The sun of the early morning filled the room the next day, warming her cheek as she stirred under her sheets. Black and gold strands of hair fell in front of her face as she turned her head, and slowly opened her eyes to see the brightly illuminated quarters. Petal sat up while scratching the back of her head and yawning quietly. After sliding out of the bed, she stretched her arms into the air, cracking her back in several places, and her furry tail straightening. Petal moved to the window and peeked past the slightly opened curtains to see the city coming to life. People were opening stalls and stores while other citizens were heading for various other destinations.
"I could get used to this place. It's so different from the wild. No Grimm, no bandits, and easy access to food." Her stomach then growled loudly, causing her to press a hand to it. "Speaking of food, I should get some. I wonder if Cole is up already, maybe he can eat with me. It would be a good time to talk to him about staying."
Petal pulled her tunic over her head and tossed it on the end of the mattress. She then found and got dressed in her new clothing, and finally slid all of her rings onto her fingers. Once she was fully equipped, she left the room to make for Cole's door, which resided a few rooms down from her own. After a few light knocks on the door, she waited for several seconds before rapping it much harder.
"Cole, wake up! Cole, are you even in there?" she called out. When she received no response, she shook her head and reached for the door handle. "Lazy idiot. And he complains about me doing this same thing." she quietly hissed, turning the knob and pushing the door open.
Petal stepped inside and saw that the room was empty. His belongings were still situated around, like some of his shirts lying on the bed, a few leather pouches of dust crystals thrown lazily on the nightstand, and a traveling bag that had clothes and his armor within. Despite all of this, it looked as if he hadn't returned at all since leaving it the previous morning. A sense of dread began welling up inside of her, but Petal did her best to push it down, instead deciding that he probably went to get breakfast, or to go pick up his bow from the shop. Still, she couldn't completely deny that the feelings did exist. She left the room, softly closing the door behind her, and headed towards the stairs. Again, like every morning, the smell of bacon and eggs filled the air of the inn, and the wafting aromas caused her stomach to grumble even worse. The steps creaked under her light steps and she soon found a seat at one of the many tables situated on the lower level, most of which were already filled by people looking for cheap food and a comforting atmosphere.
An old man that was wearing a pair of denim pants, a gray shirt, and a brown apron, approached her. He had a single blue eye while the other was as white as snow, which made sense considering there were three slashes scarred across the eye socket. His hair was gray, though still relatively dark, and he had a thin, yet well grown in beard. Petal knew this man as the owner of the inn, and despite his position here, he also acted as a server and one of the cooks.
"Morning, kid. Getting anything to eat?" he asked, his voice rough, almost scratchy in a way.
"Just some eggs, thank you. Oh, that man I've been with, have you seen him at all, this morning or last night?" she questioned.
"Afraid I haven't seen him since you two left yesterday, but you can't expect me to take notice of every face that passes through those doors. I get a lot of business, and some of them come fast and leave just as quickly. I'll be right back with your food."
"Thank you, again." she said, watching him turn and walk towards a door behind the counter, one that she assumed to lead into the kitchens.
As Petal ate her food, her sense of uneasiness was growing worse with each passing minute. She anxiously tapped her claws against the table's rough surface as she rested her chin in her other palm. Her gaze was focused on the doors, just so she could keep watch whenever they opened, though it was always some new patron or a leaving occupant that was heading out to start their day. Petal sat there for nearly half an hour, even after her food had been finished, keeping an eye on the entrance, continuously letting her hope wither away that he would be coming back any time soon.
"It's not the first time he's been gone for more than a night. That time in Mantle was similar. He went out hunting and didn't come back for almost a week. I should have some more faith in him, and give him some more time. I'll check the weaponsmith and if that doesn't pan out, maybe I'll look around the town a bit more."
With that decided, she pushed her chair back and headed out into the streets of Mistral. Following the roads she knew led to the smith, she eventually arrived there to see him working on some silver chest piece, one that had intricate engraving and golden inlays, most likely for decoration, but possibly for the infusion of dust. It was an uncommon practice, but a useful one if you could find a person that knew how to do it properly. The smith in question was a faunus, just like her. Unlike her, however, he did not possess a cat's tail. Instead, his trait was that of a bull, and he had a body to match it. Behind him swayed a thick tail with a plume of fur at the end.
"Hey, Toa, have you seen Cole around?" she asked, approaching the large figure.
He looked up at her with deep black eyes, and long, swaying dark hair clung to his face thanks to the sweat induced from his work. He stood at nearly six and a half feet, and his torso was massive, to the point where she was shocked his shirt didn't rip as he moved around in it. Besides the stained tan shirt, he wore a pair of brown trousers and some leather boots. Around his wrists were two leather arm guards, though she didn't fully get the purpose of them, and assumed that they were probably just a stylistic choice.
"The tiny cat returns, how do you like your clothes?" he asked her, his voice deep, but more kind than one would expect if they were to judge him from his appearance.
"Fine enough. They're definitely more comfortable than I thought they would be. But nevermind that, did you see him or not?"
"Not at all, which I'm quite surprised about. I told him the bow would be ready today so I expected to see him pretty early. I even got here before work hours in hopes of returning it. Ah well, probably busy, most Huntsman usually are, especially around here. If you see him, tell him it's all set for him to pick up. I'm actually quite impressed with the work. It was a bit tricky getting the folding mechanisms down but…" The bull paused for a moment as he saw the distraught look on Petal's features. "What is wrong, tiny cat?"
"Nothing at all, just thinking. I'll make sure to let him know, and thanks for doing such a marvelous job, I really do like them." Petal turned and left the shop, biting onto the sharp nail of her thumb. "Calm down, Petal, it's nothing serious. He's doing some dangerous job and he doesn't have his weapon but still, it's Cole, he can handle himself. It's not like the idiot told me exactly where he was going so I can't really help anyway, so all I can do is just sit here and talk to myself while I get worried sick over his idiocy."
"Who are you talking to?" came a familiar voice, and Petal turned around to see the pink haired girl from the day before.
Rose flashed her a wide smile as she stepped closer and out of instinct more than anything, Petal took a solid step back. "M-myself, it's an unfortunate habit." she replied. "I was alone for a long time as a kid, and I kinda picked it up." she added, laughing nervously.
Petal then bumped into a box and stumbled slightly, causing Rose to giggle. She swiftly spun to catch a pot she had almost knocked over and then set it back straight, turning her head to see Rose covering her mouth.
"You're a bit clumsier than you appear, Petal." said Rose.
"Just nervous, and a bit lost in thought. You caught me at a bit of a bad time, I'm afraid." Petal stated, spinning around to face Rose again.
Today, the girl was not wearing her uniform. Instead, she was donning a light pink dress, one that matched her eyes, and around her waist was a red sash, the excess of which blew in the breeze around her right side. Her hair was down this morning, and was blowing lightly around her, which caused her to hold a hand up to sweep and hold some of it behind her left ear, keeping it from covering her eyes. Around her left ankle was a silver anklet, carrying on it several tiny crystals which Petal assumed to be dust, though she couldn't be certain, and her feet had on some laced sandals.
"You're not wearing your uniform today?" asked Petal, unable to think of what to say next.
"We were given a day off. The festival always takes a lot out of the students, especially the ones who were running it, such as myself. We continue classes tomorrow so I figured I would come and find you."
"Me? What for?"
"Well, you're interested in the academy, right? Maybe we can go and talk to the headmaster about getting you in. I don't know if it's possible, but we do get transfer students from time to time." said Rose.
"Yeah, but I imagine those are people who were students somewhere else. I never went to a school before, not one of any kind."
"I'm sure they can work something out. Oh, I hope I'm not pressuring you into it. If you don't want to, you don't have to come. Still, I hope we can spend the day together."
"No, I-I'll go with you. I was going to ask Cole about it, but… He was busy, so I never got the chance. I'm sure he will understand when I see him later."
"So you do want to join the school?" asked Rose, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Yeah, I do. Are you sure the headmaster will see me though? You said the students have off today, will they want to have a visitor?"
"I'm sure she won't mind. Professor May is one of the kindest people I've ever met. Unfortunately, I don't think she will be around much longer. She's getting rather old, and I overheard that all of the academies are getting new headmasters soon. Some of the teachers were talking about it last week, and apparently Beacon already has a new one, some man named Ozman, or maybe… Ah, Ozpin is what it was. The way they were all talking, he's one of the smartest people around, even if he is kind of young. Professor May has also been talking about retiring recently, saying how she's getting too old to keep doing this. I think she deserves it, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious to see who takes her job. It will be weird at first, but times are changing. Atlas is coming up with all kinds of new technologies, the world is starting to work together much more than before, and now, even the faunus have a group that supports them." said Rose, turning and walking towards the road that leads to the academy.
"It seems everything is changing quickly." Petal said in response. "Including myself." she added, silently. "Here I am, following this girl to the school, all for a chance of becoming a student. Cole could be in danger, and yet, I'm doing this. He would call me an idiot, for sure. Ha, maybe I am." Petal glanced up to see the swaying pink-red hair of Rose as she walked a short distance ahead. "I can't seem to tell her no. I don't know, I've never been good at making decisions. I can barely decide what I want to eat by myself, let alone this sort of thing. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I should tell Rose goodbye and go find Cole to get out of this city. But now I feel so attached to her, I can't just leave, not anymore." Petal scratched her head in frustration and ruffled her hair as she let out a low growl.
"Something wrong, Petal?" asked Rose, slowing down so they were side by side now.
"Not really. I'm simply indecisive." she replied.
"About?"
"Pretty much everything. I'll sort it out. What was it you said yesterday, something about tomorrow's problems being unimportant?"
Rose giggled. "Something like that, yeah."
"Well, this is kind of that. It's not important right now, or, I don't think it is."
"You went from sounding really sure to not so much pretty quickly. Are you sure you want to do this now? If you have something else to do, we can wait." Rose offered, giving a concerned expression.
"No, it's fine. Let's just try to do this quickly so I can get back to it." Petal stated, trying her best to smile so that Rose's concern would fade.
It seemed to work as well, seeing that Rose nodded, and continued walking faster towards the school's campus. The city was still pretty busy, even with the festival ending, and the campus still had a large amount of students, which Rose explained to be club members and people who were taking extra lessons.
"Not everybody wanted the day off." she said. "We're here to learn how to fight Grimm, and some of us are better at that than others. The ones that aren't so good need a little extra training, and some just aren't that good at schoolwork and need tutoring. It's one of the things I love about this place, it's always busy."
"Is that a positive?" asked Petal.
"For some, such as myself. I enjoy others' company, it helps me to not feel alone. When I see this place come to life, it's kind of refreshing."
"I guess I've never really been alone enough to care." said Petal, and she meant it. After her village was destroyed, she did feel loneliness for a while, but ever since, the solitude became a nice, comforting companion. It was just her and her thoughts, and that suited her well enough, even after being taken in by Cole. She spent a majority of her free time away from him, staying in whatever room they rented, or exploring whatever town or city they happened to be staying in without any accompaniment. "Still, I don't think it's bad, having some people around." she added, trying to not insult Rose in any way.
"Perhaps it will take a stray like you some time to get used to it."
"A stray." Petal mumbled. "The boy yesterday called me that as well, does it mean anything?"
Rose quickly covered her mouth and she looked extremely apologetic. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It's a… It's a derogatory term for faunus. Any homeless faunus, or I guess, any faunus in general, can be considered a stray, like a stray animal. It's mostly directed at the faunus who don't really have a home or a place in society."
"Like me, then." Petal muttered.
"I'm sorry, Petal, I didn't mean it that way."
"No? What way were you supposed to use it in?" she questioned, looking away from the girl.
Rose let out a weary sigh. "I've heard that term all of my life, and when you grow up around something for so long, it kind of becomes natural to grow numb to it, like the meaning gets sort of lost over time, right? I didn't mean to insult you, I was just joking around. I'll be more careful about it, promise."
Petal didn't respond, choosing instead to follow the girl in silence for a moment. "Maybe I am making a mistake." she thought, looking ahead to see that they reached the massive, expansive courtyard, and the grand hall standing at the opposite end of it.
They passed by the dozens of wandering students, some dressed in uniform, and some dressed in more casual attires, and soon reached the large doors into the hall. Within minutes, Rose was pushing the doors open to the headmaster's study. It was a long hall that gave way to a sitting area, and past that was the office, where Petal saw a desk sitting, and an old, wrinkled woman that sat behind it. The woman had gray hair that was tied into a loose bun behind her head, leaving some curling strands to fall around her face and neck. For clothes, she wore a white blouse with a bright blue dress that reached her ankles, and over all of it was a sleeveless coat that was similar in length to the dress. The coat was a lighter shade of blue than the dress and had patches of white along it that resembled clouds. The woman looked up with her dull, green eyes and smiled at the sight of the two girls.
"Ah, Ms. Glade, it's nice to see you. Who is this lovely girl that you brought with you, if you don't mind me asking?" asked the old woman, her voice aged, but soothing and soft on the ears.
"This is the girl I told you about yesterday, Professor May, the faunus girl that helped out with some of the preparations." Rose answered.
"The one that was curious about our wonderful academy, yes? What's your name, dear?"
"Petal, Professor, and I am honored that you are willing to see me." replied Petal, bowing her head slightly.
"Honored? Hmm, that is nice to hear a young one, such as yourself, having the decency to grant an elderly woman some respect. Come, take a seat." offered May, and the two girls did just that, sitting down in some chairs placed on the side opposite of the professor. "Rose tells me that you wish to join our school, or that you're at least interested in becoming a student here. Do you have any kind of educational background? It is normally a standard that our applicants have spent at least a year in a combat school."
"No, Professor, I was born in a village near the northern borders of Vale, and after that, I was raised by a traveler, and we, well, traveled. All of the time since leaving home has been spent on the road."
The aged woman nodded and took a shaky sip from a steaming mug beside the papers on her desk. After setting it back down, she clasped her hands together atop the surface and smiled. "Well, it's not unheard of for some students to be accepted without prior schooling. Some children show remarkable talent when it comes to fighting and are accepted based off of that merit alone. Are you a capable fighter, Ms…"
"Just Petal, Professor, I don't have a family name." said Petal. "To answer your question, I am. My guardian has been training me since the day he took me in. I don't mean to sound disrespectful or boastful, but I've probably killed more Grimm than a majority of your students."
The woman laughed in a wheezing fashion and bobbed her head. "That's a large claim, Petal, but I do believe it. However, I do hope you wouldn't mind proving it."
"Not at all." said Petal. "What kind of test do you want me to take?"
"How about a sparring match with one of my best students?"
"I can do that. I would love the opportunity." Petal stated, confidently.
"Then I will arrange it for later today, if that's okay with you?" asked May.
"That sounds good—" Petal stopped abruptly as the doors to the office forcefully swung open, striking the walls with a loud bang behind them.
"Headmaster, there's a large group of Beowolves at the gates. Some of the men guarding it are requesting some backup from the school. From what I've heard, there's a man helping them but I didn't get a good enough look to tell who it was or if they had it handled." said a new arrival into the room, a man with short brown hair and amber colored eyes. He was wearing a simple outfit of metal armor and he had a rifle slung around his back.
"A man?" Petal gasped, rising to her feet in a hurry. "What did he look like?" she asked, before the headmaster had the chance to speak. Instantly, the only man that came to mind was Cole, and her fears and worries all rushed back into her at once. "What weapon was he using?" she then questioned, stepping closer to the guard.
"I'm not sure. Like I said, I didn' get a good look. I heard screaming and got my orders to run— Hey, you stupid kid!" howled the guard, as Petal shoved past him and broke into a sprint down the hall.
She pulled the aged leather hood of her brown coat up and leapt over the railings of the grand hall's second floor, clearing the statue, and rolling on the ground upon impact. Without breaking her momentum, she began sprinting on all fours after coming out of the roll. There was a group of students entering through the front doors, which she avoided by leaping over them and kicking off of the doorway to roll on the stone ground outside. As she continued her sprint, her eyes began to glow brightly and black markings appeared around her body, completing the cat-like appearance by granting her the stripes reminiscent of a tiger. She picked up in speed and was actually kicking up dirt behind her as her coat billowed in the wind. She leapt over, through, or around any obstacles in her path as she raced down the city streets, and quickly found herself within hearing distance of the commotion at the city's gates. Rifles were firing and the screams of both people and Grimm were present.
"Move!" she growled, flying past the crowd, and the two guards that were trying to keep them at bay.
She leapt up and kicked off one of the guard's heads, sending him to the ground in her panicked hurry to reach her mentor. Outside the gates was a horde of black Beowolves, and a single man that was more noticeable than the handful of guards at his side. But there was something wrong with the sight, and not only with the wolves, but with the man as well. He had patches of fur around his body and he was swinging his muscular arms at the enemies, bringing with them a trio of long blades with each swing. Wrist mounted blades were not Cole's weapon, and that was not his semblance, if that even was a semblance. If it wasn't, then that meant he was a faunus, which also meant that he was not who she was looking for. Besides just the man being wrong, the wolves also had a difference to them. They were darker than normal, their spines were glowing red, and their eyes had a crystaline, sapphire hue that seemed to be a thousand times more intimidating than the usual scarlet. Blue colored veins spidered down the creatures' bodies and when they swung their claws, waves of energy shot forth with them. The furry man swung and blocked the waves of blue energy, and would counter with his own rushing attacks, severing limbs from bodies.
Snapping out of her confused, misunderstanding daze, Petal flicked her fingers as if extending her claws, and her rings burst to life. Each finger and thumb became engulfed in red, hazy auras, being sharpened at the ends like deadlier versions of her own natural nails. Her coat blowing behind her, she rushed ahead and instantly met one of the monsters. Her flame hued claws sliced cleanly through one, and when she landed, she swung at two others that were coming her way. Waves of fiery dust shot forth and cut the beasts into several falling pieces, all of which plopped to the ground at her feet. That was when she spotted another difference between these creatures and the normal Grimm she was used to encountering. It was then that she noticed blood spilling from the severed limbs, though it was blue in color, and soon faded into a hazy, azure colored mist. It gave off a foul odor, one that she couldn't place, but her instincts told her to avoid breathing it in any further.
Petal flipped backwards and looked around, taking in the sight of the other bodies doing the same. They would lie there, bleeding for several seconds before eventually fading into nothingness. She heard the thunderous steps of a massive beast growing closer and rolled to the side, avoiding a charging wolf that was coming right for her. As she found her knees, she swiped her claws at the beast and cut it in three pieces. She then turned and pointed a single finger at another encroaching Beowolf and fired off a single, thin beam of red energy. It went cleanly through the right eye of the monster, sending it crashing to the ground before reaching her. She rose, panting and feeling herself growing weaker the longer she kept her semblance active.
"I need to finish this soon." she thought, looking around.
Thanks to the other man's actions, there were only a handful of them left, an easy number to dispose of within her time limit. She ran towards two more wolves and dove forward, twirling as she swiftly flew past them. Spirals of flaming energy slashed out around her, and as she rolled on the other side, the Grimm's bodies fell to the ground in charred, smoking pieces, spilling their blue fluids across the grass they were fighting on.
"Kid!" the man yelled, and as she looked, a Grimm was leaping towards her.
Petal fell backwards as the wolf flew over her, and as they were falling, she plunged her claws into his dark, oily torso. The beast fell apart as her back hit the ground, the blue liquid spilling around and on her. The places where the liquid hit her bare skin began to burn slightly as it evaporated into mist. She glanced around, wiping her face on her sleeve as her rings deactivated. Noticing that the clearing was empty, she let her head hit the ground, and her semblance to fade away. Her marking dimmed into transparency as her eyes' glowing ceased back to normal. Her breaths were hasty and she was still confused from the strange Grimm she had fought.
"And even more so, the blood burned me." she thought, reaching up and touching her left cheek, one of the areas where she was splattered. "My Aura was still active, I shouldn't have felt it, not like that." she whispered, pulling her hand away to examine it. No traces of the blood remained, and she didn't feel any rough patch of flesh to indicate she was physically burned by it. "Odd, for sure." she mumbled.
"Kid, are you alright?" asked the man who had been fighting beside her.
He appeared over her and had his hand reaching down for her to take. He wasn't wearing a shirt so his torso was completely visible. There was a collection of old scars, but nothing else besides. Any signs of the fur had vanished, and he was as hairless as she was. His legs were covered by a pair of pants that were plagued with numerous holes, but his feet were just as bare as his chest. Black hair fell around his face as he scowled down at her, and stared deeply into her eyes with his own copper hued ones. She accepted his offer and was hoisted to her feet with a single, seemingly easy pull.
"Are you okay?" he asked again, his voice slightly more agitated than it was previously.
"F-fine, thank you." she responded.
He gave a faint nod, barely recognizable as such, and started towards the city gates. "Good, farewell, then." he said, giving her a short wave as he ignored the guards that were attempting to stop him.
"Something's off about him." she thought.
"Petal! Hey, are you okay?" came another voice now.
She saw Rose rushing past the guards and coming towards her, a pink bag gripped in her right hand, and swaying around as she slowed her run to a steady walk.
"I'm fine, Rose. What are you doing here?" she asked, in return.
"I came to possibly help, but it seems I was a bit late. Why did you run off like that? The headmaster was concerned for you." Rose stated.
"The man, I thought it was somebody else, it doesn't matter. Was the headmaster angry with?"
"Not at all, and after I tell her about that fight, I think you'll have a place at the school, without a doubt. I got here in time to see some of the last bits and that was really impressive. Anyway, we should head back and tell her what happened, I'm sure she'll want an update on the situation." said Rose, and Petal gave an agreeing bob of her head as the two walked back into the city.
"So, who was that guy anyway?" asked Rose, after several minutes in silence.
"I don't know, some Huntsman, most likely. I've never seen him before. I thought it was Cole when the guard said the guy was fighting off a hoard of Grimm. That sounds stupid enough to be something that idiot would do."
"Can you really call him that when you just did the same thing you're calling stupid?" said Rose.
"I suppose not." Petal admitted, rubbing her forehead in an exhausted fashion. "I was just really hoping it was him, so I hurried off without thinking."
"That doesn't mean you had to stay and fight." said Rose, almost in a scolding tone of voice.
"I was already there, and I knew I could handle it. I couldn't just leave, not when I can make a difference."
Some time later, they found themselves back in the headmaster's study, where Rose, accompanied by a guard who had witnessed the whole ordeal, described what had happened in vivid detail, including the blue blood-like substance. If this troubled May, she didn't seem to show it. She listened and nodded her head in the necessary spots, and soon sent the guard on his way. When it was just her and the two girls again, she put on a wide smile.
"Well, taking all of that into consideration, I believe you have more than earned your place here. I do still expect to see a match, just to confirm your ability for myself, but for now, consider yourself a student. I will make the necessary arrangements once I am able to do so. In the meantime, you should focus on getting your things in order to move into the dormitories."
"Is there one for her to stay in, Professor? Will she be assigned to a team at all?" aked Rose.
"Of course she will, and I have the perfect place for her to stay. Your dorm and team seems to be lacking occupants, so I figure she would be a perfect start to rebuilding your team. I also have some other prospects coming from another school in hopes of filling in the rest of those vacancies. When they arrive from Atlas, I will have the four of you go on a short trial mission, to sort of test the waters, as they say." explained May, before she turned to face Petal. "As for your missing guardian, I will look into it when I have the chance. I am on the council that helps govern this city, and it was probably one of my colleagues that asked this task of him. I will make sure we dedicate some of our resources into finding his whereabouts, you have my word."
Petal gave a quant nod of her head. "Thank you, Professor, I really do hate to be a bother before I even start here."
"Say no more, dear. Try to think positively for the time being, and keep your spirits high. I think that you should be able to move into the dorm tomorrow, if you would like? The day after, I believe you should be able to start your classes. Rose will help you get the lay of the school, and we have a friendly collection of minds lining these halls to get to know. I'm sure you'll fit right in here."
"Thank you again, Professor." said Petal.
Afterwards, she bid her farewells to Rose and the headmaster, and dragged her weary body back to the inn, where she ate dinner, checked to see if Cole had returned to his room, and fell into her bed after discovering he was still gone. With the racing thoughts of how quickly everything was changing around her, and with the day's bizarre events still fresh in her mind, she found a restless sleep that night, and her dreams consisted of old, painful nightmares.