A quiet and modest house, there sat a girl waiting on the bed of her room, staring at the ceiling and eagerly listening for the tattletell signs of a messenger coming to deliver any letters that might come that way. Her wings twitched as she shifted to her side to stare out her window at the world outside.
Aurora Celestia. Age 17. Status, currently eager to check the mail for my hopeful acceptance to Beacon. She finished her mental checklist, the same she had been saying after every single morning up waiting for her notice from Beacon. It helped her to have a routine and allowed her to organized her thoughts. After all, it had been barely two months since she tried out for a position at such a prestigious academy and quite frankly she was hoping that she would be accepted if only to get out of the household she lived in.
Aurora sighed and gave up for the day, slowly crawling out of the bed and shivering in the biting coldness of her room. She quickly changed and got ready for the day, brushing out her pastel lilac hair, or so she liked to call it. People insisted that it was more of a light pastel blue, but she thought it was more enjoyable to say pastel lilac. Such a unusual word, she mused to herself, alone in her thoughts. Alone like every other day of her life. She sighed, why did the mail always take so long to deliver. In all honesty, it would have been easier to just send an email through scroll, but the Headmaster at Beacon always insisted upon using this old archaic way of sending mail. In fact, it was so old, she didn't know if people still used such methods of communication anymore. Then again, there were those who created those outposts outside the city boundaries and she had seen her father receive such letters.
She slowly trudged down the stairs to the living room where her mom was currently brewing coffee and cooking breakfast for the family.
"Morning, mom!", She offered a brilliant smile. Her mother simply hummed and smiled back before turning around to resume her cooking. She took her place at the table and quickly sat down, her smile falling from her face. Another no response day and another reminder that her parents will always be more preoccupied with working rather than emotional fulfillment. This had always been the way at their household from as long as she could remember. As long as she kept up her grades and record clean, no one really cared about what she did. So she quickly learned to keep appearances up or her parents would be angry at her "need for silly childish affection", always stating that because she was a big girl, she no longer needed such things. So she lost herself in her schoolwork to hide the growing hurt from the lack of affection. Since her parents never cared as long as she got back at a respectable time, she would always rush homework to work on her combat skills. One must always make sure they were well prepared for anything after all, and she'd be damned if she wasn't prepared to protect herself.
As she got older, that parental anger changed into a deep seated disappointment and fury at the way she conducted herself in general and in public. Being the traditionalists they were, they expected her to be independent yet dependent. Both strong and yet at the same time weak. Show emotions and yet be restrained. So she quickly concocted a plan.
She had just heard about this job known as a "Hunter". It seemed to suit her well enough, she could help people which was what she always wanted and she could be paid decently for it as well. Additionally, she would be away from her parents if she managed to get into the academy which was known as Beacon. Normally, one would transfer from Signal, but she heard there was a test that one could take in order to be admitted outside of Signal. The only problem was, she had no combat experience fighting Grimm and only basic self-defense skills learned from books and her scroll. However, if she got into Beacon, at least she could get away from all of this. Then maybe she could finally find a place where she could belong, a niche of her own, a way to express the many emotions she had to keep on choking down every day. A very tempting offer, so she decided to try the time tested method of asking around for training and tried learning everything she could from passing by huntsmen until finally she felt strong enough to try. From there on, there were a few simple trials and a long wait until she would know her results.
At that moment, her dad walked into the house and slammed the door behind him, looking worn down and disheveled.
"Welcome Home, dear." Aurora's mom said, setting a spot for him. He merely grunted a reply and began eating after tossing a square piece of paper at Aurora.
"Here. This came for you at the office last night." He gruffly said. She took it and could barely contain her excitement but it was too much for her. It was her letter to Beacon! It had finally came! She tore it open with glee and stared at her verdict.
She squealed with excitement and began to scream, leaping from her chair and doing a victory dance. At least she was until her mom smacked her on the arm and forced her back down in her chair with a smile, "Remember, Aurora. We raised you better than this. A proper lady must be demure and controlled. But Congratulations for your entry."
Aura deflated a bit and put back on her smile, "Thank you, mom." Internally, she sighed again, wishing that for once, her parents would no longer hold on to traditionalist values and support her fully. Staring once again at the letter, she quickly stuffed the eggs in her mouth and ran up the stairs, back to her room despite her mom's protests. Pinning the letter on her wall, she began mentally planning and conducting a plan towards how she would approach Beacon. Aurora Celestia, Age 17. Status: ready to start working towards taking on Beacon.
To those who have made it this far. Thank you. Don't expect regular updates but I will do my best to update. This was more of a present to some friends and afterwards, I will no longer be writing anymore stories.
- Kyouki