A SHINING BEACON
Theodore watches from across the courtyard as Weiss Schnee berates the young girl his mother told him about, Ruby Rose. He can tell who Weiss is by her trademark white hair and rather expensive looking blue dress, not to mention the family symbol on the back of her jacket and the rather authoritarian aura that surrounds her. Ruby on the other hand is so flustered that she doesn't do anything but apologise, sitting on the floor with the dust boxes, avoiding Weiss's glare. With a sigh he walks over to them, getting a few strange glances from the other students and winks from one or two of the girls.
"I hardly think that's necessary Miss Schnee, perhaps instead of yelling at her, you could educate her." He comments coming to a stop beside the two girls, tapping his umbrella on the ground to gain their attention. "This is a place of learning after all." He adds gesturing behind him to Beacon, they both look at him quizzically.
"At least someone recognises me." Weiss scoffs; Ruby remains on the floor and looks a little sheepish until Theodore offers her his hand. "What are you wearing? You're a little young to be a teacher." Weiss observes as Theodore helps Ruby up.
He looks down at the suit he's wearing for a second. "That's because I'm not, however my mother is Miss Goodwitch, the head of combat class. I practically grew up here in Beacon." Theodore smiles while Weiss becomes flustered and hurriedly tries to apologise. "It's quite alright Miss Schnee, but I'm afraid I must insist that you either apologise to Miss Rose or lend her the tools to better herself." He interrupts her; Ruby nervously rubs her arm and shies away.
"O-of course, here." Weiss reaches into one of her bags and offers a small pamphlet titled 'Dust for Dummies'. Theodore smirks at the name thinking 'Better than nothing' before handing it to Ruby. "I hope to see you again soon Mr Goodwitch, good day." With that Weiss struts off without giving Theodore or Ruby time to reply.
"I'll make this up to you!" Ruby calls after her but Weiss doesn't look back, her shoulders slump and she lets out a dejected sigh. "Welcome to Beacon." She mutters to herself. Theodore chuckles, bringing Ruby back from her own little world.
"Everything will be fine Miss Rose, trust me." He reassures her with a smile which she returns. He takes in her features, black hair with red tips, small porcelain like face, large silver eyes that brim with innocence and passion. There is the faint aroma of cookies around her, as well as dust powder? An odd combination but then again who is he to judge.
"Thanks… and call me Ruby please. Miss Rose makes it sound like I'm in trouble." Ruby says, tapping the ends of her fingers together and looking down slightly, again making Theodore chuckle at her behaviour.
'Just as mother described' He thinks. She does look a little like a young child called to the headmaster's office.
"Hey, do you know where we're supposed to go!?" Ruby and Theodore turn around to see the blonde guy from the bull head. His simple jeans and hoodie fitting the shaggy and somewhat humble look he possesses, even with the small armour plates. He jogs up to them and Theodore offers him a mint, he looks confused for a second but then takes the hint… and the mint.
"Aren't you the guy who threw up?" Ruby asks giggling slightly, the guy rubs the back of his neck with a sheepish grin while Theodore sighs.
'Off to a flying start' He thinks and gestures to Beacon.
"Shall we head to the auditorium? The professor's speech will be starting soon." He starts walking and the other two follow, Theodore humming slightly while they engage in small talk. Tuning it out a little until they reach the courtyard before the double doors.
"I'm sorry but vomit boy was all I could think of." Ruby holds her hand up as they stop and face each other. Theodore wonders if she will always be this childish, a small part of him hopes so.
"Well what if I called you crater face?" The blonde shoots back, making Theodore smile. 'Not bad, but his trash talk could use some work'. He mocks in his head.
"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby defends putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward to emphasise her point. The blonde smirks slightly as Ruby pouts, so Theodore decides enough is enough.
"So, what is your name?" Theodore asks with a smile, the blonde turning to him with a triumphant grin at the question.
"Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. The ladies love it." He declares and Theodore mentally face palms.
Ruby cocks an eyebrow. "Do they?" She asks bluntly.
"Test subject one, failure to produce desired results." Theodore jokes, shaking his head with a smile and resting his hands on his umbrella. Ruby giggles, covering her mouth with her hand, and Jaune awkwardly scratches the back of his neck with a small smile.
"They will, at least that's what my mom said." Jaune sheepishly grins and Theodore smirks.
'I wouldn't tell any girl that, but then again some do find that kind of adorkable stuff cute'. He pats Jaune on the shoulder as Ruby leans in slightly, a mischievous grin on her face.
"Anyway, what weapons do you guys have? I've got Crescent Rose here." She smiles and happily twirls out a huge red scythe, it completely dwarfs her, but she spins it effortlessly and buries the blade into the floor. Theodore claps slowly as Jaune stares in awe.
"Is that a scythe?" Jaune marvels, a scared grin on his face, Ruby smiles even wider.
"Very Impressive Ruby, a little flashy, but impressive none the less." Theodore analyses the scythe with a smile, Ruby resting it beside her as a makeshift post. Its deep red colour and black contours matching her combat skirt and hair.
"It's also a customizable high impact sniper rifle." She grins giddily, transforming the weapon into carry mode.
'Some of these student's weapons and ideas on how to use them never cease to amaze me, what's next, a knife that is simultaneously a rifle? A knifle?' Theodore muses while Jaune looks at Ruby confused.
"A what?" He asks with a dumbfounded expression.
"It's also a powerful gun Jaune, just stay away from the dangerous looking bits." Theodore explains and Jaune nods slowly. Unbeknownst to them all, a mighty beast flies overhead. Its red wings beating slowly as it glares at Theodore.
"So, what do you guys have?" Ruby asks with a small sparkle in her eye. "I'm a bit of a weapons nut." The two boys look at each other and Theodore gestures for Jaune to go first. The great beast watches from on high, steam slowly flowing from its nostrils, its yellow slit eyes narrowing.
"Well, I have this." Jaune takes out a simple looking sword and shield, the shield is mainly white with a gold trim and a family crest in the centre, the hilt and cross guard of the sword following the colour design. Jaune looks a little nervous to show them but Ruby is enthralled by them. Theodore on the other hand admires the basic design and strong craftsmanship.
"What can they do!?" Ruby squeals. The beast overhead snarls slightly at the noise, but Theodore and Jaune smile at the young girl.
'She's like a child who just saw a new toy' Theodore thinks.
"Well uh, the shield can fold up when I get tired of carrying it." Jaune pushes a button and the shield contracts back into the scabbard, the painted family crest becoming segmented. He clips it onto his belt and Ruby looks at him quizzically.
"But won't it still weigh the same?" She asks and Jaune stops smiling, becoming a little shy.
'And there goes the confidence he fought so hard for, truly a shame' Theodore sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. The mighty creature above swishes its tail and starts to slowly circle the trio from above, its focus on Theodore.
"Yes, it does." Jaune admits slumping slightly and letting out a sigh.
"Well, it was built for war. It needed to be functional and not much else, a family heirloom I assume?" Theodore asks, surprising both Ruby and Jaune, he recognised the design and how old the weapon is. From this he concluded that it was likely used by a huntsman in the war, passed down to a new warrior a.k.a Jaune. "What?" He questions their confused faces.
"Yeah, it was my great grandfather's in the war. I thought I would take it up in his memory rather than forge something new." Jaune tells them, his smile returning after a moment as he puts the sword back in its counterpart.
"Well, that's still pretty cool. Not many people have respect for the classics these days." Ruby pipes up with a reassuring smile. Theodore smiles as well and nods as Jaune grins. "What do you have Mr Goodwitch?" she asks excitedly.
"Please, call me Theodore, no need for such formalities." Theodore replies with a smile, "As for my weapon, well you're looking at it." He taps his umbrella on the ground, the other two look at it for a second before looking back up at him confused. "I can see that you don't understand, however I assure you that an umbrella is the perfect design for a weapon." Ruby squints as she closely examines the umbrella.
"But it looks so… normal." Jaune sounds almost disappointed by that fact, while Theodore simply smirks. With the push of a button a holographic display pops up and he holds the umbrella like a gun; Ruby marvels at the holographic site.
"I assure you Jaune, my umbrella is as deadly as they come." Theodore points to a small slot on the shaft, just above the handle. "Standard dust rounds can be loaded into the chamber from a clip here." He then opens the umbrella and points to the actual umbrella part. "The fabric of the umbrella itself is a special titanium weave that is both flexible and incredibly durable. It's strong enough to stop a bullet and a built-in camera gives me a real time video display of what's in front of me on the back of the fabric." With the flick of a small switch the back of the umbrella lights up with a view in front of the three, Jaune sticks his hand out and it shows up on the feed. "There are one or two other features, but I'll leave you in suspense." He smirks as Ruby looks ready to explode.
"OH MY GOSH YOUR UMBRELLA IS SO COOL! PLEASE SHOW ME THE OTHER FEATURES, I'LL GIVE YOU A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF COOKIES!" Ruby speaks so fast that Jaune completely misses what she says. Theodore can just barely understand her, folding up his umbrella with a small flourish. "You're mean." She pouts, crossing her arms and turning away. Theodore just chuckles.
"It works with your look, like some kind of spy." Jaune comments and Theodore looks down at his suit.
'Why does everyone say that?' He wonders before straightening his tie and cuffs, hanging his umbrella across his forearm.
"My suit is made out of a similar material, another layer of protection if my aura is depleted." Theodore responds, Ruby whirls around and looks him up and down, having gotten over his 'betrayal' rather quickly. The beast above continues to circle, a jet of flame escaping its maw.
"So, what does it feel like if you get shot or slashed or bitten when your aura's depleted?" She asks inquisitively. Theodore thinks for a moment, without warning he flicks Ruby on the forehead "Ow!" She cries in surprise, forcing Jaune to supress a laugh.
"Kinda like that, but a little worse." Theodore tells her with a smug smile. Ruby rubs her forehead and glares at him. "Smile Ruby, it suits you far better than a frown." He tells her kindly and she flusters slightly but composes herself quickly.
"I'll get you back for that Theodore." She tells him with an evil smile, emphasising his name. Jaune gulps at her personality shift. Theodore however finds it kind of funny how serious she is, unable to help chuckling again. "Don't laugh, I'm serious!" She yells and he stops.
"I'm sure you are Ruby, and I say bring it on." He tells her with a smirk, the beast above loses its patience and dives for Theodore. It streaks towards him, claws outstretched with a hiss; Ruby shrieks when she sees it and Theodore quickly whirls around. The lizard like creature collides with him, quickly climbing up to rest around his shoulders.
"What is that!?" Ruby asks frantically, hiding behind Jaune as the small red lizard turns its slender neck and head towards her. Its deep red scales shine slightly in the sun, contrasted by its light toned belly and chest. Its wings are long and have clawed fingers in the middle, which it uses to support itself on Theodore's shoulder. A long tail reaches around to Theodore's left shoulder as it uses its hind legs to stand on his right. It's no bigger than a large house cat, the creature snorts as Ruby slowly peeks her head round to look at it again.
"Careful, it can probably smell fear." Jaune mocks and Ruby indignantly jabs him in the ribs, now getting a better look at the creature and suddenly finding it adorable. Theodore laughs as they both stand in awe and adoration of is little friend, however the red lizard puffs out its chest and releases a small stream of fire towards the sky.
'Show off' Theodore thinks as Ruby looks more closely at his friend.
"He is so cute." Ruby chirps leaning in towards the lizard, she reaches her fingers out towards its head. It pulls back slightly, quickly snapping its jaws at her fingers. "EEP" She snatches her hand away. Jaune laughs and Ruby sends him a small glare.
"Now Surtur, is that any way to greet new people?" Theodore asks and the creature lets out a small puff of smoke, turning its head away indignantly. "Sorry about that, he'll warm up to you eventually. He's just a little… wary." He tells Ruby while Jaune steps up to analyse Surtur, 'More accurately he's got a huge chip on his scaly shoulder' Theodore mocks as Surtur's tail swishes slightly on his back.
"Um, what exactly is he?" Jaune asks as Ruby circles around Theodore to get a better look at Surtur, she tries to stroke his tail, but he flicks her fingers with it. "He seems rather feisty." He adds looking around as Ruby rubs her hand; Theodore thinks for a moment about how to answer Jaune's question. "He looks like a dragon?" Jaune states as Ruby walks around next to him again.
"Well technically dragons have to have four legs and a pair of wings on their back, Surtur here is a wyvern. You see how his wings are also his fore arms, that's the main difference between the species." Theodore smiles knowing that Surtur prefers to be called a dragon, he thinks it sounds more impressive. "Sadly, he is one of the last of his kind, almost all of his kin have long since passed." He adds scratching Surtur on the back of his skull. He leans back into it a little and Theodore chuckles. "Now, we'd best get inside. Professor Ozpin's speech will be starting any time now."
With that the three make their way into the main auditorium, it is bustling with other students and the sounds of conversation. It's a little stuffy but none of them mind, as they look around Theodore spots the boisterous blonde girl from the bull head waving her arms at them. 'Must know one of them' Theodore thinks.
"Oh, that's my sister, gotta go. It was nice meeting you both." Ruby rushes off as soon as she finishes her sentence, leaving the two men alone.
Theodore checks his watch, 'Probably best that I head back to see mother now'. He quickly scans near the stage but doesn't spot her, sighing slightly and deciding he would rather not fight through the crowd.
"Well Jaune I'm afraid that I need to leave too, I have a previous engagement." Theodore smiles at Jaune, who just nods in response, with that he starts to head for the side exit. He could have sworn he heard Jaune say something like 'Now where am I gonna find a quirky girl or badass spy to talk to?'; Theodore chuckles as he leaves the hall. Surtur crawls around to his other shoulder and releases small puffs of smoke, not seconds later they hear confident footsteps behind them.
"Hey, Theodore wait up!" Calls a smooth voice as the footsteps get closer. Theodore smiles, recognising the sound of his good friend Coco Adel. He turns around and she smiles at him, tilting down her infamous sunglasses to reveal her dark brown eyes. Other than that, she is wearing her trademark outfit: black skinny combat trousers, caramel row jumper with a black corset and fingerless gloves, ankle high brown boots and to finish it off, her staple black beret. "Where are you off too in such a hurry? Got a hot date I don't know about?" She asks wiggling an eyebrow.
"Sadly not, I'm trying to find my mother before the speech starts and see if she needs any help with the first-year stuff. They should really start paying me a salary." He tells her, grinning as she walks over and holds her hand out for Surtur, who immediately brushes his head up against her. "You know I think you're the only other person he lets do that besides me." Coco chuckles before looking up at Theodore.
"Well I'm the only person who doesn't take any of his crap." She tells him taking her sunglasses off entirely; Surtur puffs his chest out a little but Coco just winks at him. "And yeah, you should ask your mum for a cheque, chalk it up to 'Having to refill Ozpin's stupid mug every five minutes for my whole life'." She mocks sliding her hands apart and looking up at an invisible sign.
"Where do you think all the budget for this place goes?" Theodore shoots back, "Besides, everyone needs their fix, little miss hot chocolate." He adds and she smirks at him. Surtur lays down across the top of his shoulders and releases another puff of smoke. Coco flicks her sunglasses out and puts them on again, making a small show of it. 'Maybe she should have become a fashion model instead of a huntress' Theodore muses for a second.
"Well, you got me there, anyway I'll leave you to help out your mum." She smiles and starts to walk away, turning briefly when she hears the microphone being tested in the auditorium. "Oh, are you still coming to poker tomorrow?" She asks glancing back to him, pointing her finger like a gun.
"Wouldn't miss it." Theodore smiles back and she smirks again while firing her finger gun, he shakes his head and chuckles as she rounds the corner. Turning and walking to the double doors that lead backstage, spotting his mother as soon as he steps inside. He silently walks up behind her as Ozpin delivers his speech, "Well, sorry I couldn't find you before he started." She jumps slightly and Theodore grins as she turns to him.
"How many times have I told you not to do that." Miss Goodwitch readjusts her glasses but smiles at him. "And you helped enough today already with setting up, but enough about that. I assume you met some of the first years, what are your thoughts?" She asks becoming very business-like. Theodore looks out into the crowd and surveys everyone, for a moment he remains silent.
"Well, I think that they're going to be… interesting."