Chapter two: who do you trust
Crawlin with the rats and the roaches
People movin in and out of focus
Imma need to check all your coats cause
You never know when the enemy approaches
Between the unholy din in the Skyport station and the choir of anxiety telling me how badly I fucked up it was a miracle I stayed sane.
I shook my head, taking another drag of my cigarette to dispel the growing headache, looked around at my future classmates and became ever more certain that the future was quite possibly in the worse hands imaginable.
The hopeless little contraceptive failures that took up most of the station were busy being checked and double-checked by mommy and daddy, who in turn were blubbering about how 'their little baby is all grown up'. Looking at all the pampering it was a miracle these idiots could walk and talk much less fight Grimm.
I was ripped from my thoughts when I heard a familiar voice, I looked and saw Ruby, the girl from a week ago. She was with what looked like an older version of her wearing a white cape, who I presumed her mom. She had a massive scar running up the left side of her face turning her eye milky white and her right leg below the knee was a prosthetic.
Next to them was another pair of women. One was a well-built, blond-haired girl with lilac eyes who looked a little older than Ruby and another woman who was dressed in a red and black dress with long black hair and red eyes.
The quartet stopped near the edge of the platform, the red-eyed woman checking to see if the blond had everything while the white hooded woman caught Ruby in a bear hug.
"Mooooooooom, we're in public!" Ruby groaned as she wriggled in protest.
"I know, but I need to get my hug quota in before you grow up and move away." she giggled as she let go.
"I wish dad was here." Ruby said looking sadly at the ground.
Ruby's mom frowned and lifted her daughter's chin so she could look her in the eyes.
"You know your father hates missions just as much as we do, but you remember what he said last week?" she asked
"That the Grimm are almost completely out of Vale and he should be home soon." Ruby answered with a small smile
"Yes, and I bet you anything he'll head straight to Beacon to spend the day with you and Yang." she smiled back.
I looked away in disgust. I stubbed out my cigarette on the column then turned to walk away, where I ran right into a brown-haired rabbit Faunus, who dropped the camera she was holding.
"Sorry." She immediately squeaked in a foreign accent I couldn't place. As soon as she looked at me she started blushing like mad and looked away.
"Watch it next time." I snapped and reached down to grab her camera. Unfortunately, she moved to do the same and we smacked our heads together.
"Fuck!" I say as I stumble back.
"Sorry." She squeaked again, she dipped down quickly and grabbed her camera, blushing even more, before sprinting off.
"Oum, what's her problem," I muttered.
I heard a loud ca-chunk and I looked to see the airship had docked and had just started boarding.
I jogged over and entered the ship, once I was on I made my way to the back corner.
A few seconds later the girl with the camera moved her way through the crowd. She saw me, stopped, blushed hard and took a deep breath before slowly walking up to me.
"Um...hi…can I...sta-stand here." She mumbled, blushing harder with each passing moment.
I shrugged "It's a free kingdom, I don't give a fuck."
She leaned against the wall next to me and opened up the back of her camera and started fiddling with it. After concluding she wasn't going to bother me I went back to relaxing.
After about a minute of her tweaking, a jackass walked out of nowhere and slapped her camera out of her hand where it fell to the ground. The backplate flew off and a small amount of liquid from inside the camera came out in a stream and, to my extreme displeasure, landed on the sleeve of my jacket. I grabbed the guy's collar as he tried to walk by and shoved him back, my blood instantly beginning to boil while electricity crackled up my spine.
"What the fuck was that for, I just got this thing fixed!" I spat at him as I.
"What the fuck do you want, you little bitch." he snapped at me.
"My name is Nick, do we have a problem." I said glaring at him.
"Not if you stop hanging out with Faunus freaks like her." He spat, giving the girl a dirty look.
"This isn't about her, this is about you ruining my jacket you fucking Neanderthal." I growled, his face contorted in anger and he swung at me, I caught his fist in my hand and bent his arm to the side, then sent electricity spiraling up my arm and into his. His eyes instantly lost all anger as they rolled back into his head, his legs gave out, his arms curled inwards and he choked out a strangled yell. When I let go a few seconds later, his clothes were smoking and burnt in places and everyone was looking at me and the girl.
'"Shows over, mind your own fucking business." I said to the onlookers, then turned my gaze at my jacket to assess the damage.
"It shouldn't stain your jacket, it's a harmless coolant." The Faunus girl tittered as she handed me an alcohol wipe. "But if it does I'll buy you a new jacket!"
I wiped away the liquid with her wipe and while I was examining the splotch she bent down and picked up her camera.
"How bad is it?" I asked, out of absolutely positively nothing but curiosity.
"Not too terribly bad, the coolant line just disconnected." She said.
I pulled out another cigarette and just as I was about to light it I heard someone call my name from across the ferry, I looked up and see Ruby running towards me, pulling the blond-haired girl in tow.
"Nick! You got into beacon too! Wow, this is amazing! This is my cousin Yang by the way! You'll probably be the best in school! Oh, who is this?" She asked, indicating to the girl.
"Oh, um...what was your name?" I asked her.
"I'm Velvet, I'm a second year." She mumbled shyly.
"Cool a second year, you must know all about beacon!" Ruby gawked.
"You never mentioned how hot this guy is." The blond purred as she eyed me up, I rolled my eyes.
"YANG!" Ruby shouts giving her cousin the evil eye."You just met him, I'm sure he doesn't want to have sex with you."
Yang puts on a look of fake hurt, "Ruby, are you implying that I had uncouth intentions with this man." She gasped
"Like you weren't thinking about it." Ruby smirks.
"You guys seem pretty close for cousins." I commented sarcastically.
"Well, I have lived with my Aunt and Uncle ever since my good for nothing Dad ran off when I was a kid." Yang said, nonchalantly.
"Ok...uh...sorry?" I said, surprised at her openness.
"It's no big deal, I'm over it." she shrugged.
"Yeah, no shit." I affirmed, as I finally lit my cigarette.
Yang asked Velvet about her camera while Ruby walked over and leaned against the wall, blatantly copying me.
"Yo, can I have a puff of your nic stick bro." she said in a horribly corny fake tough guy voice as.
I calmly passed her my cigarette, she took a drag and immediately started hacking.
"What'd we learn." I say as she falls to her knees coughing.
"My insides are dying." she groans from the floor.
The intercom welcomed us to Beacon as the ship docked and we disembarked. As the freshmen were staring at the campus in awe, Velvet and I weaved through the crowd. After a moment she nervously coughs to get my attention.
"I just want to say thank you...ab-abo-about what you did on the ship." She blurts out.
I stared at her in surprise before furrowing my brow and turning away.
"Didn't you listen, it wasn't about you." I muttered as I stormed off. She didn't follow me.
After walking for a bit I found a bench and decided to take a breather. After checking to make sure no one was around before I reached into my jacket's inner pocket and pulled out a hip flask. One swig later and I was already forgetting that girl and everything that happened on the airship. I looked down at my flask and ran my thumb over the familiar engraving on the front, an old-fashioned lantern, radiating light. It brought back memories of a wooden cabin. A roaring fire. A man swinging his arms wide as he told me stories. A woman with...
A pair of voices startled me and I hid my flask as two nearly identical fox Fanus' rounded the corner. While both were skinny with red hair, one had slightly longer hair, greenish-blue eyes and was wearing tan cargo pants and a tropical flowered shirt. His companion had shorter hair, blueish-green eyes and was wearing a dark blue tank top and black pants.
"I'm telling you, we're lost." The long-haired one said.
"No, we're not, I'm just taking the long way around." Answered the other
The longer-haired one spotted me and walked up to me.
"''Scuse me sir, but do you happen to know which way the auditorium is?" He asked me.
"Um...no?" I answered with a suspicious look.
"Hey, we are not lost!" Yelled his twin, who he shushed before turning back to me.
"Sorry about that, I'm Trevor Hex, and this is my twin brother Fred." he explained
"Nick, just Nick." I said
"Well if nobody has any other options, may I suggest we try the building right over there that people are walking into." Trever said.
"Ha ha, I knew I was right." Fred said as we all set off towards the auditorium.
We entered found seats and once the room was full Ozpin walked onto the stage and tapped the mic.
"I'll keep this brief, many of you came here because you felt it would be easy, with Salem gone and the Grimm nearly extinct, how could it not be. But I'm here to tell you differently. Yes, the Grimm are more docile and lower in numbers, but they are by no means any less dangerous. So if you came here for gold stars and pats on the back, you've come to the wrong place. If you've come to be a warrior, then we will get along much better."
He walked away and Glynda walked over and instructed us to head to the ballroom. As I walked over there, I wondered how many puppies I kicked in a past life to deserve this.
"Prove it."
"You can't deny the facts."
"Oh yes, I can."
We had been in the ballroom for a few hours and I had changed into scuffed up sweatpants and a hoodie and found a nice soft bit of floor to sleep on, Trevor and Fred were sitting on their sleeping bags, arguing about something stupid again.
"If you can't prove it, I'm not listening." Stated Trevor. Fred was about to counter-argue when a pillow came out of nowhere and hit him in the face.
"Oi, will you two shut the hell up before I beat your ass!" A girl with strawberry blonde hair yelled at us, she was wearing a black tee-shirt and grey pajamas, and looked like she was in the middle of sharpening a great sword/shotgun.
"Well, I'm gonna go take a piss." I declared as I got up and stretched. As I was heading for the restroom I saw Ruby, she looked to be in the middle of an argument with a white-haired girl.
"'Scuse me." I say in an attempt to get her to move.
"Oh great another one, what do you want?" She says in a snobby tone as she turns to me.
"Now is that any way to make new friends." I say sarcastically.
"Maybe I don't want new friends." She started crossing her arms.
"Alright fine, be known as the girl who flunked out because she couldn't work with her fellow students." I shrug.
"That can happen!" She yells, prompting several people to shush her "I-I can work with my fellow students, in-fact me and Ruby are going shopping together." She states with a matter-of-fact look on her face.
"Really!" Ruby exclaims with a look of blind admiration for the elder girl on her face.
"Yes." She confirms with the same look of defiance on her face, which quickly changes to a look of horror as Ruby hugs her tightly.
"Too late." I smirk as Ruby squeals.
"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!" She chants "I promise you won't regret it!"
I leave the poor flustered girl too Ruby and head to the bathroom. When I got back, Trevor was already asleep and Fred had a look of concentration on his face.
"Hey quick question Nick, are we friends." Fred asked awkwardly, looking at me.
"Define friends." I answered.
"Like, you have our back and we have yours." He clarified.
"I guess?" I answered, slightly uncomfortable. "I mean, if you don't bust my balls I won't bust yours."
He looked at me for a moment, then he smiled and rolled over. I followed suit and was asleep soon after.