Oi and we're back! How you doing there reader? Welcome to the seventh chapter of 'The Darkling Thrush'!

Special thanks to jin0uga, Baoh joestar, Bagration and DaLintyMan! Thanks guys I appreciate the kind words. I'm just glad you all like what I'm doing with Russel.

And Thank You Blazing Soldier, jinOuga, DaLintyMan and noone297 for the favorites and follows.

Well, enough of me chatting, lets get on with the main event shall we? To the Emerald Forest we go!

VII

Welcome to Beacon: Part 2

Russel landed into a roll. Having managed to avoid the plentiful obstacles on his way down, trees however still were unkind to falling objects, Russel quickly gathered his bearings. Squatting down, close to the ground, he took into account his surroundings.

From what Ozpin indicated, their destination was right in front of them. Several hundred feet away through Grimm infested forest, sure, but still dead ahead. So Russel started walking. He would make no progress if he fumbled about.

Drawing his daggers, the sole remaining Thrush in Remnant wasn't going to let some random Grimm get the drop on him. He might as well keep his eyes out for some other wandering hunter. The first one he makes eye contact with, they'll be stuck together for the rest of their days. Kind of like some forced marriage, but whatever.

But to much surprise, Russel found acquiring a partner to be much more difficult. He approached that rather gorgeous red head from the locker room, but found she'd already become partners with Vomit Boy. It was an interesting sight for sure though. How exactly he got pinned to that tree was a mystery. Weapons malfunction maybe? Oh well, better move on while the sun was still out.

The next person Russel approached, was a stout individual, the kind with enough weight on his bones to give dear Professor Port a run for his money. His hair was spiky, but slicked back. He wore a simple t-shirt and cargo pants. Rather odd choice for a huntsman gear. But he also had a tail.

"Oi, faunus mate?!" Russel called out.

The stout boy turned around, sending a glare down Russel's way. Taking offense, the boy gave Russel a good look at his beaver teeth. "Piss off human."

"Hey, is that how you greet your new partner?" Russel laughed.

"He's already got a partner." A newcomer said, walking out from behind some bushes. "Sorry for the confusion. I was busy taking care of some business." The newcomer gestured to the bushes.

"Gross dude. Too much."

"I apologize." The newcomer turned his baggy eyes to his partner. "We'd better get going."

"Yes. I agree." The beaver faunus nodded. The pair walked off, leaving Russel behind. The stout boy gave one last look over his shoulder, making it clear to Russel he'd just made an enemy that day.

Russel kept on walking. Eventually he'd have to run into someone right? They had an even amount of students right? Imagine if they didn't, that would suck. You came all this way Russel and you washed out of Beacon just because they hadn't bothered to accept one more guy. That just blows. Russel made his way over a stream, only to run into someone he honestly wasn't expecting to see today.

"You." Cardin muttered lowly.

"Oh. It's you." Russel frowned. "How you doing there, tall, tan and terrible?" The Winchester boy raised his mace and charged forward. He didn't put up a fight when Cardin charged into him, knocking him down and scrapping him through the forest floor until finally holding Russel up against a tree.

"What the hell is your problem, man?" Cardin tightened his grip around Russel's neck. "Why are you such an asshole?"

"-Cough-Is this-ugh-where we-cough-establish ground rules-?" Russel managed to say.

"What?" Cardin glared into Russel's eyes.

"…Names Russel Thrush." Russel rose and hand between them. "…What's yours partner?"

Cardin's eyes winded upon the realization, that at this very moment, the boy he was practically strangling would be stuck to him for the rest of his time here at Beacon Academy. "Oh shit."

"Yea…walked ran into this didn't you?" Russel chuckled.

Unamused, Cardin loosened his grip, allowing Russel to fall through and land on the ground. "Oh shut up." Cardin groaned.

"I don't like this any more than you do." Russel rubbed his throat. He picked himself off the ground and stood his ground, matching Cardin's stance. "I was hoping my teammate would be smarter. Or a girl. That would've been interesting."

Cardin reached out to grab Russel once more. He snaked his hand around Russel's throat and prepared to beat some respect into the young man. But Cardin froze. There was now a dagger held up against his neck.

There in the Emerald Forest stood Cardin and Russel, each at each other's necks, prepared to deliver a fatal blow to the other. They stared at each other for a brief moment. These partners having a silent conversation with themselves, debating whether they were ready to draw blood from the other.

But there was no bloodshed. Quietly and calmly, Cardin removed his hand from Russel's neck, and Russel removed his blade from Cardin's.

"No sense in us killing each other." Cardin reasoned.

"Yes, let's put a pin in that and get back around to it later." Russel agreed. He took to rubbing his neck once more in order to soothe the pain. "You got monster hands there, what did you say your name was?"

"Winchester, Cardin Winchester." Cardin raise a hand. "Not apologizing."

"Wasn't expecting one." Russel reached out and shook Cardin's hand. "Alright partner, shall we go finish this dreaded initiation?"

"Mind taking the lead?" Cardin gestured to a clearing up ahead.

Russel shrugged, seeing why not. So he stepped forward and began to walk. But as he and Cardin walked in a straight line towards their destination, Russel couldn't help but feel a bit egged on Anyone else would have let the subject alone. "Why don't we just walk side by side?"

"If we're attacked by Grimm, we'll be better able to muster a counter attack. No sense in us both getting cut down by the same blow."

"In other words you'd like the heads up the moment you hear me wailing bloody murder."

"I know we've only just met, Russel was it?" Cardin asked, trying his best to remember Russel's name. "I know we've just met, but is that the sort of vibe you got from me?"

"You choke slammed me into a tree." Russel deadpanned. "I'd say you're the type with anger issues. I wouldn't be shocked if you left me to die."

"Sorry to disprove your psycho analysis." The burnt orange haired boy shrugged. "But if it helps, if you get mauled I'll bash whatever's attacking you in the face." Cardin pointed to the mace he shouldered.

"So you say you've got a hero complex?" Russel shot a smirk over his shoulder at Cardin as he once more played therapist. Which was something he'd done before.

As it was, Russel could see Cardin was visibly displeased by his prodding. The two had holstered their arms but they were still sizing each other up. Testing each other's boundaries, seeing if they were going to be having problems with each other in the long run.

"I say you should've watched your step." Russel looked at Cardin, confused at the use of past tense. But then, as he continued walking, not watching where he was going, he felt one of his boots get snagged by a tree root. Russel then promptly fell over flat on his face.

Cardin briskly walked past Russel, taking the lead. "Try to keep up. Wouldn't want to show back up at Beacon all by my lonesome."

It was better in these sorts of situations to know what exactly one would be getting into. They were stuck together, and it seemed like Russel had finally met his match.

Russel and Cardin made their way to a clearing up ahead. They heard sounds of gunfire and audible roars from the forest around. Their fellow students had without a doubt engaged themselves in combat with creatures of Grimm. But Russel and Cardin had come across none. The duo eventually made it to their destination. It was a wide open plain, with ruins at the base of a mountain. When they arrived, Russel found they were not alone.

"Sup Dove." Russel said coolly as he and Cardin strolled up to the ruins.

"Oh, hey you, guy." Dove said awkwardly. "I never caught your name."

"Russel. Russel Thrush." Said Thrush said while doing a little dance. Russel then turned his eyes to who he assumed was Dove's partner, the boy in the locker room with blue hair. "Oh, hey. Didn't walk into your locker?"

"I was about to comment about that." The blue haired halberd sporting boy greeted Russel.

"So, we're just supposed to take one of these right?" Cardin asked as he walked around the ruins, examining these so called 'relics'. "Chess pieces? Odd."

"We thought so too." The blue haired boy commented. "The name's Sky, by the way. Sky Lark."

"Winchester. Cardin Winchester." Cardin shot a smile at Sky. He then returned his attention back to the pieces and debated which one to take. "Why chess pieces? This has to be some sort of test."

"It probably is." Russel said as he began to round the ruins. The ruins themselves were old, made ages ago, before The Great War and perhaps even older than the wars that preceded that one. But the pieces themselves were pristine, polished. They were cherished.

"If I were some crazy Headmaster, the kind that shoots kids into forests full of crazed monsters, why would I choose chess pieces?" Russel wondered aloud. He looked to the pieces that remained. They weren't the first groups to arrive, but they weren't the last.

"Maybe it's ranked in importance?" Dove suggested. The boy had been counting the pieces that were present just like the others, but over was also counting the ones that were missing. "Thirty two pieces on a chess board. Sixteen on each side. But there's doubles, look." Dove pointed to a pair of black queens.

"Then it's a mind game." Cardin said firmly. He then turned his eyes back to a pair of black bishops, right as Russel did.

"The bishops are ordinary." Russel reached out and grabbed one. "They're supposed to have a double."

"We only need one." Cardin stated as he reached out and grabbed the second black bishop piece.

"Right." Russel nodded, fully understanding what Cardin meant. Russel then turned and handed Dove his black bishop piece. "Cheers."

"Cheers." Dove spoke cheerfully as he accepted the piece.

After that, the four boys walked made the long trek back to Beacon. On the way they would hear loud explosions out in the distance. Whatever was going on, they were missing it. It almost sounded like a Nevermore was getting decapitated by a fifteen year old.

Later on in the evening, in the amphitheater, the students found themselves once more. But it wasn't as it was yesterday. Russel and all the other first year students hadn't noticed it. But it was only today when they realized the students from years prior had shown up. No doubt since already going through initiation they were given an extra day to their civilian lives to do as they pleased. Now the second, third and fourth year students were treated to watching the new blood get crowned, just like they were once upon a time ago.

On stage once more, this time with a large screen at his back, Ozpin stood reading from a list. The old man had his ways of settling things. As was the case. The first year students soon realized those who acquired similar pieces were thrown together and mashed into one team.

They were all told ahead of course. Each team seated together and would be called up for official purposes. This was all for show, they all could've done without this. The only thing the students weren't informed about was who would be leading their team. And that nagged at Russel.

"Lance Grimsby. Iliad Marble. Lambert Blind. Willa Rosa." Ozpin read aloud as the screen behind him presented profile images of the four students. "You four retrieved the black knight pieces. From this moment forward you are Team WILL, led by Willa Rosa."

There was an applause from all around. The students were smiling, they'd successfully survived initiation and were moving on to better things.

Russel watched from where he sat as the newly formed Team WILL stepped out of the spotlight and walked back to their seats. The blonde Goodwitch woman called up another group to take the stage. And what would you know? There was Marie-Anne walking with them, along with the stout boy and the baggy eyed kid.

"Marie-Anne Cherri. Nero White. Danny Matchstick. Ezekiel Jupiter." Ozpin read aloud, somehow not making this ceremony sound repetitive. "You four retrieved the white bishop pieces. Now together, you will be known as…" Ozpin paused briefly, stifling what appeared to be a laugh. "Team DNCE, led by Danny Matchstick."

There was another round of applause. And down out of the spotlight the newly formed Team DNCE walked away.

"We're Team Dance?" Marie-Anne asked disbelievingly.

Russel succeeded in hiding his laughter, just as Ozpin did. Now while DNCE could be pronounced as 'Dance'. It could also be pronounced as 'Dunce'. Bad luck there Marie-Anne, bad luck.

As the newly formed Team 'Dunce' took their seats, the Goodwitch woman signaled to Russel and his team. It was their turn in the spotlight. And so one by one they stood from where they were seated and marched into the view of their fellow students.

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin recited their names. The four boys stepped up into the spotlight, arms behind their backs standing shoulder to shoulder. They looked up to that silver haired man and the screen behind him as if they were being judged by Monty himself.

"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces." An image of said chess piece appeared on the screen behind Ozpin. "From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by..."

And then time stopped. Russel stood there, eyes widening. No one mentioned anything about team leaders. He knew Huntsmen functioned in teams, but it never crossed his mind that they all listened to one of their own. And that worried Russel. Because either he'd be the one giving the orders or the one taking them.

That wasn't an ideal situation for Russel, neither outcome was favorable. For one instance he'd have to look after the three sods standing beside him. He could give orders, sure, but he didn't want anyone's life depending on him. And then there was the flip version of it where he himself was depending on another's competence.

He didn't know anyone of them well enough to trust his life to. Maybe he would one day, but that was too optimistic and fool hardy of an idea. Dove was too socially awkward, not good with his words. Sky seemed decent, but just by his combat style, he seemed to hang back and prod from far away. That's not exactly a reassuring trait when looking for a leader.

And then there was-

"Cardin Winchester!" Ozpin declared.

Time started again and Russel was back in the moment of things. He stood there soaking up applause from his fellow classmates, stunned with the news his partner was now officially his leader.

The taller than the rest of his team Cardin just smiled. It wasn't a cocky smile, or a slick 'I got away with murder' smile. It was genuine, honest and grateful. That was something Russel noticed when he looked up to Cardin.

"Huh." Russel muttered.

"What?" Cardin raised a brow, glancing down at his partner.

"Just, huh." Russel shrugged.

"Yeah." Cardin muttered. "Huh."

With their moment in the spotlight over, the newly formed Team CRDL walked off stage. They took their seats once more and returned to watching. There they witnessed the birth of team JNPR, consisting of the redhead, whom Russel now knew as Pyrrha Nikos, some orange haired girl in a skirt named Nora Valkyrie, what appeared to be a ninja named Lie Ren and Vomit Boy himself, crowned as team leader.

After Team RWBY was formed, the ceremony ended. The first year students were given their room assignments and then they were relieved to do as they wished for the rest of the night. Team CRDL walked through the halls of their dormitory. Each were given a key to their room, at the very top of the building.

"At least we get a window." Dove said, looking on the brighter side of things. The room was exactly four walls, four beds, four cabinets and precisely six feet of walking room between each bed. The view though was something else. Just as Dove said, at least they got the window. One by one they each took turns peering their heads out the open window, just taking in the experience.

"Could be a bit less compact." Sky commented as they all started to figure out who'd be sleeping where.

"Guess you're getting a bottom bunk after all." Russel said to Dove.

"Sweet. Alright. Good night." Dove said before tossing his things on the floor beside his bed and falling on the covers. "Bed. Soft. Yay."

"I'm going to go and hit the showers." Sky said before pulling out a towel and change of clothes from his luggage. "I smell like crap."

"Yeah, we'll get everything else situated in the morning." Cardin said as he began to head to the door. "For now, let's just take care of our odds and ends. I'm grabbing some food from the Dining Hall. You guys want anything?"

"Oh don't trouble yourself Cardin." Sky said gently, declining Cardin's offer. "I'll meet you there after I get finished with my thing. It'll be a team building exercise."

"Oh yes, how can we live together if the way we eat annoys the crap out of each other." Cardin said half serious. "But no, seriously, can we all agree that eating with our mouths open is something none of us will do?"

"Yea I don't like that 'Sea Food' funny business." Dove chimed in from where he lay in bed.

"Then let I be the first rule passed within Team CRDL!" Sky raised a fist into the air.

"Alright Cardin." Russel pointed to his partner. "You're the leader. You have to make it official."

Cardin chuckled. "No eating with your mouth open. Because none of want to see what's going on in there."

And just like that, Team CRDL was truly formed.

Agreeing to meet Sky and Cardin in the Dining Hall later, Russel couldn't help but spare one more look out the window. Dove had pulled himself out of bed as nature called, leaving the room all to Russel. With places to be, Russel could only afford a few minutes before having to run off.

So he opened the window fully and popped his head outside. The cold night air carried with it the scent of the sea from not too far away. Back home in Oakwood, Russel could see the stars every night. He could point out constellations by memory and appreciate the beauty of a world beyond this one.

But when he came to Vale, Russel found the city lights to be too distracting. The stars were hidden from him by the night life. And it was only then when Russel knew to cherish something as important as that.

But here in Beacon, Russel and the student body were far removed from the city, with open forest to left and open ocean to the right. The city and its overbearing lights were at his back. And the night sky and its stars were once more in front of him for his eyes to see.

My approach for the Russel and Cardin interactions was that they'd be antagonistic before realizing they're equals. And I like that idea a lot. I don't very much enjoy the bully dynamic in the show. But I can forgive them because it was Volume 1.

I introduced 2 OC Teams. Team [Dunce] and Team WILL. I decided that this is probably going to be my only RWBY fic, so I might as well go all out with everything. Team WILL is just there until further notice, until I need more Beacon students or when Volume 4 comes out so I can figure out where Russel is going. And Team DNCE will sort of be Russel's past come to haunt him in the form of Marie-Anne.

I imagine Dove to be socially awkward like Jaune, but goes along with the rest of Team CRDL. His a momma's boy at heart. And for Sky he's going to be the RWBY equivalent of Dr. Strange.

Welp, those were my thoughts while writing this. I won't update again this week. I'm currently in the middle of something else right now. And I need to focus on that. 'Til next time dear reader! Later Days!