HoloBestWaifu: My first review! Yea, Sett's not the most popular character. I think he's cool though. Thanks for the encouragement :)

Sooo I re-read the last chapter a couple times, and I promise the introduction, exposition stuff will diminish soon. Not gonna lie, I'm looking forward to it. Coming up: more dialogue, interaction, and soon: action.

Disclaimer: League of Legends belongs to Riot Games, Rooster Teeth owns RWBY. Although, I wonder how much each is worth?


'This technology stuff is pretty incredible.' Gazing at the Vale airship one last time, Sett once again marveled at the creations of man. He'd been doing that a lot over the past few days, amusing the headmaster at his open wonder. But could you blame him? This place had air buses and bullheads (he finally knew what that thing was called), not to mention the numerous comforts in the average person's daily life.

Indoor plumbing?

Refrigerators?

Air Conditioning?

Indoor plumbing?

He had to get this stuff for momma!

..

.

'Momma…' Just thinking about her caused his frustrations to flair, his worry to spike. Not as badly as his first meltdown, mind you, but enough to warrant taking a moment to calm down.

He'd already accepted the fact that there wasn't much he could do to get home on his own. He didn't know much about magic, and apparently no one else on the planet did either: the only mention of sorcery in Remnant's history was in a fairy tale, of all things. As much as Sett didn't want to admit it, his only hope of getting back home was to wait to be yanked back into Runeterra.

But he didn't want to whine and cry about it. That's what weak people did. Especially since he could make use of his time while he was here. If he could work on himself and come home stronger than ever, that would be pretty nice. With that in mind, he thought it best to prepare himself as much as possible before his tenure at the academy, so he took it upon himself to learn whatever might be useful to know.

Over the past few days, it's safe to say he learned… a lot.

Following his acceptance to Beacon, the brawler was told of the everlasting struggle between mankind and Grimm, monsters who sought nothing less than the extinction of sentient life. When he'd asked why the Grimm were so dangerous, Ozpin had simply shown him a picture of a… what was that ugly bastard called?... Oh yea, a Beowolf.

"This is one of the small ones." The headmaster had then proceeded to show progressively bigger creatures after that. Coupled with how they were numerous around the globe, the reason for the long struggle against the Grimm became pretty clear after that.

There were all sorts of types, so many that the pit fighter's head just hurt thinking about them. It kinda reminded him of the stories he heard about widespread destruction in other regions of Runeterra.

Speaking of regions, learning about the four different kingdoms wasn't all that interesting to the half-vastayan. The only thing he picked up really was how they all had distinct characteristics. Atlas was all about military authority, Mistral was known for its art and criminal underworld, that kinda stuff. He didn't really care for their histories or politics.

The only thing in history that caught his attention was the ongoing struggle of equal rights for the faunus. As someone who struggled in a very similar way, he felt for the non-humans. Who would've guessed that even here, where civilization was at risk of collapsing, people still griped about extra ears or sharp claws. Not only did that confuse the hybrid, but it made his blood boil as well. Sure, the faunus had Menagerie, but that was a pretty shitty solution.

The White Fang's descent into a terrorist group only made things worse. Those idiots reminded him of the old-blood vastaya that ostracized his mom.

Having learned all of that, if Sett met anyone on either side of the spectrum… well, things would get very ugly.

Then again, that was basically how a lot of these problems started.

He'd deal with that thought later.

And all of that information, courtesy of a device called a scroll, given to him by Ozpin. This was his favorite piece of technology so far. Something so small had so many uses! He could instantly talk over long distances, look stuff up, check the time, all that good stuff!

Then he thought of the mule-drawn carriages and the like back on Runeterra.

Now he just felt primitive as hell.

Deciding he should probably stop wasting time, the pit fighter tore his gaze from the airship and began the trek to Beacon.

He had to admit, if every school looked like this one, he could see why they were considered prestigious. From the lawn to the buildings, even the stone pathways were impressive! Speaking of which, it looked like everyone else had already passed this area, except for a handful of students.

.

.

.

'Hey… isn't that.' He recognized that red scythe. And that black and red outfit! 'That's Ruby! The girl from the robbery.' Currently it looked like she was talking with someone, but he couldn't tell much from far away. As he walked closer, the half-breed raised his hand in greeting. "Hey Ruby!"

BOOM

"..."

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

"I'm really, really sorry!"

Dumbfounded, he could only watch as the bubbly girl withered under the verbal tirade from some rich girl, if her luggage cart and servants were any indication. He would've stepped in when another girl (with a bow on her head?) did so, but he was doing his best to make sense of what just happened. At some point though…

"...Heh heh..."

He just decided to go along with it. It was pretty funny, after all.

Shaking his head with a smile, he adjusted his initial judgment of this world. This place was weird, that was for sure… but it was also entertaining.

As Ruby seemed to deflate to the ground, he noticed both girls were walking away from her. Resuming his walk, the pit champion figured now was the best time to make his presence known.


"Welcome to Beacon…" Closing her eyes, the spunky girl couldn't help but dwell on the last few minutes. Not only was she abandoned by her sister, but she managed to piss off the first person she met! And she still had zero friends. And she was lost. What a great start…

Her inner brooding was suddenly interrupted when Ruby felt a shadow fall over her. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to actually see a familiar face.

"This gonna be a running theme Rubes?" With a hand out and a smirk on his face, Sett stunned the red reaper with his appearance, even as he helped her up.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she realized what he had said. "Hey! I would've been fine on my own with Torchwick, you know." She huffed, crossing her arms and pouting. When she noticed he was still smirking, she relented. "But, thanks for the help either way."

"Anyways, I had no idea I'd see you here! What a coincidence! Does that mean you're attending Beacon too?" As if a switch had been thrown, the girl changed moods, excited that there was, in fact, someone she knew at this academy. Smiling at her antics, Sett nodded.

"Yup. That little robbery the other day earned me an invite. I think it's safe to say the same goes for you?" He replied. Surprisingly, Ruby looked more ashamed than proud when he said that.

A bit concerned, he spoke up again. "What? Was it something I said?"

"No! I mean, yes. I-I mean… kind of?" She sighed, gathering her thoughts. "I think the robbery was a big part of me being here, and I'm glad I'm here! I really am!... But, I don't want people to think I'm getting special treatment, or anything." And it was true. She had dreamed of coming here ever since she wanted to become a Huntress, all those years ago. But she didn't want others to think she didn't earn this opportunity, that she didn't deserve to be here.

From the look of realization on Sett's face, it seemed that he understood some of that. "Hey, c'mon, don't beat yourself up about it. I only just met you, and from what I saw, you had the guts to take on all those thugs back then. How many others would've done the same?" He saw some self doubt leave Ruby's expression, so he was on the right track. "And who cares what people think? What gives them the right to judge you?" The half-breed had met his fair share of arrogant know-it-alls that judged him for being a pit fighter. All of 'em assuming he just loved busting heads and the like (well, he kinda did, but that's besides the point).

"Listen, I'm sure you'll get plenty of chances to show everyone else what you're made of." He crossed his arms. "So chin up. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"...Yea, I guess you're right." With a deep breath, and renewed confidence, she smiled. "Thanks for that." He grunted in affirmation, pleased to see his words got through to her. "So… any idea where we should be going?" When he shrugged his shoulders, it was clear that Sett had no clue either.

"We could ask for directions. Maybe that guy over there knows?" Pointing at a tall blonde boy who wasn't too far away from them.

Following his finger, Ruby realized who he was referring to. "Oh him? That's the guy that threw up on the ship."

"...Oh."


"Look, I'm telling you guys, motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune Arc (or vomit boy, as dubbed by Ruby) explained, trying to argue that his condition was a legitimate one to his two new acquaintances. While they weren't quite friends yet, the trio still got along pretty easily, and were now walking in one of Beacon's many courtyards. Initially, they were trying to find where everyone else went, but now they were sidetracked by the subject of motion sickness.

"Look, I'm sorry, but vomit boy was the first thing that came to mind." Ruby replied, seeming a little apologetic at picking at the blonde boy.

Sett didn't think there was anything wrong with it. He got a good laugh out of it, after all.

"Oh yea? What if I called you crater face?" Said the blonde, who was wearing jeans and a hoodie under a few plates of armor.

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby retorted, still embarrassed over that incident.

"It was a pretty funny accident." Sett chuckled, seemingly enjoying things from the sidelines.

Crater face sent him her best glare. "Hardy har, laugh it up scar-face." She grumbled, with no real bite. The trio walked in silence for a moment, enjoying the beauty of the campus. Unbeknownst to the boys, Ruby was still bothered by what had happened earlier. Seeking to get her mind off of that blunder, she began pulling out her most prized possession.

"Soooo, I go this thing." Leaving its inactive mode, Crescent Rose unfolded into its scythe mode, tipping to the ground with a noticeable impact.

Which startled Jaune, who took a step away. "Woah! Is, that a scythe?" Sett wondered how such a device worked (and how a girl of her size held it like it was nothing!?). He'd never seen something that could transform into another kind of weapon before. The half-breed thought about asking, but then realized he probably wouldn't understand a word from any explanation. As much as he'd learned during his stay on Remnant, there were some words and concepts that simply eluded the half-breed.

With a proud look on her face, the weapons enthusiast nodded. "It's also a customizable, high impact velocity sniper rifle."

"..."

"A what?" To say Jaune was perplexed would be quite accurate.

Sett was confused too, as he didn't understand half the words she said. But then he recalled seeing it in action during the robbery. "I think that means it shoots stuff too." After a second of thought, the blonde realized what he meant.

"Oh… It's a gun too. That's cool!" Smiling at the compliment, Ruby was also happy to be talking about her favorite topic.

But as much as she wanted to keep gushing about her baby, she was more curious to learn what everyone else used. "So what've you got Jaune?" The blonde in question was taken a bit off guard at how fast the spotlight was on him now.

Looking a little nervous, he began pulling out his weapon. "Oh- uh, I uh, got this sword." As Ruby "oooh'd," mind racing at the possibilities of sword weaponry, Sett prided himself on at least being familiar with that type of weapon.

With the positive reception from his audience, Jaune seemed to gain a bit of confidence. "Yea, I've got a shield too! W-Woah!" Deploying his sword sheath as a shield, he suddenly lost his grip on it. After a moment of playing hot potato with the shield, the pit fighter quickly reached out, grabbed it, and handed it back to the blonde boy. "So, what do you guys think?"

"It's… kinda basic. N-Not in a bad way or anything!" Ruby was quick to add, not wanting to give off the wrong message. "I mean, it's just that not many people have an appreciation for the classics. So it's pretty cool that you do!" As truthful as she was while saying that, Jaune didn't look convinced.

When they looked at Sett, he shrugged. "I like it. It's something simple. Not really a big fan of using complicated tools anyway." Ruby's eyes widened at that, as if he had just said the most blasphemous thing ever.

"What about Crescent Rose?" She asked, a little put down by the brawler's view on weapons. How could someone think that? Weapons were like, the best thing in her life! So many Huntsmen and Huntresses used soooo many cool weapons. Noticing her misunderstanding, Sett clarified what he meant.

"Don't get me wrong, your weapon's great Rubes. Personally, I've never seen anything like it. I just like to keep things as simple as possible for myself." After all, why go through all the hassle when he could just punch his way out of any situation? It's worked for him ever since he started fighting. Not just in pit fights, but before that too. Someone insulting his momma? People making trouble for him? Cocky pit fighter doubting him? All solved with a fist to the face.

Then his thoughts drifted to the prospect of having to fight a Leviathan…

Unknowingly cutting into his thoughts, the sword user got Sett's attention. "Well, how about you, big guy? Got any tricks up your sleeve?" No one mentioned how Sett didn't actually have any sleeves.

Ruby was curious as well, as she didn't see anything that looked like a foldable weapon on the brawny boy. And she didn't see him use anything during the robbery either. Did that mean he was holding back?

"Me? I got these." He replied confidently, bringing his hands to his chest and clenching his fists.

"..."

"Uhhhhh… that's it?" Jaune was the first to break the silence at the reveal of Sett's seemingly non-existent arsenal.

"No ranged weapons or anything else? Nothing in your gauntlets?" The lackluster reveal was quite disappointing for the weapons geek. She thought that his gauntlets might shoot, like Yang's, or maybe his chest piece had some sort of cool, secret mechanism.

The pit fighter shook his head. "Nope. Never had any need for anything else really." And it was true. In a pit fight, he always either outlasted or overwhelmed his opponent. But now that he'd be fighting in a different setting, maybe he should start considering other options. He'd cross that bridge when he got there though. For now, his own strength would suffice.

Ruby and Jaune, however, seemed doubtful of that notion. From what Ruby could recall, she couldn't think of a single Huntsmen or Huntress that didn't have an awesome weapon. It was the bread and butter in their line of work! But they saw how confident the brunette was, so they decided to just accept his claim.

Jaune shrugged his shoulders, "If you say so." He said, taking a moment to glance at their surroundings. "So, has anyone figured out where we're supposed to go?" Turning to the others, all he got was two head shakes. Taking another look around, he thought out loud. "... Maybe there's a directory or something? A map? Maybe uh, a food court?"

"Oh, I bet you're pretty hungry, huh vomit boy?"

"Yea, I really- hey!"


After an unnecessarily long trip around the academy, the unlikely trio finally entered the amphitheater, where all of the other students had gathered. And not a moment too soon either, as it looked like the headmaster and his assistant were getting ready to address the students.

Sett whistled. "That's a pretty big crowd. Wonder how many of 'em can fight?" He remarked, thinking about potential matches in a pit. 'Wonder how many of these kids would pay to see a fight?' He thought offhandedly, noting the shocking amount of individuality among the student body.

Ruby and Jaune stared quizzically at the brawler, a little perplexed at such a statement. "Well, they all got accepted to Beacon, so they all can definitely fight! Right Jaune?" The blonde in question actually seemed a bit taken aback by what Ruby said.

"Y-Yea, for sure!" The knight shakily replied. With a slight frown, Ruby was even more confused now. But before she could say anything, she heard a very familiar voice call out to her.

"Ruby! Over here!" Buried deep in the crowd, there was an older girl waving to the little red reaper. "I saved you a spot!"

Now, Sett had seen his fair share of good-looking women. After all, everyone wanted to get with the young, strong, champion of the pit. That's where the money was, after all. None succeeded of course, as Sett saw right through their supposed friendliness, seeing the thinly veiled greed lurking just beneath the surface. He may be young, but even Sett knew a gold digger when he saw one. And really, why would he want to be involved with someone like that? Someone who would've ignored him when he wasn't up, only showing interest when his pockets were full of coin. Scum like that reminded him of his old man…

This girl, however, certainly topped that list of attractiveness. She had bright lilac eyes and very long, bright yellow hair, as well as an orange scarf and single knee sock. Although she wore a pair of brown knee-high boots and a brown jacket as well, her outfit left very little for imagination when it came to her… appealing figure. With her black short shorts and exposed midriff, this girl was hot and she damn well knew it. Ruby seemed to know who the girl was, if her look of realization was anything to go by.

"Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go. That's my sister. I'll see you guys after the ceremony!" And with that, the little red reaper scurried off, snaking through the crowd. Slightly alarmed, Jaune reached out after her.

"Hey wait!" Sighing, he and Sett began looking for free seats within the packed room. "Great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?" he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"Ah c'mon, there's plenty of people here! I'm sure you'd get along with some of 'em." And Sett meant that. Even though he had his own previous misgivings, he saw no reason why Jaune would feel the same.

"Yea, easy for you to say. You could probably hit it off with any of these girls." To Jaune's surprise, the beefy brawler seemed rather uncomfortable when he said that.

"Uh… You'd be surprised, man. I've never actually tried."

"What? Really? A guy like you has never gone out with a girl?" Spotting empty seats, the two began to move.

"Crazy, huh? But yea, that's right. It's, uh, kinda complicated…" As the pit fighter tried to explain to the knight how that was possible, neither noticed a red haired girl in gladiator-looking armor, staring at the blonde boy.


"So yea, that's pretty much why I've never really gotten into all that stuff." He finished, wrapping up his reasoning for not dabbling in relationships. To which, the blonde boy was now much more understanding of.

"Wow man… I never even thought of it that way. That's gotta be pretty depressing, now that I think about it." Of course, what Jaune was referring to was how Sett was exclusively pursued for his physique and money, not to mention his local fame. No one really cared about the big guy himself: everyone just wanted what he had.

Which was true, the pit fighter didn't lie about that. But he did purposely neglect the discrimination, pit fighting bloodiness, and ostracization, opting to say he came from some place outside the kingdoms.

It's not that he wanted to lie to Jaune. He actually liked him: a little low on self-esteem, but he seemed nice enough. But he did agree with Ozpin that he should keep his true origins a secret. He didn't have much, if any, proof of being from another world. And even if he did, he didn't want to mess anything up, especially if some people here treated him better than almost everyone back home. Better to blend in rather than stand out.

The half-breed shrugged. "But hey, maybe things will be different here. Ya' never know." Jaune nodded in agreement. He was about to say something, when they heard shouting from across the amphitheater.

"You!"

"Oh God, it's happening again! Protect me Yang!"

The two boys then proceeded to watch the spectacle from afar. Sett recognized one of the people as the white haired girl, the one Ruby blew up earlier (he snickered at that: he still thought it was pretty funny). "Oh hey, that's the girl that Ruby exploded. You see her Jaune?... Jaune?" When he didn't get a response, he looked at the boy in question, and did a double take.

He swore he saw hearts in his eyes.

Waving his hand in front of the mesmerized knight, he called out to him. "Jaune? You there?"

Nothing.

"Vomit boy?" That last one did the trick, as Jaune finally came back to his senses.

"Yea...?" Or not, as it was very clear his mind was still elsewhere.

"Got your head in the clouds?" Sett teased, amused at how the blonde was being.

"Yea, dude. She's… amazing." Dear god this guy was in a world of his own huh?

"I don't know man." The half-vastayan shrugged. "She seems too stuffy to me." That snapped Jaune out of it, as he seemed greatly offended at the brunette's words.

"Dude, how can you say that! She's like… like a snow angel! Oh my god, is she pointing at me!" And lo and behold, the snow flake was in fact pointing her thumb at the blonde. Sett was about to tell him that she almost definitely didn't mean anything by it, when he saw Ruby's sister looking his way. Noticing that, he waved at her, to which she smiled and waved back. Before he could do anything else, "Ahem," Ozpin stepped up to the center of the stage, and was just beginning his speech.

Pushing up his glasses, the headmaster continued. "I'll... keep this brief. 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." He paused, eyes hardening, scanning the crowd. "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." That elicited some murmurs from the crowd. No one had been expecting that.

"It is up to you to take the first step." And with that, he stepped aside, after which Professor Goodwitch took over.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed!" And with that, the crowd began to slowly disperse.

"Wow. That was an… interesting speech. What'd you think he means?" Jaune asked the brawler.

Sett smirked. "I think he was giving a wake up call, that's all." the blonde furrowed his brow at that.

"A wake up call?" Sett nodded, before clarifying further.

"From what I could tell, the guy's sayin' that everyone is expecting to be given what they need to be good Huntsmen and Huntresses on a platter." He paused, making sure Jaune was following along. "But unless they go out and really work for it, they won't amount to anything."

"So… he's saying if we want to do well, we need to take initiative?" The brawler nodded. Jaune hummed in realization. "That's… pretty motivating, actually."

"Well, if you're motivated, then he did something right. Anyways, you still wanna look for a food court? I'm kinda hungry too now." They did, after all, somehow manage to walk around the entire campus just now.

"Oh yea, I'm starving." And he was. Jaune was ravenous right about now.

With a cheeky smile, Sett replied. "Oh really? I wonder why." Jaune narrowed his eyes at that.

"Keep wondering pal."

And so, the two went off, in search of a nice, filling meal.


Within a few hours, night had fallen, and all of the initiates were now gathered in the expansive ballroom. Most of them were already asleep, but a few lingered, not ready (or willing) to go to bed just yet. One such person was writing in her notebook, thinking hard as to what exactly she should say.

"What's not to like sis? It's like a big slumber party!" landing on her sleeping bag next to her sister, Yang was very pleased with how things were going so far. Although, it seemed that Ruby on the other hand couldn't care less about the sleeping arrangement.

Engrossed in her writing, she offhandedly replied. "I don't think dad would approve of all the boys though." Yang rolled her eyes at that. Of course he wouldn't. Dad was dad! He certainly didn't approve of her combat outfit, but that didn't stop her from choosing it.

So while her dad wouldn't approve, she was going to enjoy all the eye candy she could. "Well, I know I do." With a perverted purr, she took in all the shirtless boys, who were flaunting their figures for all the world to see. She quickly groaned in displeasure when she saw Jaune walk around in a blue bunny onesie.

Disappointed, she turned her attention back to Ruby, curious as to what she was doing. "Whatcha writing?"

"A letter back to the gang at Signal." With a smile, she glanced at Yang. "I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going." That was so adorable! "Awww, that's sooo cuuuute!" Yang squealed, earning a pillow thrown at her face.

"Shut up!" Ruby grunted out. "I didn't get to take my friends with me to school. It's weird not knowing anyone here." It was, after all, the first time she'd be going to any school without her old friends. It felt like moving to a whole different kingdom!

"What about Jaune?" Yang pointed out. "He seems… nice." Having seen the boy in his onesie caused her to hesitate a bit. But hey, he seemed to get along well with her sister. "There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!"

"I'm pretty sure Weiss counts as a 'negative friend'. Back to zero…" Ruby muttered. Yang thought for a moment, before pointing something else out.

"Well what about that other guy you were with?" The red reaper blinked. "You, know, the hunk with the red eyes an-" That got her another pillow to the face.

"He has a name Yang! Which is Sett, by the way." Ruby grumbled, all too knowing of where her big sister's mind was right now. But then she paused: he never gave his last name…

Before she could continue that thought, she was brought out of her inner musings by the blonde. "Yea! You seemed to like his company! When are you gonna introduce me to him by… the… way…" She trailed off, her mind going blank. That got Ruby's attention, as she paused in her writing to see the dazed look on her sister's face. "Yang?... Yang, what's wrong?" She turned to follow her gaze, and had her confusion answered-

"Hey Ruby. Nice seein' you again."

-in the form of the boy in question walking over and waving at Ruby. And with what he was wearing, Ruby could easily tell what the fuss was all about.

Simply put, Sett was wearing a pair of pants… That's it.

No longer in his usual attire, the brunette was wearing a pair of simple black pajama pants, leaving his upper body completely exposed. His muscular figure-from his broad shoulders, to his firm pectorals, to his chiseled core-was highlighted by the dim lighting within the room. Complimented by his tan skin and rugged face, one could say this guy was a showstopper (1).

With a smile, she waved back. "Oh hey Sett! What's up?"

"Nothin. Just wanted to say hi to you and your… mesmerized sister." He said, with a knowing smirk. Ruby's eyes widened before sharply turning to Yang… who was, in fact, mesmerized.

"Oh man, sorry about her! Yang? Yang? Yang!"

"..."

Sett needed to get his eyes checked or something. That's the second time he's seen hearts in someone's eyes today.

Clearing her throat, Ruby shouted in her sister's ear in a frantic voice. "YANG, THERE'S SOMETHING IN YOUR HAIR!" Which seemed to do the trick, as Yang was brought back into the world of the living. "Huh? Wh-What happened?" Only when she saw the annoyed look on Ruby's face did Yang finally realize what she did.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry! I swear I didn't mean to space out like that!" Embarrassed and flushed, she was quick to apologize for ogling the big guy (though, if it wasn't right in front of him, she would've happily gotten away with it). "It's just… you have a very, uh, defined figure, that's all." Yang was relieved to hear him let out a chuckle.

Though he'd been truthful when talking with Jaune, Sett saw nothing wrong in a little harmless fun. After all, the looks he got often boosted his ego.

"All good. Nothing I haven't seen before." Amused, he held out his hand. "I'm Sett. Nice to meet ya, miss…"

"Yang Xiao Long. But you can just call me Yang." Reaching out and shaking his hand, she gave a flirtatious smile, with a wink to top it off. Ruby just rolled her eyes.

Smirking at her antics, Sett lowered himself, settling into a sitting position. "So, what were y'all talking about just now?" A few minutes prior, he was preparing to go to sleep. But after hearing some commotion, he decided to investigate, and realizing who was at the source of it, he decided to pop over for a visit.

"Oh, Ruby was just worrying about making new friends, and I'm trying to tell her she's doing fine!" Yang responded, giving her sister an overly cheery look, and getting a second pillow to the face for her troubles. Sett just smiled.

"This have anything to do with the, uh… explosive incident?" He quickly became the next pillow victim.

"Would you let that go already!?" Ruby ground out, blushing slightly at the reminder. She tiredly sighed. "But yea… I'm just afraid that I can't make any new friends by myself." The pit fighter raised an eyebrow.

"Whaddya mean?"

"That's just it! I haven't made any friends on my own without some crazy thing happening. If I didn't explode, I wouldn't have met Jaune or Weiss. I mean, I only met you through circumstance too!" Sighing, she slammed her face onto her pillow. "I just wanna make friends normally." She dejectedly mumbled.

Yang, finally understanding her little sister's worries, frowned at her distress. As much as she wanted to comfort her, the blonde couldn't think of anything good to say at the moment. When she looked at Sett for help, he had his brow furrowed, deep in thought.

But before the silence could linger any longer, the brunette's face lit up, and a fond look crossed his face.

"I don't think it really matters, Rubes." The girl looked up, a questioning look directed at him. "As long as you make friends, how you make them doesn't matter." He paused, reminiscing a good memory. "Besides, if it weren't for coincidences, I never would've met my best friend. First time I met 'em, we threw hands. Ahh. Good times." The half-breed would never forget that day…

"You went from being enemies to friends!? How'd that happen?" Asked the younger girl, curious at how such a thing was possible. To her disappointment, Sett shook his head. "It's a long story, one I'll tell another time. The point is, you can make friends anywhere. You just gotta keep an open mind and know where to look." Ruby chewed that over for a moment, before conceding to his two lien.

"I guess… But where exactly can I look?"

The quiet snap of a candle lighting being lit caught Sett's attention. Looking around, he spotted the person responsible, a proposal quickly forming in his head. "Well… what about that other girl that was there at the pathway?" Ruby cocked her head to the side, thinking. "The black haired one?" When her eyes lit up in recognition, he jerked his head at the girl in question, drawing the sisters' attention.

True to his word, sitting against a far wall was the black haired girl who had watched Ruby explode. While she still wore her bow on her head, she was now wearing something akin to a black kimono with white trim. Using her candle light, the girl was reading a book, amber eyes quickly gliding from left to right. "Oh yea, her! That's the girl that saw what happened earlier today. She left before I could talk to her though." Admittedly, Ruby did want to at least know who she was, but it was getting late and she should probably sleep.

Yang, on the other hand, didn't think so.

"Well, now's your chance!" Quickly getting up, the blonde snatched Ruby's wrist and began dragging her sputtering sister over to the bow girl. Chuckling at the scene, Sett watched as the two sisters tried to strike up a conversation with the book reader.

And within seconds, it appeared to the pit fighter that it wasn't working, if the uninterested look on the bow girl's face was any indication. 'Wish I could help, but what the hell could I say?'

"..."

Well, he did ask.

Going against his instincts, the half-breed got up, racking his mind trying to figure something out as he walked. 'Man, this is harder than any of my pit fights!'


"Nice night, don't you think?" Getting close enough to hear Yang, Sett mentally face palmed at what he just heard. By no means was he a smooth talker, but even he knew how awkward that was. Luckily for them, he had a makeshift plan in mind that was sure to work. At least, he hoped.

"Yes. It's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book-" Before the black haired girl could further convey her disinterest, she was interrupted by a new voice.

"Oh wooow! Is that the book about the Wolf and the Lamb?" With (a little exaggerated) enthusiasm, Sett walked up behind Ruby, drawing attention to his wonder-filled gaze. The two sisters looked at him with confusion, while the other girl merely raised an eyebrow.

"uh…No." She answered, drawing out a disappointed look from this newcomer.

"Ah, sorry about that. I just got a bit excited, seeing your book's title. Thought it was one of my favorite books I used to read as a kid." Everyone present couldn't believe it. This beefy guy, who looked like he could snap someone like a twig… was a bookworm!?

With curiosity dancing in her eyes, the black haired girl spoke up. "What's that book about?"

Perfect.

Smiling, Sett fondly recalled the story. "It's about Death itself, as a single person. A sort of grim reaper, ya know? A dark haired, pale man." He crossed his arms, using one hand to cup his chin. "For a while, he did his job well. He took and guided souls ready to leave the land of the living. But one day, the man got lonely. After all, given his purpose, it's no surprise he was shunned by everyone."

"So he decided to split himself right down the middle, so that he would always have a friend. The emotional half, Wolf, and the rational one, Lamb. They were unique on their own, but together, they were still the true embodiment of Death. They were from the same person, but never again were they alone."

"But now that Death was split in two, the forms of fate were split as well. It all depended on whether one embraced, or rejected, their death. Those that accepted it were given the swift release of Lamb's arrow. Those that resisted were chased by Wolf, and spent their last moments agonizing in his jaws."

"That is the story of the Wolf, and the Lamb. Never one, without the other." Finishing up his summary, he glanced around, noting how absorbed everyone was in his storytelling. The pit brawler was pleased with himself: his momma would be proud of how he wove this tale.

And man, was he lucky that he saw the book's title! Seeing the word Kindred brought out a memory from the brawler, one of his momma telling him a story about the famed Wolf and Lamb (2).

"Wow…that's quite an interesting tale." The amber-eyed girl murmured, still thinking about the tragic narrative. "I'd like to read it myself one day."

"Maybe I can lend you my copy at some point." Sett offered, happy to spread his favorite stories. "Anyways, thanks for listening, miss…" He asked, holding out his hand. Yang's eyes widened, finally realizing what he was doing.

"I might take you up on that offer." smiling, she reached out and shook his hand. "And I'm Blake. Blake Belladonna. You…?"

"I'm Sett. It's nice to meet ya Blake."

"Likewise." Blake said, with her own little smile.

Jerking his head to his left, Sett enacted the final stages of his plan. "Anyways, my friend Ruby likes books too. She wanted to ask you about your book too, right Rubes?" The girl in question looked a bit lost, but the look Sett sent her way urged her to play along.

"Y-Yeah, I do! What's your book about Blake?" Fortunately, Ruby actually was interested in books, so she was genuine in her curiosity.

"Well, It's actually a bit similar to Sett's book. It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." She said, pleased to be talking about literature.

Unfortunately, there was one person who wasn't as pleased. Yang rolled her eyes. "Oh yea… that sounds lov-" She abruptly stopped when she heard a light cough. Looking at its source, she noticed the deadpan look Sett was sending her way. She got the hint.

Good thing too, as Ruby seemed to be enjoying her conversation. "I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed." She said, a hopeful look gracing her features. "Stories of heroes and monsters…they're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress." The blonde brawler smiled, proud of her little sis.

"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake, on the other hand, seemed to be humoring her. Ruby didn't seem to notice.

"I'm hoping we all will." Sett blinked at that. "As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right, and who protected people who couldn't protect themselves." The half-vastayan smiled knowingly. This sounded very familiar…

"That's very ambitious for a child." Blake said, suddenly looking a little downcast. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale." Sett was inclined to agree with that, as much as he didn't want to. His upbringing was a prime example after all. And yet…

"Well, that's why we're here. To make it better." Ruby ended, with a small smile.

… optimism was a helluva thing.

And it seemed that he wasn't the only one who thought so. "Ooohhhh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang cried out, suddenly hugging and lifting Ruby into the air. Flustered, the younger sister tried to break free of her sister's vice grip. "Yang! Cut it, OUT!" And with a punch to the face, a bizarre scuffle broke out, something Sett and Blake could only chuckle at.

The brunette figured now was a good time to take his leave. "As much as I'd like to stay and watch, I'm beat. G'night Blake." Backing up, the two waved at one another before Sett turned around, heading back to his sleeping spot- and not a moment too soon.

Halfway back to his space, he heard something that sounded like-

"What in the world is going on over here!? Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep!?"

That must've been the white haired girl. He just dodged a bullet, that was for sure.

Reaching his isolated corner, he lay down on his sleeping bag, content with his first night at Beacon. But before he fell asleep, there was one last thing he wanted to do. Pulling out a picture frame from his pants pocket, he gently glided his thumb over the portrait, cleaning it of miniscule specks of dust.

In the portrait was a picture of his mom.

With a pang in his chest, he gazed at the picture one more time. 'Love you, Ma. See ya tomor-... I'll see you soon.' Carefully putting the picture down, the half-breed started to doze off, hoping everything was ok back home.


(1) When writing this part I remembered that showstopper is the name of one of Sett's in-game abilities.

(2) I was having a bit of trouble figuring out how I wanted to write this scene out, and by a stroke of luck, I thought I could relate Blake's book to the story of Kindred. I really like the story of the pale man, and Kindred's an interesting character, So I was pretty happy I could slide it in.

Holy shit. Writing characters IN character is harder than I thought. If any of them are OOC, let me know! Also I just realized I accidentally called Huntsmen hunters, fixed that in the previous chapter (I also made a couple tiny adjustments). Otherwise, thanks for tuning in, and I'll see y'all next chapter, which I'll try to get out in a week.