There's no way her day could get any worse than this. Ruby let out a pitiful moan at the thought. Your first day at school, and you have created an explosive first impression. Yeah, absolutely brilliant.
Right now, the only thing she wanted to do is just stay in here, laying down on the ground where she had just turned into a little but absolutely embarrassing crater. Staring at the blue, cloudless sky all day while her traitorous sister and her friends do some cool stuffs at Beacon.
Ugh... Now it soured her mood even mor-
"Hello there."
"Wah!"
Ruby instantly jumped away when an amused smile and a massive shadow loomed over her.
The next thing she know, a pair of the bluest eyes greeted her.
"Woah, easy there, girly." The way his chuckle rumbled sends shiver down to her spine, "I'm not going to bite."
Who is this? Ruby was confused that even her nerves and anxious all but disappeared thanks to the weird man. The way he speaks was also quite weird, and she was sure his deep voice makes it sounds even more... menacing. (Like Ragnar and Bjorn from Vikings TV show, I guess...?)
"My father once told me that when you're being greeted, you should greet in kind." The little head tilt and amused curve of a smirk on his face only make him even more threatening than he already is, "You haven't tell me your name yet."
Ruby can't stand this. What this guy's doing, he definitely looking down on her. She can't stand that! She's a huntress in training for gods' sake! She's a big girl now! If there's some big, silly, unknown guy trying to bully her, she should fight back!
"W-why should I gave you my name?" A little too timid for Yang's liking, but she got the spirit!
"Ahhh, yes." Unfortunately, Ruby's attempt to intimidate him back was either failing or just simply being ignored, "I'm sorry. I'm just too excited about everything in here."
The sudden politeness threw Ruby for a bit, "Call me Jounn Aerikson, what's yours?"
"R-Ruby." Curse her social anxiety, "Ruby Rose."
"Ruby... Rose..." Jounn spelled, trying to taste the word in his mouth, "I like that. It's pretty. Like your hair and eyes."
What? "What?"
"Your hair, it's as black as the night. It's beautiful. And that red," Jounn suddenly crouched, reaching for the tip of the long side bang that framed her face, "I have never seen something like this before..."
The gears in Ruby's mind grinded to a halt with an unholy screech. She gaped like a fish out of water, unable to say anything out of surprise. Heck, she can't even form a coherent word inside her tiny little head.
That is until the realization began to sink in, deep. Her face exploded into a bright fireworks as steam seemingly erupted from her ears.
And as the pair of his striking blue zeroed on her own silvers with zealous curiosity, she found herself locked up in her place, drowning in those pool of cerulean amidst her surrounding that gradually dulled the moment she stares back at those enchanting orbs.
"And your eyes too, it's beautiful. I never seen eyes with that shade of color before. I actually do not think I have ever seen a steel or treasure as bright as your eyes before..."
Oh, Brothers. She felt like she was about to burst. And this tingling and fluttering feelings, she decided that she would hate and love it with her entire being.
"I assume you know of this place," Ruby had to thank the gods for the breathing room she got when he stood up, "Would you be kind enough to show me around? I am... new to this place."
"Y-yes!" Oh gods, now she sounds like a peppy scout girl trying to sell her first cookie, "I mean, yeah. Err, follow me."
Ruby wasn't sure whether the following, torturous silence helps her in this kind of situation or not. In one hand, her mind keep returning back to what just happened a mere moment ago and it made her all floaty. In the other hand however, she feared for whatever things he can and would tell her.
It sounded so random, but for some reason, she could feel it in her gut that this guy would do anything to make her jump out of her skin or play her around like a little mice.
Ruby just hoped that she could get away from him before her irrational fear comes true, her poor heart can only took so much before it burst up.
Who is this guy anyway? He surely doesn't sounds and looks like he was from around here. Ruby wasn't sure what to make out the awe and child-like curiosity in his sparkling blue eyes as he turned and looking around their surroundings.
Inspecting him further, Ruby's face turned into a darker shade of red all over again. Oh Brothers, he was so close to her before while being half-naked.
Bound and thick muscle that might be able to crush her head with a simple bicep flex, along with hulking broad shoulders and rippling abdomen that definitely able to grate a cheese into a shredded pieces. Though, she wondered, how did he manage to get that much of scars riddling his body?
His upper part of body was pretty much only covered with the big strap that held the pauldron unto his right shoulder from falling down. Other than that, his powerful torso was free for the world to see.
Of course he wears pants too, along with a leather belt directly over his navel that held the decorative coattail hanging down to his knees. Set of thick leather vambraces and boots protecting his limbs while also adding a charm to his dirty, yet appealing barbaric fashion.
(I rarely liked a fantasy style viking armor, but this time I decided that historical viking armor won't fit him. That's why I gave him Kratos looks)
As Ruby gaze travelled up, she now just realized how young he actually is. Jounn is handsome, even with the short rugged beard, Ruby could clearly see the sharp, striking features of his face. In fact, the beard only added a roguish charm to his whole dirty appearance.
His golden hair was trimmed very short on either side while the upper part was pulled back into a small ponytail.
"What is this place anyway?"
"Wuh?"
Ruby snapped out of her thought and stood ramrod at the sudden question. She hoped that Jounn knows nothing about her obvious ogling.
"Where are we, little Ruby?" Oh god, are they lost now? W-well, it's not like she knows anything about Beacon's layout, so it was not a surprise she got them lost, "I wanted to see about the city and the people. You're the only person I had met so far. Where's everyone?"
Wait, what? "W-well, I think they're in the main hall right now, for the initiation opening."
"Initiation?" That curious head tilt returned back, "For what?"
"Err, huntsman school?"
"Ahh," He clicked his fingers, "Huntsman! Tell me Ruby, are you here to become a huntsman?"
"Well, yeah. A few years too fast for my liking, but since I will be together with my sister, I'm not complaining." Come to think of it, despite being the youngest huntress in Beacon, she would still with her sister! That doesn't sounds so bad to be honest.
"You look... sad about that, why?"
"Hm? I mean, I'm younger than the others. Usually, it bound to attract something and I don't like that. I'm not the popular kid. I just want to be left alone with my weapon, you know."
"I do not think that's a bad thing, Ruby." With hand rubbing his bearded chin, Jounn spoke his mind, "When I was young, I want to do a lot of things. I want to hunt, I want to fight, I want to do anything fun. But father never allows me until I was old enough to join his hunt. If you're allowed to join this hunt at your age, then that means they acknowledged you. That means you can do what you can't do before!"
Well, that's true. Now she can bought cookies all she want without worrying about her dad's scolding.
"Anyway, are you strong, Ruby?" Ruby looked up at him, giving her a taunting smirk, "You must be strong, ya? You said that you want to become a hunter after all."
Now he returned being a bully again. Ruby could see it from miles away. He was looking down on her again. So much for her to believe that he actually gave her a moral support in her lonely journey.
"Obviously!" She displayed an uncharacteristic arrogancd at him, trying to look as strong as possible in front of this giant of a man, "My uncle, dad and sister had teaches me a lot, just so you know."
But the result of her show of force is clearly far from what she expected. Jounn dark chuckles returned back and Ruby had to suppress down the shiver.
"We'll see. We will see." His hand moved toward his back, "Since you have been kind enough to accompany me, I will show you my weapon. This is Helmunn."
Silver eyes instantly gleam in awe and curiosity as soon as Jounn took out a big one-handed axe from his back.
Her gaze roamed around the artistic piece of a weapon, inspected it so closely like a little baby who had just gotten his first toy ever.
The wooden handle was long and sturdy, made to optimize the one-handed usage of the weapon while also giving the option to use it with both hands. The bearded blade was big and dark, with a few scratches here and there but it was not chipped nor damaged in the slightest. It was not at a perfect condition, but it just shows how much battle it had went through with its master. She liked thed touch of tribal ornaments on the whole weapon, but what catches her the most is the two pale blue lunar crescents on the blade.
It must be a crest or some sort...
"I forged it myself as my own coming to an age gift." Lifting the axe, Jounn gave the blade a kiss before staring off into somewhere else, "To this day, I can still feel the heat of my furnace, the weight of my hammer, the metallic clangs... everything." He stared longingly at the weapon like a parent to a child. "For months, I built it myself, and it has become my favorite weapon, even to this day."
Ruby can't stop herself from staring at him in absolute wonder as if he was a god descending from heaven. Here, in front of her, stood a man, a gods to honest man, who actually forged a weapon from scratch.
It might sounds simple, creating weapon and stuff, heck, she even had herself her best Crescent Rose! But as much as she was proud about it, she's just the designer.
All the hard work and dirty job was either done by machine or someone else. She just designed it, unlike Jounn here. At this day and age, looking for someone like him would be akin to searching a hay in the mountain of needles.
"If you keep your mouth open like that, the world will flood with your drool." Ruby could feel the cold steel touched her chin and closed her mouth shut, "Hehehe, you're a funny girl, Ruby. Weird, but funny."
If it wasn't for the awesome weapon before her, Jounn would get her all flustered all over again. But at this moment, Ruby was just too distracted by the axe. "Are you planning to become a huntsman, Jounn?"
"Am I? I am not sure, Ruby. I am just a curious man, what I want is to see the world." Putting his axe back, Jounn gave Ruby a knowing smirk at the way she shagged, "Maybe I could show you how to make other weapons too. Who knows? They said I will stay in here after all..."
Ruby's puppy like look brightened and her vigor returned. Well, seems like meeting Jounn here wasn't so bad, after all. He speaks and acts weird, which makes her feel weird, but his love for his weapon as well as he smithing capabilities more than made it up.
"That's it, we're friends now!"
Like those sunday TV shows always said, the power of weapon-making could past the boundary between two strangers and paved a new friendship and love! Or at least that's what she believes.
Jounn chuckles turned into a little laugh, "You really are a funny girl." And all of sudden, he decided to ruin their friendship by ruffling her hair like a parent with his silly child.
"Hey!"
"Now, where exactly are we?"
Ruby's heart skipped a beat, "Oh, no. The initiation!"
-oOo-
Glynda wasn't really sure what she expected to see when Ozpin told her to fetch him his guest, but a broken giant cage is surely not amongst what she have in mind.
And gods, what is this smell?
"Ozpin."
"Glynda? Do you need something? I'm about to give my speech in a few minutes."
"Your guest, headmaster. They're gone."
"What do you mean by gon-" Glynda showed him the massive construct of metal that was partially destroyed, "Oh. That. Glynda, I officially ordered you to form a searching party, quick."
"What with the urgency?" Glynda ignored the stupidity behind her question. Sue her, she was curious. If Ozpin had anything that can cause this much of destruction, disaster is bound to happen.
"This guest of mine might be the solution for our Amber's and Big Bad Queen problem." Glynda's eyes looked even more serious now, "Unfortunately, our help is kind of... too wild and untamed for Beacon. I just hope that he can adapt with civilization as fast as he can before we needed him."
If Glynda had a question about Ozpin's another bizarre plan, she save it for the later. Whatever things Ozpin was expecting to see, he makes it sounds like there was a feral and obscure animal in here a moment ago and Glynda doesn't like that in the slightest.
"Very well, Headmaster. I will see it done."
As the holographic call ended, Glynda looked back at the broken cage and had to suppress a sigh from escaping through her lips. The most important thing here is, whatever thing it is that Ozpin has prepared, it was bound to brings headache and Glynda could see it coming from miles away.