AN: A bit of a shorter chapter but I'm setting up initiation and plan to have a much longer chapter next time going over the initiation events.
With the Power of an Avalanche
Chapter 5
-Whitley-
Humming to himself, Whitley went through the various checks of his gear. The saber and pistol were simple enough. They were the most basic weapons of their class he could find, and he'd probably replace them with something more distinct or useful once he got a chance to. No, it was his gauntlets that were his main tools as a Huntsman. The metal they made of was designed specifically to resonate with aura easier, a rare ore that was tricky to find but invaluable for something like this. The pure condensed dust crystals gleamed like gemstones in the knuckles of his gauntlets as he finished up.
"You ready Whitley?" Jaune asked, his friend finishing with his own gear, all of which Whitley had personally designed and built before Beacon. Had to ensure his new partner could fully utilize his semblance after all.
The armor was a basic leather set he got from one of the Huntsman outfitters here in Vale; Whitley having convinced Jaune to ditch the bulky plate he had started with. The leather would allow a much better range of motion and was durable enough to be easily imbued with dust. Hard light dust specifically, veined throughout the torso, the silver of the dust standing out against the black leather. There were also larger hard light dust crystals and even some fire dust threaded throughout the armor. If he wasn't so determined with his current path, then he might have taken up making personalized huntsman gear full time. It was rewarding seeing his creations utilized effectively.
"Ready." Whitley nodded to his friend, the blond clipping his family sword to his hip. Needed a weapon that didn't take aura to make after all.
Heading further down the locker room hall towards the exit to the Emerald Forest, Whitley noted his sister trying to talk up one Pyrrha Nikos. Given his sister had on her 'diabolical plotting' face for everyone to see, he didn't blame Nikos for being disturbed and trying to slip away. Or for the girl to see him and Jaune before bolting to try and 'hide' with the nearest non albino people. Coincidentally being Ruby and Yang.
"The hell was that all about?" Jaune frowned at the girl bolting from the sight of them.
"Given she was being talked to by Weiss my guess is that my 'dear sister' was trying to utilize Miss Nikos' fame for something. She probably thought I'd do the same given our relation."
"Wait, the redhead girl is famous?" Jaune blinked as Whitley slapped a palm to his face, thankfully careful not to knock himself out with his own gauntlet.
"Jaune, I really worry about you sometimes." Whitley groaned into the metal.
"Fair. Rude, but fair."
-Weiss-
Working to hide her scowl, Weiss gripped Myrtenaster's hilt tight enough for her knuckles to turn white. When she'd been lost in thought about her plans for her and Pyrrha's future team, Pyrrha had gone on ahead and was now nestled securely between that stupid child in the red hood and that scantily clad blond.
Not to mention Whitley was there, smirking next to that gangly blond boy. Her attention was drawn to the spots of color nestled securely in the white gauntlets on Whitley's hands.
"I should have known that he'd use something as brutish as gauntlets." Weiss muttered to herself, "Just as much of a thug as father." Noting Headmaster Ozpin, Weiss straightened up, ready for the man's instructions about the upcoming initiation test.
"Good morning future Huntsmen and Huntresses." The man nodded, sipping from a coffee cup while Glynda Goodwitch stood calmly at his side, "As many of you should know, you'll be receiving your partners today as part of this initiation. But not, a team."
"Wait what?" Weiss wasn't sure who spoke up in confusion and was just clad it wasn't her who'd interrupted.
"This year, you'll be part of a new experimental system that Beacon will be trying out." Ozpin smiled easily "In the past, you'd be partnered up during initiation and, by following the test parameters, be paired up with another partner duo to form a team. Instead, with this new system, you and your partner will not be paired up with another group. Instead, which partner duos work with who will be changed from mission to mission. This is to allow you to develop a solid sense of teamwork and combination skills with your partner, while also allowing you to learn to work with those you're not used to. And form stronger bonds amongst the rest of those accepted for your year."
While many around her were shocked at the concept of such a system which broke the traditional four-man student teams, Weiss felt a surge of excitement.
Once she partnered up with Pyrrha it would cement their skill and power even further! People would see that they were the best of their generation when every other duo they worked with had the best results when working with Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos. It was perfect!
"As for how partnerships are formed? The first person you make eye contact with upon landing will be your partner for the rest of your time at Beacon. Once you have your partner, you're to make your way to the ruins in the Emerald Forest to recover a relic there, and then return here." Ozpin continued as Weiss nearly staggered in place from the thought of such an asinine way to form partnerships.
"Now, I do hope you have a landing strategy prepared." Ozpin smiled as the platforms they were standing on started launching people at random into the air. Sweet brothers this was ridiculous.
-Whitley-
"Nice landing." Whitley snorted as he looked down at Jaune who was rising from a crater, his companion with an absurd aura pool apparently having a flair for the dramatic.
"You're literally flying around in a mini tornado and you're hazing me about being dramatic?" Jaune snorted as Whitley snickered sheepishly, even as he lowered himself to the ground.
"Well partner, you ready?" Whitley gestured deeper into the Emerald Forest, "I'm fairly sure I saw the ruins from when I was up in the air."
"Let's do this." Jaune gave him a grin as they set out, ready to make their mark.
AN: So yeah, brand new style for teams that I think is a lot of fun. I've never seen anyone do anything like this before, but I feel that it allows a lot of potential for character interactions. That said I given the addition of Whitley, that means that one person wouldn't have a canon person as a partner. I'm going with Weiss as I've already decided a group of other partners. So, I'm curious if you all want an OC for Weiss' partner or another character from RWBY that's just not from the known Beacon first years. Let me know in the review.