Good day Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to chapter 4 of Silver Hope. Here we finally meet our two favourite team - RWBY and JNPR - and Ruby's first meeting with them. Enjoy!
The group had been waiting for about ten minutes before they were allowed on the massive airship to Beacon, and longer the wait, the harder it was to leave. Taiyang had been sulking for most of the week before they had to go, not liking that both of his little girls were going away to school and would only be back for holidays. Although they all decided to spend the last couple of days having fun, Tai was once again sniffling miserably as they all waited to be let on, resulting in both girls almost guilty crying too.
"Dad, you need to stop crying. We aren't going to be that far away and we'll come back for all the holidays. It isn't like we're leaving you forever." Yang said, trying to console her crying father but at the mention of them leaving forever, the tears just started coming faster.
"Good job Yang, you made it worse." Qrow congratulated sarcastically as he held out another tissue for the sobbing man squeezing both his daughters in a bear hug. "Tai, let them go. I know that you're gonna miss them and all but you can still call them on the weekends. You knew this was going to happen eventually, you're just gonna have to live with it."
"Yeah but I thought I would at least have Ruby still for a year before she took off too, and now they're leaving me. What am I going to do?"
"Keep teaching at Signal, or go on missions again. I don't know, but they aren't little girls anymore and have to live their own lives now. Let them go Tai, they have to board now."
Looking up to see everyone else was walking away and onto the massive ship, both the girls wiggled their way out of his hold, reaching around him to hug him in a group hug before they both leaned down to kiss his cheeks.
"We love you and all dad but we have to go. We'll call you once we settle and stuff." Yang said, grabbing her bags and slowly stepping backwards away from her father and Uncle.
Ruby was a little nicer and more emotional, feeling upset because it was partially her fault for him being so upset. "I'm sorry that I'm making you so upset Daddy, but this is going to be so good and I need it. I know you wanted more time but that's just not something I can give, I will write to you and call and stuff. I'll miss you lots." She sniffled, hugging him again before backing away to say goodbye to her Qrow.
"Hey kiddo, I'll see you later. Don't know when but I will, don't you worry." Qrow said, trying to console her as she looked up at him, tears in her eyes.
Ruby just hugged him tight around his middle, still too short to reach very high but trying anyway. "Please be careful on your missions. I know that they are gonna be longer and more dangerous now but please always come back. And if you can, spend a couple of days with Ozpin. I know that you haven't seen much of each other lately and with you leaving so soon, please spend some time together."
"You are the weirdest kid, you know that. I'll try to stop by, but I can't promise that you'll see me." Qrow chuckled, curling around her as she started shuddering in deep breaths.
"I don't mind, I just don't like that it's been me that's been keeping you apart."
"Never worry about that Ruby, because it isn't you keeping me away. Now get going before you miss your ride."
Looking up at him with teary eyes, Ruby smiled slightly and bounced up, kissing his cheek before grabbing her bags and following her sister up the ramp. Neither sister looked back at the men, both knowing that they would break down and go running back if they did, their love for their father too strong.
"Come on Ruby, I think we put our bags over here." Yang directed, trying to distract both of them with something to do.
Nodding along, Ruby placed her bags down before wandering around, looking at all the lounge areas and viewing decks. It wasn't long before the Airship was taking off and heading for Beacon, finally. Both girls grinned to each other before taking off for the viewing deck in a race, distracted from their moping by the new level of excitement that came with going to a new place.
Reaching the viewing deck, Yang and Ruby stood side by side and watched as the ground below passed by quickly, the city giving way to water as the Airship flew towards the academy.
"Oh, I still can't believe that I'm going to Beacon with my little sister. I'm so excited." Yang expressed, attacking Ruby in a hug and picking her up, spinning around in glee.
"Really sis, it's nothing. I mean, this is going to be so much fun and all but I'm trying not to draw too much attention." Ruby mumbled, dusting off her skirt once she was back on her feet.
"What do you mean it's nothing? It was incredible, everyone at Beacon is gonna think you're the bee's knees."
"I don't want to be the bee's knees. I don't want to be any kind of knees. I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees. Which means no telling people about my friendship with Ozpin. That is a 'Nope' topic, okay?" Ruby said, glaring at her sisters grinning face.
"Okay. Ozpin is a 'Nope' topic. Anything else?" Yang asked, realising that Ruby was serious and she needed to know the boundaries before she crossed them.
"Yeah, RoseBud and Mum. Crescent Rose is my primary weapon, I'm not going to use RoseBud unless I really have to and not in front of other people so no talking about them unless I bring them up first."
Yang nodded at the request, knowing that while she was a big mouth, she knew that those weren't hers to talk about and would happily leave them for Ruby. They already had a prepared backstory for the family, basically clouding their mum's death in mystery.
"And my eyes. I know that nobody knows about the legends and even if they did, they would hardly believe it but all it takes is one slipped comment and the rumour mill starts and I really don't need that on top of skipping ahead two years." Ruby sighed, knowing that anything got out about her eyes then she was practically screwed.
"Got it. All the of the 'Nope' subjects are logged and Nope'd." Yang saluted with a grin, making Ruby grin too before they looked out the windows again.
"Look its Patch. I guess home really isn't that far away." Ruby mumbled to herself, reaching her hand out to rest on the glass.
"Beacon is our home now." Yang said, slinging an arm over her sister's shoulders. They both just appreciated the view, ignoring the news that was playing the story about the Torchwick robbery. The girls were distracted from their musings at the sound of a different voice cutting off the news report.
"Hello and welcome to Beacon."
"Is that-"
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch."
"Oh."
"You are among a privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace." At that statement, Ruby scoffed in disgust. "And as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." And with that, her holographic image disappeared to leave the amazing view they were looking at before.
The two girls stood together again, admiring the view before it to interrupted by a vomiting blonde racing across the ship in search of a bin.
"Ewww Yang you got vomit on your shoe!"
"Gross, gross, gross, gross. Get it off, get off!"
"Don't come near me. Stay away!"
After hopping around and running away for a few minutes, the girls calmed down a bit and Ruby helped Yang clean off her boots, both of them holding their breath as they cleaned, not wanting to smell it and throw up themselves.
It wasn't long before the Airship was docking and the sisters raced back up to the doors, having been told that their bags will be taken care of, even if they don't actually know where they were going. Yang was excited to finally get to see the whole of the school and Ruby silently very glad that she already knew the whole campus inside and out from her many visits. Stepping off the ship with her sister and taking a deep breath, the girls walked forwards and took in the glory that was the Beacon campus.
"The view from Vale's got nothing on this." Yang grinned as she crossed her arms, appreciating the amazing view.
"Oooooooh, Yang. That girl has a collapsible bow. And he has a fire sword." Ruby rambled as she drifted away, following the people with amazing weapons.
"Woah, slow down sis. They're just weapons." Yang claimed, hooking a hand through Ruby's hood to make sure she didn't go too far.
"Just weapons?! They're like an extension of ourselves. And so much easier to talk to, meeting new weapons is like meeting new people, only better."
"Come on Ruby. Why don't you try and make some friends of your own?" Yang groaned, pulling Ruby's hood down over her head.
"Why would I need new friends if I have you?"
"Well, actually my friends are here now. I have to go now. Bye!" And just like that, she was gone and left Ruby spinning dizzily in the middle of the path.
"Uuugh." Ruby groaned before tripping over the luggage trolley behind her. "Oww."
"What are you doing?" Hearing a crabby voice from above her, Ruby looked up to see a girl dressed all in white and pale blue.
"Sorry."
"Sorry? Do you have any idea the damage you could have caused?" The crabby girl yelled at her again. With a confused sound, her head still hurting from the hit on the ground, Ruby gently grabbed one of the cases and passed it up, only for it to be snatched from her hands. How rude. "Give me that. This is Dust. Mined and purified from the Schnee Dust Company."
At Ruby's continued brainless sound, the crabby girl grabs a vial and snaps the case closed, small amounts of Dust Powder escaping. "Are you brain dead? Dust. Fire. Water. Lightning. Energy!"
Even through Ruby's cloudy mind, she could see exactly where that situation was headed every time the crabby girl shook the vial with the very loose cork. Feeling herself about to sneeze, Ruby stood and grabbed the vial of Burn dust and quickly stepped away from the Dust cloud forming, properly sealing it before she sneezed.
"How dare you?!" Crabb girl shrieked as she stomped over.
Finally having had enough of the annoying girls attitude, Ruby turned with a murderous expression and met her half-way. "No, how dare you?! Do you have any idea the amount of damage you could have caused?! Who shakes an unsealed vial of Dust – pure energy – in front of someone's face?! Everyone knows that all it takes is one sneeze to set it off and you almost blew us off the cliff. What kind of idiot are you?!" Ruby screamed, shoving the vial at the crabby girl's chest before turning away.
"Oh, the nerve!" Crabby girl shrieked.
Stopping abruptly, Ruby tuned on her heel and marched back, catching the eye of the bowed girl she almost ran into. "Look Princess-"
"It's heiress, actually." At the addition of a new voice, both girls looked over to see a girl with a black bow on her head and a black and white outfit. "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."
"Finally, some recognition."
"The same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners." Hearing all that, Ruby became even more enraged at the apparent 'Heiress'.
"And one would think that an 'Heiress' to a Dust company would know how to treat the stuff." Ruby said, taking one last look at the blubbering girl before storming off, knowing that she needed to cool down before she would blow up at someone else.
It only took a minute for her to reach the very familiar room of the now second year team. Using her Scroll to unlock the door and storming in, not caring about the half-naked Fox lying on his bed before face planting straight onto Velvet's bed and into her arms, screaming out her frustrations into the mattress.
After screaming for almost a whole minute, Ruby finally ran out of air and rolled over, snuggling into Velvet's side.
"That was some scream there, Red. Wanna talk about it?" Coco asked from her desk, having turned to face the two girls when she didn't stop after ten seconds as she usually did.
"I just met Weiss Schnee after tripping on her luggage and rather than blowing us both up by sneezing into the dust cloud she made, shaking a vial of unsealed Burn Dust in my face, I snatched it, moved away, sealed the vial and sneezed. And then she comes marching at me is if it was all my fault! Stupid crabby girl, and that was all after Yang ditched me to go hang with her friends." Ruby ranted, not bothering to move as Velvet started to pet her hair.
"She sounds like a whingey bitch if you ask me." Coco said, early a chuckle from everyone in the room.
"Basically. I mean, who is an heiress to a Dust company but just waves the stuff around like an idiot?" Ruby grumbled, finally losing of the tension that built throughout the day the wasn't even half over.
"Well don't get too comfortable there, Red. You still have the opening ceremony to get to in only 5 minutes." Coco informed her as she checked the time, only to receive a muffled groan in response.
Grumbling at her luck, Ruby rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed, groaning all the while. "Okay, I'm going. I don't know what else we'll be doing today so I might not see you until tomorrow or the day after."
"We know Red. We'll see you later, now get going before you're late."
With a quick round of hugs to the older team, Ruby raced out of the room and down to the main hall where the ceremony would most likely be taking place, catching the attention of one lost blonde who decided to follow along.
Ruby arrived at the massive hall with a few minutes to spare, and despite the fact that nobody has any assigned spot or chairs, apparently her sister 'saved her a spot'. Glaring at her over happy sister, Ruby quickly made her way through the crowd and promptly punched her sister in the arm. "That was for ditching me."
"Oh, come on. I'm sure it wasn't so bad. You made it here didn't you?"
"Yeah, after I tripped on some crabby girl's luggage and she almost blew us off the cliff. She was shaking an unsealed vial of Burn Dust in my face, what an idiot!"
"Oh, I can see how that could have been not good."
"And it turned out that she was Wiess Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and apparently a complete idiot."
"Yikes. And you blew up at her, didn't you?"
"Of course, I did. I had to snatch the damn thing from her before I sneezed and she thought I was the problem? I don't think so. I spent the last five minutes with Team CFVY because at least they like me."
"Sorry sis, I didn't think leaving you would be that bad."
"It's fine. At least I know my way around the school and didn't get lost, that would've been bad."
Both girls sighed at that. While Ruby was actually pretty good with directions, she was not good with unfamiliar places. Ruby getting lost in Beacon would have been disastrous and resulted in a meltdown. Yang felt incredibly bad for her younger sister at that thought, knowing that if that happened it would have been her fault because she ditched her.
"I'm sorry, Ruby. I didn't think about that at all."
"It's fine Yang, I do know my way around and I had Team CFVY, I was fine. I mean besides the crabby-"
"You again!"
Jumping slightly, Ruby turned around to see the crabby girl from before glaring at her and holding out a pamphlet reading 'Dust for Dummies'. Ruby looked back at the girl, a glare of her own growing on her face, and she could hear Yang behind her laughing at the thought of Ruby need such an item.
"What do you want?"
"You're a thieving idiot who almost sneezed into a Burn Dust vial."
"No, you're the imbecile who shook an unsealed vial of Dust powder in someone's face. You almost got us blown off the cliff. If anyone needs that pamphlet it's you. And my name is Ruby, so if you could stop calling me an idiot, that would be great."
"How dare you?" Taking a deep breath, Weiss carried on. "Look Ruby, the Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product-"
"Let me stop you right there, Heiress. I have not, and will not, use SDC products so that spiel is useless for me. I already know how to handle Dust so if you could kindly leave me alone, that would be great."
"Damn sis, go get her!"
"Yang."
"Sorry."
"Look, you don't like me. I don't really like you. Let's just not like each other at a distance." Ruby said, having already screamed out her anger before and just really wanted to be left alone.
"Fine, but don't talk to me unless you have to." And then she was gone. The silence didn't last long though before Ozpin made his way to the microphone.
"I'll… keep this brief. You have travelled here to today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge with free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you, to take the first step."
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight, tomorrow your initiation begins, be ready. You are dismissed." Goodwitch finished, dismissing the new first years.
The sisters gave each other an odd look before shrugging and moving along, Ruby had already explained what Ozpin could be like sometimes and really, that wasn't that much of a surprise. The girls wandered off to explore the campus – honestly more Ruby giving a tour than anything else – and find their bags. They were all piled in the ballroom but there was no rhyme nor reason to the pile and it took half an hour of digging to find theirs and set up.
Day drifted into night quickly and as all the other first years started to settle, Ruby was feeling anxious and without a thought, pulled out RoseBud's handles and start idly spinning them around her fingers. Thinking about everything that had happened that day, meeting Weiss and kind of meeting the girl with the bow…
Getting back from the bathrooms where she got changed, Yang sighed when she saw Ruby sitting there staring mindlessly ahead while spinning the beautiful jewelled handles. Ruby only ever really took them out when she was bored or really anxious, and in all honesty it made sense. Ruby had been pushed ahead two years and was in a large group of people she didn't know, and for a short period of time, alone from her only known person.
"Ruby, put them away before you get them stolen. Despite no-one knowing what they are, they still look very pretty. Why don't you write a letter for the gang back at Signal, I know you promised to tell them about Beacon."
Ruby was startled at the sudden voice of her sister right next to her, having not heard her get back. Putting the handles away, she grabbed her notebook and pencil, agreeing. "Yeah that's not a bad idea. I also promised Dad too so maybe I should."
Yang and Ruby sat in silence for the next little while, Ruby writing a letter to each friend and her father, so far just complaining about the terrible people she had run into; Vomit Boy and Crabby Girl.
"So, what were you thinking so hard about before?" Yang asked when she saw Ruby slowing down and putting her stuff away.
"My track record with making friends. I know I have Team CFVY but I won't be able to see them very often with us doing homework and assignments now. I don't actually have any friends here and it's weird."
"Well, did you meet anyone other than Miss Crabby?"
"There was another girl there when I blew up at Wiess. She had a cute bow on her head and-" Ruby cut herself off at the sound of a match and the soft glow that came from a candle being lit. Leaning up to look in the direction it came from, she saw the exact girl she was just talking about. "Actually, that's her. She saw what happened and informed me of Miss Crabby's Heiress status but I stormed off before I could say anything to her."
"Well, why don't we go say something now?" Yang said, grabbing her sister's hand and dragging her across the room, kicking and grumbling.
"Hello~!" Yang sang as they approached, gaining the attention of the reading girl.
Looking up from her book, Blake was surprised to see a random blonde walking steadily towards her, dragging another girl but at the sight of the other girl she kind of understood. "Hello."
"I do believe you two have met?" Yang asked, shoving Ruby in front of her and stepping back a couple of steps.
Blake silently chuckled to herself at the hopeless look the younger girl was wearing. "Aren't you the girl who blew up at the Schnee?"
"Yeah, ugh… My name's Ruby. And thanks for helping me back there, I really don't understand how that whole thing was supposed to be my fault."
"I don't really think I did much to help, you had it handled pretty much yourself. And the names Blake, it's a pleasure to meet."
"You too."
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Yang decided to step back in and help out again, knowing that Ruby needed it. "Nice night, don't you think?"
"Yes, it's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book. That I will continue to read after you're gone." Blake said, getting tired of the still unnamed blonde.
"What's it about?" Ruby asked, but clarified at the odd looks she was getting. "Your book, I mean."
"It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over the body."
"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters, they're one of the reasons I want to become a Huntress."
"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"
"Well, I'm hoping we all will. When I was kid I wanted to be just like the heroes in those books. Someone who fought for what was right and protected people who couldn't protect themselves."
"That's quite ambitious for a child, but unfortunately the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."
"Well, isn't that what we're for? To make it better?"
"Well, Ruby and- actually, I don't know your name."
"Yang."
"Well Ruby and Yang, it was a pleasure talking but I'm going to sleep, so goodnight."
"Goodnight Blake."
Walking back to their own sleeping bags, Yang pulled Ruby into a side hug, feeling so proud of her little sister. "I'm so proud of you." She whispered before rolling over and going to sleep, they both knew that the next day was going to be hard.
Waking up in a ballroom full of unknown people, Ruby freaked out a little bit, but at the obnoxious sound of her sisters snoring, she calmed down. It wasn't a second later that she suddenly became excited, knowing that initiation was starting and she wouldn't have to do anymore talking or interacting, just kicking butt and slaying monsters.
The whole ballroom was a blur of motion in a short amount of time, the whole of the first years getting up and ready for their first day at Beacon. Some already pairing off with friends that had also been accepted with them too, and others keeping more to themselves; most likely transfer students from the other kingdoms.
Between all the commotion of packing away their gear again and eating breakfast, an odd pair caught Ruby's eye. There was an orange haired girl who Ruby thought she would get along swimmingly with, she looked like so much fun to be around, always jumping around and talking. The other half of the pair though, was always quiet and just kind of there. Not really doing anything to encourage or discourage the rambling girl around him but not ignoring her. He seemed like a good friend and Ruby was almost jealous of the pair, knowing that she would never really find anyone that would be as accepting of her odd behaviour.
Looking around at all the other first years getting ready too, Ruby made sure to know who would and wouldn't be good in a four-person team with her. Knowing that she was both a long and close-range fighter, a supporting fighter would be good. And a tank of a student, like Yang, who could take hard hits and dish them back just as hard. Although none of the students would like to classify themselves as a support fighter, Ruby knows that people like Weiss who, apparently works with a customised Rapier with a Dust barrel and her family Semblance would be a great support fighter – not that Ruby would want to be on a team with her.
After eating breakfast and everyone started making their way to the lockers, grabbing their weapons, Ruby kept an eye out for Pyrrha Nikos, the apparent champion of the first years. Not three seconds after she thought it, did she find her, the bright red hair and golden armour standing out against the pale blue and white of the crabby girl sucking up to her. 'Great. Of course, the Schnee would want someone like Pyrrha.' Ruby thought to herself, already groaning on the inside.
"You've been awfully quiet today, Ruby."
"Yep, I've been trying to plan what kind of team we'll be put into and who would work best. Plus, today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking, it's gonna be great."
"Well, remember Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. You're gonna have to meet new people, especially when you form teams."
"Oh, well, I figured that we'd be on a team so that's one person down."
"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team."
"My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"
"What? No, of course I do. I just thought, I don't know, maybe it would help you… break out of your shell?"
"What, I don't need to break out of my shell, that is-"
"Ridiculous! There is no way I put my gear in locker 636…"
Ruby frowned at being cut off, and at the level of rudeness that boy had to walk straight through a conversation without any manners.
"Rude." Yang said, watching the boy walk away.
Ruby silently agreed when she saw that Pyrrha and Weiss were talking. Closing her eyes, Ruby tried to focus on what they were saying, needing to know where both girls stood when it came to team formations.
"So, Pyrrha. Have you thought about who's team you would like to be on? I'm sure everyone is eager to unite with such a strong, well known individual such as yourself." Weiss said. She knew that getting on a team with Pyrrha would be invaluable and mean that she would be guaranteed to succeed.
"Hmm, I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." Pyrrha responded, shuffling slightly. Although she seemed nice, Pyrrha was always nervous when people started pointing out her achievements as her best qualities.
"Well, I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together."
"Well that sounds grand." Pyrrha agreed.
"Great." 'This will be perfect. The smartest girl in case combined with the strongest girl in class. Together we will be unstoppable. I can see it now, we'll be popular, we'll be celebrities. Nothing can come between us-"
"Although I do have to wonder who will get on a team with the Grimm Reaper." Pyrrha said, wondering aloud to herself. Even over in Mistral, Pyrrha had heard about the Grimm Reaper, although nobody really knows anything about them, not even their gender.
"The what now?" Asked a random blonde as he ducked in between the two girls.
"The Grimm Reaper is a student who has amazing power and potential. Nobody knows anything about them though, and I have only heard the rumours that they were a part of the incoming first years to Beacon." Pyrrha informed.
"I thought they were nothing but a myth. I've heard of them but they surely can't be real, and if they are, they cannot only be a first-year student. Surely they would be a professional hunter with the way the rumours paint them." Weiss said, denying even the possibility of such a being existing. Even Atlas had heard about the Grimm Reaper.
Turning back to her locker but keeping an ear on their conversation, Ruby blushed at the praise that they were painting for her unfortunately famous name.
"I heard that. Looks like your more famous than we thought, if even Atlas and Mistral have heard of you." Yang said, nudging shoulders with her blushing little sister. Although Ruby never did anything in particular to make her name known, she had built a reputation for herself every time she went out for hunts and had all the Hunters clear the island. Not many people have that kind of power, or trust from the authorities and guilds that she will clear through the Grimm enough to replace all the Hunters and Huntresses they sent out.
To add to it even more, she still had her half of the Sinister Sisters reputation to keep her famous. Although neither reputation involved her real name, it was still big enough to reach the other kingdoms, and someone knew she was at Beacon as a first year.
"Shut up you. Nobody has ever put a name to it and it's going to stay that way. Now let's get going, I want to cover team set ups with you before we start initiation. I don't know when teams are going to be set up and we need to be prepared." Ruby grumbled, shoving back as they heard the announcement for the first years to meet on the cliff.
After kind of half watching the debacle that was 'Jaune Arc', Ruby and Yang took pity on the poor guy and helped him up, making a new friend in the process.
Reaching the top of the cliff and see both Ozpin and Goodwitch waiting, Ruby shrunk back to hide behind her sister at the piercing glare Goodwitch sent her.
"What did you do to her?" Yang asked quietly, tilting her head back to see her cowering sister.
"She didn't know about my visits to the academy and only just recently found out. I don't think she liked the fact that I could hide from her and she never knew." Ruby quietly responded, sticking her head up to see Goodwitch was otherwise entertained, and sighed a breath of relief. "She's totally going to have it out for me, for weeks."
"Probably. Have fun with that." Yang said, before sitting down on her platform, waiting for everyone else to arrive.
Hearing Ozpin clear his throat softly, everyone turned to face the Headmaster. "For years you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates, today." Goodwitch continued, which seemed to set the theme for the rest of the speech; each of the professors taking turns through the speech.
"These team mates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing, will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin stated, voice as even as when he started.
At that, Ruby's world shattered. What if she didn't get partnered with Yang? What if she got some random useless dude? What if she got Weiss?
"See, I told you." The orange haired girl said, poking her friend in the arm.
Eyeing the girl slightly, Ozpin continued, "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way, do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of the initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
Ruby just glared at Ozpin for a few seconds before sighing and preparing herself for the flight she was about to face, ignoring Jaune as he bumbled his way through a couple of stupid questions.
'Okay, I need Yang, possibly Pyrrha, and two others. But Yang first.' Ruby thought, mentally preparing herself for the battles and partnership ahead. Noticing that they were being flung in order, Ruby prepared herself, grinning at Yang as she pulled out a pair of aviators before taking off.
Pulling out Crescent Rose, Ruby quickly loaded the Gravity Dust magazine and shot below her, shooting her higher into the sky and gave here the advantage of finding the Forest Temple in a straight line ahead of her, granted that she landed straight too. Reaching the apex of her flight, Ruby swapped the magazine for a normal one but during that time, she didn't see the black bird flying in her direction. Looking up from her swap, Ruby crashed straight into the poor bird, spinning out its way before she could take it down with her with a shouted, 'Birdy. No!'.
Aiming down and shooting Ruby sent a volley of shots below, using them to slow her descent before unfolding the scythe and catching the blade around a tree branch, swinging around once before letting herself fall to the ground.
'Right, I need to find Yang. And head to the Forest Temple. At the same time. So, head for the forest temple and hope I run into Yang. Not exactly a plan I like best but most efficient.' Ruby nodded to herself and set off in a straight line, praying that she would meet with Yang soon.
Meanwhile, the other first year students were steadily pairing up. Jaune had practically been claimed by Pyrrha's spear/shotgun and Yang paired up with their new friend Blake.
Ruby ran straight for almost ten minutes before she ran into anyone, and even worse for her, it was Miss Crabby the heiress. Skidding to a stop and very slowly looking up, both girls expressed their displeasure at their luck, Ruby groaning and Weiss huffing and stomping off. "Where are you going? We're meant to be a team…" Ruby trailed off as she lost sight of the girl, both annoyed at her luck and Ozpin's stupid rules and upset, knowing that she was going to picked on and shoved around by the girl for being younger.
"Curse you Ozpin. I know you can hear me, and I hate your stupid rules." Ruby said aloud, knowing that he was watching, even if she didn't know where the cameras were.
Tapping her foot in annoyance, Ruby waited for the crabby girl to come back, knowing that the only other person around was Jaune – although his lack of Aura was concerning, she could sense the traces of Aura on that weapon of Pyrrha's, meaning that the hanging boy had already been claimed.
Hearing her come back, Ruby opened her eyes and looked over at the girl, silently agreeing that they could work together to make it to the end.
"By no means does this make us friends." Weiss said, walking off to the side, clearly having no idea on where she was going.
"Fine by me." Ruby agreed, following the girl through some bushes, hoping that maybe she had a plan that wasn't walking around in denial.
Ruby was proven wrong not even five minutes later while sitting on the forest floor, listening to the clueless girl walk back and forth in random directions, only once getting it right at which she turned and walked in another direction. Having had enough of the annoy girl's mumblings, Ruby stood and dusted off her skirt. "Alright, I've had enough. You need to stop, just admit that you don't know where you're going and we can finally move on."
"Oh, like you know where to go." Weiss snapped at the younger girl, already sick of her light know it all air. Just because she managed to sneak her way into the school, did not mean that she was any better than all the others.
"Yeah, I kind of do. We need to head to the Northern Temple which means that we need to head north, which would be directly behind you." Ruby said, pointing directly behind the snappy girl and following, walking past the girl and towards the forest temple that she saw. Thankfully, she heard the other girl following, stomping the whole way but following nonetheless.
"Oh, and how could you possibly know that?" She snapped again, not impressed with being shown up.
"I saw it when we got launched. I shot myself higher so I could find it and ran straight for it, you just happened to be in my path at the time. And if you really had no clue, then you could have just done the same, a little Dust and you would have been high enough to see it too." Ruby informed her, not slowing her pace for the ignorant and whingy girl.
"Oh fine. But don't be slow, I swear if I get a bad grade because of you-"
"Look, if you don't want me to be around, fine. I can go off and meet you at the temple, but stop insulting me and my abilities. I am far from slow and if you think you can find the temple by yourself than fine, have fun." Ruby snapped, tired of the girl and her attitude, before taking off in a bundle of rose petals. Realising that maybe leaving her only teammate so far by herself in a Grimm infested forest would not be the greatest idea, Ruby double backed and followed the grumbling girl from above in the trees.
"You may be fast but you still excel at wasting time." Weiss called out, but noticed that the girl was no longer there. Huffing in disgust at her behaviour, Weiss was about to continue on her journey when she heard shuffling in the bushes. "Ruby…?"
Her only response was more shuffling, only from a different direction. Soon, small red eyes were lighting up the surrounding bushes from all sides. A second later, the girl was surrounded by growling Beowolves, and she was alone. "RUBY!"
Ruby, despite being called for, decided to test her new partner on her ability to fight. Ruby knew that most students had to pass a vigorous and taxing physical exam for them to get into Beacon, but nothing compares to watching how someone will react when faced with the real thing. And something tells Ruby that Weiss was not a girl that would have gone hunting for the beasts before.
Watching from the higher branches, Ruby was both impressed and disappointed with her partner. Sure, there was almost twenty of the beasts – some older than others – but they were not anything difficult and could have been handled much quicker than whatever Weiss was doing. Although the girl was good at dodging; she almost danced through the forest and around the clawed arms that were aimed for her.
Ruby sighed in resignation when she saw her partner get hit, her crouched form sliding across the ground, only to stand there for almost ten whole seconds fixing her posture. While surrounded by viscous Beowolves! Ruby could have screamed but instead, she grabbed Crescent Rose and quickly rushed towards the beast about to pounce, which just happened to be the one Weiss was aiming for.
Only just seeing the girl in time, Weiss stumbled to a halt but the Burn Dust was already loaded and ready and needed a release. Weiss swiped her rapier to the side, the Dust burning through the grass and straight up a tree, immediately burning it to a crisp. More than a little annoyed, Weiss turned to see her partner already gone and dancing through the monsters surrounding them. "Excuse me, you attacked out of turn. I could have killed you."
Ruby turned away from the fading body of her last kill, stupefied shock painting her face at the statement. Realising she didn't have time for the girl, Ruby just turned back and grumble to herself. "You'll have to try a lot harder than that."
Only just hearing the grumbled response, Weiss stomped her foot in anger. Looking around to see more of the forest catching on fire and quickly surrounding the two girls, Weiss grabbed Ruby's arm and took off for the opening in the fire, shouting at the younger girl. "We have to go."
Hearing the howling and watching more of the forest quickly catch the growing fire, Ruby groaned again before yanking her arm out of the grip and turning back, and bursting into rose petals.
Feeling the girl pull away, Weiss watched as she turned back and disappeared back into the fire. 'If she wants to die, then fine. I'll just find a new partner to team with.' She thought, not even bothering to go back and help her partner.
Ruby only looked back for a second and watched as her supposed partner didn't even think about turning back to help her. While it annoyed her that she was just getting left behind, Ruby had to thank her stars that she was leaving, because she didn't want anyone to see her with RoseBud and certainly not using her eyes.
Folding down her scythe and putting it away, Ruby reached into her pockets, reaching through the hole she made in them and grabbing the familiar handles from their holsters on her thighs. Pulling them out and flicking them open into her Sai's, Ruby activated her eyes slightly and pushed the power down and through the handles, activating the Water, Ice and Gravity Dust as it passed. Stabbing both tips into the ground, three magic circles appeared, one above another with the purple Gravity circle at the bottom to allow the rain and ice shards to fall up from the ground.
Ruby watched as the water practically rained up the trees and put the fires out, the water stopping before it reached the top as per Ruby's wishes. As the fires went out, Ruby was satisfied at the sight of all the Grimm freezing over as each ice shard, charged with her silver eye power, even so much as scraped their fur.
It was only a minute later that all the Grimm were shattering and fading away in the wind and the fires were all safely out before she stopped the flow of power and yanked her Sai's from the ground. With a quick glance over to double check, Ruby let RoseBud fold back down and replace them in their holsters before she burst back up the hill in a bundle of rose petals, searching for her partner who had stopped and was leaning against a tree breathing heavily.
"What was that?!" Ruby shouted as she reformed in front of the girl, no small amount of angry at the obnoxious girl. "That should have been easy!"
"Well perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!"
"You were surrounded by at least twenty of those monsters and you spent almost ten whole seconds trying to fix your posture! You don't have that kind of luxury out here Weiss! I don't know if you've battled real Grimm before, or maybe you just haven't faced that many in one go, but you won't have time to 'consider the placement of your strikes'! Or taking turns. You either attack or you die, and you were going to die."
"How dare you?! You know, for someone who talks so much, it really is surprising you would communicate so little during an encounter."
"Sometimes you don't have time to talk Weiss, and I'm not yet used to working with you. I've been hunting with the same three people my whole life. Your fighting style is different and I'm not used to the level of communication you need."
"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon, bravo." Weiss said, walking off in the direction of the temple.
"Uuugh!" Ruby seethed, pulling out her scythe and slashing down a tree in her anger, only faintly hearing the flapping of wings that said she disturbed someone's nest; and they were not small. "Oops."
Shooting the first-year students off the cliff was always Ozpin's favourite part, as bad as that sounded. But it allowed them to feel what it would be like to free fall and it was always better to let them feel it then, at the beginning, than when they are on a mission and too scared to jump themselves.
Although, Ozpin was curious to see what Ruby would do, as she was apparently a lot more serious and awkward than he thought. He did catch the glare she sent at him when he informed them all about teams, and was a little worried at how she would go, knowing that she wasn't the best at making friends around her age.
He was both proud and a little surprised when he saw her swap out her magazine and shoot herself higher in the air before swapping them back for her landing; she understood that what Dust she did have, would be limited on missions. It was entertaining though to watch as she slammed into a seemingly random bird, who had awkwardly had to straighten himself before flying straight at the Professors on the cliff.
"Dammit Ruby. That bloody hurt." Qrow grumbled as he landed next to Ozpin on the cliff with a stumble, rubbing his arm that got hit the most by the falling girl.
With a small grin in acknowledgement of his grumbling lover, Ozpin mentally ran through all the first years with a glance down at his screen, knowing who would most likely run into who based off the direction they were flung at. Watching as each pair was made, he grew steadily more worried about Ruby, having heard what happened the day before with the Schnee girl. It wasn't long before his worries were confirmed and the two girls met, though Weiss did storm off in denial, completely ignoring his eye contact rule.
Not good, if she thinks she can just get away with things because she didn't like it. 'It seems Ruby is going to be the mature one in that partnership, what a shame.' He thought, slightly upset at the realisation that she would no longer be the happy girl who thought of Beacon as her safe space. Hearing Ruby grumble at him though was entertaining as she waited for her partner to come back.
Qrow watched over his lover's shoulder as Ozpin flicked through the pairings on his screen and was always drawn back to the same group; Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, and Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose. It was most definitely going to be an interesting year. A loose cannon, a Faunus in hiding, a boy with fake transcripts and no knowledge of Aura, a prodigy from another kingdom, an heiress, and a prodigy who hides from her reputation.
Watching as the last partnership was formed, Ozpin and Qrow ignored Glynda in favour of watching the interesting interactions between Ruby and Weiss. The younger girl had just stormed off and for some odd reason, double backed for her teammate, although she hid in the trees rather than confronting her. Both men were slightly worried as they watched the Schnee girl get pushed around by the Grimm, especially when she actually stopped in the middle of the fight to correct herself, resulting in Ruby having to save her. Ruby had impressed Ozpin then, with her quick and efficient movements, killing one and moving on, not lagging behind. 'I really did teach her well.'
Having fought with Winter Schnee quite a few times, Qrow had expected more from the younger Schnee girl, but was disappointed as he watched Ruby jump in and save her ass.
Watching the forest get caught on fire was not as entertaining though for either man, and Ozpin was worried that he would have to send in Bullheads to put it out when he watched Ruby run back in, her partner not caring at all for the girl's safety and running away. Curious to see what she would do, Ozpin enlarged the camera view focusing on Ruby and called Glynda over as she pulled out her Sai's.
Qrow's eyes widened when she put Crescent Rose away, knowing what she was going to do before she even put her hands anywhere near her pockets. 'Shit.'
"I didn't know she had another weapon. She only listed her scythe for her weapons." Glynda said, as the girl reached into her pockets and pulled out the handles. "Smart though, for hiding them, nobody is going to look up her skirt for anymore weapons."
"I've been training her with those weapons since I first met her. I was surprised to know that they weren't her primary weapons." Ozpin informed the lady, before they both went quiet, watching as she ran straight to the centre of the fire, unfolding RoseBud into their Sai form and stabbing the tips into the ground. Activating the Dust from the handles, Ruby summoned three magic circles one after the other.
The water rained up the trees and put the fire out, stopping before it reached the canopy per her request and while quite genius, for someone who didn't want to advertise her expertise in Dust, it was the ice shards and how the Grimm reacted to them that had both Professors shocked. As each ice shard stabbed through or even so much as grazed the dark creatures, they would immediately freeze over and shatter, a slight silver sheen accompanying the icy colour.
"Th-that is not normal. Surely not, but how…" Ozpin didn't know either but it was amazing to watch all the Grimm shatter and fade away, clearly another type of magic was involved and he was fairly certain what it was.
"I'm not entirely sure but it seems that Miss Rose is going to be having a talk with us all at the end of this." Ozpin said, watching as she told off the Schnee girl once she caught up. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Ozpin watched as Qrow rubbed over his eyes with a resigned sigh.
"And she's smart. Who is this girl, Ozpin?" Glynda asked as they both watched her blow up at her partner, everything she said completely accurate to a professional Hunter.
"Have you ever heard of the Grimm Reaper?"
"Of course, that rumour has spread the whole way across the world. Apparently she and her mentor saved a town from fires and Grimm in Patch… just last week…" Glynda drifted off as she realised what his knowing grin meant. "Ruby Rose is the Grimm Reaper?!"
Ozpin just nodded, a small grin painted across his face. "Ruby Rose was raised and trained by some of the best and didn't have the best childhood apparently. She is an amazing Huntress already but doesn't like the attention that her skill and talent would bring her. She had been lucky enough before that nobody could ever match her with her reputation but she won't have that luxury anymore."
Glynda just nodded at the information and walked away, needing to process the fact that she had been deeply underestimating the poor girl she thought was just a lucky sneak, knowing Ozpin and using that connection to get in early. As she passed Qrow though, another thought passed through her mind. "You are her mentor, aren't you? The other half of the slightly odd partnership that is only sometimes there in the stories."
"Yes. I trained Ruby with that scythe since she was ten and would take her hunting sometimes. She's been going out by herself for a couple of years now though. You really don't have any clue who you let into your school, Goodwitch." Qrow responded, grumbling at the woman. Ruby just opened one hell of a can of worms on herself and there was no backing out of it.
"This is most certainly going to be a most interesting year."
"Why did you think this was a good idea, again?!" Weiss shouted, thoroughly scared and pissed off at the younger girl who somehow talked her into jumping on a massive Nevermore to get the Forest Temple quicker.
"Oh, if you have such a problem with it, then just jump!" Ruby yelled back. It wasn't like she was forced to get on the giant bird, she could have just said no and kept on walking. Deciding she had enough of the whining, Ruby looked down to see they were right above the exact temple they were looking for and informed her partner of that before jumping off.
Falling down, Ruby looked around and saw an incoming Jaune. Thinking quick, Ruby shifted into her rose petals just in time for Jaune to pass right through, and Ruby just gently floated to the ground, reforming once she was only a couple of meters up.
"How could you leave me?!" Weiss screamed, still on the Nevermore's back.
"I said, jump." Ruby said, shrugging helplessly, serves her right. Plus, they just got flung off a cliff and Weiss chose then to be afraid? Not her problem.
"Did your sister just fall out of the sky?" Blake asked, not entirely sure that she saw that properly.
"Yep-" Yang responded with a proud grin, only to be cut off by a growling Ursa as it fell into the field with an explosion. A girl in white and pink rolling off it's back and a dark-haired boy following, puffing in exhaustion.
"Aw, it's broken."
"And did she just come in riding on an Ursa?"
"It would appear so." Ruby confirmed, noticing that said girl and her partner were the ones she was watching that morning.
It wasn't a moment later that the prodigal Pyrrha Nikos crashed through the trees, an Elder Deathstalker chasing her not too far behind. "And did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?"
"Honestly, Blake? I don't think the questions are helping?" Ruby commented as she watched her sister's eyes flicker back and forth between colours before settling on red.
"Grrr! I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!" Yang yelled, fire blazing around her as she paced.
Two seconds was all she got though before the orange haired girl, 'Nora' apparently, tapped Ruby's arm and pointed up. Following Nora's finger, everyone looked up to see Weiss still hanging onto a Nevermore claw with one hand, only for her to lose her grip and slip.
"She's falling." Ren blandly stated, watching the girl uselessly wave her arms.
"She'll be fine." Ruby responded, she too watching the useless flapping.
"Still falling."
At that, Ruby just gave the boy a side glance, their eyes meeting. "Really? We just got flung off a cliff side, if she can't land this I don't want to know how she did the first time."
Ren just shrugged and nodded in response and watched as another blonde boy stupidly leapt out of a tree to catch the falling girl, both of them landing harshly on the ground. Glancing back at the smaller girl in red and black, both thought the same thing, 'I'm surrounded by idiots'.
Just as Pyrrha landed harshly in front of the group and the last two walked over, Yang grumbled something about dying together when Ruby realised that they didn't haven't to die. "Look, we had an objective; get the relic, get back to the cliffs and don't die. So, let's get a relic, get back to the cliffs, and not die."
"Run and live. That is a plan I can get behind." Jaune agreed, nodding as though it was the greatest idea ever said.
Quickly grabbing a piece each, Ruby picking the same as her sister in hopes of her thinking matching Ozpin's and the two pairs making a four-man team, the group set off for the cliffs. Everyone was by then already exhausted from either chasing or being chased or falling, and made for a slower group. And with everyone together, they made a bigger group too.
Coming up on a cliff face, the only obstacle was the ruins before it and getting up, the Nevermore appeared, sitting itself right at the top of the ruins with a perfect view. Pairing off and hiding behind pillars, everyone watched as it perched at the top and screeched before hearing the sound of crushed trees behind them.
Looking to her sister who had paired off with her, Ruby realised that she could take of them both if she used her eyes, but that would mean bringing out RoseBud in front of everyone and explaining what would happen.
Yang, seeing the question, shook her head at her younger sister and watched as her eyes hardened in concentration. Ruby couldn't let loose something as big as what she would to so many new people without there being backlash. Plus, they would need to get used to killing as teams and working together to take down targets, rather than just relying on Ruby's power.
Ruby nodded to her sister, acknowledging that she wouldn't use her power before taking off for the Nevermore, but they would need a plan.
First though, they needed it to move. It was in the way, where it was. It had too much of an advantage and not enough space to get close and test what it's weaknesses were. Keeping a vague eye on where everyone was and acknowledging who would be best for what, Ruby lead Yang away from the Deathstalker and onto the many bridges, shooting up at the massive bird with Nora to get it moving.
Seeing that it was in the air, Ruby, Yang and Weiss quickly moved up and took aim at the beast as it circled back, each of them firing all they had at it. They paused quickly when they saw Blake on its back but at the information that it was in fact far tougher than it looked, Ruby had to rethink another plan. Hitting hard wasn't working and its feathers were too strong for just bullets or even Dust to get through, so maybe it needed something sharper to make a dent. Watching it crash through the structure they were on, proved to Ruby that even the wings were highly protected by the feathers, the weakest spot would have to be at its throat or at the smaller feathers where the wings connect.
Looking around to see what she had to work with, Ruby came up with a somewhat gamble of an idea, but an idea none-the-less. Telling Weiss to cover her while she informed the others, she set up and pointed out where everything was and where everyone needed to be. "We're only going to get one shot at this and it has to be quick."
They all nodded in agreement before taking off, Yang jumping to the top so that she could get its attention and hopefully send it crashing into the cliff. If all went well, then Weiss would freeze a good portion of its tail down before aiming and shooting her from the make-shift slingshot.
It all went reasonably according to plan too, if a couple of seconds late when Weiss had to freeze its tail. Ruby was worried about it breaking out or just losing a couple of tail feathers; and it almost did before Ruby got the blade of her scythe around its neck and pulled it up the cliff side with the help of some Wind glyphs. Upon reaching the top and having still not felt it give in much, Ruby sent a subtle amount of her power through the blade, just enough to freeze the feathers and feel them shatter before shooting a couple more rounds and yanking her blade up, flipping around to land on her feet at the top of the cliff.
Ruby quickly turned around and squinted down at the groups of Hunters and Huntresses in training to see if any of them were dead. Standing so high up, Ruby couldn't really see any of them but there didn't sound like anyone was screaming in agony so she assumed they were all reasonably okay. Finally sighing a breath of relief, Ruby fell onto her back with a long groan and shuffled backwards until she was a safe distance from the edge. Choosing to take a quick nap while she waited for everyone to make up the cliff side, not even bothering to be bothered at how snappy her partner would be when she made it up.
Once everyone made it up, by their own means or not, the large group slowly made their way along the edge and back to the cliff face they were launched from. They weren't the first or last back but they were the most torn up looking group. Apparently everyone else got all the easy Grimm.
After all the students finally made it back and everyone handed in their 'relic', they were allowed to go back and clean up to get ready for their teaming ceremony. Technically, no one had any idea who was going to be on what team besides their partners, but if Ruby was right in her assumptions – and she usually was – she, Weiss, Yang and Blake would be put on a team. Along with the other four they spent the last half of their day with, the pairs having picked matching chess pieces too.
Standing in the hall and waiting for their names to be called up, Ruby only half listened as the teams were formed; her hunch was right, he was pairing up the matching pieces. Impressively enough, all the team names were also colours, and for a moment, Ruby had to wonder how he found all the colour names.
"…Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR. Lead by… Jaune Arc." Ozpin announced, congratulating the young man before moving on, the last team and certainly from what he'd seen, the most interesting.
"Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team RWBY. Lead by, Ruby Rose." Hearing that last sentence, Ruby had to try really hard not to glare at the Headmaster, instead focusing on staying upright as her sister hugged her.
"I'm so proud of you!" Yang shouted, tackling her sister – and team leader – in a hug.
Ruby silently agreed at Ozpin's mumbled, "Looks like things are shaping up to be an interesting year."
Walking away with all the other first year students towards the dorms they were appointed, Ruby looked back slightly to see Ozpin nodding his head to the side slightly, telling her to meet him later. Sighing in resignation, she nodded slightly and continued on her way, shaking her head at her sister when she looked like she was about to ask.
Finding their dorms wasn't too hard for the group, and Ruby loved that they weren't on the ground floor; she always had a weird love of heights. Each of them picked a bed for the night, choosing to sleep instead of unpacking because that just sounded like far too much effort after the day they all had.
Weiss had been giving everyone the silent treatment the time after the ceremony, only speaking to claim a bed and nothing else. While it was annoying to be around the spoilt girl, Ruby used her as an excuse to go for a walk, claiming she just needed some time alone and that she wanted to explore the campus. Yang; having known that Ruby already knew the campus and was probably going to see what Ozpin wanted with her, nodded happily and told her to have fun. The other two followed suit, not bothering to offer her any company.
Quickly walking out the door and to the stairwell, jumping over the railing and casually fluttering down the floors as rose petals before reforming again at the bottom, a happy little smile on her face at the possibility to do that every day. Using her semblance for her was something of a thrill with her new discovery; it offered her a freedom that she didn't otherwise have. She could float and drift however she wanted, wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Ruby had always been jealous of her Qrow's ability to fly, to just take up the form of a bird and fly away. While she was a little less inconspicuous as a bright red bunch of swirling petals, it was still freedom for her.
Sneaking her way across the campus, sticking to all the good hiding spots that she had found as a child that hadn't been fixed, Ruby made her way up to Ozpin's office. Offering a quick hello to Delilah – who still worked as the receptionist at the main desk – Ruby snuck into the stairwell that not many knew about. Technically it was an emergency stairwell to Ozpin's office but everyone likes the elevator better, which makes lot of sense because his office was at the top but still. Ruby liked to, on occasion, surprise everyone once in a while and the stairwell was the best bet; that and it's less obvious than walking into the elevator straight to his office.
Turning back into her petals, Ruby felt the slight draft through the small and narrow passageway and followed it up, taking the easy way up the annoyingly large number of floors. Reaching the top in only a matter of minutes, Ruby reformed and patted down her skirt, making sure that she looked presentable before slowly opening the door at the back of the room.
Sticking her head in slightly, Ruby was shocked to see her Qrow, Professor Goodwitch, Ozpin and even a holographic General Ironwood. "Am I interrupting something?" Ruby called out, as she walked the whole way through the door, but didn't go into the room.
All four adults turned at the sound of her voice, all but Qrow and Goodwitch surprised to see her by the door to the stairwell. Ozpin shook his head and motioned her over, taking a sip from his mug. "No Ruby, we were all just waiting for you. It appears that you have some explaining to do…"