Ruby and Jaune walked down a path at the side of the school while conversing, Ash following behind.

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common thing than people let-on!"

"Look, I'm sorry Vomit-boy was the first thing that came to mind."

"Oh yeah, what if I called you crater face?" Jaune asked accusingly

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby threw her arms to her sides in exasperation

"Well the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!"

"Do they?" Ruby asked in a tone of disbelief.

"They will! Well, I hope they will... I mean, my mom always says that..."

Ash's previously managed laughter was unleashed at Jaune's comment about his mom, almost uncontrollably chuckling to himself at Jaune's expense.

"Nevermind..." Jaune shook his head and softly laughed

A couple seconds of silence ensued, only populated by the sound of Ash trying to catch his breath.

"So... I got this thing." Ruby pulled out a small rectangular box from a spot on her waist, before it unfolded and became an impossibly large reaper that dug it's blade into the ground.

"Woah! Is that a scythe?" Jaune jumped back slightly, before pointing at Ruby's monstrous scythe.

"It's also a customizable, high impact velocity sniper rifle." Ruby explained with words of which Ash didn't know the meaning.

Ash titled his head and raised a brow, while Jaune vocalized his confusion.

"A wha-?"

Ruby pulled back a rod and the scythe's pole made a mechanical clicking sound.

"It's also a gun." She simplified

"Oh." Said Jaune

"What is a 'gun?'" Asked Ash as he took a closer look at the scythe.

"You've never heard of a gun?"

"No. My home is quite... primitive compared to Vale." Ash shook his head with a sad smile.

"Oh, that's okay! Basically, it's a weapon that shoots a metal 'bullet' that moves at high speeds and can do a lot of damage." Ruby explained

Ash nods his head in understanding.

"So what have you guys got?"

"Oh- Uh, I got this sword." Jaune pulled out his onehanded sword

"Ooooooh!"

"Yeah, I've got a shield too!"

Jaune's sheath transformed into a white heater shield as he pulled it from his belt.

"So what do they do?" Ruby touched the front of Jaune's shield, causing it to rapidly transform back into a sheath, and then into a shield again as he fumbled to catch it.

"Well... the shield gets smaller. So... when I get tired of carrying it... I can just put it away."

He changed it back into a sheath as he secured it to his side

"But wouldn't it weigh the same?"

"Yeah, it does" Jaune sighed as his shoulders fell.

Ruby glanced at her scythe, holding it in her arms as she looked across it's shaft and down at the scope.

"Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, I did go a little bit overboard designing it." Ruby smiled

"Wait. You made that?" Asked Jaune

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?"

Jaune stared at his blade "It's a hand-me-down, my great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"...Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!" Joked Ruby

"It's respectable, to take up your great-great-grandfather's blade." Asche complimented

"Yeah, What he said! I like it. Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

Ruby turned to Asche with an excited look in her eyes "What have you got Asche?"

He reached over his shoulder and drew his greatsword, holding it in one hand as he retrieved his dagger from his side.

"Well, not unlike Jaune... I got my sword and my dagger from my family, it was used in an ancient battle." He smiled fondly at the blade

"Looks like you've got a relic in your hands."

"A relic? I'm hurt, Ruby Rose. This thing's a part of me." He placed his left hand over his heart and faked a sense of betrayal while laughing.

"So, does it do anything cool?" Jaune asked

"Well... I'd show you, but it tends to damage the surroundings when I utilize it." He smiled, although slightly disappointed.

"It's so cool! It's almost as big as Crescent Rose!" Ruby said while practically jumping up and down

"Thank you. It's quite special to me." He sheathed his Farron Greatsword

"And I think your scythe is interesting, too." He complimented as the girl gave him a wide grin.

"Thanks! So, Why'd you guys both help me out, in the courtyard?" Ruby started to walk down the path again.

"Eh, why not? My mom always says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.'" Jaune shrugged before moving to follow her

"I've had my fair share of... Explosive accidents" Ash shuddered as he remembered the various firebomb related deaths he's experienced.

"Hmmm... Hey, where are we going?" Ruby suddenly asked

"Oh, I dunno, I was following you." Jaune replied

"I was following Jaune." Answered Ash as he absently sharpened his dagger with a whetstone.

"You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some sort of recognizable landmark?" Jaune asked as the group stopped walking.

"Is uh... Is that a no?"

Ash simply chuckled as he continued sharpening his blade.

"Heh, That's a 'no.'"

...

The three of them found where they were supposed to go after a few minutes of searching, a huge circular room with accented walls and a stylized doorway that seemingly lacked a roof and a ceiling.

Ugh, I hate crowds... Reminds me of the undead settlement... And the Lower Undead Burg.

"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" Called Ruby's blonde haired sister

"Oh! Hey guys, I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!"

"Hey, wait!" Called Jaune, but Ruby either couldn't hear him, or chose to ignore him

Ash deposited the whetstone into a satchel, also taking the time to fasten his dagger to his belt while Jaune completely forgot about him and walked off.

Ash shrugged to himself and found a place to stand while waiting for the ceremony to begin, and he would have kept doing that if he hadn't heard yelling coming from that 'Weiss' girl, no doubt terrorizing the poor Ruby Rose.

He sighed and strolled over to find her reciting some company policy while holding out a pamphlet.

"The Schnee Dust company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a- Hey!" Ash took the small leaflet right out of her hand as she spoke.

Ash threw the object over his shoulder and crossed his arms in frustration.

"Look, uh... it sounds like you and my sister got off on the wrong foot! Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?" Yang intervened, clearly attempting to defuse the situation.

"Yeah! Great idea, Sis! Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! Want to hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!" Ruby stuck her hand out for a polite handshake

"Yeah, and we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys, like tall, blonde, and scraggly over there!" She put a hand on her hip and pointed behind her towards Jaune, speaking in a mocking tone of voice

Ash took of his hat, holding it under his arm and running his fingers through his messy black hair with a sigh.

"Oh wow, really?" Ruby asked hopefully

"NO." Weiss responded after a long pause, turning and lifting her chin upwards in defiance.

"Ahem... I'll keep this brief." Headmaster Ozpin's voice washed over the room as he stood upon the stage.

"You have traveled here 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 will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far."

Ozpin paused, scanning the crowd of students gathered to listen to his speech

"It is up to you to take the first step."

Ozpin turned and walked off stage, before Professor Goodwitch moved to stand before the mic

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed!" Miss Goodwitch finished.

Ash put his pointed helm back atop his head, adjusting it so it was not infront of his deep red eyes.

"He seemed kind of off."

"Yeah, it's almost like he wasn't even there."

"I'm a natural blond, you know!" Jaune appeared, speaking to Weiss as she facepalmed.

Ash grabbed his shoulder and dragged him away from the situation while pinching the bridge of his nose.

...

Ash walked into the ballroom, carefully walking around the outskirts as to not aggravate any of the students laying on the floor.

He noticed that there was a spot against the wall that was unoccupied, next to that girl who had gotten Weiss to leave earlier in the courtyard.

"Excuse me, miss. You wouldn't mind if I rested against wall to your left, would you?" He asked politely, gesturing to the open space with a gloved hand.

"No." The girl spoke, not even looking at him or the spot that was speaking of.

Ash walked over to her left and sat against the wall about three feet away from her, removing his one gauntlet and leather glove.

His scarred hands moved to the pouch containing Solaire's feather, he twisted it between two fingers as a way to comfort himself.

"That feather.. It's important to you, right?" Asked the voice of the girl to his right, who looked at him through the corner of her eye

"Yes... it's from a dearly departed friend, he wore it upon his iron helmet, saying it needed a splash of color... even though the rest of his attire was as vibrant as the sun." Ash smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry. Was he content?" Asked the girl.

"I... I'm afraid not.. his mind was long gone by the time I had found him.. there was nothing I could do except-"

"You killed him?" She interrupted, a look of disgust painted across her features.

He chuckled with self-pity "Sadly. He was simply too far gone..."

The girl returned to her book, seemingly sick of talking to him already.

"Helloooo!" Called the sing-song voice of Yang, Asche pulled down his pointed cap to obscure his eyes as both her and Ruby approached the girl.

"I believe you two may know eachother!" Yang gestured towards Ruby who stood to the side with her arms crossed

Ash tucked away Solaire's red feather in it's pouch for safety.

"Oh hey! Dude with the pointy hat!" Yang waved to Ash in greeting.

"Hello, I believe we've met before, but I figured it would be rude of me to introduce myself at the time." He spoke while up to meet her.

"I'm Ash Cinerous, pleasure to meet you." He reached out his hand, offering the girl a friendly handshake.

The girl's eyes flicked to his hand for a moment, a fleeting look of disgust adorning her face as she observed his scars for a brief moment.

"Straight to the point eh?" Ash groaned, he'd had enough puns to last him a lifetime from his chats with Patches.

"I'm Yang. Yang Xiaolong." The girl grasped his hand firmly, shaking it in a friendly manner.

"Aren't you the girl that exploded?" The girl with the bow suddenly asked Ruby

"Uhh, yeah! My name's Ruby." She stuck out her hand, only to be ignored

"But, you can just call me... crater... actually, you can just call me Ruby."

The girl continued to read the book in her hand "Okay."

Yang and Ruby started whispering to eachother in hushed tones before Yang spoke up again

"So... what's your name?"

"Blake." She looked up from her book with an annoyed expression

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang! Ruby's older sister! ...I like your bow!"

"Thanks."

"It goes great with your... pajamas!" Yang complimented awkwardly.

"Right..."

Yang and Ruby sheepishly looked at eachother

"Nice night, don't you think?"

"Yes. It's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book... that I will continue to read. As soon as you leave."

Ash softly laughed and removed his hat, setting it to his side and resting it upon his leather glove.

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause." Yang admitted as she turned to Ruby.

"What's it about?" Asked Ruby

"Huh?" Blake blinked at the unexpected question

"Your book. Does it have a name?" Ruby clarified while subtly gesturing to the book in the girl's hands.

"Well... it's about a man who comes back to life when he dies, but he loses a bit of himself everytime it happens."

Ash suddenly felt very anxious as the girl explained what the book was about, he hoped to the flames that it was simply a coincidence as his eyes widened.

"Oh yeah... that's real lovely..." Yang said sarcastically

"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... they're one of the reasons why I want to be a Huntress." Ruby admitted.

"Why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

"I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves." Said Ruby

"That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale..."

Blake said thoughtfully, lowering her book and looking absently at the floor

"Well, that's why we're here... to make it better."

Yang rushed up to Ruby and hoisted her into the air "Ohh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!"

"Gah, cut it out!" Ruby yelled as she and her sister started to wrestle, Yang trying to hold Ruby in place while Ruby tried to pull herself away.

Ash watched the two with an amused look in his eye, chuckling and shaking his head at their antics.

"Well, Ruby, Yang... it's a pleasure to-"

"What in the world is going on over here!? Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep!?" Weiss Schnee stormed up and started to yell at the two girls, while Ash gleefully laughed at the girls.

"And you! Stop your laughter this instant!" Weiss turned and yelled at Ash before turning and facing Yang

"Oh, not you again!" Weiss and Yang exclaimed in unison

"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!"

"Oh, now you're on my side!"

"I was always on your side!"

Blake reached for the candle and brought it closer to herself as the girls continued arguing

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister!? She's only trying to be nice!"

"She's a hazard to my health!"

And with that, Blake blew out the candle, extinguishing the only light in the room.

A couple more seconds of hushed arguing occurred, and then it seemed that all of the girls started to go back to their sleeping bags.

Ash shook his head with a grin, and closed his eyes.

...