Just as Hazel could have easily predicted, Gretchen didn't let the Beacon matter die and showed absolutely no intention of doing so.
In fact, Hazel only saw his sister doubling down on the topic countless times before she got to the point where she was physically dragging him to board a bullhead so that they could fly up to Beacon and view the campus together. She babbled along next to him, nervous because they were supposed to be meeting with Beacon's headmaster.
She was just talking to calm herself down. Hazel knew that much.
He was nervous too, but didn't know how to talk about it.
Hazel didn't know that he wanted for either of them to meet Headmaster Ozpin. He had a feeling that the meeting would only make Gretchen get more excited about the possibility of attending Beacon. He didn't want that, not really. He wanted to know that his sister would be safe with him, and the more that she talked about the matter Hazel started to get the feeling that she wanted to be away from him.
To his knowledge, Hazel wasn't smothering her. They'd moved to a new city, and he was doing everything in his power to make sure that they could actually live their lives there. He didn't want to move to Vale any more than Gretchen had, but they were out of options. He had responsibilities to her, and part of that meant being sure that they could live comfortably and safely.
Gretchen was strong, but he still worried about her. He was always worried.
The two of them boarded the bullhead and landed at Beacon Academy nearly half an hour later.
When they arrived at the dock, Headmaster Ozpin was already there, waiting for them.
He smiled at both of them. "Are you two the Rainart twins?" The headmaster looked from Hazel to Gretchen.
Gretchen jumped straight ahead and spoke up. "We are." She confirmed, smiling wide. "I'm Gretchen, and this is my brother Hazel."
Hazel nodded, not sure what else there was for him to say.
"And you two are interested in attending my academy?" Ozpin asked. "Because if that's the case, we have a great deal to discuss."
"I'm interested!" Gretchen said, falling into place at Ozpin's side, all but bursting with excitement. "I mean, being a Huntress seems so amazing. Getting to see the world and save people, what's not to like about it?"
Ozpin smiled. "It surely does make for an interesting life." He looked past Gretchen and at Hazel instead. "And what about you?"
"I'm not sure." Hazel lied. He wasn't interested at all. It was probably for the better not to lead with that, though.
Ozpin nodded along. "It's surely not a life meant for all of us. I can't exactly go ahead and blame anyone for not having an interest." His eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses, and for a moment Hazel couldn't help but feel like he was being examined. "Not even when they might have a certain talent to them."
Hazel had no talent. And he and Gretchen both knew it. Gretchen had soaked up all of the talent in the womb, as far as Hazel was concerned. He was good with directions, competent at cooking, and only really excelled at lifting heavy objects, but that was about it.
Gretchen rolled her eyes. "Hazel's just worried about getting split up." She spoke up, taking the lead on the conversation again.
"Of course." Ozpin answered. "I suppose we should start with a tour of the facilities. Perhaps getting a look at what your life would be like might be able to convince you." They began on the way towards the main building. "We try our best to provide the best for our students, from housing to meals. Equipment upkeep is also provided to a certain degree, as students are expected to be able to maintain their own weapons."
Ozpin looked to Gretchen. "And you two have weapons, don't you?"
"Not really." Gretchen answered. "I mean, I have an old bow but I'm pretty sure that I make up for just about everything with my semblance."
Hazel shook his head.
Ozpin frowned. "I suppose that we'll have to see what exactly you two are capable of in due time."
"I promise we won't disappoint." Gretchen said cheerily as the two of them were steered into a dorm room which was unoccupied for the moment.
It wasn't much, but Hazel didn't know what he'd been expecting. Four beds in a room, a couple of desks against the walls, and a few bookshelves that no doubt held Beacon's core curriculum on them. In a way, it was a nicer arrangement than he and Gretchen had in their pitiful apartment in the city.
At least that pitiful apartment was theirs, though.
Ozpin let the two of them step inside. Gretchen went straight in, curious about what there would be. Hazel only hanged just past the door with his arms crossed. The headmaster spoke up as Gretchen turned to look at the four beds. "This is the standard housing for our students." Ozpin explained. "Students in their final year are upgraded to more complete suites that give them small kitchens and a little more privacy."
"It seems nice." Gretchen said. "Hazel, could you imagine?"
No.
"It's bigger than our apartment." Hazel mumbled. He had to at least say something.
"Not as big as the cabin, though." Gretchen retorted. "But I like it."
"That's good." Ozpin smiled. "Whenever you are ready, we can move on. I believe there may be a combat class in session for you two to spectate if you'd like."
Gretchen grinned, the idea of getting to see real combat putting a new excitement in her that hadn't been there before. "That sounds great." She said, and then she was hurrying out the door with Hazel trailing just behind her. The two of them followed Ozpin through the halls until they were entering an active combat class.
Two students clashed against each other, all but darting around each other as they tried to best the other.
"Sparring is common for these classes." Ozpin explained. "As capturing grimm for practice can be difficult. In addition, it's better for students to practice against each other."
Gretchen raised an eyebrow. "Because of the Vytal Festival Tournament?"
"Because other Huntsmen and Huntresses provide a greater threat than grimm ever will." Ozpin explained. "For grimm training, students are usually sent on missions with their teams of four to clear infestations as they arise."
Gretchen nodded along. Hazel felt his stomach flip.
For the first time, he had a question and actually bothered to try to voice it.
"What happens if the mission is too much?" He asked, looking at Ozpin directly. "And they can't handle it?"
Ozpin sighed. "A good question. Lower year students are accompanied by fully licensed Huntsmen, and when they reach their later years here their teams are sent into the field alone." The Headmaster put on a smile. "It is exceedingly rare that we see student deaths. You shouldn't have anything to worry about."
"But what if the Huntsman can't handle it?" Hazel prodded on.
Ozpin blinked and looked him in the eye, like he'd realized that Hazel had reached his most wary of the academy. "Then there is often little that can be done past calling for external support."
Gretchen rolled her eyes. "Hazel's always been a worrywart." She cut Hazel and Ozpin both off. "I'm sure that it doesn't get that bad. I mean, huntsmen can handle a lot, right?"
A sly smile stretched back across Ozpin's face. "That is correct." They said. "As I said, those cases of student death are exceedingly rare. Calls for support from Beacon are treated with a high priority. Any losses that can be prevented, student, huntsman, or otherwise, are losses that we prefer to avoid."
Gretchen looked back at Hazel. "See?" She asked. "It's fine. They have a system in place."
But what happens if you're stuck alone in the middle of nowhere, Hazel thought but didn't voice. He balled his hands into fists at his side.
Ozpin sighed. "Perhaps we should move on?" He asked. "Or discuss the rest of Beacon's curriculum."
"Sure." Gretchen said, charging in without thinking first as always. Hazel frowned when Ozpin's back was turned to him, and then followed after his sister.
He was losing her.
He could feel it.
He was about to be all alone.
Ozpin spoke up as they walked. "Beacon also offers a standard educational experience, though some classes like history are more tuned for the occupation that you'll be going into. There's no need to teach the history of Vale's governments when a history of major grimm attacks is more relevant to you. Not to say that you won't learn about those governments too, of course." He held his head up high as he walked. "Grimm studies, combat, Dust use, and regular field missions are the only major changes from your standard school's curriculum."
He looked back at Gretchen and Hazel both. "I am to understand that neither of you have attended one of the training schools, am I correct?"
"That's right." Gretchen said. "We grew up… really rural. So we were always dealing with what lived out in the woods."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow, almost curious. "Is that so?" He asked, like he had just seen something that would make Hazel and Gretchen both more valuable to the academy. Hazel didn't want it. Gretchen would. "And what have you seen out in the woods?"
Gretchen thought. "Well, we've had a lot of Beowulves." She started, holding a finger out as she went through the things that she'd had to fight and kill in the past. "Howlers, a couple of Deathstalkers…" She perked up. "Oh, my first kill was a turtle of some sort, does that count?"
"You killed an Ironjaw?" Ozpin questioned. "And how old were you when you managed that?"
Hazel looked to Gretchen, because he knew the answer to Ozpin's question as just well as she did. She looked back at him, because they both knew perfectly well that what had happened in the woods that day hadn't been normal.
Her expression smoothed out though, her eyes narrowing at Hazel for just a split second before she looked back to Ozpin. "Twelve." She answered.
Ozpin looked to Hazel. "And your first kill?"
"Beowulf." Hazel said, remembering the beast perfectly. "Last year."
"Hazel, you aren't supposed to—"
Ozpin gave Hazel a deadly serious look. "Are you invested in coming to my academy?" He asked Hazel, the first questions that was directed solely at Hazel and not at Gretchen. "Because I'm sure that you understand that for most of my students, they've been fighting Grimm for years before entering here."
"No." Hazel answered truthfully, and felt the anger that began to radiate off of his sister. "I'm not."
"So why are you here?" Ozpin asked, looking from Hazel to Gretchen. "I'd been under the impression that both of you were interested."
"I am interested." Gretchen spoke up, stepping forward and all but forcing herself into Ozpin's space. "Let me prove that to you. Take me into the Emerald Forest and I can prove it right now."
Ozpin turned slowly to face Gretchen, his expression calm and cool in a way that Hazel couldn't help but to find more than a little wrong. There was something about it that was just off enough, something that was just uncanny enough that Hazel couldn't help but notice that it seemed like there was something missing. A coldness behind Ozpin's eyes that a warm smile couldn't mask.
He stepped towards Hazel. "And why are you here?" He asked, looking up at Hazel so that their eyes met. "If you aren't interested in attending yourself."
"For her." Hazel grumbled. "To make sure that she'll be safe."
"Hazel—" Gretchen spoke up. "You know that I'd just be above the city! It's not like we'll never see each other again."
He didn't know that. He couldn't know that. He'd been there when their father had drawn his last breath. How was he meant to just be okay with Gretchen going out into forests to fight Grimm when he could never know that she'd ever come home again? What happened when one of those great evils swallowed her up?
"We don't know that." Hazel grumbled, turning to look back at his sister. "I don't want to lose you too."
Gretchen sighed. "And…" She said, like she expected there to be more to it. There wasn't. Money was money. "What else?"
Ozpin watched them both, taking the conversation in and probably calculating the next move based on it.
Hazel's voice came out in a growl. "I just don't understand why you want this so badly."
"I want it because I like helping people!" She snapped at him. "Because saving people feels good! Not that you would know what it feels like."
Hazel jerked back, feeling not entirely unlike he'd just been slapped in the face. Of all the things that Gretchen could have chosen to hold over his head, it had to be the fact that if it wasn't for her, he would have been devoured by an Ironjaw years before.
Ozpin stood there still, just off to the side, not wanting to go ahead and intervene. But he watched, taking the argument in for what it was.
Hazel grit his teeth. He wasn't going to win the argument, but he wasn't going to let his sister get killed. He couldn't.
"We can't afford this anyways." Hazel growled back at Gretchen. "We're barely getting by as it is."
"Or!" Gretchen called back. "I could look into scholarships. Maybe I'll turn out to be so good that we don't have to pay!"
It was then that Ozpin spoke up. "If I may—" He said, stepping into the space that was left between the twins. "Perhaps it may be beneficial if Gretchen were to show me what she is capable of. There are of course scholarship programs, but if finances are preventing you from making a serious attempt at enrollment you won't even be considered for those scholarships in the first place."
Gretchen lit up. "See?" She asked Hazel. "Just let me try. You don't have to come with me, but you have to at least be willing to give me a chance."
Hazel glanced between Ozpin and Gretchen, all too aware of the corner that he'd just been backed into.
There wasn't any winning.
He sighed heavily, feeling like the discomfort that settled over him was going to drag him into the depths of the earth.
