I slip out of the crowd, leaving Ruby and her sister to talk. At the edge of the room I shimmy up a column, and find myself traversing the ceiling beams. Ozpin takes the stage, breathing in a deep sigh. Before speaking he sees me, sitting on an overhang with Blake, who immediately looks red faced. To our surprise he looks quickly back to the potential students, and continues with his speech.

"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. (as the students whisper among themselves) You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

"He seems a little distant." Blake says, watching him closely.

"Yeah. Probably has a lot on his plate. Haven't you heard the news?"

"About the psychopath running around Vale?"

Glynda steps up to the microphone as Ozpin makes a quiet exit. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

"So, in the past six weeks eight people have been found dead. And not just dead, mutilated. So obviously he's worried, especially since two weeks ago the last four victims were an entire fourth year team."

"I'd heard." We both get rather quiet. For awhile.

"So, changing the subject, how's the book?" Her face reddens a little. "You know, the one I sent you?" I nudge her, and she almost drops, tightening her grip on the rafter.

"It's a long way down Anima." She narrows her gaze. I suppress a chuckle. "I did bring it with me, but it's in my bag."

"Well, shall we join these strangers in the ballroom? Or can we just stay up here and ignore the awkwardness of a room of people in their pj's?" Blake moves across the beam, and places her back against it, pointing to another bar adjacent to hers. I crawl onto it, and make myself comfortable.

I wake up first, seeing my cat friend still asleep. Below, my luggage remained undisturbed. I climb down to it, calling up at Blake to wake up. She rouses slowly, and falls from her beam. I quickly grab a blue crystal and a pile of snow greets her.

"Ah, this is freezing!" She shouts, pushing through her landing spot.

"Could have let you splat." I retort, slipping that crystal back into its proper pouch. "Come on, I can hear them all talking about the initiation." We head down the hall, where some students are grumbling about the wake up and head into the armory, where I finally find my locker and begin to stow all this excess dust.

"I wondered who could have so carelessly left their belongings in the Foyer. Hello Anima." I look over my shoulder to see a very familiar face. "How's it been wanderer?"

"Far from Mistral huh, Orion?" Before me is a boy almost half a foot shorter than me, around Ruby's height. Maybe an inch or two shorter. He wears chainmail over pitch black clothing, a shock of red in his hair. Now that I think about it, him and red have a lot in common. Except for the eyes. His are blue. At his side are two large handguns. I know from experience they become small handheld scythes. A lot in common.

"Gem's here too. As well as class valedictorian Pyrrha Nikos."

"She went all the way to the top after I left huh?"

"Our bronze clad goddess of battle. Won three pro fighting tournaments. Beat some serious competition. Did you ever finish her birthday gift?" I reach into my locker, opening one of the cases, holding up a red-gold blend of dust.

"She'll get some uses out of this. Works good in emergencies. I have one for you as well." I toss him a silver vial filled with rather glittery dust. "Your's has one good use, but you could ration it into several lack luster uses. It does have a minimum amount of dust to activate. Blizzard variant. Be careful, it has a very powerful kick. The effective range is about-"

"Anima!" I sigh, looking back at the other scythe wielder. She waves me over, leading to a longer sigh.

"I've got to go. Another friend requires my attention. Try not to freeze the school." I wave back, and beckon Blake over as she finishes tying one end of her ribbon around her katana.

"So uh, I like you're bow!" Our red cloaked friend isn't the best at small talk, but we've almost made it to the cliff in relative silence, Blake reading and walking while I'm scanning the dense foliage below us. The oceans of trees. Ozpin and Glynda are waiting with the other students, and assign us all spots on a set of square platforms, with the twin axe emblem of Vale on them.

Ozpin speaks first. "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Glynda steps forward, holding a tablet at her side. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin smiles, sipping from his coffee cup. From somewhere down the line I hear someone yell I told you 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 everything in your path, or you will die." I draw both my daggers, holding both in reverse grip. "You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one 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? Good! Now, take your positions." I do think I heard someone ask a question, but I could have been hearing things.

The platform under me makes a few clicking sounds, before rocketing me skywards. Into the emerald forest.