The Creed of a Huntsman

Marcus, Ballroom

"Wake up lazy bum!"

'Why cruel world?' Marcus thought as he attempted to get up, but was brought down by Yang. He tried to pry her from his arm, but to no avail. Then he noticed how some of the guys were looking at him, wishing they could be in his position.

"Goldielocks, wake your lazy butt up" he shook her. "C'mon Yang, don't do this now" he shook her again. He smirked, "Man, I wonder if my breath smells like mint, if only someone could help" And with that, her eyes shot open.

"I can help with that" she smirked as her hand landed on his.

"Good morning to you too Yang" he said. Seeing the disappointment in her eyes, he added, "Try again next time". He got up and began to stretch his back, hearing a few pops here and there. "Let's go get breakfast. Can't fight creatures of darkness on an empty stomach" he said as they both went to the cafeteria.

Line Break

Marcus was now in the locker room of Beacon, after finishing his breakfast and did his morning routine, he headed straight for said location. He was checking his M4, when the same couple that awoke him earlier passed by, despite the orange haired girl saying they weren't, "Together together", whatever that meant.

"Wonder what those two were so worked up about?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, who knows… so! You seem awfully chipper this morning." Yang stated, with Marcus agreeing with her.

"Yep! No more small talk or 'getting to know you' stuff. I get to let my sweetheart do the talking" Ruby responded cheerfully, cradling her weapon as if it were a child or something. Man, she could really have her weird moments.

"Ruby, you have to remember, all of us are going through initiation. Eventually, you have to grow up, meet new people and learn to work with them" Marcus responded, with Yang nodding her head.

"Ugh, you sound like dad! Okay, first of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up. I drink milk!" she stated, which Marcus had to hold back his laughter by putting on his serious face.

"But what about when we form teams?" Yang asked. He had to agree with her there.

"I don't know… I'll just be on you guy's team or something…" Ruby trailed off.

"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?" Yang inquired.

"If it happens, it happens Ruby" Marcus said.

"My dearest sister and friend Marcus and Yang, are BOTH of you implying that you do NOT wish to be on the same team as me?" she demanded. Oh crap.

"W-what? No, no ,no! Of course we do! It's just that… I thought that it would help you break out of your shell!" Yang responded.

"What the?! I don't need to break out of my shell! That's absolutely-"

"-Ridiculous!" Jaune finished for her."There's no way no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday, I would've remembered having to count that high! Ugh why does this have to happen today?" Jaune groaned.

Marcus was finished inspecting his rifle and inserted it into its holster on his back, along with his sword. He had pretty much everything he needed; Hidden Blades, Ninjato, pistols, M4A1, and rope darts. He noticed that Weiss girl speaking with a red haired girl who looked very similar to a Spartan. That's when Jaune went in to flirt with Ice Quee, in which he overheard the red haired girl's name: Pyrrha Nikos. He'd look into it later. But for now he had to worry about the road ahead. He watched as he continued to flirt with Weiss, in which she asked Pyrrha for help. And she did… by spearing his hoodie to a locker. The intercom then buzzed and Glynda called all first year students to Beacon Cliff. Marcus and his friends began walking towards the exit, but not before helping Jaune.

"Havin' some trouble there, Ladykiller?" Yang asked.

"I don't understand. My father said all women look for is confidence" Jaune stated as Ruby offered her hand."Where did I go wrong?"

"'Snow Angel' was definitely not a great choice" Marcus spoke up as Ruby helped him up from the ground and headed towards Beacon Cliff.

Line Break

'This is REALLY high' Marcus thought as he stared into the forest where his abilities would be put to the test. Infested with Grimm. Many, MANY, Grimm. Man, he hoped he would make it out with just a scratch. He looked to his right to see Ruby and Yang. At least they could help him, should his abilities wouldn't be enough. Ozpin began to speak.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams." Glynda began. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… today." Ruby groaned.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. However…" Ozpin trailed off,"Due to there being an odd number of students here at Beacon, one team will receive an extra teammate. This does mean your team's performance standards will be increased" Ozpin informed as the students began to whisper to one another."It is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well" Ruby groaned once again."That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next 4 years" And with that, it seemed like Ruby's reality had been shattered harder than the mirror at the end of Spider-Man 2, with the same orange haired girl telling her friend she told him so."After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy anything in your path, or you will die" he concluded in a cryptic tone. Marcus heard Jaune laughed nervously and gulped."You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instuctors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose 1 and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, um, sir-" Jaune began until Ozpin cut him off.

"Good! Now take your positions." And with that, Marcus crouched low as one by one he saw students get flung into the forest.

….

….

….

Wait, WHAT?!

He looked to his left to find that the tall guy in armor had already been launched. He was going be next.

"You are a sadist" he muttered as he felt the mechanism unlock, then he felt the plate push up slightly, before fully flinging him into the forest.

Line Break

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Marcus screamed as he fell through the sky, gravity pulling him down towards the forest. Sure, he had performed the iconic Assassin's "Leap of Faith" before, but not unknowingly.

'Wait, that's it! Leap of Faith!' Marcus's imaginary lightbulb lit up as he closed his eyes and activated Eagle Vision, it pointing out a coincidently well place patch of leaves. He shifted his weight forward, hoping he would reach the shrub. He landed back first into it, thanking whatever divine beings helped him. He exited the bush and began to free run across the trees, activating Eagle vision every few seconds. He spotted his golden target, accompanied by another blue target. He was about to start his session again, when he felt the tree wobble a bit. He jumped off and rolled on the ground, shoulder first. He assessed what took the tree down: A Ursa and two beowolves. One beowolf charged him, and Marcus activated his hidden blade, stabbing the creature in the stomach before activating his other in its head, effectively killing it. He barely managed to avoid the Ursa's claw that almost took off his head. He pulled off his M4A1 and aimed down the sight, before double-tapping the Ursa, killing it. He turned and faced the last beowolf. It growled and circled around him like a predator of sorts. Marcus waited for it to attack. After a few seconds, it charged at him, with Marcus repeating the same thing, swapping his rifle for his sword. The wolf leaped into the air and came down on Marcus, who stabbed it in the rib cage and kicked it off. The wolf whined before it turned, furious. Marcus looked at his arm, feeling a small cut open from the damn things claw.

"Oh…. it's on now" He quickly charged the thing, dragging his sword along the ground, the creature turned to late, as the assassin's sword buried itself in the neck of the beowolf, killing it. "Damn… that's brutal".

"Sure is" he heard a familiar blonde brawler's voiced near. He turned to find Yang and Blake, standing there, Yang smiling, Blake in awe. They noticed the blood on his arm.

"Hey, you're bleeding!" Yang exclaimed.

"I'm alright guys" Marcus waved them off. He remembered that some wounds would heal over a couple of minutes.

"Why didn't you use your Aura?"

"Que?"

"Your Aura dude" Yang told him again.

"Uhhhhhhh…" Marcus was utterly confused. Did he skip that book during his time at the library?

"…. Do you even know what that is?" Blake questioned, her eyebrows raising.

"…No?" Both Yang and Blake looked at him with a concerned look on their faces. Yang walked up to him put her hand on the side of his head.

"Close your eyes and concentrate" she said in a soft tone.

"Alright" Marcus complied as he closed his eyes. Yang smiled and opened her eyes, her irises shrinking, her skin glowing yellow and Marcus's a bright green, the same color as his eyes.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death" she placed her hands on his chest, "I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee" she concluded, Marcus opening his eyes and seeing Yang hunch over.

"Hey," he placed his hands on her shoulder, "You okay?"

"Yeah…yeah it just wore me out a bit" she replied, standing up fully.

"Guys, we need to find the relics, let's get a move on" Blake told them, with them catching up to her.

A/N: So… yeah. It's been awhile. I apologize for my lack of updates. With school adding tons of work on me, and a severe case of writer's block, it's been hell on me. But, fear not! I'm working on the next chapter already. When it comes out, I'm not sure, but it'll hopefully be soon. But nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Remember to follow/favorite and leave a review! Constructive criticism is welcome