A/N: I'm sorry for the late update. My old laptop decided to just not work anymore, and I couldn't get anything done. Thank you for getting me to 5 reviews, 7 favorites, and 17 follows. You're all amazing for that. I don't own RWBY; it belongs to the awesome team of Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. Here's chapter 2!
After giving his mother a hug goodbye and a curt nod to his despised father, Cardin boarded the airship to Beacon. He did not look for Dove or Russell, but instead found a nice, secluded cabin for himself. He missed his old friends. Russell had died in battle honorable, while Dove became a professional boxer. No one saw that one coming at all.
Opening his rugsack, he pulled out the latest edition of Weapons Galore and started to read. The knowledge of weapons was some sort of an obsession for him. He gulped down the bottle of pain relievers so he could sit down without wincing before stretching his immense frame over the seats. It was only thirty minutes before the airship lurched forward that he put away the magazine.
He had to do something to occupy his mind. Hell, even drawing was a better option than lingering on what he didn't know, and his drawing was terrible. Cardin didn't know many things: Was this truly a delusion? Was this his hell for living a cruel, wicked life?
He figured he would learn in due time, when he was ready to find out the truth behind this. Well, he hoped he would.
It was ten past two in the afternoon, only ten more minutes before arriving at Beacon, when his cabin door opened and there she stood in all her rabbit eared, and innocent glory: Velvet Scarlatina.
"Sorry to bother you, but have you seen a sword and shield lying around anywhere? A boy by the name of Jaune Arc lost them."
Cardin smirked and stood up. It seems Jaune was still a little dense and misplaced things easily in this delusion. That was slightly comforting.
"No, I'm afraid I haven't. Would you like me to help you look?" he offered. Velvet nodded, "Yes please." Cardin walked down the passage of the airship. He opened the nearest cabin's door and poked his head in, where a man wearing all black with a mask sat, polishing a katana.
"Hey, have you happened to see a sword and shield that happens to belong to a fellow by the name of Jaune Arc?" Cardin asked. The masked man shook his head before replying, "No, but I think I heard some thugs snickering about it in the cabin over." Cardin nodded and left the man to himself, not wanting to intrude for too long. He walked over to the next cabin, Velvet trailing him. He entered, and was surprised to see the ones who were laughing about Jaune losing his weapons. It was a team Cardin himself was never fond of, team POWR. They were bad enough that they made CRDL's taunting look like simple childish antics. Long after Cardin stopped bullying Jaune after the knight saved his ass in the Emerald Forest, POWR continued to torment the blonde boy. Controlling his anger, he stepped inside with Velvet. POWR stopped laughing to look at the newcomers.
"Well, what the hell do you want?" their leader, Aeron Princeton growled.
"You haven't seen a missing sword and shield have you?" Cardin asked, trying to keep his temper down. Velvet was incredibly nervous, and was hiding behind Cardin's rather large frame. Aeron stood up casually.
"And what if we had?" His question irritated Cardin, and he had to stop himself from curling his hand into a fist. The white haired boy pissed him off.
"Would you mind giving it back, as it belongs to Jaune Arc and not you?" he asked. Aeron turned to his teammates and laughed again.
"Please. We don't plan on giving them back. If you want them that badly, you'll have to fight me for them. So come on birdie, show me what you have," he taunted. Cardin stepped forward, grabbed Aeron by the shoulders, and glared into his eyes.
"Give them back, now," he snarled, a dark and angry aura evident in his voice. Aeron gulped and nodded to his teammates.
"Give them back," he said, frightened of what the much taller boy would do. The other members of POWR quickly gave Cardin Jaune's weapons and the indigo eyed boy left, with Velvet looking at him in awe.
Cardin walked down the airship until he reached Jaune's cabin.
"I need those Goddammit!" a very flustered Jaune said. Pyrrha's voice was much calmer than the knight's.
"It's probably someone playing a prank Jaune. Most likely Nora. I doubt Ren would actually -bother with that." The Spartan-like girl was always much calmer than Jaune. Cardin entered the cabin, Jaune's gear in hand.
"Hello, I believe someone took these from you," he said politely, and refraining from making a remark following the statement. Jaune nodded, took the gear from Cardin's hands, and looked closely.
"I don't believe I saw you earlier. Do you mind telling me your name?" he asked. Cardin gave a polite nod, "I'm Cardin, Cardin Winchester." He heard a snort come from Pyrrha, and had to bite back a well thought insult. He refused to get involved with childish taunting, and ignored her.
"Well, it was nice to meet all of you. I'm afraid I have to get back to my cabin." Cardin left, and heard Jaune mutter a 'that wasn't exactly nice of you' to Pyrrha. He turned to Velvet.
"I'm terribly sorry, but I must go back to my cabin as well. It was nice to meet you." She bowed her head and left, leaving Cardin alone. He spent most of the remaining time reading, although he did have to make a quick run to the lavatory to apply the cream on his bottom, as well as change into his armor.
It was only a matter of seconds before he heard the voice of one of his lost friends. "Sky," Cardin smiled at the blue haired boy in front of him, waving him over.
"There you are man," Sky greeted once he had reached them.
"Where were you? You had us worried for a minute there," Russell said, concern in his voice.
"Sorry guys. I had to… do some things. But it's sure as hell is good to see you two," Cardin answered. It took all of his strength to not pull his two friends into a bone-crushing hug, which was probably a good thing for them. Cardin might accidently break a few ribs.
The airship landed on the airfield at Beacon, and it invoked a lot of memories for him, pleasant memories, and he relished in them, knowing how few and far between they were. He remembered the very first time he had seen the size of Beacon Academy. Most of his other experiences paled in comparison to this, as he couldn't believe he was going to the most prestigious school in Vytal. Signal and Sanctum paled in comparison to Beacon.
Once he was inside, his eyes moved to the portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses, and a list of the best teams in the school's glamorous history. It had been a very long time since he had last walked the inside of this academy, since he had seen the hidden wonders of the secret areas few people knew about. With the rest of the first year students, he followed Professor Goodwitch to the massive Great Hall (A/N: I have no clue what that place is called, so Great Hall it is). Cardin caught sight of a young girl in red, no older than fifteen, shrinking away from a very pissed off girl with white hair. Cardin recognized the two instantly: Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee.
"Please, I'm really, really sorry. I won't do it again," Ruby pleaded. Weiss held a book labeled 'Dust for dummies and other inadequate individuals'.
"If you really want to start making up to me, then read this and never speak to me again." Weiss handed the book to a very crestfallen Ruby. Cardin shook his head, feeling a bit of pity for Ruby. The students continued to buzz in excitement, awaiting the welcoming speech. The current headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin, took the microphone to his mouth. In an instant, the students fell quiet.
"I'll… keep this brief. You have traveled here to pursue knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills- and when you are 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 this first step." With those words, he left the stage, leaving the mike to Goodwitch again.
'Well shit, that still is eerie, no matter how old I am,' Cardin thought.
"Students, please make yourselves at home in this grand hall. Unpack your belongings, as you will be sleeping in here for tonight. That is all." Goodwitch left the stage as well, and followed Ozpin. Several other students voiced his opinion of Ozpin's speech being ominous, as though a war was about to happen, one of them being the man in black he had met earlier.
"Geez, he made it sound as though if we don't learn anything, we'll die in a minute," he muttered. He noticed Cardin watching him, and extended his hand.
"I met you on the airship right? I'm Adam, Adam Taurus," he introduced. Cardin took his hand.
"I'm Cardin Winchester." If Cardin could see Adam's eyes, he was sure they would be filled with fury. Adam reached for his katana. Cardin put his hands up.
"Woah, woah, woah, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you or anything," he said quickly, before Adam could stab him. Adam eased his stance, but his anger was still obvious.
"You're a Winchester. Do you have any idea what that family of yours has done to my kind?" he hissed. Cardin noticed the bull horns in his red hair, and realized why Adam was hostile towards him currently. He was a Faunas, and the Winchester family was known for their Faunas abuses.
"Yes, I do know, even if I cannot bring myself to do such cruel deeds. I am not like my father, and I won't ever be," Cardin tried to reassure. Adam's fury subsided, but it was obvious he was still a tad mistrustful. He had every right to be.
"I still don't trust you, but I'm willing to put old grievances aside for our sake. You seem alright, but naturally I'll keep an eye on you. If you ever say or do anything cruel to me or my kind, I'll make you pay," Adam growled. Cardin nodded and began to unpack. He pulled his sleeping bag and weapons magazine out. He changed into his pajamas, a pair of shorts and tank top, before lying down with his magazine. He scanned the articles until he found something about a new type of mace that was currently a prototype. It was powered by Fire Dust, and Cardin was fully interested in it. He continued reading until about ten, and he stretched out on his sleeping bag. A bunch of the other boys were flexing their muscles, attempting to woo the girls in the area. Then he saw Jaune.
Jaune was wearing his blue footie pajamas, and Cardin smirked. He had missed seeing those, as Jaune made himself quite popular with the ladies when he wore them. He saw Adam polish his katana one more time before lying down to sleep, not bothering to take his mask off. Velvet curled up under her blanket, soft snores coming from her, the rabbit ears moving in sync. Sky put down his manga, flexed his shoulders, and laid down, closing his eyes.
Cardin felt himself grow tired, and he closed his eyes, as he would need his strength for tomorrow for the assignment of teams. He fell asleep soon after, waiting for what tomorrow would bring.
A/N: Next up is the assignment of teams. I'm having a hard time coming up with a good team name that Cardin will lead, but it won't be CRDL. If anyone has an idea, please tell me. Review?
RWBYxFluorite