"Wakey wakey! Eggs n' bakey!"
Mayumi's eyes blink open to the singsong, twittering voice that was all too familiar to her tired ears. A pair of bright, obnoxiously blue eyes gleam down at her, red lips peeled into a ridiculous grin. The slender woman's face is encased within a storm of pink hair, delicately kept and flowing over her narrow shoulders and falling like a waterfall over her chest.
"Good morning Pixie…there's no eggs…or bakey," Mayumi mumbles, sitting up from her makeshift cot. She has been sleeping in this small two-room cabin for the last couple days as the group awaited the airships. A friendly farming couple had rented it out to them, to which even Pixie was grateful.
Pixie reaches for Mayumi's arm with exuberance, eyes shining with pleasure as she yanks the young girl out of bed. Mayumi blinks. Well… here they go again. She should have been more prepared for such a rude awakening: Beacon had been all Pixie had been talking about for weeks. Her excitement is almost contagious; to Mayumi it feels like a disease. She tries to allow the excitement to woo her, but the teeth of anxiety stay sunken deep into her neck. If all goes well, this trip will be a refreshing break from the usual, messy, missions Ivan gave to them, but there was always the chance they were found out. Once they were, she didn't want to think about what would happen.
"Gooooood mornin'! C'mon Mayumi, it's our first, real-life, exciting and amazing day at Beacon! Oh, aren't you just crawling with excitement?"
"Oh, I'm crawling with something," Mayumi responds tightly. Pixie leans forward, taking Mayumi's face in her hands. Her fingers are warm. Mayumi's cheeks flush at Pixie's touch and she averts her eyes, fiddling with the hem of her uniform's skirt. Her heart flickers and wakes like a dying flame after a breath of oxygen. There's some sort of safety in Pixie's warm touch, and something terrifying as well. Like a campfire surrounded by dry grass.
"Oh, sweetheart, we're gonna be just fine. You worry too much, darlin'," Pixie coos, her voice thick and sweet like warm honey. "See, all we gotta do is get in there, attend classes for about a year, and then we go to Ivan during the summer and see if we got what he needs. All we're doing is getting info, like scouts! It'll be easy, sweetheart. Easy. You don't even have to do any of the hard stuff."
Mayumi takes a deep breath, flashing Pixie a smile as she buries her inconvenient misgivings.
"Yeah…yeah! Ok, I can do this," Mayumi says, looking up at Pixie with a look of soft apprehension. Her cheeks flush as Pixie leans over her, warm breath smelling of sickness and sugar. Mayumi holds back a cough.
"Of course you can, let's go now sweetheart," Pixie says. A huff echoes from behind them and another woman, tall and lean with hair like wine, approaches through the doorway. Green blades, cool as ice, stare out from her face.
"This isn't a game, Pixie," she says shortly.
Pixie quivers with giggles. "Oh, c'mon Narcissa! It's funny, just like a game."
"What exactly is so funny? Whatever... I'm not getting into this now. Vira! Are you ready?" She calls, sending her sharp eyes over her shoulder. Mayumi's gaze follows Narcissa and lands on Vira's petite form. Her freckled face peers out from a mane of black. Soft, grey eyes flash with a smile. She nods.
"Of course Narcissa, all packed and ready," she says with the timidness of a mouse. Mayumi waves and Vira responds with a small wave before clinging to Narcissa. Narcissa drapes an arm over the small girl, fingers twirling in Vira's hair.
"Good. Let's head out," Narcissa says sternly. Pixie giggles, waving her arms in eccentric gestures.
"Of course! Of course, I've been waiting for you to say that for ages Narcissa!"
With that, Pixie flings open the door of the cabin, sending cascades of sunlight into the room in which they had been sleeping. Pixie steps into the morning's warmth. A grin peels across her face and she spreads her arms up to the sun.
"Let's get this show on the road!" she squeals.
~scene break~
Pixie's boots, clicking against the pavement, ring in Mayumi's ear as they approach the yawning mouth of the airship. Mayumi's holding Pixie's hand, looking around with wide eyes. All around her she sees students meandering towards the entrance. Some are gathered in groups like her, Pixie, Narcissa, and Vira. Some, however, are alone. She hears laughter, a buzz in the air caused by all the anxious joy. She wonders how many people's lives are about to change.
"Oh, Mayumi! I can smell all the desolate souls here! All of the tasty little children scampering around! Oh, I can taste them alre-!"
"Pixie, what did we talk about? The game we are playing is one of stealth and tact. Why Ivan even sent you is beyond me. Just, can you last more than ten minutes?" Narcissa hisses to Pixie.
Vira and Mayumi exchange glances. The two are a buffer between the two taller women, fingers linked as similar thoughts race through their heads. They don't even have to speak, just a nervous smile and a shy glance is enough to pass along the message.
This is going to be a long year.
The two women immediately stop their bickering, however, as they enter the airship.
"Let's find seats. You two: stay close until we get settled in. Pixie, stay closer."
"Narcissa, this is a school, not a battlefield. You're too strict! And no fun!"
"You just want to get alone with one of the students."
"And so what if I do? Not like anything…terrible would happen," Pixie says with wide, flaming eyes, her body quivering with giggles.
"Nope. Absolutely not. You're staying with me." Narcissa mutters, rolling her eyes as she snatches Pixie's arm. She's about to usher them to the nearest empty row of seats when Mayumi raises her hand and clears her throat. Being alone for just a little bit would be nice, and she had an idea.
"Whaddya want Mayumi?" Pixie says, casting a blue gaze, as sharp as nails, towards her.
Mayumi stares down at her feet. "I have to go use the restroom, can I go if Vira comes with?"
"Oh, if I have to stay here so do you-"
"Yes, but be quick about it." Narcissa cuts in, waving them on. She glares at Pixie, whispering harsh words Mayumi just barely picks up on.
"They can go, they aren't going to eat anybody!"
With that, the two young girls are freed. Clutching each other's hands, they send one last glance back at their guardians before starting into the throng of people towards the bathroom. Pungent smells waft through the air: soda, cheap snacks, and the stench of nervous perspiration all reaching Mayumi's keen nose. Mayumi pushes their way through the other first year students, and as they weave through, they weave right into a boy playing on his scroll, staring down at the flashing screen.
He stumbles, plummeting backward only to be saved by Mayumi snatching his wrist.
"Oh no! Are you all right?" Vira hurries towards him, her speech as quick as her actions. Mayumi hoists him upright. He nods his head, dazed. He collapses his scroll and tucks it into his pocket.
As she pulls him up, she's finally able to get a good look at him. His head is a sea of fiery hair, dark blue eyes staring out from a face that's young in appearance, fresh as a daisy. She finds everything else about him to be rather average. A simple sweatshirt and jeans cling to a form that's completely ordinary for huntsmen in training: not especially bulky, but far from thin. His weapon, she sees, is held in a scabbard across his back; a sword, most likely.
"You really ought to watch where you're going," Mayumi says, releasing him. He stares in quiet astonishment at the two of them, but quickly flashes an easy-going smile.
"Yeah, I guess. I was just about to beat my high score. I, uh, guess I was too focused on that. Sorry," he replies quickly. Mayumi stares, confused. And that was more important than walking? Well, if it was to him surely she couldn't be mad.
"All is forgiven! It's ok! Uh, oh dear, I don't know your name," Mayumi says, subconsciously tightening her protective grip on Vira's wrist.
"I'm Randy! You can call me, uh, Randy!" he replies, his tone kind enough.
"Well, I'm Mayumi and this is Vira."
"Neat," he says shortly, eyes trailing to the fluff of a tail curling around Mayumi's leg. "I've never met a faunus with that big of a tail before. What, are you a wolf?"
Mayumi flushes and she stares down at her feet.
"I'm actually a fox faunus," she says, crossing her arms as her defenses flare in preparation for the nasty, bile-filled words she expects to come sputtering from her would-be acquaintance. His next words, though, are filled with a genuine politeness that shocks her.
"Oh, uh, sorry...faunus is what I meant. I'm sorry, that was rude of me," he says, peering forward to take a closer look at her tail. Mayumi pulls it away reflexively.
"You're fine," Mayumi replies shortly. The weight of Vira's hand on her shoulder causes her to relax, and she turns to excuse the boy's misguided behavior. Before she can, she hears Narcissa calling the two's names and glances over at Vira. The two nod.
"We have to go, uh, sorry Randy. I'm sure we'll see you around campus!" Vira says cheerfully, tugging at Mayumi's wrist. Mayumi sighs, nodding in agreement. There was no holding out on Pixie and Narcissa, not if you wanted to keep your limbs intact. Her bladder would have to wait.
~scene break~
Mayumi faces down at her hands with her eyes squeezed shut to avoid any sneak peaks at the campus. She wants to save her first look for the ground, as strange as that may be, she doesn't want to just see a glimpse. Some hazy, out-of-the-corner-of-her-eye, happenchance that would diminish the awe when she first saw it. She figures it must be much bigger and much more exciting than Signal, where she had gone for the interviews, so she wants her first look to capture all of that grandness. She feels Vira tap her shoulder. That was it! The signal they had arrived. Mayumi's stomach somersaults and she slowly opens one of her eyes.
"Are we landed?"
"Yup! It's safe to open your eyes. We'll be leaving the airship soon." Vira whispers back to Mayumi. Mayumi slowly blinks open her eyes and glances around. People are rising from their seats, grabbing their bags and weapons, adjusting their clothing so that they look sharp for their future professors. Mayumi follows suit, adjusting her school-issued skirt and grabbing her bag, hoisting it over her shoulder. She pats the hilts of her swords, nodding to affirm to herself of their presence.
"You children r-?" Narcissa begins to ask. Pixie swoons, flashing a hand over Narcissa's mouth with all the exuberance of an overly dramatic swan.
"No! No! Narcissa, I want to say it!" Pixie cries. She drapes herself over Narcissa, patting the woman's pale cheek in a playfully teasing way, eyes gleaming like the round moons of a mischievous cat's gaze. Narcissa shoves Pixie off, rolling her eyes.
" can say it."
Pixie giggles, skipping towards the lowering walkway from the airship.
"Are… you… children... READY?!" she cries. She spins, her pale arms catching the light from the sun's shy rays.
Mayumi bounces on the balls of her feet with impatience. Apprehension twists her stomach into knots. Right on the other side of the airship doors was the beginning of her next mission: Beacon Academy, and all its secrets.
Sunlight seeps through the opening and washes over Mayumi's pale face. She squints as her eyes adjust to the natural light, shielding her face with her hands. She follows briskly behind Pixie, who is rushing forwards with a glimmer of delight in her eyes. Mayumi wraps her fingers around Vira's hand, squeezing it tightly to brace herself for her future. Snapping her eyes shut, her nervousness keeps her from being able to look quite yet.
"Oh my…" Vira's small voice whispers. Vira's fingers give Mayumi's hand a tight squeeze and she forces herself to open her eyes.
Before her, she sees millions of all of the most glorious miracles that could ever have existed. She sees the miracle of Beacon Tower, the grand arching architecture, the sharp towers clawing at the sky. She sees hope in the water splashing under the walkway, dancing in the pale blue tongues of water licking at the bridge that stretches for eons. The green of the trees, the blue of the sky, the stark splashes of color pressing gently over the cool, gray stone of the walls all give her a feeling of beautiful chance. It is a castle, a fortress, even. More students are starting to leave the airships and they breathe life into the walkways weaving around the school. In this breath of life, she felt Ozpin's words ringing in her ears: "Welcome to Beacon Academy, Mayumi Nise, I hope by the end we both will figure out who exactly you are."
With that, she feels a sharp pang of unease and forces herself to stare at the ground instead.
~~~Author's Note~~~
Thank you to everyone reading! As my profile says, I am uploading these from AO3, as I am also looking to expand my audience to this platform. I will be uploading about twice a week, though, depending on how much time I have I may post once a day until I'm out of chapters that have already been written! Whenever that is, I'll probably slow down to my usual writing pace of like, every couple of months. For now, enjoy the fast updates, and leave a review if you like the story : ) I appreciate hearing from readers! It really helps with my motivation to write when I see that people are enjoying it! I would love to see critique, but keep in mind that I did write this... four years ago? So I won't be changing much, and later chapters do have a sharp rise in quality just because of the time between then and now. It is still nice to know what I struggled with, in case I still have those issues. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed it! 3