don't think I could stand it much longer. The two of them gloured at him for a while, and the three of them started discussing, much calmer this time. They were still getting nowhere though. I sighed, looking around. If we were on a downward slope, and the center of the downward slope is where the tower should be (I hope), we should just be able to walk down the hill. Scuttling up a tree to get a better view, I confirmed my suspicion upon the tops of its branches. At the center off the downhill basin was a tall, ruined stone structure. I scuttled back down, noticing that the three of them were in more heated discussion.
"Alright, alright. Debates over Candidates. Tower's this-away." I said, signaling my hand in a two finger wave down the hill.
"How do you know that, Cortez?" asked a confused Richard, amazed at my knowledge.
"I climbed a tree." I responded casually, striding down the slope, passing the trees that dug deep into the earth. Shawn jogged up to me, engaging in conversation about weapons while Andromeda and Richard just exchanged a look.
"Is he always like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Is Cortez always this…. Unpredictable?"
"As far as I know, Yes." Richard replied. "Hey Sebastain! You still got that bishop piece?"
"Yup." I turned to face the duo, continuing to walk backward. "Chica Estrella, what piece do you have?"
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" came her almost insulted response.
"I asked you what chess piece you have?" I responded, unsure of what I said to insult her.
"No, no, before that. What did you say?" she said, a little less insulted, I think. I hope.
"Chica Estrella? It means… good question. Give me a moment. I'm not great at translating." I paused, thinking about my native language. Not that I actually needed to, but it made me seem just a little less smart than I really was. "Chica means girl, and Estrella means Star. I just called you star girl. That's all."
Andromeda stared at me blankly.
"So, what chess piece do you have?"
"We have a knight. You guys?"
"Bishop. White one, made of marble. It's nice. Very well crafted," Jumped in Richard, eager to join the conversation.
"Oh, Cool. we have a gold knight."
"Wait, yours is golden? Why are they different colors?"
"Different teams, Amigo. we are paired with whoever has the white bishop piece, they are paired with the gold horse. At least, I hope so. Or else I have no idea how they organize teams." I butted in, breaking my concentrated silence. We walked like that or a while, talking about where we were from and what not. I learned that Andromeda was from outer Vale, a town called Auberton. She also could make clouds of explosive "Stardust." I was quickly learning that semblances were both very powerful and varied. Some people could create clouds of explosive powder or put up force fields, others could become human glowsticks. Shawn had been raised by a monastery of travelling knights, so he was from all over the place. Richard spent most of his time in Vale, where his family was 'Stationed' mostly, but spent a lot of time in Minstral with his mother's side of his family. The entire group was shocked when I had never heard of Pyrrha Nikos of Jaune Arc.
"What have you been doing all your life? Living under a rock?" Came the surprised and somewhat sarcastic voice of Andromeda.
"Andromeda, don't be so rude. As much as it shocks me that Friend Cortez has never heard of some of the most famous Huntsmen in history, we cannot judge. We all lead different lives." came the calm and measured voice of Shawn.
"Speaking of different lives, where are you from, Sebastian? I really can't pin a label on you. You seem to be from Vulco or Menagerie, but you really don't fit the description."
I started to panic at this. Uhh, shit. What do I say? I can't tell them I'm from Cuba, can I?
"I'm from Cuba."
God damn it Sebastian. Cuba doesn't exist here, they won't know of it at all!
"Kuba?" asked Richard, mimicking my accent. Badly, but not in a mean way. It was more so him struggling with understanding what I said. I really do pronounce it in a similar manner after all.
"Cuba. you're close enough though. It's an island off the coast of Vulco I think."
"That's cool. What's it like? Is it nice?" asked Andromeda, making small talk more than anything else.
"It's…" I paused, images of tropical trees and the smell of brewing rum and warm sugar and the feel of sand and green leaves running through my fingers found their way into my mind. I choked up for a moment, feeling incredibly homesick. "It's nice. Tropical island, nice beaches. That kind of thing." I managed to swallow.
"Sounds pretty. What made you come to Beacon then?" asked Richard, striding up to the head of the group with me. I was silent for a little while as he looked at me expectantly.
"There was a mistake that I made." I finally answered, much to the unsatisfactory expressions on my allies faces. They poked the question a little, but Shawn was both smart enough and kind enough to understand that I did not want to go into further detail.
"Hey, I can see the tower! We're close!" Came the excited voice of Richard. We marched onward, with excitement and hope that we could go back into a place with air conditioning. And food. Food was a bonus as well right now. We approached the base of the tower, built into a clearing of the forest at the center of the basin. The collapsed wooden doors were open, inviting the party into its stone pathways. The group ascended the spiral staircase, and found Ozpin and the rest of the teaching staff there. Port was watching the forest, recounting tales to no one in particular. Oobleck was watching the new students enter from the stairway, on the left side of Ozpin and his omnipresent coffee. Goodwitch was to his right, accounting for students and their pieces. We were escorted to some of the waiting bullheads at the tower, shuttling students back to Beacon for the entrance ceremony tonight. Richard signed in despair as he walked into the aircraft, lemeting his airsickness. I rolled my eyes, handing him a bucket from the side of the bullhead. He muttered a thank you as he sat down in a corner. I sat beside him, pulling out my phone. Richard gave me a quizzical look, about to ask about it, but was cut off by the lurch of the bullhead. Doubled over the wastebasket, he was not in a great position to ask questions. I set up some music, a rather varied mix of music, and sat back. My hat returned to its india jones position. The familiar opening words of Carry on My Wayward Son danced in my ears as the towers of the academy approached us from the distance, the mountains framing the school with a picturesque scene. I could not help but smile, thinking that I had advanced on my uncertain checklist for getting home. How becoming a huntsman got me home, I was not sure. But, it's a step somewhere, right? Los dios i hope so.
Man, I have no idea what I'm doing, do I?
I continued to have my external crisis at my terrible decision making until I got back to Beacon. You know, Beacon never ceases to amaze me. It's arches and towers were both awe inspiring and intimidating. It did, however, look old. The walls showing the scars and blemishes of age. I could not help but smile as I stepped off the bull head. I winced at the sound of a stomach ridding itself of Richard Arc. We were escorted by the bull head pilot to the main hall, which had been decorated with the greens and blacks and whites of Beacon. I saw Shawn and Andromeda talking to some rabbit faunus, Shawn really not saying much, but nodding here and there. Andromeda, however, was the lifeblood of the conversation between the three. There was another girl, kind of hoving around the rabbit faunus. Her short black hair framed a pretty face, which sat upon a rather spectacular body. Jesus de Montoya, what is up with the women here? They're all really pretty, and most certainly all in great condition. I noticed that Richard was no longer next to me, and looked around for him. He was, of course, swamped with a crowd of ass lickers. I sighed, pushing my way through the gaggle of students. "Oi, Richard!" he looked up in panic, but it turned to relief once he saw my face. Help me he mouthed, pushing off some fangirl that had gotten too close for comfort. I rolled my eyes, grabbing him by the arm. "Come on Rich, we got to go. Rest of the teams waiting for us.'' I sighed, pulling him along out of the group of admirers. We quickly broke into a run when they began to give chase. Fortunately for us, Beacon was half maze, and I had spent at least a month more here than the rest of the students giving chase. The two of us lost them in the narrow side corridors of the school.
"Over there! They're there!"
"No they're not! That's us, you dimwit!"
"Great, now we lost him." came the pout of some poor girl. I smiled, hiding Richard behind me and a corner.
"Sooo, that was a thing. Thanks for the save, Seb." Richard laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I guess we go to the main hall?"
"...do you want to borrow a mask?" I said, trying to map out the route we should take. I started walking straight, but reconsidered. Turning on my heels 90 degrees, and my lanced hands together pointed in the direction. Richard was silent for just a little bit.
"Yes" he whimpered, following me quickly.
The ceremony was in a word, plain. The banners of Beacon adorned the wall, Ozpin gave a speech about the potential in the room, the next four years, yada yada. The really only interesting thing that was scheduled was the team naming ceremony. And the food. The food was incredibly good, near to the point of exquisiteness. Groups of four would get on the stage, Ozpin and his coffee would announce their team name, some random word based on the combination of their initials somehow, and everyone would clap. Another group would join the stage and the process repeats. "Andromeda Tereth, Shawnold Clayton, Honey Velvetina, Nicole Ebein. Please come to the stage." came the loud but calm and soft voice of Ozpin. The four of them went onto the stage. I recognized them from earlier today, mainly Shawn and Andromeda, having completed part of the Initiation with them. It turns out that Honey is the rabbit faunus, and Nicole was new to me, having dark near blue hair and a slender body. Seriously, what the hell was up with the women here? Is this a global gene that everyone looks like a damn model, or is it a Huntsman thing?
"For collecting the Gold Knight Pieces, I hereby declare you team ASHN, or team Ashen, led by Andromeda Tereth. Congratulations." came the monotone of Ozpin, who sipped his coffee. He looked proud almost. The room began to clap again, the sound imitating thunder or fireworks as it filled the room. I joined them, looking over to Richard on my right. He was glancing around our little corner, on the watch for his fanclub.
You know, now that I think about it, most all of the men here are also really damn hot. Not necessarily my type, but still. I shook my head. You have Zoey at home, remember?
Wait. I didn't though. I'm pretty sure we had broken up by this point. I groaned, rubbing my temples.
"You alright?" asked Richard, concerned about my mental health. And for good reason, i guess. In the five hours we had known each other, I had become the embodiment of contained chaos.
"Yeah. just a headache. Never thought i'd get this far." Richard cocked his head at that, but ignored it for the most part.
"Richard Arc, Makenzi Gunhild, Sebastian Cortez, Yel Xiao-Long, please attend the stage." came Ozpin over the speaker system.
"That's us. Come on Seb. we got a team to build." smiled Richard as he strode to the stage. The crowd parted as he walked, like he was some kind of old General of war. I followed behind him, placing my hands behind my back, mostly to give them something to fiddle with. We stepped onto the stage with a black haired, short, asian looking cat faunus, who acknowledged Richard with a nod of "'sup?" and a large, mountain built woman with scars running down her arms, parallel to the ground. She looked like a Viking, or some other kind of nordic person. We stood in a row, me rocking on the balls of my feet. "You four have collected the white bishop piece. Together, you will be team RMSY, also known as Ramsey. Congratulations on your achievement." we smiled, Makenzi did a little bow, and walked off the stage. Ms. Goodwitch greeted us there, smiling and clapping. "You have a room set up already, and your stuff has been moved. Room 503, North West wing. While most groups stay for the entire ceremony, it is fine if you want to leave early." she smiled.
"Thank you. I appreciate it, Ms. Goodwitch. He turned to us, all grins. "Well team, you guys want to hang out for the rest of the ceremony, or do you guys want to check out our new dorm?"
"Dorm" grunted the mountain women in something akin to a slavic accent. Makenzi, that's her name. Makenzi Gunhild.
"I second the motion, Richy." said the tiny faunus girl, shifting out from behind Makenzi. "You know I don't like people." she deadpanned further
He considered their words for a bit, then turned to me. "Cortez?" he asked, reducing the sentence "what do you want, Cortez?" to one single word. I tilted my head into my hand, taking a pose of deep thought.
"Ehh, why not? I'll need to get my stuff, but i see no issue with heading to the dorms now."
The three of them looked at me questioningly, confused by something. "What do you mean, your stuff?" asked Yell, her head tilted and her lynx ears had perked up in curiosity.
"I'll explain later. What's the dorm number again?" I shrugged.
"503 nothwest. See you there?" asked Richard, checking his scroll, hopefully for a map.
"si , Comandante Arc." I waved over my shoulder as I turned my back on the group, heading to my supply closet of a dorm I had been sleeping in for the last month or so. It took a little while, and I did not rush my meandering stroll. I hoped that this would be a good four years.
Richard Arc was many things. Overly compassionate? Yes. A smart man with a calm head on his shoulders? Absolutely. A kind and ideal driven person? Without a doubt. A Leader and Commander for his team? Dear gods above he hoped so. Understanding, or even pretending to understand the enigma that was his partner, Sebastian Cortez? Ha, not in the slightest. There was something… off about the boy. Nothing that he could place his finger on, but it was the feeling of standing in a room with an alien who looked like a human, but had these ever so silent and un noticeable twitches and actions that betrayed him. He could not help but find himself liking the boy though. He, despite his strangeness, was an enjoyable person. And his team could be worse. He had his 'Cousin' Yel Xiao-Long, a skilled, if not lazy and rude and sarcastic huntress, and Makenzi Gunhild. He had never met Makenzi before, and did not know what to expect from her. He hoped that she was less chaotic than Cortez. And here he was again, thinking about his partner.
"Hey, Richy?" came the voice of Yellow as they turned a corner into a dorm hallway.
"Yeah Yel? What's up?" came his reply, looking at the map on his scroll.
"You passed our dorm." she deadpanned, pointing to the door he had just passed on his left.
"Ah, thanks Yel." he said, sliding his scroll over the lock system that his parents had used when they were here. The school, fortunately, had the foresight to register the students' scrolls before initiative, allowing for everything to be set up upon their arrival. The door clicked open as he strolled into the room. It was kind of small, being a near 3 meters by 3 meters square with four beds, one in each corner. A desk/ cabinet combo was at the end of each bed. Yel immediately flopped onto a bed, ignoring her two suitcases lined up on the wall. It was interesting, thought the young Arc as he walked into the center of the room, turning in a full 360. There were only three sets of suitcases, one for him, Makenzi and Yel. His were white and hard cased, the arc insignia imprinted on the front of both his cases. Yel had simple black canvas bags that were being ignored as she turned herself into a living burrito with the bedsheets. Makenzi had the least out of all of them, only having one suitcase, which she took to the bed of the bottom corner, close to the window. She sat down, pulling out her scroll and started doing who knows. The three of them sat in silence for a while, the awkwardness of it. Richard Arc had never really been great at getting people to talk. "Sooo… How was initiation for you guys?" He asked into the silence. Yel just grumbled something about nevermore from her burrito-ness.
"It went well enough. We were ambushed by nevermore in retrieving the relic though. That was annoying." she said choppily, her mantle tribe accent thick and strong. Yel grumbled in agreement, settling down on her bed. "Yeah. we had to solve a puzzle to get ours. Man, am I glad that I met Sebastian." Richard sighed tiredly, flopping down onto his bed.
"I dunno. There's something off about him." Said the Burrito. Yel kind of sat up, propping herself on her elbows.
"What makes you say that?" Came the harsh accent of the M in RMSY
"I'm not sure. It's just the way he smells, I guess." came the burrito's voice. After that, the group descended into awkward silence again. It persisted for a while, until the door opened up, revealing Sebastian Cortez, with a dusty brown briefcase and duffle bag.
He looked around at the tension that could be cut with a knife.
"Did not one of you even say a single world while I was gone?"
I stood in front of the door, marked with 503 like a hotel room might. I took a breath in. it's alright Sebastian. It's only the room with the people I'll be entrusting the next four years of my life with. It's going to be ok. Deep breath. I almost knocked, but opted to just open the door instead. The tension here was tangible, thick enough to cut with a dull butterknife. Although, aren't all butter knives dull? That is a good question.
"Did not one of you even say a single word while I was gone?" I asked into the room, walking in and tossing my stuff onto the last bed, one by the window.
"We spoke." came the indignant voice of Makenzi. It was a pretty voice, thick with a nordic or slavic accent.
"And what did you guys say? I would hate to miss out on anything" I jested in good nature.
"Nothing much. Just how initiation was a pain in the fucking ass." grumbed the burrito on the bed catty corner to me.
"Yel! Language!" scolded Richard, opening his suitcase. "Anyway, now that we are all here, does anyone want to do some ice breakers?"
The burrito groaned at this, Lynx ears sticking out. That must be Yel I thought off handedly.
"I´am fine with it. I don't know any of you guys at all, so it would be nice to get to know yall better" I said, looking around the room.
"I am not opposed to the idea" Makenzi stated curtly. She did not like talking apparently, or at least she spoke very little.
"So… 20 questions anyone?"
Poor Yel was on the ground laughing, rolling around until she had to stop to draw air. It was a harsh and guttural purring laugh. "I-It's not that funny!" exclaimed Richard as he curled up into a ball, to protect his blush if anything.
"Man, no offence, but that is the funniest shit that I've ever heard, and mi abuelo wants to be shot out of a cannon when he dies." I laughed, my hyena cackle being nothing really new to the group. We had been talking for a near hour and a half now, and man did Yel and Richard have stories to tell. The two´s parents were close, and they themselves were practically cousins.
"Hey, Cortez?" asked Yel, looking over to me.
"Yeah? What is it?" I returned with a smile. This should be good.
"Where are you from? I can't recognize your accent at all, and I've been practically everywhere. Never heard anyone speak like you." my smile fell. Both Makenzi and Richard caught it immediately.
"I'm from a tiny island called Cuba. it is pretty isolated, so i'm not surprised that you wouldn't recognize anyone from it." i lied. Well, it's not really a lie, because all of that was true. Ish. I just left out that I may be from another world. Ehh, not a major detail or anything.
"Is it nice?" asked Makenzi, her interest piqued.
"Yeah." I started. "It's great. Tropical island, sandy beaches and blue oceans. Kind of stereotypical in that way. Great fields of tobacco and sugar cane as far as the eye can see. Small markets set up in the town square." I swallowed. I could feel myself tear up just a bit from thinking about my home. "That kind of thing." The silence was palpable for a moment, as the team watched me break, even if it was just a little. A hand patted me on the shoulder. I turned my head to see Richard there, smiling just a little in reassurance.
"It's ok. We all get a little homesick from time to time. Changing subject." At this, he turned to the rest of the team, "what does everyone do? Combat wise?"
"I, as you know Richy, am a tracker-Dust user who shoots things with a bow." Deadpanned Yel, her sarcasm coming strong, even if it was just instinct.
"Good for you. I am a heavy melee combatant. I like to hit things. Preferably with a large ax." Makenzi grunted in her manner of speech. "What about you, Seb-Sebast- Can I just call you Seb?"
She struggled with my name. Interesting. It was not the first time that someone had struggled with it, though. "Yeah, it's fine. I just shoot things" I made a finger gun at her. "Pew."
She took it with a withering glare. "Really. What do you do? Surely that can't be it"
"Uhh… this is kind of embarrassing, you see, the thing is..." I floundered, fiddling with my hands, "I have no actual experience in this field at all."
They blinked at me and stared for one second. Then two. Then three.
"I´m sorry, what?"