Weiss Schnee was not having a particularly good morning and it all started thanks to events of the previous night. For one, Initiation ended with a partial success. She had made it into Beacon Academy after all, which could be considered nothing short of impeccable, but it resulted in her partnering with Blake Belladonna. More so that that, her very own partner had been made leader of his year's team. The other two on her team weren't the greatest teammates either. One was wild and the other one was… most likely out to kill her if she could be totally honest with herself.
Oh how she longed for the hours when being teammates with Yang just so she could have Pyrrha on her team was the greatest worry on her mind. Their team had fractured almost immediately, though it was strange to say that it was entirely not due to her, nor her very famous last name. No, almost immediately, the Nora girl had called for a party with another team; Team Apple if she recalled correctly, and spent the entire time talking animatedly with one of the boys. Her own partner had taken the… Faunus… by the arm and all but dragged her out of the room.
No doubt in order to tell her how they should bully her into quitting and leaving the academy.
Not that she would or could ever be bullied into doing anything.
But the party was fairly quick and boring, as all those in attendance realized how tired they were from Initiation. Instead Yang Xiao Long ordered some pizzas, which were surprisingly good, and quite new to her own delicate palate. She had offered to pay, being the most wealthy one in attendance, but Pyrrha also offered, so the price was split between the two of them.
It was… nice in a way to not be the only rich and famous person in the room. How Weiss wished Pyrrha could have been her partner instead.
Following the events of the quick party, Weiss and the rest went to their dorm room and settled in. Not before Blake all but assigned them their beds. Blake positioned Ilia on one side of the dorm room and Weiss on the other. Between them were Nora and Blake, with Nora next to Weiss. If that was not a sign that their relationship was starting off on a tumultuous path, then she did not know what else it could be. It left Weiss laying in bed wondering what she had done to make this girl hate her so much.
Yes, she argued with the little bratty Goodwitch offspring, but how was she to know that the child haphazardly running through Beacon, bothering all manner of people trying to act professionally, was the daughter of the school's deputy headmistress? Besides that, they had no real other interactions. Even during Initiation, Weiss had acted respectably and generous, even admitting her faults when they became apparent. What more could she ask for in a partner? Weiss would get to the bottom of their issue or kill Blake trying.
Ilia was another matter entirely.
How her father had yelled once he had heard the news. Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, had a Faunus on a team. Thank heavens she didn't have a Faunus for a partner, or Weiss would be torn apart. Even so, Weiss was scared for her safety. The Faunus was likely a member of the White Fang. Likely somebody with a chimp on their shoulder and swayed by the propaganda declaring her family and family's company as the epitome of all evil. No doubt Blake had bought into all the conspiracy theories about her family. Ilia too.
Why would Schnees drink Faunus blood with their meals? Or enjoy whipping them in their basements? It made no sense. Sure, Weiss was no fool. She knew that the SDC was not living up to the good reputation her grandfather had given it, all those years ago. She knew that her company was making more money than ever before, at the price of some more than shady business practices. But all companies had their own underhanded methods. The SDC was no outlier in that regard. And while Weiss hated the White Fang, she held no real ill will towards Faunuskind as a whole. Just that… most Faunus she had met just so happened to be a part of said organization and pledged themselves to her death.
Suffice it to say, Weiss did not sleep particularly well that night.
The next morning was just as brutally rough. She did not expect Nora Valkyrie of all people to be a morning bird. Weiss often woke up early, long before any alarm she had set for that day. But it was a slow rise. She preferred absolute quiet until after her morning shower and preferably after a first cup of coffee. Nora Valkyrie of all people had woken up before her. More so than that, she had decided that their dorm room was the perfect time to start her morning workout routine. A routine that apparently involved her singing hip hop love songs as loud as possible.
But no. If all that was not enough to make that morning not a particularly good one, it was what came next that completely shattered any illusion of hope. Sitting beside her partner, mostly because Doctor Oobleck demanded it, she settled in, notebook out and pencil in hand. Having the history of hunting as a first period course was pretty ideal. While she had heard the rumours of how fast paced the doctor liked his classes, she was used to taking notes. She enjoyed it. Exercise so early in the morning would be another thing however. Thankfully all first-year combat or training classes were in the afternoon.
"Class, class! Please pay attention and take your seats!" The green haired professor called out, strolling into the classroom at a speed unreasonable for a normal person. In one of his hands was a thermos of steaming hot coffee.
Following at his heels, holding onto his free hand was a little girl dressed in a red hooded sweater and a cute navy-blue skirt. Ruby Goodwitch.
"This is the History of Huntsmen, Huntresses and the Profession of Hunting in general," Doctor Oobleck began, leaning against the large desk at the front of the hall, giving Ruby a gentle head pat and pushing her towards the seats at the front of the room.
As the professor began going over the initial details of the class, all of which were on the course syllabus, Weiss watched as Ruby jumped onto her seat and began unpacking her school bag. Pencil crayons, a marker or two, and what looked to be a colouring book.
Weiss rolled her eyes. It was most likely the good professor's turn to look after the spoiled girl. As long as she remained silent during the class and didn't disrupt their studies or take up too much of the professor's time with her questions, then she guessed it would be fine.
"And students! If you ever fall behind in your notes, as I have been told by my dear assistant I tend to talk quickly when excited about a subject," he gestured to Ruby, who let out a little giggle which Weiss hated to admit was adorable. "Please ask her to clear up any confusions you have. Similarly, for any midterm or examination questions, please direct to her."
Weiss was slack jawed. He couldn't be serious. Could he?
Right?
Right?
"Now! Let's begin with a quick introduction ancient aura warriors before we move into the first topic of the year, the medieval auric sages and the establishment of so-called Auric Guilds."
And those were the last words Weiss understood. Oobleck sped through hundreds of years of knowledge in an instant. Whatever he was saying was lost on Weiss. And clearly it was lost on the rest of the class as well.
For once, she turned to her partner with a look of clear bewilderment, to have the same expression mirrored back to her by Blake. Blake shook her head and shrugged before returning to stare at the professor, and possibly jot down a word or two.
Weiss looked down at Ruby, who was diligently looking at Oobleck and writing down notes, flipping through multiple different colours of pencil crayons. She was smiling and nodding along, as if she had heard the lecture before.
Oh heavens, Weiss realized. She really was going to need to go to that dolt for an explanation on the day's lesson, wasn't she…
Did ya miss me? It's been a while! Nearly two weeks. I'll probably backtrack a bit to the party and stuff that happened during it, but I also just wanted to get started on the first class, so here we are now. I've been writing a whole lot lately, but it's all been for Rhodopis in Remnant, which I am hoping to finish writing. I'm currently in the middle of writing chapter 30 for it out of ~35. Knowing me, it'll probably end up a bit longer than that, but for now, 35 is what I'm going for. No idea why I'm talking about a different story in this one, but it's my A/Ns so I can clutter them as much as I want! So there! Oh god, I'm acting like a ten year old aren't I?
Titanmaster 117 - It's because they didn't get into Beacon. It gets more and more tense as there are fewer available spots, until they're at the last group and still a couple hundred people waiting to see if they made it into the school or not.
Zapper Frost - All I can say is that following writing both those chapters I ate exactly what their teams were called, so while I can't say I was going with a food theme, I also can't say that food wasn't at the forefront of my mind while writing. (speaking of which, is anyone else hungry?)
Darknight2124 - It's the war for the best dessert to be dipped in chocolate! Which team will win? And yes, adorable Ruby is adorable!
Therecklessone - Thanks. And now I can also see Ruby making team names with Ozpin. I know she'd have a blast doing it.
YuuiAsuna-Chan - Welp, time for a Headmaster Ruby spin-off! Oh lord, maiden Ruby, along with silver eyed Ruby, all wrapped up in a ten year old bundle of joy? I feel like Cinder will die from shear cuteness overload. (Also, if she ever has temper tantrums, they'd be rough as hell)
TPoynt - Summer is Ruby's birth mother yes, but no Qrow isn't the father. Though he has been mentioned a few times in earlier chapters. As for who Ruby's father is, this story isn't going to put any real consideration into it. For all intents and purposes, it'll be irrelevant. Taht being said, since I'm writing this story without any plotting or real forethought, this can change. So take any answer I give with a grain of salt.
merendinoemelliano - Thank you!
Kivuntappaja - T'was a joke. Just that great minds think alike!
Midnightwolf64 - Thank you. It's a lot of fun to write and stress-less to do so. So I'm glad it's putting a smile on your face.
And with that, see you all next time!