AN: Sorry for not getting this out sooner but my eye was messed up pretty badly and it hurt to even open my eyes let alone stare at the screen for too long. Not only that though, but my house's electrics went out completely so been in the dark for about five days.
Warning: This chapter does contain an ATTEMPTED suicide, so some may want to skip a particular part.
Acquaintances
Aero didn't know what death would really feel like. He felt nothing, which puzzled him greatly as he was expecting some nuance of feeling; nausea, a sharp pain, anything really. But he actually felt…fine, a little queasy but otherwise fine, like he could run a mile and back again.
Aero slowly cracked open his eyes to see he was still alive and still in the flimsy hovel. He looked at the hand he had hastily thrown out in defence of the oncoming blade. He had actually caught the lightning fast knife with no harm coming to him whatsoever. He couldn't believe his eyes; in his dazed and clumsy state he had stopped the knife almost as if on pure instinct.
The hovel was deathly silent with the exception of the gentle crackling from the flames of the fire pit. Aero noticed the blade of his knife was still stained with blood, his and Ishara's blood. He was about to try and scrape the blade clean when a voice echoed from somewhere in the hovel.
"Nice catch." It said in a monotonous and deadpan manner.
Aero peered into the darkness occupying the corners of the hovel to try and home in on the owner of the voice. Just as he had pinned down where the voice was coming from, a figure emerged from the shadows and approached the fire pit.
The figure was that of a young woman's, a young Faunus woman. She looked older than Aero, by at least four or five years give or take. The first thing Aero noticed were a pair of pointed ears on the top of her head and from he could tell they were fox ears. She had titian coloured hair matching her ears, it was braided into dreadlocks and tied back so that it trickled back just past her shoulders. She had brown skin with a faint scar on her upper lip and her eyes were red like rubies.
She was wearing a dark green woollen cloak with a clasp at the front and Aero could spy a bushy red fox tail with a white tip swinging lazily back and forth inside the cloak. The cloak also had a hood sewn onto it and it had fur lining running along the brim. Under the cloak she was wearing a leather bodice vest with a fur lining on her plunging neckline and there were leather straps running across her chest linking the two sides of the bodice. She was also wearing leather breeches with drawstrings fastening them shut and running down the front were small metal plates no bigger than the palm of her hand. On her forearms she wore leather vambraces crudely bound together with frayed pieces of cloth and to match these she was wearing knee high leather boots again looking like they were held together by scraps of cloth. Lastly strapped to her leg was a Bowie knife with a leather sheath.
The Faunus girl's expression was neutral and absolutely impossible to read.
"Where am I?" Aero asks.
She crouches down and stares into the fire not really acknowledging him but answers anyway. "My home, for what the title's worth."
"And you are?"
"What do you remember?" She asked sidestepping Aero's question.
"What?"
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"I...I-I..." He stammers. Truth is, he couldn't remember anything recent or what he could perceive as recent at least. Any attempt to try and recall just turned up in a haze.
"Do you remember your name?"
Aero pauses as if struggling to remember before responding. "A-aero...Aero Gainsborough."
The Faunus girl slowly turns her gaze away from the fire, looks Aero in the eye and all whilst maintaining her stoic demeanour. "The son of Ulrich and Zafina Gainsborough."
"Y-yeah, how do you know them?"
She stands up and takes a step towards him. "That's not important right now and you can put that away." She motion to his knife still in his hand.
"Oh." He gingerly folds the blade back, not bothering to clean it just yet and goes to stow it in his belt only to find it missing. He looks around at his immediate area, but finds nothing. "Hey, where's my belt?"
She's still staring blankly back at him. "It was a...precautionary measure. Plus I had to remove it to check you had any additional wounds, but the only ones I could see that needed changing were the ones on your arm and hand." She motioned to the cuts respectively. "The facial scars seem like they're weeks old, so would you mind telling me why they were still bandaged and bloody."
Aero moved to touch the scars on his face that the she mentioned. But as soon he touched them he felt a beyond painful stinging sensation and didn't feel like it was coming from the wounds or the scars themselves. His head felt like it was going to split open, he gripped it in pain with both of his hands and his knife clattered to the ground in front of him.
Through the pain though, he heard a voice ring through his head.
"Can we please just go outside, just for a little bit?"
The pain slowly and passed as the voice faded. "What the hell was that?" He thought as he calmed himself. Throughout all that though he had felt what the faunus girl had meant. The cuts had healed and already left scar tissue.
"I…I remember receiving the wounds only…only. How long have I been out of it?" Aero asked, the obvious suddenly dawning on him.
"Two days, by my count that is." The faunus immediately and plainly stated.
"That means I only received the wounds no longer than that," He brought his hand away from his head and retrieved his knife from the ground. "And what do mean by your count?"
She took a moment before she responded and threw a small log into the fire pit when she did. "I found you stumbling through the woods in what I can only assume, was a trance of some kind." She turned to face him. "When I tried to approach you though," She undid one of her bracers to reveal a bandage on her forearm. "You were…unwilling at first, so I had to knock you out." She refastened her bracer to her arm. "Although it seemed like you would pass out anyway, you were beyond exhausted."
"I'm sorry, I truly am." Aero looked down apologetically.
She finished with her bracer, being careful not to irritate the wound. "What's done is done, and by the looks of it you weren't yourself anyway."
The phrasing piqued Aero's curiosity and brought more questions to mind. "There it is again, how do know what I would be like anyway and how do you know of my parents?" he borderline interrogated.
Aero could've sworn that he saw her countenance falter for a split second before she replied. "You didn't attack me when you woke up and you haven't all the while we've been talking. So I can at the very least assume you're not a total buffoon." She snapped the clasp on her the sheath of her bowie knife, obviously being completely confident in what sate Aero would be in when he woke up. "And your parents are well known Hunters are they not?" she added.
Aero heaved a sigh. "Okay, I suppose that would explain it."
A brief silence set in between the two until the young faunus girl resumed her earlier questioning. "Now, I'll ask again and concentrate; what's the last thing you remember?"
Aero closed his eyes and took a moment to think before he responded. "Black…black wings…poisonous yellow eyes." He said with his eyes still closed trying to recall anything that wasn't completely scrambled or pain inducing. "Fear...inescapable fear. A-a hero falling into light and being consumed by it." His eyes cracked open slightly and his breathing had sped up a little. "A large towering object and burning searing pain came with it." His eyes flicked to his hand that had a clean bandage wrapped around the palm. "A familiar face consumed by blackness and turned against me. Then a skull splitting screech before a sudden crunch and a gruesome grinding noise." His eyes opened fully and looked at the blank faced girl now standing no more than a metre from him. "I remember the rain, the constant rain. It just wouldn't stop."
"The rain?" the faunus girl questioned.
Aero slid the animal pelt off of him and sat up fully. "No. No, the blackness, i-it started out so small and it still consumed and kept on consuming until it-it," Aero suddenly stopped and stared straight ahead with wide eyes.
The girl knelt down in front of him trying to meet his gaze. "What did it do?" she asked with an almost accusatory look.
"You know what I'm asking of you?" The same voice from earlier echoed in Aero's head again, but this time it felt very familiar.
"It took...it took what I loved most and made me destroy it!" He broke down in tears and held his head in his hands. "It's all my fault! If I had just stayed out of the way and did as I was told then maybe they would all be here now."
"Your family?" the faunus asked and he nodded with his head still in his hands. "So then they are gone." She added darkly before rising up and turning back to face the fire. "Maybe it is your fault that they're gone and there's no way they're coming back." She said after a short lull in Aero's sobs.
Aero's breath caught in his throat at her words.
"I imagine you didn't do anything worthwhile to prevent their demise?" she asked with venom in her tone.
Aero gritted his teeth in anger hearing this. "That's not true! I tried to help my mother fight the Wyvern!"
"You tried and she still died."
Aero stood up and took a step towards her. "I wanted to stay and help my father against the venom."
"Wanted to and he still died."
Aero brandished his knife and flicked out the blade. "I...I spared my sister from a fate worse than death and made sure she stayed who she wanted to be."
She slowly turned back around and the knife tip ever so slightly touched her chin. "You succeeded...and she died."
That's when he only just heard what he had actually said out loud. He remembered the deaths of his parents, but his sister had died at his own hands.
"I-I-I succeeded." He brought the knife away from her chin and his arm dropped to his side.
"A brother killing his own sister; you were weak and so easily swayed. You could put that blade to a better use and end the one responsible."
Aero didn't argue with her this time, he agreed with her. He slumped back down on the rock behind him, while the cloaked girl walked around to the other side of the fire pit and faced him.
"I'm right and she's right, I might have well have killed them all myself with what I did that day."
He brought his knife up to his throat and he felt the cold bloodstained steel against his skin.
"One quick motion, I'll end it all and I'll be able to see them again."
He clenched the blade tightly and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Promise me that you won't throw your life away." The same voice echoed in his head again, only louder than before and as clear as day this time.
Aero panicked with a loud gasp and flung his arm away from his neck. As a result the knife went flying out of his hand, travelling across the hovel and burying itself in one of the walls. On its journey it had sailed past the faunus girl's cheek and leaving a small cut behind. Bizarrely, she cracked a small smile and ignored the accidental maiming altogether.
Aero hunched forward taking in deep breathes. "No. It's not going to be that easy." He growled as he rose to his feet and stood firm. "I remember it all now and I made a promise."
The girl folded her arms in an almost proud manner. "And who really is to blame then."
"The Wyvern." He responded with a wicked smile. "I'm done feeling sorry for myself and the Grimm won't wait for my tears to dry."
She nodded. "Good, very good. But for now, I'm taking to Verbist." She moved towards the doorway of the rickety hovel. "It's the nearest town, so it's a place to start at least. Do you think you can make the trip?" He nodded confidently. "Do you have everything you need?"
Aero thought for a moment when something very important came to mind. "The bandages you replaced, do you still have them?"
"Yes." She plainly stated.
"Where are they?" He inquired and she pointed to one a side of the hovel.
Sitting on a stump, that looked like it was used as a seat, were the scraps of Ishara's shawl that she had used to bandage the wounds on his hand and upper arm. Alongside them was his hunters belt and thankfully inside still was his brass lighter. He stuffed the scraps into one of his pockets and set to work buckling up his belt.
"Sorry about the erratic back and forth behaviour." Aero said as he looped his belt through his shredded trousers. "But I remember my mom saying that it would've taken a while for everything to come back to me and it annoyingly came back in disjointed chunks. You see, at some point between here and from when you found me, she did speak to me. How she did so, she couldn't really explain very well and I honestly I don't think I could either."
What Aero didn't see going on behind him as he was talking, was that the girl in the green cloak was moving over to the wall that had his knife embedded in it. She pulled it out of the wooden wall in one swift motion and spun it in her hand so that she held it by the blade. Without looking she hurled it at straight at Aero, who was unawares and still in the process of buckling up his belt.
However, with the same lightning fast reactions he demonstrated when she did this the first time; He caught it without even turning around. He expertly flicked the blade back in and returned the knife to its home on his belt in one quick motion.
He looked over his shoulder at the shadows the girl had reoccupied. "And if you're trying to settle the score for that," he tapped a finger to his cheek, referring to the cut on hers. "You're gonna have to be faster than that." He smiled and she mimicked the smile, although hers seemed more just to return the gesture rather than out of any real sentiment.
Aero double checked what little possessions he had on him, but he was more interested in what he had experienced when the knife was thrown at him both times. "So that's what Aura feels like, and that was just in a passive state. No telling what I could do if I use both souls. But mom did say it could be harmful. Guess I'll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it."
The faunus girl threw up her hood over her ears and extinguished the fire while Aero stepped outside. He only now learned what time of day it actually was, it was the dead of night and a cold breeze was very much present.
"I don't even know your name yet, it doesn't seem very polite just to say 'hey you' or something like that all the time." Aero exclaimed looking up at the clear night's sky.
"Very well then; if you must call me something," The girl responded as she stepped out of the hovel carrying something in a bundle. "Then call me Sculler." She tossed the bundle she had in her arms at Aero and he easily caught it.
Aero did a double take, as he wasn't really expecting a name like that. "Sculler?" He raised an eyebrow. Something was off about the name but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He unravelled the bundle she had thrown; it turned out to be a poncho of sorts and it too was made from a kind of animal pelt.
"Sculler." She repeated.
"Then Sculler it is, I suppose." He threw on the poncho relieved to have something against the cold.
Before Sculler closed the door of the hovel, she reached back in through the doorway and pulled out a simple looking Grosse messer, except it looked like its crossguard had come away through years of use. She partially unsheathed it to check the blade, before sheathing it and then slinging it over her shoulder.
They both set off into the woods with Sculler setting a relatively fast pace. But due to Aero's newly unlocked Aura and his experience in hiking he had no trouble keeping up.
The entire walk to Verbist was essentially silent. Aero had tried to strike up a conversation every now and again, mainly to try and learn more about his mysterious saviour, but otherwise just to fill the silences. The only answer he got was either a stern 'no' or silence.
It was still late into the night by the time they arrived at Verbist and they stopped at the tree line just short of the main gate.
"That's Verbist and this is where we part ways." Sculler stated as she turned to face Aero and motioned with her head.
Aero stepped out from the tree line and turned to face Sculler who was shrouded in the darkness of the trees. "You know Verbist is faunus friendly right? You can come in as well."
"I'm aware of its tolerance and I appreciate the offer." The thankful words seemed peculiar coming from such a stoic person. "But I prefer the quiet of the woods to a bustling town and Verbist, despite its quaint nature, is not really my speed."
"Well I can assure you that you will always be welcome here."
"Can you now?"
"Uh yeah, I've been here more than once." He said a little too quickly for his own liking. He still was unsure of Sculler and the name still didn't sit right with him, especially with the way she proposed it like it was from a list. He wasn't about to be so open with her, especially after knowing her for barely an hour..
"Very well then." She bowed her head slightly. "Farewell Aero Gainsborough."
"And you, Sculler." He nodded back.
Aero started for the main gate of Verbist but stopped after a few paces and turned back to face the Sculler.
"Oh, Thank..." But the tree line was empty and Sculler was nowhere to be seen. "...you." He looked back to the gate and then back to the woods. "Hmm...strange girl."
He walked over to the town entrance only to be met with the same young guard from three days ago when he and his mother walked through town. "Who's there!" he called out as he raised an old bolt-action rifle, which looked like it hadn't been used in decades.
Aero slowly stepped into the light provided by multiple torches lining the gatehouse. "Aero Gainsborough!" he responded.
The young guard lowered his rifle and rushed up to him. "Aero! That really you?" He said in disbelief.
"Yes!" Aero acknowledged.
"What happened to your face?"
"It's a long story, but right now I need to get into town."
"Look Aero, it's great to see you alive and all, but you gotta get out of here now and away from town." The guard warned.
"What are you talking about? Look I can't leave. There's a Wyvern out there somewhere and the town needs to be ready!"
"But wyverns are extinct, aren't they?"
"Not anymore it seems. Now please, I need to talk to someone on the town council."
Before the young guard could respond, an older looking town guard came bounding out through the gate and straight at the both of them. He was dressed slightly different than the younger guardsman and he had a gnarly looking scar on his cheek and corner of his mouth. "Cadet! Is that the young Gainsborough boy?!" the older guard bellowed.
The young guard clumsily snapped to attention. "Uh um, y-yes sir!"
The older guard stopped in front of the cadet. "Then please tell me why you aren't arresting him!?" he demanded.
This confused Aero greatly. "Arrest me!?" both guards turned to him. "Why?" he added.
"Don't try to act innocent!" the older guard spat out venomously.
The guards attitude was grating on Aero and he threw on a scowl. "Whatever it is and whatever your problem is, I don't have time for it." He pushed past both of them and went towards the gatehouse.
He was so focused on alerting someone with authority that he wasn't prepared for the adult guard to come up behind him and aggressively bar his rifle barrel across his neck. "You don't walk away from us. You are going to come with us and you will-" He is cut short when Aero stamps on his foot and then grabs his rifle with both hands.
"It's not going to be that easy." Aero growls before he incredible manages to throw the guard, who was twice his size, clear over his shoulders and onto his back on the ground.
Both the younger guard and Aero had a look of disbelief on them. "Whoa." They both muttered.
The older guard quickly recovered and rose to his feet. He rushed Aero who was still holding his rifle and grappled with him. The rifle was between the both of them and they were both fighting for it. During the struggle, a round went off and went wild into the sky.
Seeing this was going nowhere, the guard quickly looked to the cadet standing idly to the side. "Cadet! Take out his legs!" he barked.
The young cadet hesitated. "But he's the son of Zafina Gainsborough." He argued.
"And he's a suspected murderer!" the older guard countered whilst still wrestling for the rifle.
"I DIDN'T MURDER ANYONE!" Aero yelled at the top of his lungs.
The cadet reluctantly moved to Aero's back. He looked to the older guard and he nodded back. The cadet proceeded to ram the butt of his rifle in the back of Aero's knee. He fell to the ground on his knees with a grunt and also released the rifle he was fighting for control of.
Before Aero could recover, the older guard approached him with his rifle in hand, bashed him in the face it and sent him to the ground.
"Tie him, then get him inside the wall and to the town hall." The guard ordered the cadet. "He's gonna have one hell of a story to tell I bet." He added with a wicked grin as he crouched down next to Aero.
Aero tried to push himself up, but it was futile as the guard soon struck him again and his vision went black.
Present day, 2 hours after the apartment fire.
Aero was still sitting on the bench in the empty square and he was gazing up into the night's sky with glazed over eyes. A cold nightly breeze gently wafted pieces of ash from his coat and lengthy hair lingering from the adventure that was the blazing apartment building.
"That was the day everything in my life changed and I made a rather...peculiar acquaintance." He thought to himself recalling the series of events of that fateful day."And if I'd known it was only going to get crazier from that point on; then, well honestly I don't think it wouldn't have made one bit of difference. I still would have kept on going, kept on fighting and remain defiant to the end."
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't realise someone had sat down on the bench behind him facing the other end of the square.
"A little late to be playing action hero isn't it?" The person asked.
"And isn't a little late for a nightly stroll this far from Beacon professor?" Aero replied.
There was a brief silence before both men quietly chuckled at their countering arguments.
Aero gave sideways glance to see a man with grey hair, glasses, wearing a green and black suit and with a cane resting next to him. Anyone in Vale, and most of remnant for that matter would recognize professor Ozpin when they saw him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure Professor?" Aero inquired as he turned his Gaze up into the clear night's sky once again.
"In the past month since you left Beacon, you have done more than any hunter has ever hoped to accomplish in their first year at the academy."
"I'm just doing what's right and trying to make my way in this world."
"Oh I know. Defending peaceful faunus protests from human purists, 'dissuading' White Fang operations wherever they should arise, cutting any Grimm if and when you encounter them and let's not forget that even at the end of all that you still have time for the occasional saving of a kitten from a tree."
"And jumping out of a burning building with an infant in my arms and crushing a police cruiser." Aero added with a grin.
"Ah yes, that may be my personal favourite."
Aero's smile faded. "Is there a point you're trying to make here Professor?"
"You're doing good work out here on your own, there's no denying that. But you could do so much more."
"Really?" Aero responded apathetically.
Ozpin nodded. "I understand you're still having trouble controlling your rather…unique Aura as well as your semblance, the academy could help you understand both of them and hone their uses. And with the new year at Beacon starting soon, I'm sure Glynda and Maria would appreciate your talents for scouting new students."
"Not that you could tell with their expressions anyway." Aero chuckled.
"Well they were always more open with you anyway, despite your short time with us." Ozpin looked over at him. "I don't suppose you could tear yourself away from the sky for one moment and look at me in this rather one sided conversation."
Aero smirked. "I find it sobering; you should give it a try sometime."
Ozpin sighed. "You know your skillset and level of experience would be invaluable to the academy right?"
Aero sat in silence.
Ozpin watched him looking up at the sky for a second before turning away and picking up a lidded foam cup filled with coffee. He took the lid off, took a sip and expressed a look and sound of disgust whilst nearly threatening to spit out the liquid altogether.
Aero looked over curious to the professor's disgusted outburst and spied the cup in his hand. He reached over and snatched the cup from the grey haired man. He sniffed it and took a sip himself and expressed the same disgusted look that Ozpin gave.
"You've been refrigerating your beans again." He looked over at a grinning Ozpin. "Haven't you?"
Ozpin shrugs while still grinning.
"If you store them in the fridge they get moisture in them and they get stale much faster." Aero sipped the coffee again. "And you put too much milk in as usual." He returned the cup to Ozpin.
"See what I mean?" he said looking down at his cup.
Aero sighed and pulled his scarf up to cover his chin. "I take it want me to be in Beacon for more than just my culinary skills though."
He put his cup on the floor glad to be rid of it. "I know throughout the years your goals and priorities have been in a constant state of change, whether they were originally your goals to begin with or not; from monster hunting to the protection of the people and to even being a sellsword from time to time."
Aero grunts in annoyance. "I don't mean to be rude, but can we skip this song and dance? I've already heard this speech once too many."
"Ah, right, very well then." Ozpin responded with sly grin, content that he had gotten some sort of rise out of the teen. "I know you've been beseeched before because of your prowess; by your own towns garrison, private companies, even the police force and that group misfits you ran with not too long ago."
Aero clenched his fists in frustration. "Sounds like you've put together quite a profile on me." He glared at the headmaster. "And that group of 'misfits' as you call them were a perfect team and some of the greatest people I had the pleasure of working with."
"My mistake and I apologize." Ozpin bowed his head apologetically. "He's definitely his mother's son." He thought with a grin. "Like I said with the new year of Beacon starting, we've begun scouting new students with promising potential and you'd know how to spot that potential. Who knows, you might even get a team of your own."
"Sorry, not interested."
"I urge you to at least think about. We both owe your parents that much." Ozpin told him in earnest.
Aero tensed up and looked at Ozpin with wide eyes. "What did you say?" He asked nearly growling as he did.
Ozpin slowly turned to him. "You may not know this, but your parent's and their team worked with both myself and Miss Goodwitch on numerous missions together and I can say with the utmost confidence that they were two of the greatest people I've ever had the privilege of knowing."
Aero couldn't believe what he was hearing. When he was a child his parents had told him of professor Ozpin, how they worked closely with him and how he rose to be headmaster of Beacon Academy. Yet here he was trying to use his parents and their legacy against him just to have him as an asset.
"If you're trying to use my parents memory to try and guilt trip me into coming to Beacon then you are A, sorely mistaken and B, truly not as honourable as I thought you were professor." Aero's hand drifted to his old hunting knife.
Ozpin raised a hand in defence. "I assure you I am doing nothing of the sort." Aero's hand didn't leave his belt. "Unlike the other numerous offers you've received in relation to your adroitness; at Beacon you will flourish and will be more than capable to make the world a better place than when you born into it. Of that I can promise you." He brings his cane around and rests both his hands on it. "The only reason I brought up your parents is because in their four year term at Beacon and the few years they spent at combat schools prior to that; they became two of the best huntsmen and huntresses ever to walk the halls of Beacon."
Aero suddenly stood up and made to leave before Ozpin spoke again. "I bet that you could achieve all that and more in half the time it took them."
Aero stood in place and in silence with his back to the still seated headmaster.
"Prove me wrong, I dare you." Ozpin added challengingly whilst looking over his shoulder.
A brief silence set in between the two before Aero turned around and said "For the sake my parents reputation, I'll think about it. How's that?"
Ozpin stood up and turned to face the weary teenager. "That's good enough for me." He said with a smile. "I'd hate to have to send Maria out after you and convince you otherwise."
Aero grins widely at this remark. "And I suppose I do owe Glynda a visit after all this time."
"She does miss her favourite chess partner."
"She has others?" Aero asked still grinning.
"Well I just honestly can't contend when it comes to her level of skill and it is starting to get embarrassing." Ozpin replied sheepishly.
Aero folded his arms. "The great professor Ozpin beaten in a simple game of strategy and patience?" he teased.
They both shared a laugh at this until Aero asked. "So scouting huh? I thought it would've been every child's dream to be a hunter for Beacon Academy; so why the need to actively sought out possible students?"
"It seems that younger and younger souls are either being drawn into a life of crime, whether it is the White Fang or other groups; we're investigating and I'm hoping you can maybe help us with that problem if you do choose to come to Beacon."
"I'll see what I can dig up then."
"You have the number for my office at the academy still?" Ozpin asked.
Aero flipped out a card with Beacons number on it from his pocket.
"Good."
With that they bid each other farewell and went their separate ways.
Aero ducked into a back alley and made his way through winding passages and eventually lead out into a more lively part of vale. His ears were greeted with the ambience of people crowded outside clubs and restaurants and the pulsing of bass amplifiers buzzed him as he walked along the pavement.
As he walked and enjoyed the electricity coming off the lively crowds to his left and right; he considered Ozpins very tempting offer.
"Go to Beacon and follow in my mother and father's footsteps. Stay solo and probably end up getting myself killed…eventually."
As he weighed these options it had soon started to rain; not very heavy, but enough to be a nuisance. His feet had taken him away from the restaurants and clubs and the like and over to a wealthy shopping district. The elaborate storefronts glared through the rain like spotlights and lavish cars darted through streets slick with water.
"Go to Beacon, end up with a team and put some poor rookies in danger through my own selfish endeavours. Stay solo and only have to worry about myself…gets awful lonely though."
He stopped at a street crossing and waited for the light. "Only the best conundrums for me." He muttered with a breathy laugh.
"Then again, it's not the first I've been presented with a difficult choice like this one."
Seven years ago…
His vision is hazy and spinning, an orange hue fills his view from a torch on a far wall. His muscles ache and his movement feels restricted.
"What is that; three, four times now I've been knocked out? It's really starting to get old. I don't think I've been conscious for more than four hours without something or someone punching my lights out."
He slowly pushes himself only to find his hands in chains and bolted to the stone wall behind him. The room had one lit torch in a sconce and one window with a cold nightly breeze coming through. He felt every bit of the cold as the poncho that he had received from Sculler was gone along with his belt and the contents of his pockets.
"And once again, my possessions are no longer in my possession; again starting to get a little old."
He heaved a sigh and gave his chains a tug. "What a fine predicament this is."
To be continued…
AN: Turns out the Aura colours I gave to Ishara and Aero actually correspond to their characters personalities very well. Totally by accident I assure you.
Also when it comes to OC description I will go into a fair bit of detail, but when I get to the actual cast of RWBY I will be very brief, because we all know what their characters look like unless I say that their wearing something entirely different that is.
Who is Maria and the group that Aero ran with before you my ask? All will be revealed in due time. Other than that, do the usual; drop a review or a fav or whatever takes your fancy.