"Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life."
How was this a good idea?
Hundreds of feet in the air.
The wind rushed through his hair, his fingers holding on to dear life.
He kept his eyes shut tight, not wanting to even get a glimpse from such a height. He had no idea what caused him to think that jumping onto a flying Grimm was actually a good idea.
Or the fact that Winter believed it was a good idea as well.
At this point, they both knew mistakes were made.
Either way, the both of them were flying, the Grimm not too happy to have two passengers grabbing onto one of it's talons and feathers. It's rapid and erratic movements trying to shake them off. It's squawks of annoyance rang in their ears from moments to, what seemed to be, lifetimes.
"Ruben!" Winter shouted in a huff thinking the exact same thing at him. How Winter thought this was a good idea was beyond him, especially the trouble they went to following the Grimm. His wrists were locked and his fingers intertwined, his legs wrapped around the talon of the beast.
Winter buried his face into his chest, barring his teeth. Ruben glanced over at Winter, trying desperately to hear him. The squawks and the high speeds didn't help.
"What?" He shouted, cupping a hand around his ear while trying all he could to hold on. "I! Can't! Hear! You!"
"You had to come up with this stupid idea, didn't you!?" Winter shouted back, his face contorted as he used all his strength to hold on and keep shouting at Ruben. Ruben waved him off, shaking his head.
"Forget it! I! Can't! Hea-" Ruben felt his fingers losing grip, sliding down the talon. He slid off of the talon, trying his best to dig his nails into the Grimm. Ruben screamed, desperately reaching out to grab the bird once more. Winter watched him descend, screaming in fear as well.
"Blair!" Yin said, walking beside him through the forest. It's only been an hour or so since they have met, and Yin thought they hit it off really well.
As in, Blair killed an Ursa and Yin made a lame joke.
Clearly, they are now buddies for life.
Yin ran his fingers over the slashes in his favorite gold jacket, needing to remind himself to stitch it as soon as they reached Beacon. His mother made him this jacket, and there is no way he would throw it out simply because a few battle scars.
Blair kept his eyes forward, doing his best to try and focus on the mission. Focus on finding their artifact and leaving this place. His focus, however, was constantly being averted due to Yin pointing out every interesting bush, tree, and blade of grass in the forest.
"Blair! Blair! Blair!"
Every single one.
"What?" Blair asked, turning to Yin, his voice coarse. Blair had finally reached his breaking point, after an hour or so of Yin's nonsense. His lame jokes. His hyperactivity. His ever present dumb big smile. Everything.
Despite the attitude, Yin's smile didn't falter. Not even a moment. Yin looked over Blair's shoulder, nodding his head. His hands moving to rest along his hips.
"Found the place." Blair followed Yin's line of sight, and looked ahead. That's when he saw the broken temple in the forest. Just like Ozpin said. Blair nodded, giving Yin a quick nod as he made his way over towards it. He glanced over his shoulder at Yin, who began trying to tie the loose strands of thread together. Trying to make either a cute little bow or just a little lasso.
"So you did." Blair muttered, walking down the hill side. His boots slamming into the grass as he tried to steady his walk. His hefty steps leaving deep indents in the woodland floor. He walked at an angle, not wanting to slip. "Good job."
Yin followed him, finding a slope deep enough for him to slide down on his heels.
Which he did immediately. Sailing down the hill side with his arms spread out along side him.
The old, moss covered stones and symbols of a world now forgotten mesmerized Blair. The structure must've been a sight to behold. Back in the days when it was whole.
He wondered what the people who used this temple were like. Were they barbarians making blood sacrifice? Or peaceful forest dwellers who said prayers in this place? Who prayed to their God, Gods, or maybe Nature? Blair ran a hand over the stone, shutting his eyes and enjoying the simple silence.
He ran his thumb over the damp moss, over the cracks and aged stone. Feeling the rough, hard surface of the ancient stones.
"Horsey!" Blair's eyes shot open, his moment of clarity cut short by Yin's word. He turned, seeing several pedestals holding a variety of chess pieces. Knights, Towers, Pawns and Kings. Yin, having found the knight piece, his excitement off the walls. His eyes growing as wide as dinner plates and shining like the simmering sea. Fists locked under his chin as he bounced and danced in his spot. "Look at it! It's so cute!"
"It's a chess piece-"
"Shadowfax is not just a chess piece!" Yin stated, waving the knight piece in Blair's face. The white horse piece inches from Blair's nose. Bouncing up and down in front of Blair before Yin poked the tip of his nose with Shadowfax's painted snout. "He's our ticket into Beacon!"
"Oh God, you named it." Blair said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he listened to the neighs escaping Yin's lips as he danced Shadowfax before him. But he couldn't help but chuckle at Yin's shenanigans. "Alright, alright. Yin, let's take Shadowfax and-"
At that moment, they began to hear very distant screaming. Echoing slightly, as if it came from miles and miles away. Yin recognized the voice of the screaming immediately, looking around the area to pinpoint it exactly.
"Blair?" Yin looked around, scratching his head. "Hear that?" He could have sworn he heard Ruben. Only he could scream like that and be heard from literally miles away. Yin fiddled with his chess piece, the little white horsey making him smile as he 'galloped' before him. Blair looked up, cautiously taking a few steps back as he noticed the rapidly descending blot of black.
"Found Ruben." Was all Blair said, Yin's eyes shooting up. Ruben was directly above Yin, descending exceedingly fast. Yin gave the horse a quick kiss on the mane before he pocketed the piece, his arms shooting open to catch his falling brother. Fingers flexing and his lips curling to an anxious smile.
"I got you-" Yin started, extending his arms out. Ruben caught a glimpse of gold just as he felt something slam against his side, rocketing him into the forest's tree tops.
Yin stood there, his arms out and jaw dropping. He blinked, as if wondering Ruben just disappeared into thin air. "Bro..."
Ruben felt his head throbbing, his hands going numb, and his stomach queasy. He felt the bark of a tree scratching against the back of his head, his eyes opening slightly. He could see triple, the trees moving about and blurring with each other. He looked up, seeing an upside down Jaune in the tree. Hanging from a branch directly above him.
"Hey, Ruben." Jaune said, his arms swinging at his sides and his eyes looking towards Ruben. Ruben sat up, sitting up against the trunk of a tree. He held a hand against his temple and the other against his stomach, trying to focus on not throwing up.
"Hey, Jaune..." He mumbled, holding a closed fist against his mouth as he burped. "What happened?"
"Woke up a giant scorpion." Jaune stated, chuckling a bit. "Yourself?"
"Caught a flight with a big bird." Ruben stated, barring his teeth. Stomach churning like a washing machine. "Oh, I don't feel good."
Jaune swung there for a moment, before raising a single digit and opening his mouth.
"I told you, one in every three-"
"Shut up." Ruben grumbled, groaning a bit. He hiccuped in quick succession, cupping a hand over his mouth. He hunched over his legs, the world beginning to spin around him.
"Was Ruben falling from the sky?" Blair asked, turning to the direction of the forest. He could have sworn to see some blur of gold smashing into Ruben. That blur probably some kind of Lion. Or creature. Or maybe Jaune being flung around like a ragdoll. A thought at made even Blair crack a smile.
Yin stood there in a daze, his arms still out and his eyes wide. As if expecting Ruben to drop into his grasp at any give moment. He blinked, wondering if he simply was imagining this. Maybe he was imagining this. Maybe Ruben wasn't real and this was all a sick joke.
Maybe Blair wasn't real, and he's really been talking to some brooding goat?
Then Yin felt goosebumps run up his arms. His cheeks paling and his hands getting clammy.
What if he wasn't real?
"I thi-" There was then a roar, an all to familiar roar of an very angry Ursa. The pair turned to the other side of the knoll, seeing an Ursa swing it's mighty arm and knock down a nearby tree.
It then fell, exhausted form it's unwanted rider. Nora, having rode in it's shoulders, fought it into extreme fatigue. Blair and Yin turned to each other, wondering if they saw the same thing.
Wondering if they saw the same energetic girl from this morning, riding on an Ursa. To the point of exhaustion, as well.
Yes, they did.
They looked back, seeing Ren run up beside the fallen beast but no Nora in sight.
"Where did she-" Blair started, only to hear her start to sing.
"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" She sang in her same high pitch, holding the tower chess piece in her hand. Blair raised his brow, thankful to be working with Yin.
Sure, he was energetic, but no where near as bad.
"Nora!" Ren shouted, his hands on his knees and his breathing heavy. He let out a groan, shaking his head. Nora giggled at her partner, skipping towards him.
"Coming Ren!" She shouted back, watching him walk towards her. Or more so, shuffle towards her.
"What is happening?" Yin asked, his eyes moving from Ruben sitting nauseously in a tree, to Jaune stuck upside down, to the girl who rode in on an Ursa. He threw his arms in the air, wondering how this could get even odder. How things could get worse.
Then he heard the sound of one of the most dangerous Grimms.
It's large and deadly pincher claws, the beady blood red eyes, the towering stinger and it's massive frame. The Deathstalker was a sight to behold, the visible cracks and moss in the beast showing it was past it's adolescent years and clearly in it's adult.
Pyrrah rushed out of the forest, her shield and spear in hand, trying to create as much distance between the Deathstalker and herself. The beast swung it's right claw, slamming down to try and catch her. Pyrrah jumped out of the way, keeping her pace through and through.
"Pyrrah!" Jaune shouted, trying to wiggle his leg out. Ruben stood onto his feet, looking ahead to see the massive Grimm. Ruben had a single thought run through his mind.
"Big Game!" Ruben shouted in delight, running and jumping off of the branch. He sailed through the air, landing with a tumble. He standing back onto his feet and looked at the beast. He smirked, furrowing his brow. "Big Game."
"Ruben!" Yin shouted, turning to face his brother. He threw his arms up, his smile growing.
"Yin!" Ruben shouted back, his face shining and a smile gracing his lips.
"Nora!" Nora shouted, jumping between the both of them. Yin wrapped his arms around her on impulse, spinning her around as he would a large teddy bear.
Or Ruben.
Ruben turned his sights back to the beast, his smile turning back into a dark smirk.
"A Deathstalker." Blair stated, letting out a huff. He loaded a magazine into his weapon, pulling back on the slide. "Thought it couldn't get worse."
"Everyone!" Yin shouted, his arms out and his hands spread wide. Ren ran to Nora's side, his chest heaving and his mouth dry. Yin lowered his arms, trying to calm everyone down. "It's going to be fine! Just one big Grimm. We are all going to be fi-"
"Winter's coming." Ruben said flatly, looking up into the sky. Yin lowered his arms, wondering why he should even try anymore.
Winter, hanging on by his fingers, felt them slip off the talon before he was sent plummeting to the ground. Ruben watched him, hesitantly holding out his arms just in case. Just in case he happened to fall onto him.
"No need Ruben!" Jaune said, finally getting out of his predicament and moving back on the branch to get a running start. "I got this!" He took off in a sprint, jumping off to catch Winter and be a hero.
However, Jaune jumped prematurely, having his arms out to far and his body become parallel to the forest floor. Jaune fell, falling on his stomach. Winter fell, landing right atop of Jaune. Winter laid there, back in excruciating pain as he stared into the sky above him. Wondering how this could have happened.
"Thanks for nothing." Winter mumbled, before getting up and moving towards the rest of the group.
There was a smacking sound, the group's eyes shooting to the sight of a flying Pyrrah. They watched as she descended, crashing into the earth and landing just in front of them.
"Excellent. The gang's all here." Yin said, throwing up his arms. "Now we'll die, together as a family." He finished, wrapping an arm around Winter and Blair, pulling them in for a big hug.
"You forget who you are talking to." Ruben stated, walking in front of the group. He ran his thumb over his cheek, staring down at the charging Deathstalker. "I'm all you need to fight this thing."
"Ruben!" Yin started, walking over to his little brother. Ruben unsheathed his weapons, loaded a shell into each chamber and fired. Yin felt the world stop, seeing his brother running to fight such a dangerous creature.
Ruben rushed before, swinging his arms back and stabbing both weapons into the beast's claw.
The blades hit but didn't break, sliding off the rock like skin of the creature. The Deathstalker pulled it's claw back and swung, hitting Ruben dead in the chest and knocking him back.
Ruben slammed against the ground, tossing and turning until he landed with his back against the dirt and dead grass.
Ruben looked up into the sky, seeing the shadow of an unfamiliar bird. He groaned, jumping onto his feet and sheathing his blades.
"One? I can handle!" He shouted, turning around and running. He faced the group, shaking his head. "Two? A bit much."
"I got you!" Yin shouted, running towards Ruben. He slammed his knuckles together, his gauntlets clicking and locking into place.
The bird cawked, before pulling back it's wings and swinging them forward. A flurry of feathers shooting out and stabbing into the ground. Ruben could hear them breaking the earth, shaking his world around him in a violent quake.
As he took a step forward, he felt a sharp tug at his jacket. He rushed forward, only to fall and land on his back. He turned around, seeing the Deathstalker approaching him with a feather pinning him to the ground.
"No!" Yin shouted, looking up to see a feather coming straight for him. He roared, sending a solid straight into the feather. The feather bursted into a cloud of dust. Yin saw rows of feather's between him and his brother. He pulled his arm back, ready to dash through them as if they were paper.
Only to feel a feather stab right into the back of his hand. The force knocked him off balance, causing him to tumble and fall. He looked up to see the bird circle the area around Ruben. Simply waiting for it's opportune moment to strike. "Ruben!" He turned to see the Deathstalker pull it's stinger back and strike.
Ruben looked up, seeing the stinger closing in. He felt a gentle smirk force it's way through his fear, wondering if Glynda would save him once again. He shut his eyes, bracing for impact. He then heard several gun shots.
"You idiot. You irresponsible child." He could hear Winter chastise him, blaming him for another problem. Ruben opened his eyes, seeing the bright golden stinger of the beast incased in a wall of ice. Ruben turned to his right, seeing Winter standing before him.
He reloaded his weapon, holstering it soon after. "You are, hands down, one of the stupidest people I've ever had the 'pleasure' of meeting." Winter stated, before letting out a sigh. "And I am possibly one of the most egotistical, selfish men you've ever met."
"What are you talking about?" Ruben asked, still surprised that Winter would save him again.
"I'm getting to that.' Winter said, leaning over him. Winter had no longer any sort of boiling hatred in his voice, his suave demeanor losing it's pride and pompousness. "If we both are going to get out of this place alive, we need to have each other's backs. So, if you try not to be a hot headed idiot, I'll try not to be a whiny princess." He lent a hand to Ruben, smirking a bit. "Besides, I needed to get even for that Beowolf you saved me from."
"Have each other's backs. Like..." Ruben started, wanting to ask if Winter meant, 'Like friends.' But instead, he simply nodded and grasped Winter's hand. "Right..." Winter nodded back, before walking off to leave Ruben next to the trapped Deathstalker. Ruben picked up his weapons, holstering them and running back towards the group.
"Ruben!" Yin wrapped his arms around his brother, shaking him around in circles. "Don't ever scare me like that again! Dad WILL kill me if anything happened to you!"
"I'm fine." Ruben said, his ribs being crushed with a smile on his face. Yin nodded, letting him go and joining the rest of the group.
"Guys...' Jaune said, pointing towards the sky. His fear rising in him. "That bird is circling back."
"Calm down." Winter said, pointing over to the chess pieces. "We don't need to worry about that thing. Our mission is sitting on those pedestals."
"Princess is right." Ruben joked, smirking a bit. "Get the pieces, head back. Easy enough."
"We live?" Jaune asked, his hands closed together. Pyrrha nodded to him, assuring him he would be fine. "I like that plan."
Ruben walked over to the pedestal, taking the knight piece off of the stand. He looked over the little horse, chuckling softly to himself. "Found you a horsey, Yin!"
"Hey," Ren stated, looking over at the cracking block of ice in the middle of the field. The Deathstalker beginning to escape it's icy prison. "It's time we left."
"Well then." Ruben said, cracking his neck. "Let's get going then." Ruben ran off, followed shortly by Jaune, Winter, and Pyrrha. Yin watched, amazed his little brother was actually breaking out of his shell. He felt pride growing inside him.
"Yin?" Blair asked, patting on his shoulder. "You ok?"
"Absolutely." Yin said, before taking off to join the others.
They ran towards the once great tower, the stones missing and mossed over, the bridge looking as if it was on the verge of breaking, and the pillars, however, still stood strong.
The bird flew over head, perching atop of the tower and looking down at the students below. Ruben motioned his arms behind the pillars, getting behind one with Yin.
"There's the bird." Yin stated, knocking his knuckles together. Ruben heard the roar of the Deathstalker, turning towards it. It emerged from the forest, destroying all the trees around it in a single swing of it's claw.
"And there's the scorpion!" Ruben shouted, his eyes on the tower. "To the tower!" Ruben and Yin took off, being followed by Winter and Blair. Ren looked up at the bird, his eyes shooting to Nora.
"Nora!" He shouted, pointing up at the bird. "Distract it!" Nora chuckled, reaching behind her back and pulling out her weapon. Volleys of feathers were sent, Nora dodging them as she readied her weapon. She sent several shots towards the beast, the grenades exploding into mists of pink. Ruben looked over his shoulder, seeing the Deathstalker still on their tails. He looked ahead, the bridge getting closer.
Nora heard the sound of the beast approaching, turning around to see the Deathstalker. Ren zoomed across the battle field, his weapon's blade cutting across it's claw as Blair's axe chopped down on it's tough hide. Blair saw the futility in the attack, beginning to make his way to the bridge. Winter ran towards Nora, sending several shots at the beast.
"Now!" He shouted, motioning towards the bridge. "Go!" Nora nodded, running off towards the bridge. Blair and Ren soon followed, each of them exchanging shots at the beast. Ruben watched the bird, as it circled around and came down. The bird tore through the old stone bridge, knocking over Jaune, Ruben, and Yin.
Ruben looked across the bridge, seeing Pyrrha, Blair and Ren holding their own against the Deathstalker. Yin turned his sights towards the bird, growling lowly. He ran over to Ruben, picking him up and running towards the tower.
"Ruben!" He shouted, reaching the entrance. He looked over his shoulder, waving his hand forward. "Come on! We're bringing down the bird."
Blair reeled his arm around, the blade grazing the beast's tough hide. He growled, catching his weapon in his hand. He flipped it around, sending several more shots at the Deathstalker. He heard the sound of a nearby explosion, his eyes widening. He could hear the sound of the train cart exploding, the deafening sound in his ears, the pain in his heart. He blinked, catching a glimpse of Nora's body flying towards. He let out a grunt, Nora hitting him and knocking off of bridge. He began falling, his body feeling weightless.
He blinked once more, seeing her face before him.
"Blair!" She said. "Come one, you lazy bum!" He then heard her lovely giggle. "You better pay attention before you get into some real trouble!"
He gasped, immediately coming back into reality and throwing his weapon. His blade caught the edge of a walkway support beam, swinging him up. He felt his body readjusted, his mind easing. He tugged hard on his weapon, bringing it back into his hand. He saw the Bird coming towards him, it's enormous wings flapping up.
He swung once more, hitting the beast in the throat. He pulled hard, bringing himself to the beast. He crashed his feet against the beast, grabbing a handful of feathers and began hacking at it. The cut made no visible damage, only seemed to annoy it.
Blair felt the bird begin to spin, making him lose his grip and fall off. He turned towards the tower, swinging his weapon and catching onto the outer wall.
Ruben took aim and shot several times, each shot missing it's target. He cursed to himself, loading another magazine into his gun.
"This isn't working!" Ruben shouted, swinging the lever. "It's tough!"
"Give it all we have!" Yin shouted, smirking. He knocked his knuckles together, before kicking up several broken pieces of stone and catching them.
Winter loaded a fresh wheel and took aim.
Blair spun his weapon, shut his left eye and took aim as well.
Ruben brought out both of his scythes, taking aim and counting how many shots he has.
Then they all attacked. Yin sent those pieces of rubble at breakneck speeds. Each pieces exploding and leaving shrapnel in the bird. Winter sent several fire rounds, each shot ringing off like an firework and clashing against the beast. Ruben and Blair continued to empty their clips, giving the beast magazines worth of ammunition.
The beast took a sudden dive, crashing into the base of the tower. It began to crumble, Yin jumping up and trying to get out of dodge. Blair threw his weapon to the closet thing to swing from. Winter shot at the bridge overhead and hit target. Extending his left hand, he pulled himself to the bridge. Ruben aimed his barrels down and shot. He was flung over head, landing onto the bridge beside Winter. Winter looked over at him, loading another wheel.
"We'll be dead before we dent even it's hide." Winter stated, watching Yin kick up bits of rubble and punch it towards the bird. Ruben watched Yin, turning his eyes to Blair as he brought his weapon back into his hand. He racked his mind for any sort of plan. He felt his eyes go wide, smirking darkly.
"We won't dent it." He whispered darkly, his eyes falling over his weapon. Seeing his reflection in the blades. Getting a wicked idea. "We'll cut it."
"What?" Winter asked, turning to Ruben. Ruben looked up, chuckling. He flashed light off of his scythes into Winter's eyes, cackling like a mad man for a brief moment. His eyes going wide and his lips curled into a rather psychotic looking grin.
"I have an idea!" He said, dropping his weapons and crouching besides them. Cracking his fingers and letting out a deep sigh. "Cover me while I fix this up!"
Yin knocked other block of rubble towards the bird, hitting the beast in the cheek. It knocked the beast around, before it turned and began flying towards Yin. Yin smirked, crouching down and chuckling. Yin jumped, placing his foot in the jaw and his hand gripping the upper beak. Yin sent several uppercuts into the beast's beak, roaring.
"You! Do! Not! Hurt! Ruben!" He shouted, before sending another punch into the beak. He heard it crack, and he jumped off. The beast crashed against the cliff side, shaking the ground violently. Yin landed, looking up ahead. He saw Blair standing beside Ruben, with Winter running towards him.
"Get to Ruben!" Winter said, as he sent several shots at the beast's wings. The shots busted into thick layers of ice, pinning the deadly creature to the cliff. Winter ran back to Ruben, not wanting to believe that this was the plan.
Ruben stood tall, his hand holding his modified weapon firmly in his hand. He looked over his scythe, sighing sadly. The weapon itself was now twice as tall as him, the blade was both of the original blades side by side, with the barrels combined into a single, strong gun.
He dropped his weapon, barely able to lift it up over his head. He planted his weapon into the ground, staring down the beast. Blair handed his weapon to Yin, who wrapped the chain around his forearm and held it tight. Ruben grabbed the middle of the chain and began to pull back. Winter held out his left hand, the snowflake turning black. Ruben felt his body become tight, his feet planted firmly into the ground.
"This better work." Winter growled out, pulling his weapon back. "If not-"
"Then I wasted my babies for nothing." Ruben clarified, flicking his wrists and loading a double loaded shot into the weapon. "Ready?"
"Born ready." Winter said, sending his fist forward. Ruben was thrown at break neck speeds, his weapon out and ready. He caught the bird's neck with his blade, as he began to spin. He shot his weapon, spinning around and around the beast's neck. The bird broke out of it's icy prison and began to fly, hoping to get Ruben off. Ruben didn't relent, continuing to fire shots and spin. Ruben placed his foot against the beast's neck, pulling back as he pulled the trigger.
The last pull lobbed the beast's head right off. Ruben jumped off, falling out of the air and landing back first onto the cliff. He landed with a bounce, his weapon crashing behind him.
"Wow..." Jaune said, watching the headless bird fall into the abyss below.
"Well..." Yin slowly clapped his hands, turning to Winter. Rocking back and forth on his heels. Winter was breathing heavily, his hands on his side. Winded from the power it took to get Ruben all the way over there. "Bye Bye Birdy."
Ruben laid on the ground, staring into the sky. With the realization he fought a goliath of a Grimm and survived, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Watching the clouds flow before him.
"Ruben Thorn. Winter Frost. Blair Blackburn. Yin Xiao Long. The four of you have collected the white knight pieces." Ozpin said, his hands behind him and his posture straight. Peering over the four young men before him with a high regard for their bravery and skills.
The whole school watched the batch of students who took their tests today have their teams named. To become official students of Beacon and to become future Hunters of Vale.
Jaune was named team leader of team JPNR. Jupiter.
Now it was Ruben's turn. He felt his heart beating in his throat, his knees shaking. His breathing getting out of rhythm and his hands clamming up. Winter looked over at Ruben, seeing how anxious the poor kid was and playfully knocked shoulders with him. Kicking Ruben out of his mind and back into the Auditorium. Winter flashed the kid a quick smile, before turning to Ozpin once again. Ruben nodded, looking back up at Ozpin.
"From this day forward, you work together as..." The pictures of the four showed their initials, before forming the initials RWBY.
"Team Ruby." Ruben blinked, rolling his eyes. Ruby. Like the stone. Blood red and very pretty. Ruben could already see the shirts Yin would start making. With initials and hashtags and lots of cute cats.
Ruben could care less about the name. What he couldn't stop wondering about was who would lead their team. They all did phenomenal during their exam. each of them. Having killed such a powerful Grimm despite their age.
His eyes fell onto Winter, who seemed so in control of himself. No jitters. No shaking. No second guessing. Not wide eyed or fearful. He was proud. Powerful. His lips curled into a smug smile.
Ruben smirked. Despite their clashing ideals, personalities. They did work rather together. Rather effectively at that. He was dependable and a leader when need be.
His eyes fell onto Blair next. He just stared intently at Ozpin, his arms crossed. The ends of his scarf picked up in the little breeze in the air. While not the speaking type nor the one would think would be a leader, was strong willed and wise beyond his years. He seemed to know strategy, and know how to fight wars and battles expertly. A true soldier.
Then Yin. Who was bouncing in his spot whilst whistling a bit. His childish energy and smile making the whole stage shine. Truthfully, Yin was perfectly qualified.
All things considering.
He was serious on and off the battlefield, he could raise moral in a single speech or even gesture, and was tougher than the entire school put together. Say what you will, he would fight to his last breath before a single member of his team wouldn't be harmed if he could help it. He knew how to do what he does very very well.
"Lead By...Ruben Thorn." Ozpin said, Ruben's eyes turning to him abruptly. He opened his mouth in protest, to speak out against being made leader. However, a beat later, Yin wrapped his arms around him.
"We did it!" He shouted, swinging Ruben around like a ragdoll. Ruben kept his eyes on Ozpin, who simply raised his mug to Ruben. With a wink, and taking a sip of his coffee, he called up the next team to be named.
And just like that, Team RWBY was formed.