Year One
Chapter I: Initiation, Pt.3

Morning. Lights, sounds, and excitement – the ballroom had become a haven to all of these, as students frantically rushed to put all of their gear away. "If this continues throughout the morning," thought Susana, unfortunately one of the last students to have awakened, as she bundled up her bedroll,"Then the cafeteria will certainly be quite exciting."

Most of the students seemed to have already formed groups of some kind. There were, of course, a few odd ones out. She saw no need in it herself – why start grouping yourselves up when the Beacon staff would supposedly make those choices for you? Teams would come with time, and groups along with them, she figured. It only seemed natural to let things take their course.

Of course, that didn't mean she was going to leave everything entirely up to fate. Once she finally threw everything back into its original bag, she gave Gwen, her only companion at the moment, a heavy pat on the back. "So, Gwen, given it any thought on how we keep on the same team?"

"Isn't that your job?" her friend replied, in a calm but somewhat accusatory tone. Gwen had already finish packing her stuff some time ago, and was now occupied attempting to comb her hair, with a mirror occupying the other hand. Susana couldn't remember if Gwen had showered the night before, and was certain she wasn't going to now.

"Planning is for people like you and Clancey. I did some digging while you were at the cafeteria yesterday, though, and managed to find out from one of the wandering upperclassmen that, apparently, we're not just dealing with Grimm. Apparently they usually do? I don't know."

"It does seem like they'd want some variety." Gwen offhandedly replied, tossing the mirror side and whipping out her butterfly knife. She flicked it back and forth between her fingers, as though checking for some intangible property.

Susana sighed heavily. "Look, in any case, we've got to be ready. And we've got to stick together. I'm sure the staff will notice things like that."

"You told me yesterday that it was stupid for people to group up, when they'll clearly be separated. Didn't you?" Gwen replied, placing her weapon away, and finally turning to look Susana in the eyes. The crack of a smile hovered on the edge of her mouth, and the blatantly bad show of hiding amusement left Susana flustered.

More than that, in fact. Gwen was right, of course, though Susana could never so openly admit a mistake. "That's... It's completely different! One is a group scenario, the other is two people. There's a big difference between those, and you know it."

"Look, Sue, however they decide matters... we don't have a say in it. The best we can do is stay close, and hope for the best. Just try to relax a little. There's no sense lying to yourself and making excuses."

Susana dismissed the notion immediately, blowing it off with a wave of the hand. Looking around the room, she considered the number of boys still present, and decided quickly that the room was occupied with other things. She threw her nightshirt aside, and dressed herself in a white undershirt from her bag. Despite being fully and modestly equipped, she still felt naked without her armor; again, she returned to her bag, and dug around a while in search of a jacket of some kind. Eventually, she withdrew an orange hoodie, which bore upon its right breast an encircled lily flower. She considered her appearance for a few moments by looking in Gwen's mirror, but decided against making any touch-ups; no sense doing so before rushing into combat, after all.

"Come on, let's get going." Susana said, throwing her pack on. "We don't know how much time until Initiation begins."

There was a beep, and Gwen reached to pull out her scroll. After checking for a few moments, she said, "We've got two hours, and then we report to the Beacon Cliffs for Initiation. Seems you woke up just in time."

"Two hours!" she cried out, grasping Gwen and delivering a firm shake. "We still need to get to the cafeteria; come on!"

The two, and all of their stuff, was gone only a few minutes after that display, leaving a few of the students looking about confusedly. Among them was Violet Jardine, who watched the two leave from a short while off. "Wonder what they're in such a big hurry for?" she thought.

A hand touched her shoulder, and she turned to see who it was. The girl in question was Sienna Milan, one of the two girls she had left to talk with the day before, and decided to accompany during the night. Sienna had brought to Beacon a reputation of being the prettiest girl in Signal, and so far as could be told, she had continued that pattern here at Beacon. Only a few inches shorter than Violet, she was slim, with light brown hair, light green eyes, and skin which carried that slight tan more characteristic of Vacuo than Vale.

"Enjoying the show?" she asked, indicating the departing pair.

"Oh? No, not that. Just wondering why the rush." Violet asked. She reached into her bag, and pulled out her own jacket, which she carefully began to fit over her shirt.

"I would imagine grumpy realized she's running out of time for that ridiculous armor of hers." Sienna noted. Violet, too, took note of something; that if there was anyone in the school who had a simple attire, it was Sienna. Her combat outfit consisted of a simple, tan-colored robe, which fit her form well and flowed to just a short distance above her feet. The only addendum, besides some simple jewelry, was a white scarf she wrapped about her neck.

There conversation was interrupted by another voice, adding, in a rather insulting tone, "Not that it does her much good." This voice, as it was, belonged to the leader of this particular cluster of students; Braith Mette, the tall, almost aloof student whose every word the others seemed to attribute some level of expertise too. Personally, Violet didn't get it; in particular, she didn't understand the behavior of a few of the foreign students.

From the last few hours, Violet had learned a few things. The first: Braith, true to the words of Clancey and the others the day before, was a bitch. But what she had was a reputation, and a strong enough voice to keep people listening. Combined with Sienna, who was certainly the more vocal and, at least in Violet's opinion, more likeable of the two, they made a perfect combination for attracting other students.

Of course, people were people, and the two of them attracted a great deal of people. While she privately considered that she might enjoy the company more elsewhere, what Violet couldn't deny was how much she had learned from their gossiping and trash-talking. Most importantly, Sienna had, the day before, managed to worm out some rather useful information from one of the upperclassmen she had caught wandering about, regarding Initiation.

What the boy had said, or at least, what she claimed he had said, was as follows: "Well, every year, the incoming class is launched into the Emerald Forest to search after a collection of relics. It varies by year: sometimes its based on maps, sometimes its all in one place. There's a lot of Grimm trying to kill you, usually. But this year, I've heard they're doing something different. I'm not sure what it's going to be, but it doesn't sound like you'll be having it easy."

The group had, of course, immediately broken up into a complete mess upon that being said, as the girls and couple of boys who it was composed of attempted to figure out what the great, mysterious addition could be. One student, clearly from Mistral, appeared to be hoping for imported Grimm; another, from Atlas, seemed eager to fight mechs. Violet, for her part, was eager to see the former.

Throughout the discussion, Braith had remained mostly quiet, listening and occasionally glancing to her scroll. It took a while for her to announce her discovery: that an airship from Atlas had, apparently, appeared over Beacon a few weeks ago, and left something present. It was official, then, that mechs of some kind had been planted as enemies within the Emerald Forest.

Again, privately, Violet wondered if Sienna had contacted anyone at all, or if Braith had been reading anything off of her scroll. It was that affair, of course, which had convinced them that the two were not only clever, but quite intent on securing their own popularity, and apparent knowledge.

Violet's attention turned back to reality as Sienna quipped back, "Oh come on, it's not ridiculous. With a little work, it can even be made a thing of beauty."

"Please, do elaborate." Braith added, as she pulled on one of her boots. She, too, was lightly equipped; a short-sleeved gold shirt, with a grey vest over that, and a pair of black jeans, to match her boots. Her long hair was a dark red, almost approaching brown, and she had both dark eyes, and an almost constant frown. There was a cut across her right cheek, though from what, Violet was unsure.

"Music, Braith. The chiming sound of it vibrating, upon striking the hard ground. It's much like a bell, wouldn't you agree?"

To her credit, Sienna never seemed to laugh at her own jokes; instead, she left that job to the peanut gallery. Violet allowed herself to join in a little; after all, this was the girl who had instigated a fight with her out of the blue yesterday. Privately, she wondered if being a Huntress had a secret requirement of being an unpleasant person; the only one so far she had met to the contrary appeared to be Alice. Perhaps that white-haired girl, Gwen?

Braith, too, rarely seemed to laugh; she would merely smile, and nod her head. "Yes, that sounds about right. Unfortunately, it's only mechs out there today, so she shouldn't have too hard of a time. Grimm, on the other hand?"

"I'm sure there will still be Grimm out there," Violet said, with a hint of hopeful enthusiasm in her voice. "I mean, it's not like they cleared out the whole forest or anything."

Braith nodded to that, as well. Sienna gave a somewhat wary glance, which Violet only barely caught; it was the same look she recognized from her own mother, whenever Violet would comment on something during company meetings; meetings which she had, in the past, once loved going to. She knew what it meant: that she was, not for the first time in the last two days, speaking out of her turn.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter what's out there: all that matters is defeating it. Or, at least, capturing those relics."

"I wonder how they're going to select partners..." Violet mused, again giving vocalization to her thoughts. This time, there was no answer to be given.

One of the other students piped up, "I heard it was random selection. Like, they randomly pick people at the end, and you get put in teams."

"What if they're just selecting us base on who we work with?" another asked.

As the group began to move away, Braith raised her hand, indicating for everything to slow down. A few final words were exchanged, before everyone had finally turned, and she announced, "It's bound to be different every year. We can only hope that merit, to some degree, is a factor in the selection process."

There was a great deal of nodding, as those assembled students in the group all came to an agreement. It suddenly struck Violet: there were seven people here, all formed into this one student group. Seven Hunters and Huntresses in training; the best of the best, capable of single-handedly fending off monsters a dozen normal men would flee from, and yet all just as easily drawn about and led by another student as a regular crowd might be by any good speaker.

Sienna checked her scroll and, with eyes wide, immediately scooted over to Braith. She indicated something which Violet could not see; however, based on how wide Braith's eyes went, it wasn't something small. The red-haired girl stood at once, composed herself, and said, "Alright, we'd all better get moving. It's only a few hours until Initiation, and nobody wants to go out into the Emerald Forest on an empty stomach."

With an uncharacteristic speed to her step, Braith grabbed her pack and headed off. The rest scrambled to get their stuff in order, with Sienna being quicker than most. In this particular case, Violet, had already bagged her equipment, was the first one to follow.

As they went through the hallways, she asked, "So why the story about the upperclassman?"

"What?" Braith replied, a look of confusion on her face. Then, after a moment, she realized what Violet had said, and gave a quick nod. "Ah, yes, that. Good catch. Most of them don't catch on to things. They just listen. Stories like those are good because they make you seem well-connected. More knowledgeable than others."

Sound enough reasoning, Violet supposed. However, it failed to answer her main concern: "Then why not just claim you had found out? Why have an upperclassman at all?"

"It's not completely falsified. Sienna did meet an upperclassman, but it wasn't here at Beacon. It was back down in Vale, a few weeks back. Though to be more exact, he'll be our senior for only a few hours longer: he failed his Initiation, and barely survived it at that. It took only a couple visits for Sienna to learn everything about the process, to her credit. She's always been good at getting bitter people talking."

"And the mechs?"

"My parents run a shipping company. I've known about the shipment for some time. The only thing I'm uncertain of is how many, or what types. It could be some of those creepy humanoid ones. It might even be spider droids. Point is, it's not just Grimm out there."

"So have you fought a lot of Grimm before, then?"

Braith stopped, turned, and put her hand on Violet – not aggressively, but definitely firmly, and enough to stop her in place. "Just a minute. You understand, you can't go off telling everyone what we just said, right?"

Her stare was like death, and for the first time since fighting that Beowulf, Violet felt a tinge of fear crawling up her spine. More than that, in fact; while she knew that the Beowulf was something she could defeat, she knew nothing about this other student. It took a few moments for the words to come to her; taking care not to drop her gaze, she replied, "Oh, of course not."

"That's good. That's really good." Braith replied, giving a heavy pat. She took a step back, then turned, and resumed her walking. Violet began to follow.

"Now, to answer your question, Violet," she continued – and this, Violet noted, was the first time she had heard Braith address anyone other than Sienna by their given name – "Yes, I've seen Grimm. At Signal, we have a fair number of professors where former Hunters. They would often take some of the top students out on hunts. Sienna and I were, naturally, some of the most common."

"Who were the others?"

"Well –"

From there, Braith began to describe some of the other "good" students from Signal. There was, first of all, Clancey; the same boy Violet had met the day prior. By Braith's own admission as top of the class, he was the best mathematician and strategist of the school, and better than her in those categories; where he suffered, she added, was a semblance which was "completely useless" against humans, a weapon far more advanced than its owner, and a reputation for stubbornness which made it impossible for the two of them to manage in a group project.

On the opposite hand, there were his friends. Alice, likely the best swordsman Signal had ever graduated; Odhran, by all appearances useless in a fight, but deceptively clever and quite good at evading attacks; and Alan, not exactly the brightest member of the class, but rather charming, and very strong.

Braith listed off a few others, along with making a passing mention of a girl named Arlette who had, apparently, gone off to another school. With a note of finality, she added a girl named Gwen to the list; lazy, a slacker, and barely capable of passing Beacon's academic requirements... yet at the same time, a blur on the battlefield, and always able to keep up with the top members of the class.

Violet noted, though, that one name was missing. "And what about Susana?"

"We don't talk about that one." Braith said, a flash of anger in her voice. "But I will say this: she shouldn't piss off the wrong people. That's where she made her mistake."

"You know, it really seems like there's a lot of people just fighting each other around here." Violet noted. Personally, she disliked it; weren't there Grimm in the world to deal with? Actual, physical threats, instead of personal drama?

Braith clearly didn't feel the same way. "That's why we're at Beacon. Fighting is what we're good at."

Violet, for her part, disagreed.

Not long after, Sienna, followed by a throng of others, caught up with the two. It took only a few moments for Violet to find herself pushed out of the conversation, and back into the primary mass. She sat mostly quiet amidst the gossip, contemplating what had been said. It wasn't until Braith left to use the restroom that Sienna turned to her, and said, "You've gotten quiet."

"Just thinking on some things she said." Violet replied. Before she could say any more, Sienna grasped her shoulder, and turned Violet towards her. In a whisper, she said:

"Listen to me – and listen really good, because I am giving you your one good chance. I've seen the girls like you before. They seem nice, seem willing to help out, to play along. Thankfully for you, it's only the second day, and you've been fairly careful not to call up too much attention. But don't for one moment think that you should ever do more, because if you do, you'll wind up in a position just like Susana: another social outcast, shunned by the powers that be."

"Excuse me?" Violet asked, caught off guard by Sienna's bluntness. More so, though, she was amazed by the accompanying face; a face not of anger or threats, but of some degree of concern.

"There's a pecking order here, and you're a good candidate to take third around here. But you still need to earn that, and until you do, you'll need to worm your way in. People don't know you. They've never seen you."

"I suppose you're right, but what does that have to do with anything?" Violet asked, gently. "This a whole new school. Most people here don't know each other; a bunch are from other kingdoms!"

Sienna shook her head. "Doesn't matter. You think we're the only group gossiping? We're a small class. By now, everybody knows everything that everyone from Signal has ever done. That includes us, but it doesn't include you. You need to have a reputation."

"I'm sorry, but I do have a reputation." Violet said, speaking a bit louder than she really wanted. She quieted herself down quickly, before too much attention could be garnered. The implication Sienna had provided struck her as more than a little offensive; after all, "My family is the largest privately-owned weapons producer in this whole kingdom. I've had plenty of recognition in just the last few days."

"Oh? And how much of it good, rich girl?" Sienna replied.

"Rich girl! You're hardly poor yourself!" Violet retorted, again straining to keep her voice down.

"It's called sarcasm. I'm not saying what I'm think; I'm saying what they're thinking. Trust me, I had the same exact thing when I first started by schooling. I earned this. Braith earned this. Now, we've got free reign of this place, and if you want in on that, you need to slow down."

"How?"

"First off, stop asking questions, or blurting into conversations. Second, even when you start one, you don't control it from there; you just participate when called upon. If you do that, everyone keeps to their lane, and everyone is happy. It's nice, simple, and very easy."

Violet stared past her as she talked, considering what Sienna was saying. It all made sense, and seemed fairly accurate; honestly, it sounded a lot like some of the tips her mother had given her, regarding dealing with people in business. Still, the point stood: she wasn't just another girl. She had connections, and she didn't just stay in her lane. No, she intended to give a piece of her mind...

"You understand?"

"Listen, Sienna, I understand you perfectly. And I thank you for showing concern. But -

"You!"

Before Violet could finish what she was going to say, another voice interrupted; a loud, boisterous tone which could belong only to one person. Susana stepped up to the table, her arms crossed and a look of smug satisfaction across her face. It was a well-earned one too; as she looked at Violet, she gave careful consideration to the fact that this was exactly what she had expected. The rich kids flocking to each other, as they always would.

"I knew there was something I didn't like about you from the start," Susana said. "And it looks like I was right. First you go tripping people, and now you're spending time with this horde of sycophants.

Violet was distraught. Was there anything in the world that would stop this girl from coming after her for things? She stood to rise up, but Sienna put her hand on her shoulder, and did so instead. "Susana, don't you have virtually anything better to do. Weapons training, maybe? Last I heard, you were having some problems sparring."

Susana gritted her teeth, knowing full well what Sienna was trying to do. Her mind raced with rebuttals, the one at the forefront being lunging across the table and slapping the smug mage across her face. In spite of the temptation, Susana restrained herself, and merely clenched one of her fists, before replying, "Actually, I'm doing just fine. Oh, and by the way Sienna, I was talking to Monzo the other day. You know, your old friend who dropped out last year? Man, considering how much you complained about the low standards for classwork, I'd have thought yours would have been a lot higher."

Both Violet and Susana caught sight of Sienna's fists clenching, as the room about them suddenly began to grow quite a bit warmer; Violet, hoping to avoid any conflict, glanced about in worry; Susana, happy to see her ploy working, had a wicked grin upon her face.

"Then again, I suppose the keyword is low. After all, you are quite adept at going down, aren't you?"

Violet stood up quickly and grasped Sienna by her arm as the girl lunged forward; she yelped out in pain, as she realized that her breakfast partner had suddenly flared up to an impossibly high body temperature. In spite of this, her efforts hadn't been in vain; as quickly as Sienna had prepared to lunge, she suddenly backed off, and began to cool down.

"And yet, I've never seen her go down on her knees." came the addition, as Braith returned to the table, coming from the side with a cool air about her. "Armor, singing. Head, ringing. Lips quivering, just begging to cry out for it to end, but too proud to say so."

Sienna and Violet were both forgotten completely in that moment, as Susana turned to face her own rival. Her mind flashed back to the duel the year prior; the public humiliation; the pain of the moment, and the long-term embarrassment which had followed. One of these days, she vowed, she would find some way to get back at her for that; even if it was years from now.

Violet tried to say something, but Sienna pulled her back, and whispered, "Stay in your lane." While she did so, for the moment at least, Violet felt a sick wrenching in her stomach; she hated watching everyone fight, but she knew that if she had been virtually anywhere else in this huge cafeteria, this entire conflict could have been avoided.

"You talk tough with all of these people standing about you." Susana said. She knew that it didn't matter how many people were there. "And it's not about you, anyways." Of course, it was.

With an eery accuracy, Braith echoed back Susana's private thoughts. "But that's where you're wrong, Susana. I could be standing here, all by myself, and saying these exact same things. Nobody needs to get involved, after all. And what's more? It is about me. I'm always the reason, when it comes to you. It's somewhat unhealthy, you realize? Like a nice punch to the stomach."

Before anyone could blink, Braith delivered a rapid jab to Susana's stomach; at the moment both unarmored, and mostly unprotected by aura. Were it nearly any other student, they would have collapsed immediately; but Susana had already prepared for his, and with a great effort to overcome the pain, gave a swing of her own, clocking her more popular adversary across the face.

It was all the span of a few seconds, and promised to be something more; Violet, however, moved quickly, extend her arm. Sienna reached out, trying to pull her back; Violet ignored her, and ripped a line with her finger down the space between the two combatants. There was a shudder, and a horrifying sound which resonated across the cafeteria. Both backed away as a rift suddenly tore its way through the space between them.

There was a moment of sheer emotion at that table. For most, it was one of shock; for Violet, it was one of desperation, and sudden horror as she realized how much attention she had drawn in... followed by a sickening mixture of glee and pride, at that very same thing. The rift immediately began to seal itself, and Susana backed off, giving a few dirty looks. Braith continued to stare after her for some time, but managed to nevertheless be the first to regain her composure; silently, she sat down at the table, and continued to eat.

Sienna stared at Violet for a while, her eyes widened. She shook her head a few times, before sitting down as well. The entire table was silent. While she had managed to avert another fight, Violet nevertheless couldn't help but feel she might not have made the wisest move.

Some distance away, Clancey stood, his attention finally turned from the affair as he swiped the trash from his tray into one of the bins. Behind him was the rest of the group; Odhran, Alan, Alice, and the newcomer, Neven. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate not being caught up in the drama for once." he said, as he finally set the tray down on the table adjoining the bin.

"I wouldn't be so quick to say that, love." Alice replied, being the next one to do the same. "The day is still young, and Initiation awaits us soon enough. More than enough time for us to be caught up in something much more dangerous than Grimm."

"You know," Neven said, thinking back to his time in Vacuo, "My parents were always telling me about the Grimm, when I was younger. More so, after I announced I wanted to become a Huntsman. One of the things they always used to repeat was the power of negative emotion."

"Negative emotion?" Odhran scoffed, deftly swiping the entire tray clean with a swipe of his hand. "What, like crying? What's that have to do with the Grimm."

"Everything, actually." Clancey replied; he was familiar with what Neven was referring to. Once, during a long night camping, Arlette had brought a large book about the Grimm; the two had spent hours up at night, reading over the pages, and trying to think up scary stories to haunt the other campers with. "Neven, you were saying?"

"Oh. Yes. As I was saying, the Grimm... well, as we all know, they're not like normal animals. They're bigger, stronger, and tougher. Well, except animals we unlock the aura on, but that's completely different. Anyways, a lot of people think it's just a matter of appearances, and rapidly decaying upon death. But the Creatures of Grimm, they're not like normal creatures, which feed on flesh. They just do that because. No, what they feed on is negative emotions: rage, envy, and of course, prostration, as you mentioned."

"Prostration? Odhran never said anything about paying for sex." Alan replied, a confused look on his face.

"Never change, Alan." Clancey replied, patting his friend on the back. Indeed, while he did often feel like his more intellectual conversations flew over his friends head, he nevertheless greatly appreciated his presence.

Neven, attempting to be as polite as possible, found it a difficult struggle to hold back laughing at what had just been said. He realized, of course, that he had brought that upon himself; after all, application of the thesaurus to daily life tended to convey such reactions. He added, "Eh, I guess sadness is the better choice of word. Sorry. But I guess the point I'm trying to make is, when we're fighting with each other, we're just creating more negative emotions. For every Grimm we slay, we're feeding a dozen others."

"Fight or not, there will always be negativity." Alice replied. "For after all, if we did not have it, how would the positive times be special? The two are intertwined, just as us and the Grimm."

"That's what my parents used to say." he said, nodding. "There's a little darkness and a little light in all of us. The Grimm are nothing but the darkness; and so we must be the light to face them. I just wish there was a way to push that last darkness out."

"If we did not have darkness," Alice argued. "There would be no way to understand it. It is understanding and mastering both that we know to fight the Grimm, and that we stand against them. Picture this: if the Grimm despise us for the light within, then what would prevent a creature of pure light from doing the same? Would it not resent us for our sadness; our imperfections and flaws?"

"That's... I guess I never thought of it that way." Neven replied, nervously scratching his neck. He thought back to Vacuo, and how often he attempted to discuss these things with his classmates; yet nearly all of the time, his friends would be more interested in other, less philosophical matters. Over the last sixteen hours, he had been amazed to find that not only was Alice one of the most thoughtful people he had ever talked to, but that Clancey, and even Alan when the subject was delivered in the right manner, were also quite well versed in these topics.

"Maybe not Odhran so much..." he thought to himself, as the other boy shook his head.

"Does it matter?" Odhran asked. "We fight the Grimm, we kill the Grimm, and the Grimm don't kill other people. If you think about it too hard, you might stumble upon something you don't like. Then you won't be able to kill so good."

"Or perhaps we're wondering why we're fighting in the first place?" Clancey asked. "Think back to our military history class, back in junior year. In every conflict, those in power have pushed the exact same thoughts you're echoing. But we're not just soldiers; that's why this is a school, and not just a combat academy."

Clancey had pondered that last note quite frequently. Why should a combat school teach classes on literature, or on music? Shouldn't it just be about combat? The answer to that question, he recalled, had evaded him for some time; it wasn't until about a year back when, while reading an essay written by Professor Ozpin himself, that he had realized why: to encourage individuality. To ensure that each and every person could define themselves in their own manner.

And so they did. Beacon had students clad in every color, every possible piece of attire. Each carried weapons they had built personally; customized to their own preferences, their own passions, and their own personal style.

It was for this reason, he learned, that Beacon was so popular. While the other schools all carried similar academic programs, the degree of freedom at Beacon was unprecedented among which classes could be taken, and the sheer number of extracurricular activities. As a result, the school had become the most demanding of the major academies, and therefore held the greatest capacity for selectivity.

Something told him that Ozpin wasn't thinking about student enrollment when he made that decision, though. While Clancey supposed that nothing was impossible, it just didn't strike him, after having read both that essay and other pieces attributed to the Headmaster, that such a thought had even occurred to him. That, Clancey thought, was something to respect.

"It's all just an illusion, Clancey," Odhran replied, raising his hands high in the air. "You see this? All of this?" He began to pace about, drawing attention from a few other students watching. After a moment, he simply sighed, and dropped his arms. Sighing, he said, "You know, it's only the second day. It's not worth it right now. This? This is a discussion for another time. For now, let's just kill some Grimm."

"Huzzah to that!" cried Alan, toasting with some invisible mug. "This will be the first time since Signal I'll actually get a chance to smash something in."

"If we're lucky, there shouldn't be too much resistance in the forest." Neven said. As much as he enjoyed fighting the Grimm, he still hadn't learned much about the species native to this area of Remnant; he knew that Beowolves were smaller and faster, that Ursa were bigger and tougher, and that Nevermore could fly and shoot feathers at you. But how big, how fast, and so on? He had no idea. He was also vaguely aware that other Grimm haunted the region, and the name 'King Taijitu' hovered somewhere in the back of his mind. He was fairly certain of two things, though: one, that it was a giant crocodile; two, that crocodiles didn't live in forests. Regardless of habitats, what was a sure fact, was that he would greatly out of his element today; the less fighting, the better.

Of course, Alan and Odhran only laughed at that. The former commented that, "Neven, you and I have a very different idea of luck. The more resistance we have, the more fun today will be."

"I suppose." Neven replied, with a bit of a nervous chuckle. "I guess I'm just not as big on the fighting part, you know?"

"One is wise to fight only when absolutely necessary, love." Alice said, though whether it was more towards Neven or towards Alan was anybody's guess. She turned her attention to Clancey, and said, "I do believe that is one of your many proverbs, yes?"

He nodded. The words weren't exact, of course, but he also doubted that a badly translated copy of some two-hundred years-dead general's writings were exactly word-for-word, either. "One of them. Though that same text also has words of wisdom regarding being outnumbered, and we've somehow managed to keep outlasting the Grimm."

"Soon enough, they'll be outlasting us!" announced Alan, triumphantly.

On that note, the group soon departed, and made their way back to the locker room. Clancey was quick to fully outfit himself in his full armor, and to withdraw his weapon. Stadredder, it was called; a perfect hybrid of a long-distance rifle, claymore, and dual-pronged spear, with the proper mechanisms to incorporate dust rounds of all kinds. His objective in developing it was to create a versatile weapon which could serve him well against any foe, in any environment; of course, where that strategy collapsed, was that he knew full well that he had mastered none of the component weapons, and still had only a limited control over Dust.

As he outfitted himself in all of the requisite bags and gear, he glanced across the way to see Alice practicing with her weapon; the long, thin blade which she moved elegantly in her hand. Though Clancey knew it possessed a foldable frame, he had yet to see the weapon employed at range; no, Alice, along with Odhran and (to a less extreme extent) Alan, had gone the path of specialization.

It certainly payed off in duels. If there was one thing he was sure of, the only reason he could still take the other two boys was by virtue of being a much better thinker; against quicker-witted individuals like Alice, Gwen, and even Susana, he could never keep up. But then, what was the point in winning a duel if you were a Huntsman? Wasn't it about defeating the Grimm?

The familiar feeling of his aura flashing tingled down Clancey's spine; instantly, he turned into a roll, barely ducking out of the way of a huge hammer, which swung down past where he was and into the ground, leaving a large crater. He stood quickly and brushed himself off, giving a disgusted look to Alan, who stood there with a look of glee as he examined the mark he had left in the ground.

Of course, calling that brute of a weapon a hammer wouldn't exactly be completely accurate. It was, in form and function, more akin to its namesake:

"Tenderizer here isn't so happy about what you said about her yesterday," Alan declared, hefting the large hammer back into his hands. "Something about me not taking care of her? Well, it seems that she disagrees."

"Getting your weapon taken from you for damaging school property is hardly what I'd call taking care of her, Alan." Clancey stated, brushing off the last of the dust from his cloak. "So could you please not do that?" His heart, he realized, was still beating a little quicker; when one felt a trembling in their soul, adrenaline was certainly to be expected.

"Relax! Just testing your reflexes." Alan replied with a shrug, as he flipped a small switch on his hammer, causing it to collapse into a smaller, more manageable form. Quickly, he swung it over his back.

Alice came over shortly after, followed by Odhran, and finally by Neven. Looking over Neven quickly, Clancey considered that his attire seemed quite unlike anything he had ever seen employed in battle; still, it had been him criticizing Susana about an over-use of armor the day before

"It would appear we're all here." Alan noted, giving one last pat to his weapon to ensure it was there.

"So we are. Come on, let's get moving." Clancey said, giving a wave of his hand as he turned back down and out of the locker room, and towards the assigned meeting point on the Beacon Cliffs. To his surprise, as he came out of the hallway, he found them facing Braith; more surprising was that she was accompanied only by Sienna and, of all people, Violet.

"Braith." he said with a nod.

"Clancey." she replied, barely turning to notice. Sienna, too, seemed completely unconcerned.

Violet, on the other hand, was clearly not; while she was holding her mouth closed, her widened eyes betrayed a clear sense of worry. Still, upon seeing the group, she began to smile; thus, Clancey asked her, "Enjoying your second day so far?"

"Well, it's definitely not boring." she replied, in a falsely optimistic tone. Clancey could read exactly what she was thinking; that sometimes, boring can be the preferable option.

It most certainly was. After a few minutes of quiet breakfast, Braith announced that she would be staying behind with Sienna and Violet, and that she would meet up with everyone at the Cliffs. The rest of the students left soon after, and headed off as a group to get their equipment; more than a few, no doubt, had already left. Their conversation, then, had been as follows:

"What type of semblance was that?" Sienna asked, in a heated tone.

"That part's obvious enough, Sienna," Braith said, her voice cool, and her eyes much harder. "You act like this is the first person we've seen employing spacial manipulation."

"Spacial distortion, actually." Violet replied. She thought back to her time in early training, when she first learned about aura and semblance. While every person had a unique semblance, setting them apart from all others, every form of semblance could be traced back to one of a few root categories.

In truth, Violet didn't know much about her semblance; while she had some capacity to use it, it always left her with an uncomfortable feeling in her gut when she used it. Indeed, as he behavior of the others with her had demonstrated, she often found she wasn't the only one. Perhaps it was that terrible, screeching sound of reality tearing? Perhaps something else entirely? It was situations like this which revealed the greatest weakness of unique semblances: that nobody could train you on everything. You had to learn and practice on your own.

What she did know, however, was that there was a distinct categorization difference between the two. "When I get a chance," she thought. "I'll have to look into that more."

"So it is. But that's not really the point, is it?" she continued on.

Violet shook her head, and said, "Look, I already know what you're going to say. I'm sorry for making a bigger scene out of that, but what I'm not sorry for is doing it. Since I've gotten here, that's the second fight I've gotten caught up in, with the same person. Clancey came in and cleaned up the last one peacefully, but I have a distinct feeling that neither your or Susana intended to get diplomatic. And-"

She stopped then, suddenly coming to the realization of both how quickly she was beginning to talk, and how loudly. It wasn't as if it really mattered; they were the only people, other than the cleaning staff, and a few students who were lounging about in full gear on the opposite side of the room.

Braith nodded. "I appreciate that, Violet. More than you realize. But there is a time and place for everything. You've already been involved in two incidents with her? Then mark my words – there will be a third. This was the time and place for settling things. For insuring everyone knows their place. You made the choice to avoid that, and soon enough, there will be a fallout."

She stood up, with Sienna doing so almost in perfect sync. "Come. Let's get our gear. But more than that, I have something to tell both of you. We'll do it once we're there."

The three departed; so, then, did Violet come to be standing here, with Clancey still smiling as he said, "Well, I suppose we all need a little extra excitement. I'll be seeing you at the Cliffs, then."

"Alright. Oh, and good luck!" she replied, giving a curt wave of the hand before moving on. Clancey and the others departed, heading off down the hall towards the cliffs; Violet quickly caught up with Braith and Sienna, who moved about halfway down two rows of lockers.

"Violet, what's the number on your scroll?" Braith asked, as she pulled out hers.

"71-41-51-2," she replied, naming off the numbers in the same sing-song pattern she had initially learned it in. For whatever reason, a good tune always made it easier to memorize something.

Just as quickly as Violet named them off, Braith had them all put in. "Look out for a message while you're there. You'll know what the message means when you get it."

"What for?" Violet asked. Sparing a glance to Sienna, and noticed that even she was visibly confused, her brow raised.

"You choose your partner out in the woods." she replied. "I'm not sure what their method of team selection is. It may even change every year. But what I'm certain of is that today, we select teams."

"That's fairly clear." Sienna blurted out, apparently unwilling to keep her questions back any longer. She took a quick moment to readjust her manner, before continuing. "They've been running things not much differently than our initiation into Signal, and they don't have much of a choice other than getting us teamed up now if they want us in our dorms. Yet why do you think we get a choice regarding our partner? And how do we take advantage of knowing something we don't actually know?"

Violet already knew what Braith was going to say. "You hope to figure it out while in the forest, don't you."

"Not an eloquent way to put it. But yes." she replied. "Most likely? The selection process is explained before we leave. From there? Get a good partner. That's your goal, Violet."

She spared a grin, perhaps the largest Violet had seen over the last two days, to Sienna. "After all, I've already had one for some time yet."

"We can hope." Sienna replied, nodding.

"Grab your equipment. We have little time left."

There was a feeling of relief in Violet as she withdrew her rifle from the locker, strapping the large weapon over her back. Looking over her equipment, she decided to strap on an additional satchel, and placed a few extra clips of ammunition within. Whether mechs or Grimm, she knew that whatever was out in the forest, it wouldn't be coming alone.

She considered some of her pouches of dust, but thought better of it. There would be greater dangers later in the year, and expending too much dust on Initiation seemed like something which would come back to bite, later. Then, again, later would only come if she wound up overwhelmed by monsters in the forests...

With a little hesitation, she grabbed a small, red bag, and tied it on. Deciding she was fully outfitted, she shut closed the locker door and headed back to the central area. She turned, and watched as Susana and Gwen turned down the hallway, fully outfitted. Susana never saw her; Gwen, however, caught a glimpse, and turned to look at her. Without a word, she raised her hand a gave Violet a thumbs up, before continuing on her way out.

Susana turned to see why Gwen was lagging, and asked, "What are you doing back there?"

"Just congratulating a person for sanity." the white-haired girl replied, raising her arms and pulling them behind her back into a stretch. As she walked, she added, "Not much of it today."

"It's just us, Gwen." Susana replied. "And maybe a few others. But certainly not very many!"

"Minus one from that equation." Gwen replied, in a bland tone which matched the dull smile on her face. Susana flashed a rude gesture, being less amused than her friend at that statement. First the rush of the morning, then the incident at lunch, and through it all, fretting over how Initiation itself would work. At this point, she was more than done.

She began to speak, but before she could do so, a buzzing rang from the ceiling. The speakers flared to life, and the voice of Glynda Goodwitch stated: "All remaining students, please report to the Beacon Cliffs for Initiation. Thank you."

Just as quickly as those words had been said, Susana waved Gwen along, saying, "Come on, you heard what she said. Remaining students. We're going to be late."

"We're going to be just fine, Sue." Gwen replied, not increasing her pace any further. "You need to relax."

"Dammit, Gwen, how can you be relaxed at all? In just a few hours, we'll have had our entire lives for the next four years dictated for us based on what we do. Every minute we take, and every impression we make out there, is precious. Why can't you see that?"

"I can. So I'm doing exactly what I usually do, just as you're doing exactly what you usually do. If you can't be who you are, you're not going to be judged for who you are."

She set her arms down, and pulled out her knife. As normal, she deftly moved it about between her fingers without a single cut. "Why spend the next four years living in some kind of illusion?"

Susana considered that for a moment. It still irritated her that Gwen could be so nonchalant about the whole affair. But when she thought about it, she realized that what her friend was saying was true – that both of them were simply acting as they always had. Irrational thoughts began worming their way about, screaming that it was no excuse to let one's guard down; that today, of all days, was one for perfect focus. That perfect focus, however, revealed its wisdom: to relax. To listen to her friend.

Her mouth was much quicker than her mind. "It's not an illusion, it's just setting a standard. We're going to be Huntresses, Gwen. That means acting like one."

"And what does a Huntress act like?"

She didn't answer that. For now, she didn't even think about it. Instead, Susana kept walking, leading the way out to the Cliffs, where fate, and the rest of their class, awaited them.


A/N: I hate when I'm wrong. Chapter finally completed and posted. Should be able to start getting timely updates. No promises. Can't believe this wound up so long. Can't believe some writers put these things out once a week. You should go read their fanfics; they're a lotter better at this than I am.