A/N here's chapter 2 of the Burdened. I don't promise a consistent upload schedule, as this is a side project for fun. That being said, I will try to keep chapters at a minimum of within 3,700 words. No promises. As usual, I do not own RWBY or the plot lines therefrom. I only own the ideas I've created.

Please enjoy and Review if you so desire.

Volume 1, Chapter 2: Starting Things Up

"Now did you read the news today, they say the danger's gone away. But I can see the fire's still alight."

~"Land of Confusion" by Genesis

Airships, it always had to be airships. Grau never did enjoy flying; he much preferred to stay on the ground. Whether it was the engines' vibrations or the heights, he never cared to figure out. Perhaps it had something to do with his small village located in a distant mountain and as such air vessels were not a common means of transportation for him. But he supposed it was easier than walking the potentially difficult and dangerous trek to Beacon. Even so, the overwhelming vibrations from the people and the engines threatened to give him quite the headache. Fortunately, it was only a threat not a promise. As he stood with his eyes closed, he felt the vibrations of two people hugging each other followed by a female voice telling the other how proud she was. Grau turned to look out the viewport at the beautiful view as they continued ascending towards Beacon. He became aware of the presence of someone next to him and glanced to his right. A man in dark red armor with a scar across his left eye stood observing the view as well. His crimson eyes spoke of regret. The massive gauntlet on his left arm also caught Grau's attention. The man glanced over at Grau, causing a brief burst of concern.

"I thought hoods were for wearing outdoors." The armored person remarked with a tone of playfulness.

Grau grimaced slightly, "Everyone seems to keep commenting on it."

"Well I just felt like making some small talk. And a hooded figure staring sketchily out the window seemed to be far more interesting than a scrawny one barely holding on to his lunch because of the view." The speaker gestured not-so-subtly towards a blonde haired figure in partial armor who seemed particularly green. "Name's Rot Blitz by the way."

"Grau Schatten." Grau offered his hand more out of habit than anything. "Are you making the rounds to everyone, or are you truly here because of the hood?"

"Well you know what they say about hooded men," Rot took Grau's hand in a firm grip, one that spoke of repressed anger. "But in all honesty I'm just trying to keep a conversation going to cover up his gagging."

Grau shook his head in bemusement. "Well that's a way to do it."

"It was a tough call, whether to spend time getting to know people or listen to that lovely noise." Rot's voice was coated with enough sarcasm to make Grau smirk. A sudden shout of "Gross" was heard. Rot and Grau looked over to see the two sisters who had been hugging each other were freaking out about some potential vomit. "Besides, also lets me poll the other people and ask if they knew anything about the whole team assignment thing."

"Wish I could tell you something." Grau replied apologetically, "But my village is a little isolated."

"As in not part of Vale? That's unusual." Rot raised a brow.

"And dangerous." Grau confirmed solemnly. "It's why practically all the people of my village are huntsmen or have received some level of training. We're listed as part of Vale, but we're far enough away to need to protect ourselves."

"Explains why you're here. Looking forward to it? The fighting and all?"

Grau brought his gaze slowly back to the viewports as some thoughts crossed his mind. "I suppose. I'd ask your motivation, but I know some people like to keep their past separate from others."

A new expression crossed Rot's face. "Gray, I mean Grau, I think we're going to get along very well you and I."

"If you can remember my name." Grau added in as he rolled his eyes.

"Ah that comes with time." Rot dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. The airship shook as it reached its destination. The two Huntsmen-in-Training looked over as the doors opened. Rot's eyes gained a visible gleam of excitement. "Let the games begin."

Grau watched the red armored man advance before he followed. As he did, he contemplated once more the lack of knowledge he had in the design of team making. He knew it was going to bother him until he had the answers. That understanding of his own mind also refused to allow his mind to be at ease. Dozens of students rushed from the airships to inspect their new home. The blonde boy charged the trash can. Grau took in the beautiful view for several moments. It was a place like none other they said and what Grau was seeing did not prove them wrong. Then the vibrations started to get to him again. Ignoring it as best he could, he continued walking forward. Rot could be heard verbally whistling from where he stood. "Impressed?"

"I'll tell you what Grau, I've been around a lot of the world. But this view is something special in its own right." Rot looked around at the crowd of people. "Now if you'll excuse me. I have a bunch of people to pretend I care about."

Grau stood still a moment, contemplating whether to respond to the departing man. Rot certainly seemed like he was either going to end up being friends or enemies with a lot of people, and not much in between. It might do good to follow someone like that and get an understanding of other students through observation. His contemplation was interrupted when a sturdy figure in a black cloak strode directly to him. Short hair barely protruded from the pale scalp. The unnaturally dark black eyes matched the black cloak in contrast with the ghost like skin. It was all these familiar details that made Grau recognize his taller friend. The scar across his cheek was new though. "Schwarz. What are you doing here?"

Schwarz Umbra had been born in his village and was around the same age as him, but Grau had not been expecting to see him here for many reasons. A very small smile that didn't quite reach anything appeared on Schwarz's face at Grau's surprise. Born a mute, Schwarz's only efficient non-written means of communication was a sort of sign language his village had taught. As such everything he said was spoken with his hands, rather than his mouth. 'I've come to be a huntsman Grau. What else?'

"You disappeared four years ago," Grau countered. It was always a silent blessing that it was only Schwarz's speech that had been taken; otherwise Grau would have needed to take the time to remember to 'speak' in the sign language. "I thought you left for some other life style."

'No. I went to a different training school than you did, one a ways away. One that was willing to overlook and work with my… "Problems". They saw me for what I could be, a warrior. Professor Ozpin seems to be willing to do much the same.' Schwarz signed, his eyes remaining the same dull color they had been before.

"Schwarz." Grau hesitated briefly, weighing his words, "I respect your desire to protect our village, but are you sure this is the way to do it?"

'Yes. I am. You told me once that any obstacle could be overcome. And I fully intend to overcome this one,' As he gestured, his hand hit the curved handle of his weapon. Although most of it was covered by the dark cloak, Grau could tell it was massive. 'Besides, I'm not alone.'

As he said this a mildly tall woman walked up behind Schwarz. Her armor reminded him of Rot's, only it was a soft white instead of a deep red. Her elbow pads had crystal spikes jutting out of them that contained dust crystal slivers. She was attractive enough, however there was something about her that gave Grau a shiver. His first thought was that it was a physical feature, such as the pale blonde hair that reached slightly past her shoulders or her icy eyes, but he realized slowly that the temperature around this potential huntress was actually colder than the air around him. Even without feeling the difference, he could sense the easy to miss vibration. The air was moving slower around her. She nodded to Schwarz before her chilling gaze leveled on Grau. "Schwarz. Who's this?"

'An old friend. Grau Schatten, meet Raaka Isolde.' Schwarz signed. 'Her and I both attended the same school for a couple of years.'

Grau extended his hand out of reflex for the second time today. "Pleasure to meet you."

Raaka gazed at his hand with disdain before resigning herself to shake it. True to Grau's assumption, the armor was far colder than he would have expected it to be and sent an involuntary shiver down his spine. "Don't bother with the formalities."

'Look Grau, between myself and Raaka here, you don't have to worry about me. I'm not some little child that needs protection because of a disability. I never have been and I never will be.'

Grau exhaled in exasperation as he absent-mindedly rubbed his now cold hand against his clothing. "I know Schwarz. Old habits die hard I suppose. But there's no guarantee you'll end up as partners, which means you might have to work with people who don't know how to communicate with you."

'Maybe. But you're not going to dissuade me. I need to do this.' As Schwarz signed this, his left sleeve fell back, revealing a tattoo on his arm. A scythe and a rose crossed each other, forming four of the eight spindles of a wheel. Grau's eyes narrowed slightly at Schwarz's "need" to do this and the tattoo. He could have sworn he'd seen that somewhere before. 'I'm only telling you this out of respect of you having been my friend so you weren't surprised when you see me tearing through the Grimm.'

Grau chewed the inside of his lip as he gave a slight smirk. "Well you better stay safe if you don't want me watching your back."

'I'll be fine.' Schwarz signed back before beginning to walk away, 'Best of luck Grau.'

Raaka suddenly stepped in front of Grau. "Let me make something clear. I don't like people. But Schwarz is one of the few I don't hate. So long as he's near me. Nothing will harm him or hamper his progress at achieving his goals. Nothing."

The cold armored figure turned away and strode off. Grau stood there watching the departing figure. Schwarz being here was not an issue per se, but it definitely caused him a mild bout of concern. The conversation they had just engaged in had been far more tense than usual. Schwarz used to open up far more to Grau, but now he seemed distant. Focused on something else. Wherever Schwarz had gone to for the past four years had done something to his friend to harden him. Grau wasn't sure what and he wasn't sure he wanted to. But even Schwarz's distant expression seemed to have held more life than Raaka's. Her eyes seemed dead to the world, as cold as the ice like armor she wore.

Shrugging his simple bag over his shoulder, he continued walking down the pathways towards what he assumed was the main auditorium. Running a gloved hand over the stubble of black-gray facial hair that had grown since the previous night, Grau pondered his current situation anew. With so many unknowns, he was going to have to be prepared for nearly anything. His teammates could be as cold as the two he just met or as eccentric as Rot had seemed to be. Only time would truly tell. A variety of students seemed to be flowing into the same room as him. Giving a grimace at the amount of vibrations coming from within, Grau faced the storm and took the first steps to the rest of the journey.

Rot slowly paced down the pathways of Beacon's campus. It was still impressive, but also very… tame. Years of fighting in a bunch of different areas had made him used to the wilderness, the chaos. The adrenaline was a beautiful thing that came with it. That fight last night had been easy, not even worth comparing to some of his better ones. Even the pack of Beowolves he had fought off on the way to Vale had been more of a challenge. He idly triggered the blade on the underside of Apocalypse and gazed at it. The silver blade shined in the sun. Allowing it to retract, he continued onwards. Grau had been an interesting person to meet, though he doubted he'd ever run into him again for any length of time. The guy gave off some serious introvert vibes and would most likely remain confined to his team. Though it was also quite possible Grau would interact with more people than Rot. He shrugged. You never knew what people would do.

He thought he'd heard about gathering in the main auditorium or something akin thereto. Based on the fact that the amount of students roaming the paths was decreasing gave him the ever so slight feeling that he'd heard right. It was more likely than not that he still had time to walk a bit farther before figuring out where all those people had gone. He felt like he should attempt to get there within a timely manner, but it was improbable that anyone would truly notice if he was late. The sound of metal hitting the ground caused him to look over and see a girl in red holding a massive scythe-like weapon. It was essentially the same size as her. Rot shook his head in bemusement at that fact. She seemed so young to be here, even compared to the blonde boy next to her, who Rot instantly recognized as the one getting sick on the airship. His view left the two and returned to the fountain. As he stared at the statue of the hunters triumphing over the Grimm, a woman's scream echoed in his mind. It was a remnant of years ago. He could never remember what happened exactly, but he always assumed it was from that eve when he had been taken from his family. Giving a slight sigh and shaking his head to clear it of the memories, he began walking towards what he assumed the auditorium was.

The blonde boy and girl in red were ahead of him by a little distance, talking about something or the other. Upon entering the auditorium, the girl in red left the boy. As Rot watched the boy's melodramatic head hanging with bemusement, a movement behind him caught his eye. A red-haired huntress-in-training in bronze colored armor that covered portions of her body had been the source of motion. The sight of her caused Rot's breathe to catch momentarily and his heart to accelerate in excitement.

"She's beautiful is she not?" A voice questioned from behind him. Rot casually turned his head and found him staring at a tank of a man. Crimson armor covered the obviously well-built body, with a sword sheathed on his side and a massive shield clamped to his back. Red-brown eyes stared past Rot at the huntress, his hair was nearly black and almost reached his ears. "A warrior in training."

Rot glanced back at the subject of the conversation, "Then you know who she is as well. I can't say I'm surprised, it's not like she's famous."

A chuckle escaped the built warrior, "Indeed. Pyrrha Nikos, renowned for her skill in battle, top of her class from her academy, legend amongst us, and face of a terribly stale brand of cereal for a set amount of time. What I would give to cross blades with her, it would be a duel to remember."

"You're not the only one who would thoroughly enjoy that opportunity." Rot retorted with a slight hint of playfulness in his serious tone, "She's obviously had some of the best training."

"Though training isn't everything. Especially not for people like us," The warrior responded calmly.

Rot turned back towards the man he was speaking with. His eyes narrowed slightly, "What do you mean people like us."

"I know who you are Rot Blitz." The reply came at a calm even pace. "You leave a reputation in the right places for those of us who aren't trained in traditional senses to know about you. You and I are very similar in that way. Experience, fighting for our very existence, trying to save others; these are all the things that make us different than the majority of these students here. Many have been raised within the safety of the cities, protected by the huntsmen and huntresses. But we have been forced to fight for our survival against Grimm and for our freedom against others. You can always see the ones who are like us. We have eyes that are wearier, more guarded. We don't trust as easily or quickly. We know this world is no fairy tale, there's no simple happy ending. We know that even those with the best intentions can fall from the path of righteousness."

Rot remained still, his mind processing what had just been said. When he spoke, there was no hint of the usual playfulness he attempted to coat his voice with, "And just who the hell are you that you think you know so much about me?"

The man he was speaking with, for he spoke with the tone and authority of such, gave him a slight smile. "I am Mars Auburn. A child of the war between us and the Grimm. The war that many want to deny being a true war, but that you and I both know is as active and brutal of a war now as it has ever been before. I know you learned that from your time exploring."

Rot was cut off by another voice before he could press Mars for another answer. "I'll...keep this brief." The voice of Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon, carried across the room. Rot glanced back only to find Mars staring at the headmaster with a certain level of intensity, "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge-to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Rot blinked, his mind dwelling on what had just been said. When he turned towards Mars, he found the armored warrior already departing towards a distant door. He rubbed his chin with his gloved hand. There was something about Mars that made him intensely suspicious of the man. Despite his misgivings, he found himself agreeing slightly with the man's speech on the state of the conflict with the Grimm. Ozpin on the other hand had seemed distant and unfocused with what he had said. Something wasn't adding up. Mars knew more than just someone who had happened to pass through an area where Rot had been before would know. The thoughts and suspicions would continue to flitter through his mind even as he and the other first year students were escorted to a sleeping area and told to rest for the first day. Rot's sleep was not a steady one.

Bruno leaned back in his chair and stared at the calendar. In a few hours he'd be untethering the Haven and making another semi-legal run to another kingdom. Vale custom officials thought it was a prolonged fishing trip. They were unsurprisingly gullible. Especially when money was included. He rubbed his slowly growing goatee as he pondered how long this trip was going to take him. The thugs who had appeared last night had almost interrupted his operation. It had truly been a blessing when Rot had shown up and helped him clear them out. That Junior was still pissed about him having to ditch the case of rare alcohol wasn't too surprising. But he had been hoping that eventually good sense would have won out. He shrugged. Maybe after this operation he'd actually pay the poor guy his money back. He was about to close his eyes when he heard heels clicking on the metal outside of his office.

Snatching Trouble off of the table, Bruno casually aimed the barrel at the door. "Who's on my ship at the middle of the night? Can't you tell I'm trying to sleep?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just still trying to figure out why your ship has the same name a city." A soft voice came before the figure rounded the corner. Bruno instantly recognized the beauty that was Lilith Violetta. Her deep violet hair and soft grey eyes seemed alluring. The thin revealing clothes and shape of her body didn't disagree. But Bruno also remembered what Rot had said.

"Lilith." He spoke in a tone of, what he hoped was, false pleasure, while also leaving Trouble aimed in her direction. "Funny that Rot didn't mention you being in town."

"Oh Rot doesn't know. And I'd like it to remain that way." Lilith purred. The twin gunblades could be seen strapped to her back, their curved handles near Lilith's head. "In fact I've only come here for you."

"Is that so?" Bruno questioned slowly. "Well I have to tell you, I'm going to be out of town for a few weeks starting tomorrow. Lengthy fishing trip and all that."

"No you won't." Lilith cut him off, her voice gaining some steel to it. "I like you Bruno. But I need you. So you won't be going on that smuggling operation. Or else I'll tip off the custom officials."

"Won't work. They'll never know where to look." Bruno countered, all the while becoming slightly more nervous. It was an irrational paranoia, he'd been doing these stunts for a long while now.

"Oh I know with your semblance you could hold that cargo underwater for ages." Lilith admitted. Then she gestured and a box of illegal goods appeared on the floor next to her. "But they only need to see the boxes to impound you for a long while. And we both know what my semblance does to people's sight. So please Bruno, let's do this like friends and not like enemies."

Bruno turned back to her with narrowed eyes, his finger close to the trigger of Trouble. "And what's to keep me from blasting you away. I may like you, but I need to protect myself somehow."

A smile appeared on her face before Lilith suddenly disappeared into a wisp of shadows. Bruno cursed the illusion and started to react, but was cut off when the bladed edge of one of her gunblades suddenly emerged from shadows at his throat. "Clever little girl aren't we?" Bruno hissed.

"Perhaps." Lilith spoke softly into Bruno's ear. "Now, dear Bruno, do we do this like friends? Or like enemies?"