Weiss stood primly by the window onboard the bullhead, doing her best to maintain her personal space. Why did public transportation have to be so cramped? Everyone was seated far too close together, shoulder-to-shoulder. What kind of seating arrangements forced a person to share an armrest with someone else? Granted, the passengers could get up and stand somewhere else while airborne, as she was currently doing, but it was the principle of the matter. Weiss could not understand how any of her future classmates could stand such conditions.

Thinking of her classmates, Weiss gazed meticulously at whoever passed into her field of view. As a huntress in training, Weiss was required to spend her four years at Beacon with a team of three other students. There was no arguing against this, for it was tradition, one that honored the four kingdoms and the four divines. Weiss would rather have worked alone, as she would undoubtedly do upon graduation, but Father had told her that everyone needed allies, even a Schnee. Thus, the young heiress observed each student, searching for potential allies.

As she searched among her peers, Weiss was hard-pressed to find anyone remotely suitable to work with. Everyone seemed too nervous, cocky, or some other unfavorable disposition. Several boys took notice of her observations and winked at her. Weiss scoffed. Having researched the four academies as best she could, she knew that teammates had to share a room. The very idea of rooming with a boy was utterly repulsive to her. Men, especially when young, struggled to control themselves at the best of times. Couple that with Weiss' status and any male teammates would be tripping over themselves purely to get close to her in any way possible. Granted, any teammates would likely try to manipulate her, but male ones would be far more likely to try and violate her privacy, among other things.

Weiss' eyes briefly fell on a boy with rabbit ears protruding from the top of his head. She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly in anger, as it was unbecoming of a Schnee to publicly display strong emotions. Weiss could not imagine why any of the kingdoms would allow faunus to even carry weapons, much less attend combat schools. Such "openness" was as good as giving the White Fang professional killers. Furthermore, this particular faunus was part-rabbit, which meant that he probably had more libido than fighting prowess, to say nothing of what might happen should he go into heat. The heiress moved her left hand closer to Myrtenaster, her Dust rapier. She would have to be cautious and make sure to avoid the degenerate. Hopefully, the faculty was smart enough to run thorough background checks on all prospective students, especially if they were faunus.

Weiss averted her gaze from the rabbit faunus and resumed her observations. She continued to scrutinize the other students until an announcement came through the intercom, saying that the ship was about to land. Weiss stood as soon as the bullhead touched down and headed for the exit.

Upon exiting the aircraft, Weiss went to the side of the ship where luggage was being unloaded. She walked up to one of the workers there and cleared her throat.

The worker in question turned around to face her. "You need something?" he asked.

"I am here to retrieve my luggage and make sure none of it was damaged during the flight," Weiss declared. "You will find my things in the white suitcases sporting the Schnee Dust Company insignia. Bring them to me in an efficient and timely manner."

"All luggage is being sent to the first-year dorms," said the workman. "You can get yours after initiation."

Weiss blinked, partly in confusion at such a policy and partly in surprise at the man's bluntness. It seemed she needed to explain what cargo she had brought, as well as who she was. "Excuse me? I don't think you understand who-"

"No exceptions," said the workman. "You'd better get to the cliff before they start the initiation without you."

Weiss wanted to argue, but it seemed highly improbable that doing so would get the stubborn man to budge. Having been taught from her very brief childhood to read people, she could tell that this man had likely given the same line to countless students over the years. Convincing one such as him to make an exception would be as fruitful as asking a Beowolf to put on a tie. Furthermore, she did have an initiation to complete and punctuality was always important. Weiss began walking toward Beacon Cliff, having previously memorized its location from studying a campus map.

It did not take long for Weiss to arrive at the cliff, where she saw Headmaster Ozpin and Deputy Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch. The headmaster held his cane in one hand and a mug full of what was probably coffee in the other. The deputy headmistress was holding a black tablet and tapping on the screen. The two paid little attention to the incoming students.

Near the edge of the cliff was a number of metallic slabs. Each student was standing on one. Deducing that this was required, Weiss moved to a slab and stood on it, silently awaiting further instructions.

After all the initiates had arrived, Ozpin took a sip from his mug and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "You have all gathered here today because you are hoping to become students at this academy," he began. "Now, you will be tested in the Emerald Forest." He gestured behind him to the dense forest below. "You will be monitored so that the faculty can gauge your abilities. That said, do not expect us to interfere. Your objective is to make your way north, where you will find the remains of an ancient temple. Once you reach the temple, there will be a number of relics. You and your partner must retrieve one relic and bring it back here. Speaking of partners, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Several students were quick to express their surprise at the last statement. Quite a few yelled, some gasped, and others started loudly protesting. Weiss wisely remained silent regarding the headmaster's unorthodox methods, though she could've sworn that Ozpin was smirking as he took another sip of coffee. It was not the place of a huntress-in-training to question the authority of teachers and officers who had more than earned their positions. Still, eye contact? Surely, some other way would have ben more sensible. Weiss found herself unable to think of one, as her attention was mainly on the headmaster, who had waited for the chatter to die down.

"Now then, take your positions," Ozpin requested. "The launching shall begin shortly."

It took Weiss all of two seconds to deduce the purpose of the slab she stood on and its connection to "the launching." Was the headmaster honestly about to launch them all off a cliff into a forest full of Grimm? Combine that with partnerships being determined by eye contact and the entire initiation process was unlike anything Weiss had ever heard of. There was so little order or sense to it all. It was sheer madness!

"Oh, by the way, there are Grimm in the forest, so please exterminate any you come across. Good luck!"

A brief sound like the whirring of machinery was heard before Weiss found herself propelled into the air. The initiation had begun.

I know this first chapter is rather short, but I couldn't think of a reason to have all the students sleeping overnight before the initiation. Where would all their gear go? Thus, I decided to just have initiation as soon as the students arrived. Plus, this is an AU and I intend to keep it that way.

Special thanks to my beta reader I Write Big for helping me with the humor and other elements of the story.

Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.