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Oh, I couldn't be happier. And all of them are positive too! Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

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SLJRJETBLACK: I will read your fic. Just wait a while. I've been busy.

Guest(1)/Nick: It took forever for your review to show up. I appeared in my inbox but nothing happened on the actual site. So, I was really confused. Anyways, it's all cleared up so thank you.

ElfCollaborator: Yay! Thank you so much! By the way, I do have a theme for each of my OC's. But they are somewhat unorthodox, especially Team MAPL. But then again, they have a Team CFVY (pronounced coffee) and each character is named after a treat (source: Monty's twitter). So...I don't know.

Everyone: Let's just say that MAPL is based off a certain myth that shall remain unnamed or otherwise, it'll spoil so much of the story.

DISCLAIMER! DISCLAIMER! DISCLAIMER! Woke up this morning and guess what? I don't own RWBY. It belongs to Roosterteeth.


A Dream of Flowers

It was late afternoon as Mallow found himself becoming drowsy, the weight of today's events slowly dawning on him. After he had gotten ready in a hurry and said his farewells to his mother he had spent about two hours just walking around Vale, taking in the sights and saying good-bye – probably for the last time – to the city he had spent his whole life in. After many reflective moments spent in complete silence, the young man finally found himself a trolley and then, an airship that would take him to Beacon. Mallow found it pitifully hysterical that the officials letting people into the airship believed he had faked the accepted application. Apparently he was too weak-looking that he had to have been lying. But what was even more hilarious, was the look of awkward shock and deep apology when it was proven that his papers were completely legitimate. They had let him on without any more words. The airship left soon after, taking Mallow and the other travelers on the airship to their future.

Mallow pulled his legs up on his chair and connected his chin to his knees. So much was happening, just today alone. He trembled slightly in his seat, he never felt more terrified. He shook himself, attempting to be rid of the tension and the apprehension. But nothing worked. As each minute passed his heart rate soared as he reminded himself of the mess he was in. The longer he sat around thinking about it, the more agitated he felt. Eventually, his agitation ignited becoming frustration.

'I'm such an idiot,' Mallow thought angrily, 'In what universe would I make a good Hunter? In what universe could I actually be useful in?' Mallow let himself stew in self-deprecating thoughts for quite some time. By the time he stopped, evening was steadily approaching and the young man found himself at the brink of losing it. And he may have, if it wasn't for a visit from another passenger onboard.

"Why, hello there stranger," a sweet, cultured voice of a stranger called to him.

Mallow looked up from his knees and then, immediately fell from his perch, nearly dropping out of his seat at the sight of his visitor. Sitting across the way was a young woman who looked around his age of dazzling beauty, wearing a form-fitting, emerald sequined dress that highlighted her gratuitous proportions.

The girl smiled wickedly while raising a single eyebrow at Mallow's totally dignified reaction. She stood up and strolled towards him. Every step she took made the overwhelmed boy's eyes pop and jaw drop. Once she made it across, she held out her right hand and said, while smiling: "Greetings stranger, I am Phlox Verde."

Mallow instinctively reached with his left hand, before realizing his awkward mistake and switched, all to the young woman's amusement, "M-M-M-Mallow Rouge," he stammered, only barely able to get the words out.

"Please to meet your acquaintance, Mallow," Phlox said as she shook the young man's shaky hand. "Pardon me, but as I was familiarizing myself with this airship. I stumbled upon you, awkwardly muttering to yourself. I instantly became curious. So tell me, what were you muttering about?"

Mallow started to involuntarily tremble. He opened his mouth but, instead of an audible sound, only a jumbled, distorted mess left his mouth. He restrained himself with extreme force. "I-I-I…uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh…well, I…um." He was so worried that this beautiful girl would leave if he couldn't talk to her. 'She probably thinks I'm weird. She probably doesn't want to speak with me anymore.'

Instead, Phlox laughed heartily. "You're so awkward Mallow." Her sapphire-blue eyes were alive with delighted glee. A wide smile was etched on her beautiful face. She brought the back of her hand up to her spectacular red lips to stifle her laughter. "You know what? I like you Mallow. I hope you make it in to Beacon."

Before Mallow could respond to the lovely girl's statement, another voice joined in. "Phlox, darling? Phlox? Where are you darling?"

The young woman before Mallow suddenly looked really guilty as she wrapped her right arm around her stomach and gripped her left elbow as well as lightly biting her lower lip. "I'm over here, Lupine," she called out awkwardly.

After her call, a young man – also around Mallow's age – appeared in the corridor. From his feet up he wore tannish-gray sneakers with blue laces, long shorts of a similar color, a tight shirt also, of a similar color, and a leather vest colored about the same way, adorned with blue around the edges. He had light-brown skin with gold-amber hair and sky-blue eyes.

The young man walked up behind Phlox and rested his head on the young woman's shoulder. He wore a carefree and excited grin as he started to move his hands, to Phlox's hips.

At that moment, Phlox flinched nervously, stopping the bright-haired boy's advance by tightly gripping his wrist. "I told you, Lupine: stop calling me 'darling'," she sighed, pulling herself away from the young man who was a bit too close for comfort.

"Sure darling," Lupine said absentmindedly, he waved his right-hand dismissively. He let his attention leave the beautiful beside him, long enough to notice a nervous Mallow, unsure of how to react in this situation.

Phlox started to protest Lupine's complete disregard of her statement but she was cut off by a curious Lupine. "Who are you?" he asked a bewildered Mallow.

The young man in question tried to speak but he found himself mystifyingly tongue-tied as well. He opened his mouth but all that came out was the same confused mess that had been spat out when he tried to speak with Phlox.

"Can't talk, can you?" Lupine asked, rather pointlessly. He cocked his head to the side. His mouth was kind of twisted in a half-grin.

Before Mallow could attempt to answer and – no doubt – embarrass himself again, Phlox stepped in to defend him. "Of course he can, Lupine. Leave him alone." She had a fierce, yet still somewhat subdued look of irritation lightly etched in her features, as if she didn't really care.

Lupine looked back at the young woman glaring at him, with a playful smirk. The blue-eyed boy had been the recipient of many of Phlox Verde's death glares – it was a trait that ran in the family – and to be honest, he had seen worse. "Alright, alright," he said, with, clearly faux, resignation. He shot the awkward boy a strange wink. "I'll leave him alone. But I want you to come with me. How's that sound, darling?"

"Perfectly reasonable," Phlox sniffed calmly. She began strolling stiffly down the corridor, Lupine happily behind her. Before they disappeared from sight, Phlox turned around and gave Mallow a smile and a small wave. Then, they were gone leaving the hallway empty and missing Mallow's delayed wave back.

Once he was sure they were gone, Mallow growled in frustration and near self-loathing. "Dammit, you're an idiot, man. Right there was your opportunity to make a few friends and you've failed. You've failed. Arrrrrggh!" And then, Mallow continued to stir in passionate, angsty thoughts that no one really cared to listen to or comment on. A few people passed the young man in the hallway, they gave him odd looks. Not just because of his strange way of sitting – which he returned to after Phlox and Lupine left – but because he was mumbling to himself like he was trying to curse those around him or he was simply insane.

Phlox and Lupine passed him at least once more after their initial visit. But this time they didn't spare a single word for him, having not even noticed him as they continued a heated conversation that Mallow didn't care about. A spiky, raven-haired boy wearing camouflage pants and vest as well as a plain-black shirt passed him by without a second thought. On his waist there were two holsters containing rather large foot-long guns. He wore combat boots that appeared to be encased in some strange metal frame. Finally, he also had braces, made of the same material on his arms. Five more seventeen-year-olds passed by Mallow, giving him odd looks, but generally forgetting about him later. Among them were three girls and two boys. One of the girls that passed by had light-brown hair and bright amber eyes. She wore a short hanbok that ended around mid-thigh, the skirt was pink and the blouse was white. She had a rather pointed face and a face framed by long bangs. Her skirt was decorated with small chords with beads attached, one of these hung from the top of her blouse. A long, black metal pole-like weapon was strapped to her back. The final and perhaps the most interesting thing about this girl was the long, pointy fox ears that meshed in nicely with her hair and nine long, silky black tails that came out from an area above her skirt. After the strange fox faunus had passed, another girl passed him by. She had hair as dark as his and eyes as red as blood. From the top of her head, downwards, she wore a strange, flower-patterned comb in her hair, a necklace of perfectly round beads, a lavender, flower-patterned kimono that only came down to her waist and was worn openly, exposing her midriff and lilac, hawk-patterned crop top, light-blue half-hakama that almost completely exposed her right leg while leaving her left completely concealed by the pleated garment and finally, wooden geta elevated her feet giving her a few more inches of height. At her waist was a decently-sized gourd that was attached by a thin chord. The object was large enough that it appeared as if it could fit in both of the girl's hands. The last girl that passed him, Mallow didn't even realize was a girl. She wore thick pelts and was heavily armored. She also had very short, red hair that was even shorter than Mallow's and plain brown eyes. No skin – except for her face – was shown anywhere. From her armored boots to the broad shoulder- plates she wore. She appeared all male to him. It was only when he heard a young man's voice refer to her as a she that Mallow realized his mistake. Speaking of which, the young man that came to join her was also a sight to be seen. He was very tall, at least six feet at the barest minimum with around four-to-six inches that could be added on. He was also rather scrawny making look as tall and thin as a bone. He had short, turquoise hair that was mostly hidden under a military beret. He had dark-blue pants on and a black, leather jacket that remained fully buttoned over it. None of them showed any signs of a weapon on their heavily-clothed body but Mallow sorted them out as probably the most dangerous of the people he's seen so far. These two had passed like all the others and Mallow had forgotten about them, kind of because they hadn't really left a mark on him, kind of because his next visitor was far worst. The last boy to pass by him without a second thought was probably the creepiest of them all. He was skin was of the purest snow white and so was his hair. He didn't even look alive; the young man's pointed face looked like the visage of a ghost, wandering around the corridor without a pause to even give Mallow the smallest bit of acknowledgement. To be honest, he was thankful he didn't look directly at him. The pale boy had piercing, pink eyes that seemingly gazed deep within people. He didn't look very human, but of course he was, wasn't he?

On that note, Mallow fell asleep, weary of the day's travels, stress, and frustration. Darkness overtook him, ferrying the young man away and into the depths of his imagination. Once the darkness became total, light immediately came back, blinding him. Before his vision could return, sensation flooded his mind. He could feel lush softness between his toes, a cool wind blowing through his hair and an unspeakably sweet smell that the young boy couldn't quite describe. Then, his sight returned. The young man's jaw dropped. Before him was a picturesque vision of a green valley, full of lovely vegetation and a collection of – what might as well have been – every species of flower in the world. While there were many greens, the flowers all shone with a variety of hues and shades that Mallow had only ever seen in textbooks or documentaries. Yet, there they were, completely subservient to the powerful wind as it gripped and twirled them in a dazzling fashion. He spun around, taking in the valley that seemed to go on forever, absorbing the greens and the peace of his environment. Having spent his whole life in the slums of a large city, he never had the opportunity to experience a place, untouched by man. His mind was truly boggled. "You enjoying everything, Mallow?" asked a strange voice behind him. Beckoned by the voice, he turned to see his friends sitting and having a picnic. Who are those guys? Are they my friends? I have friends!? I do, don't I. I have friends. But where did I meet them? What's happening? Who are they? Strangely enough, Mallow could not make out their faces. However, he could still tell them apart. There was a red and black streak smiling at him in innocent cheerfulness. A pure white polygon offering him a generous, but reserved grin. A black blob, nibbling on tuna, while waving lightly at him. A nova of yellow that waved and smiled with unbridled spunk and enthusiasm. A green force with a face of odd adoration and a blue slash of energy and excitement, sitting beside the green force, trying to grasp her hand or place his hand on her hip. Only for her to push him away, but not too far that he would stop trying. Finally he noticed a light-yellow glow that gave him a nod of acknowledgment. "Hey Mallow, join us." Hey, they want me to hang out with them. They like me. But, who are they? But eventually, Mallow gave in to his friends demands and joined them in celebrating what he realized was his birthday. They gave him presents, told jokes, and just messed around. They did what Mallow had always imagined kids his age would do. His perfect day continued on for quite some time, until – naturally – evening came and the party dispersed. Then, the dream was over.

Mallow looked around, the sun had almost fallen and the airship was swiftly approaching the cliffs of Beacon. With his destiny and the potential fulfillment or absolute destruction of his dream awaiting, the young man found himself oddly calm. While he was still afraid, still scared for his life and the dream he dreamed for the majority of his life. There was something else that filled him with confidence; well, not a lot of confidence, he still probably couldn't hold a conversation with another human being on the airship, but a different kind, a confidence in himself and his abilities. Professor Ozpin himself was interested in him. That alone made the positivity gliding around him, soar.

An intercom went off and emitted a calm voice, "Attention Beacon recruitment attendees, please come up to the main lounge for an introduction to this year's rather unorthodox program."

Mallow responded after the announcement ended, by jumping out his seat and…following backwards into it. The young man was not accustomed to sudden movement and he had been sitting for the past seven hours; but eventually his anticipation overcame his stiff, underused joints and muscles and he pushed himself into the main lounge just as the introduction was about to begin.

Everyone in the room stopped to stare at him. All six armored guards turned towards his direction. Eleven pairs of eyes from eleven seventeen year-olds stared at him with a confused look on most of their faces. None of them recognized him (except for Phlox and Lupine, but they were preoccupied). He caught the amber eyes of the faunus-girl and the red-haired girl that had followed her. The duo of heavily armored masculine woman and thin but tall man, stared at him with annoyance and amusement. The spiky-haired boy that had passed by him without a second thought, revealed his gray eyes to Mallow. The albino boy was right beside him, his face blank. Finally, Mallow noticed someone he had not seen on the airship before.

From where Mallow was standing, to the farthest right in the room, the young man realized the turquoise-haired man's impressive size was nothing. Standing there was a young man who had to have been over six feet and five inches tall. He could've been even taller as he appeared to be standing in a slight slouch. But what really distinguished him from the other tall boy was the obvious strength represented in his body. He wasn't thin by any stretch of the imagination. But he wasn't fat either. He wore a long, black trench coat that looked like it was made from the pelt of a creature of Grim but it didn't disguise his physique. The young man was a mountain of muscle and strength. He was clearly the most threatening person on the airship.

He also had his eyes on Mallow, but there was no readable expression on his face. But what struck Mallow most about this young man were his eyes. They were a striking purple that didn't just look at him, but at his soul. They had seen things that no man should ever see. They've played witness to crimes too terrible for comprehension.

Mallow wanted to melt on the spot, if he could. He was horrified by all of this attention from strangers. It made him delirious. He almost fainted. And he might have if he wasn't saved by the start the introduction, the reason they were all called here.

"Good evening and welcome to Beacon," said the calm, collected voice of Glynda Goodwitch, the well-known assistant of Professor Ozpin in the form of a pre-recorded hologram. "For those of you that don't know, my name is Glynda Goodwitch."

A few of the teenagers in the room, nodded in acknowledgment, having wondered what her name was until she graciously provided them with it.

"You are among a select few given this rare opportunity to enter this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing a slow upheaval of a peace and calm that has spanned for generations. As future huntsmen and huntresses it is your duty to restore peace to our world. Here, you will be provided with the knowledge and training to protect Vale and the other Kingdoms. Tonight, you will be initiated into an accelerated regiment to help you catch up to the rest of your future classmates." Her hologram vanished leaving the lounge relatively quiet, aside from the shuffling of feet as the teens stood around in wonder.

With their attention gone, Mallow found himself relax a little. 'I can do this,' was repeated in his head, over and over. The more he repeated it, the more he found himself believing in it as well. 'Maybe I can do this. Maybe I will succeed. And then, I'll be able to become a huntsman.'


Sorry if a bit more characters were introduced. But think of the secondary group as the JNPR to RWBY. Just another team going through similar experiences.

Anyways, thanks for reading this so far. The positive feedback is extremely inspiring. Thank you all for it.

Have a nice life!