After over an hour of wandering the school, the four had finally found their way to the ballroom. The lavish school hallways were mostly empty, except for an older woman in a purple cape who stood at the ballroom entrance.
"Welcome students. My name is Gylnda Goodwitch" She said as they approached, her tone bored. "Please, leave your weapons here with me while they aren't being used."
Nick instantly felt uneasy about handing over his swords. He had been through a lot, and they've come in handy during the trip here more then he was willing to part with on a whim. Indigo looked like she felt the same.
"Um, no." She said, her nose wrinkled.
"They will be stored in a special locker for you to retrieve later that you can open with a provided code." Glynda responded.
"That doesn't make me feel any better. I think I'll hold onto them." Indigo almost growled. Velvet handed Glynda a box camera attached to her belt. While Amber removed her gloves and a thin cylinder with a row of buttons lining down it to hand over. Nick eventually decided it would be less trouble to hand over his swords. He began to undo the sheathes.
"Young lady. You are to do as your told for the safety of our students." Glynda chided Indigo as she took the others weapons.
"These things have kept me alive on the way here, I'm not giving them up without question." She snapped back, obviously trying not to straight up yell in her face.
"Indigo... please." Velvet suddenly said quietly, looking at her.
"Yeah. No point making a scene here if we'll get them back." Nick said.
Indigo glared angrily at him, though for some reason she calmed down a little more when she looked over at Velvet.
"…Fine. Whatever." She grumbled. Pulling off her gauntlets and handing them to Glynda.
"Thank you, the boys and girls are separated on opposite ends of the hall. Though they can interact until it is time to rest." Glynda said. She also gave everyone a slip of paper with the number and code of their lockers. With that, the four proceeded into the ballroom. Nick broke off from the girls over to the boys side of the room. He hoped to find a decent place to rest without having to sleep next to somebody weird.
Nick found a clear spot to place his bag down. He realized he had been carrying around all week with no break. He dug out a simple roll out mat laid out for him to sleep on later from the bag, along with his scroll. He couldn't remember when Hunter gave them their scrolls, and they never used them. Though their teacher insisted they both pack them. Nick pocketed the scroll after putting in the number of the locker he was given and pocketed it.
"That's my spot." He heard behind him in a familiar dark and strong voice.
He turned to see the same guy who had shoved into him earlier standing over him, glaring down at him.
"Didn't seem to have your name on it, whatever that may be." Nick shrugged. He pointed at a small backpack next to Nicks spot.
"That's mine."
"Well, there's plenty of room next to me for you to sleep on. Not like there's a shortage here." He grunted and stepped around Nick. He rolled his eyes slightly.
"So, what's your name?" He asked.
"Navy." He grunted in response and began digging through his own bag.
Their conversation over, Nick saw Indigo walking over to the center of the area where the two groups were intermingling. He walked over to meet her. She had apparently found somewhere to change out of her battle suit and into her tank top and shorts to sleep in. He noted that her tail was hidden from view, possibly wrapped around her leg under her clothes.
"Settling in?" He asked her.
"It's weird sleeping next to everyone out in the open, but I'll survive." She responded, her voice still sounded annoyed from losing her weapons. Nick shrugged.
"Well, that's what happens when you spend seven years in an isolated forest." Nick joked. She rolled her eyes.
Nick sighed and decided to ask her.
"So, why are you hiding-" she cut him off.
"Shut up." She quickly hissed under her breath.
"I'd rather have people know who I am rather then what." Nick understood what she meant. He knew Vale tended to be a more tolerant culture, but still.
"Okay, I get it." Nick said, she nodded with a sigh. With the two's conversation over, they turned and walked back toward their sides of the room.
For Nick, the next day couldn't have come soon enough. He fell asleep finally hoping that Navy didn't end up as his partner, as he seemed too hard to work with. He dreamed of the fall of his home again, the burring buildings, the cries of despair. It all still haunted him almost every night, even seven years later.
He awoke with another jolt. Everyone else was working on putting away their stuff on his end already. A glance over to the girls side shows they were almost done cleaning up themselves. He slept in. He rushed to put his few belongings back in his back, which wasn't hard. As he finished packing his things again and slung his bag over his shoulder. He walked into the now well intermingled groups. Eventually, he found Indigo and Velvet within the crowd. Both wearing their huntsman outfits again.
He walked up behind Indigo and tapped her shoulder.
"Boo" he said jokingly. Indigo just rolled her eyes and moved over a little for him. "So, we have any idea what's going on with team assignments?" Nick asked. The two shook their heads.
"They haven't said anything about how they'll assign teams yet." Indigo said.
"Hey, watch it!" They heard a voice nearby them say. The three looked towards the direction of the commotion. A small clearing the crowed revealed Navy, who stood in front of a girl that wore something that looked like something a fashionista would wear.
"If you do not wish to be shoved, then move." Navy grunted. The girl he was arguing with loudly scoffed.
"Do you even know who I am? You should know better then to just go shoving me like that!" The girl complained.
"I do not and I do not care, move out of my way." Navy said. He proceeded to push past her and walk away, the angered fashionista left behind.
"Well, that was a scene." Indigo commented with a shrug.
"I love those jackets of yours" They heard, the girl who was yelling at Navy had made her way over to the three and was pointing at Nick and Velvet.
"Oh... Thanks..." Velvet muttered. Nick shrugged. Indigo grabbed Nick suddenly and began towing Nick towards the exit.
"We'll catch up with them later, let's go eat before they close the cafeteria." She said as she almost dragged him along.
It didn't take them as long to find the school cafeteria after walking into it on accident while looking for the ballroom yesterday. It was mostly empty and the two ate light. As the two finished eating, an announcement came through the loudspeakers.
"All new students please report to Beacon cliff as soon as possible." The announcer said. Nick sighed.
"Great, another place we don't know the location of." He muttered.
"We seem to be finding our way around so far. Plus, I found this." Indigo responded across the table. She dug out her scroll and tapped on the screen a little before turning it to show him. It was a map of the school.
"That would've been more helpful to have yesterday." He said.
"Well we have it now, would you rather not?" She responded.
"I'm not complaining, just saying." He sighed. "Well, I'm heading to the lockers then."
"Agreed. I feel exposed without my weapons."
"You should probably get that checked out then since you're practically a tank." Nick joked. She gave him a mockingly evil look before they headed off to the lockers.
Nick split with her to the guys locker area, he found his locker number eventually after wondering confused. He typed the locker code into the keypad, and it opened, revealing his swords sheathed away. After he got them strapped to his back, he wandered back over the entrance until Indigo was also done. Once she emerged from her side of the room, the two began their hike to the cliff.
It was a warm morning. The weather in Vale was warmer then the area they grew up in so everything felt warm. The leaves on the trees fluttered lightly in the wind on the upward trail toward the cliff.
"Any idea why we're walking up to the top of the cliff?" Indigo asked.
"Obviously so they can push us off and call it a day." Nick responded jokingly. "Other then possibly some sort of initiation, no." She sighed and rolled her eyes.
When the two reached the top of the cliff. Among the group of new and obviously confused students, Nick spied Amber in the corner if his eye wearing her the same loose fitting clothes he met her in.
"Oh, hey there's Velvet and that fashion girl." Indigo said, pointing towards the two having a conversation. Nick walked up to the two, but before he could really say anything, he heard a voice.
"Alright students. Please, find and stand on one of the Vale symbols here." The voice of the headmaster called out.
He looked down to see his foot on a single stone tile, with the symbol of Vale engraved on it. Everyone around him found similar tiles evenly spaced between each other. Quickly, the crowd had dispersed into a line. Nick noted he stood between Indigo and Velvet. With the crowd cleared, it revealed the steep cliff. Their headmaster, along with Glynda stood at the edge facing the line of students. The headmaster took a step forward and sipped from his mug.
"Good morning students. I'll also keep this brief so you can get right into todays initiation. You have all spent most your lives dedicated to becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses. For they are the symbol of the ultimate warrior. Today, your skills will be tested in the Emerald Forest. Glynda, if you please." He said, Glynda took a step forward, drawing attention away from the scroll she held in her hand.
"Most of you probably have been spreading rumors and assumptions about team assignments. Allow me to clear up this process. As of today, you shall all be assigned a teammate." She said.
Ozpin nodded, as she continued.
"Once assigned, you and your team shall be that way for the rest of your time at Beacon Academy."
"Yes, thank you." Ozpin said once she was finished. "To elaborate on that, it would be best if you were paired with those you can work well with. However. The first person you make direct eye contact with once inside the forest shall be your new direct partner for the rest of your time here."
The students muttered amongst themselves at this. Nick fought back the urge to complain. He knew Huntsman teams consisted of four people, but he was unaware that they were assembled that randomly.
"After you have found your partner, you are to make your way north until you find a abandoned temple at the end of the trails. Your task is to collect one of the relics inside and make your way back here to the top of this cliff with it. You will be graded appropriately once that is completed and later assigned to your other two teammates. Be warned, the forest is infested with The Creatures of Grimm. Do not hesitate to destroy them along with whatever else may prevent you from achieving your objective. You will die otherwise. We will be monitoring you of course, but not intervening should you be in danger. That is for you to solve yourselves." He said.
The mutters got louder. Some voices calling out excitement, others worry. Nick looked between the two he stood next to. Indigo had her usual mute expression, while Velvet looked extremely nervous.
"Does anyone have any questions about this?" Glynda asked. Nobody spoke up.
"Good, good luck to you all." Ozpin said "You're going to need it." Glynda pressed a button on her scroll, and the tiles began making clicking noises.
Someone at the far end of the line of students launched into the air, the poor guy wasn't expecting it and was failing through the air for a second before controlling himself. Everyone else quickly understood and began assuming stances for the circumstance.
One by one, people were rapidly launched off the tiles and into the air.
"See you guys on the other side." Nick said. Indigo rolled her eyes and prepared herself for the launch and Nick did the same. When he looked over at Velvet, he could tell she was nervous and excited. "Hey, i'll see you down there." Nick commented to her, she nodded. He watched her catapult into the air. He took a deep breath as he felt his feet leaving the ground and the air beginning to hit his face.
