*Beacon Airship*

Eleanor Burandt considered herself to be a strong woman. How could she not, when she had won many regional tournaments, sometimes beating even rookie Hunters during those same tournaments. Yet there always came the battle in the nationals, the battle that no matter how much she tried, she could never win.

The fight against a person born to fight.

She was fast, they were faster. She was strong, and they were stronger. She was clever, and they out witted her.

She hated that, she could not stand that even after ten years, she could not once made it to even the semi finals, always beaten a round or two before that. It was her drive, to one day beat the best of the best, and stand unchallenged.

Too bad she had little control of her semblance.

It wasn't really her fault, all things considered. Her town was one where few Grimm were ever spotted, so hunters rarely ever came from there, and most people who learned how to use it properly were the ones that dedicated themselves to medicine, those that had the adaptive healer's aura.

Her semblance was kinetics.

By taking in forces that hit her, from the constant energy from the wind, to the explosive force in punches and kicks, she could make her own attacks pack more punch, at the cost of stored energy. Her axes had been made with that purpose in mind, taking the backlash of whatever hits she landed and giving it to her as raw power.

She had not figured out the whole release thing yet.

Sometimes it worked exactly as she intended it to, knocking teeth loose and breaking bones, and sometimes all she did was absorb more energy when she wanted to release it. This would not be a trouble if the force did not release itself at the most random moments, like for example, when she was cleaning her room, or when she was cooking, or when she had nightmares.

She had broken a lot of beds.

She sighed.

It would have helped if she unlocked her aura earlier in life, back when she was bullied for her red hair, or her thinness, or her height, and later on for her early, and short, development.

A boy flew by her, smacking the railing with his legs.

"Hey there," the boy said, "would you mind pulling me up? I'm afraid my wings may not be up to the task"

She just stared at the legs.

"Hey, not that I don't like the view, Vale is beautiful from here, but really, I don't think my legs will make it without circulation."

"Right, sorry" She pulled him up, noticing the wings on his back, "are they okay?"

"These things?" his right one looked swollen, she thought, "Yeah, I'll have to keep it folded for a while."

The boy was pretty much average, if you ignored the wings. Black hair, brown eyes, one meter seventy something, with visible muscle yet very thin. The wings were strikingly beautiful though, the blackness just drew the eye, made you admire them.

"Why were you flying through the ship, anyway?"

A navy blue themed boy came walking up to them, a raging look on his face, "If you call me shorty again, those pretty things of you won't be back in action, ever."

This boy was no taller than a meter fifty five, a contrast to her height and the winged boy's. This one looked like he tried not to wake up in the morning with everything he had and failed, with sunken green eyes and a dishevelled mop of brown hair.

"All I said was that..." At the scowl of the second boy he put his hands up, and Eleanor could not help but think that he was just doing it because he was already injured, "Alright, I get it, height is a sensitive issue and I should not mention it to you, ever."

"That better be the truth," and so he walked off.

That boy could really use an attitude adjustment, she thought, who would threaten someone with bodily harm just because they mentioned a height issue.

"That's the thing with the vertically challenged, you see," she looked at the winged boy to see him smirking, oh god, "They don't like to be reminded that they are closer to hell than us"

God dammit, "You really shouldn't be making enemies right now, we haven't even gotten to Beacon"

"Meh, I would have gotten in trouble for making an unappropriated comment in front of a teacher anyway," he just kept getting better and better, "Anyway, the name's Alexander Jagger, thanks for pulling me before I lost feeling in my head."

"Eleonor Burandt, and you're welcome, I guess" Could anyone blame her for being hesitant, when she had just witnessed that he had a knack for finding soft spots, "What...uh... what weapon do you use?"

The boy grinned, and she realized she had asked just the right question, "This is Piercing Orion," He showed off his carbine, the black design as sleek as his wings, the blades looking every bit as deadly as a Death Stalker, "The blade is made black steel, reinforced with Grimm bone dust for extra toughness, the rifle mode," Here he pushed back the blade on the bottom, showing the ammo clip, "has a rate of fire of six bullets per second, ricochet, and can break through the mask of an Ursa."

"That is impressive," the boy smiled and holstered the rifle, "I use Ebony and Ivory," and so it was her turn to show off, "Double sided axes, great in combat for me," The blades looked heavy, but she knew that they were light, and perfect for quick and cutting attacks, and with a blade as red as her auburn hair, "And by twisting the blades I get a sawed off shotgun, though it's great for adding a punch to my slashes."

"We'll have to fight sometime," the boy commented, but soon turned to stare out the window, "I wish I could be out there."

Huh, "Can you fly?" well, he did have wings, so it wouldn't be entirely out of the question.

"If my wing wasn't bruised and there was enough air, then yes, I could," he answered, looking thoughtfully at his wings, "I don't suppose you can heal bruising."

"No, sorry," the boy sighed, "It's because of my semblance, I would probably do more harm than good," The boy tilted his head, making her sigh, "My dad unlocked it half a year ago, I can't really control it yet."

"Meh, few people do without a teacher, a year after I got mine I could barely lift myself a foot with my semblance," he gave her a pat on the back and started walking towards the entryway, "Give yourself time and practice, you'll get it"

She really hoped he was right.

*Leon*

He was jumping with excitement, it was not an exaggeration.

Some people had approached him, only to find his excitement more than a little bit off putting, as he rambled a lot and tended not to let the person in front of him get a word in, leading to him jumping alone in excitement.

This was how Eleanor saw him, and unlike many, she decided to let him be, a wise decision, to be sure, as she wasn't sure she could stand the constant stream of words she had heard from him. But hey, at least he wasn't motion sick.

The boy was one of the first to disembark when the airship landed in front of Beacon academy, and one of the last to enter it, as he was moderately occupied with staring at the impressive structure that was the academy building.

"Hey, we need to listen to welcoming speech, remember?" she popped his bubble before he could miss the speech, "Come on, I want a good place."

He started following her at a quick pace, a giant grin plastered on his face, "Thanks for reminding me, it's just..." he's a maniac, she thought as he let off an excited giggle, "I can't believe I'm in Beacon."

"Uhu, eh, what was your name again?" It couldn't hurt to be polite, she thought, he may end up on her team, though hopefully not.

"Leon, Leon Kaynor," the name was normal enough, for a guy that looked as he spent all his time in the dirt, with camouflaged shirt and cargo pants and buzzed cut brown hair, "Would you believe me if I told you I've been trying to get in for three years."

"I would," she said slowly, as if to a small and excitable child, "They do only accept seventeen years and older"

"But there was this kid on the plane by the hot blonde," she hit him over the head, "By the blonde woman," better, she thought, "How did she get in then?"

"Probably has someone that crowbarred her in," the same brown haired kid waited until they caught up to him, "The director of this school likes to have talent in it, and if she is talented enough to impress him at fifteen, then she has earned a place in the student body."

"Wow, are you sure," Once again the buzz cut head got a slap, this one trying to communicate a sensitive topic, "Are you sure that's how she got in?"

"Yes, Beacon doesn't let people younger than seventeen in, not even children of teachers," the shorty, damn, it was hard not to think of him like that, looked at her, "I am sorry for how I acted in the ship, I am Grant Sherman, ex-mercenary"

"Eleanor Burandt," She nodded at him, "If you don't mind me asking..."

"Nineteen, twenty in two months, I was a merc for two years."

They were already in the assembly hall, and she noticed that the winged boy, Alexander, she reminded herself, was waving them over with one wing and one arm. She went up to him the other two following her, Grant more reluctantly than Leon. She hoped that he remembered the threat well enough not to get one of those permanently injured.

They all settled together, noticing the blond and her little sister, were they really? Very little resemblance, she thought, being reunited. Professor Ozpin came into the stage.

"I'll keep this brief. You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate yourselves 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 that knowledge will rid 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."

And he took a long drink of his cup, walking off the stage as he did so.

"You will spend the night here, tomorrow you will start at ten am," And Goodwitch walked off as well.