Fire, Lightning, and I Think Some Ice...

Rie and Sam were the first ones off of the transport. Rie looked at Sam. "You go on ahead. I want to look around." Sam nodded.

"I understand. See ya around, lass." Rie walked to the square on the left and admired the fountain there. She looked over, and saw a blonde boy in a black short-sleeved hoodie sitting on a bench nearby. He was hunched over with his hands on his stomach beneath his diamond shaped breastplate.

Poor guy… The transport must have been too much for him. Well, let me see if I can help him. Rie walked up to the boy. "Hi!" The boy's blue eyes glanced up at her. He forced a smile.

"Hi…" He groaned.

"You alright?" The boy nodded.

"I'll be fine. I just…" He lurched a little. Instinctively, Rie jumped back. The boy leaned back and blew out of his mouth, making his cheeks puff out. His voice came out stronger. "I just need to sit a while." Rie cocked her head.

He already seems to be better. "Mind if I sit with you?" The boy shrugged.

"Eh, why not? I would like to talk to someone. It'll help me get my mind off of the ride here." He looked at her as she sat down. "So, what's your name?"

"Rie Himora. And you?" The boy held out one gloved hand to her. The glove exposed his fingers and had a small metal plate on the back.

"Jaune Arc." She shook his hand. He smiled an easy smile. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise. So, why were you sick?" He sighed.

"Motion sickness."

"Ah. I see. Well, you seem to have recovered quickly." She smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah. My mom always said I recover from sickness quickly. When I got sick, that is." Rie cocked her head a little.

"Did you-" Her question was cut short by the sound of an explosion. Rie and Jaune both looked over to see a cloud of Dust floating away. Rie got up and ran over to the area. When she got there, she saw a very familiar angry girl yelling at a very timid-looking Ruby. The girl was wearing a thigh-length dress that fades from white to pale blue at the hem and a bolero over it in the same color. Her long white hair was pulled back into a ponytail on the right side of her head. Oh boy… Weiss's at it again…

"Should we do something?" Rie looked back at Jaune, then pointed at Weiss.

"That girl would probably bite your head off if you tried. You wait here, and I'll see if I can help." She started to head over to try to diffuse the situation when she heard Ruby shout at the girl.

"Hey, I said I was sorry, Princess!" Rie flinched, then noticed a black-haired girl wearing a black bow walking up holding a vial of fire dust. The girl was wearing a black buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front. This was worn over a white, sleeveless, high necked, crop undershirt and white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg.

"It's heiress, actually." Both Ruby and Weiss looked at the newcomer. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." Weiss stood up straight in pride.

"Finally! Some recognition!" The newcomer's amber eyes stared at Weiss. She kept staring as she said the next sentence.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." Weiss stiffened. Rie had to try hard to avoid laughing. Ruby wasn't as successful as Rie in that regard.

I wish Talon were here to see this. He'd probably enjoy this as much as I am. I gotta tell Talon about this girl.

"Wha- How dare you- The nerve of- Ugh!" Weiss grabbed the vial from the newcomer and stormed off. She was so angry that she didn't even notice Rie as she walked by. Rie ran to catch up to Weiss.

"Hey, Ice Queen." Weiss spun on her heels to stare Rie down.

"What do you wa-" Weiss stopped when she realized who it was. "Oh. It's you," she stated in a rather flat tone. "I've told you not to call me that."

"Oh, lighten up. So, what was that all about?" She gestured behind her as the two girls started walking.

"Hmph! That DOLT nearly killed herself AND me! And this was AFTER she knocked over all of my Dust!" Rie cocked her head.

"Is that what that explosion was?" Weiss nodded. "Would you like me to check your Dust and make sure it's still in good condition?" Weiss looked at her.

"Please do." Rie knew that tone. This wasn't a request. This was a demand.

` Still the same spoiled Ice Queen… Well, no time to dwell on that now. Rie closed her eyes. She didn't need to close her eyes for this, but it helped her visualize the Dust. She breathed deeply, then let her Semblance fully activate. Alright. Let's see here. This was one of the joys of her Semblance. The feeling of Dust washing over her like waves on a beach. She always knew where any Dust was, as long as it was nearby; but it wasn't quite the same feeling. She could feel each speck of Dust as though she were touching it. It felt smooth as silk and rough as sand at the same time. It felt good. A small smile touched her lips. She felt each case of Dust individually. She didn't need to, of course, but Weiss didn't know that. No one knew that it took her this long to search for damaged Dust because she CHOSE for it to take this long. Not even Talon. She felt the second case's contents, then the next. Well, all of the cases are in order. That just leaves the Dust in Weiss's hand. Rie reached out to the vial Weiss was holding. It felt like sand and silk, like the other vials, but the sand was a little rougher and the silk was torn a little bit. Overall, still pleasant; even with it's imperfections. Rie opened her eyes and let her Semblance go back to normal. "Well, it's all still good. The only Dust that's damaged is the vial you're holding. What happened to that one?"

"It was launched out of my hand when that girl exploded!" Rie stared at Weiss in disbelief.

"SHE exploded!?" Weiss nodded.

"She could've knocked us off the side of the cliff." Weiss looked around. "Hey, where's Talon?"

"He's around… somewhere." Weiss looked at her.

"You don't know? That's a first." Rie laughed.

"He's a teacher now. He's been here for the last few days." Weiss's jaw dropped.

"Really? Wow… I always thought he was skilled. Good for him. And where's the raccoon?" Rie's jaw stiffened a little bit.

"The 'raccoon' has a name, you know. Michael is also a teacher here." Weiss stopped dead.

"That drunkard? How did he become a teacher here and you didn't?" Rie gritted her teeth.

"I don't know and I don't care. I'm proud of him and you should be, too." Weiss threw her hands up.

"I'm just saying, a drunken raccoon shouldn't be a teacher." Rie let out a huff in agitation.

"You haven't changed at all, Ice Queen!" Weiss shrugged her shoulders.

"It isn't MY fault that he's a drunkard."

"He's a person and deserves to be treated as one! I hope you learn that soon!" Rie stormed off towards the school, leaving Weiss behind.

He looked around as he walked around the outside of Beacon. It is a beautifully made school, but I should probably be heading to where I'm actually supposed to be. Don't want to get an earful from Glynda. He rounded a corner and saw two students walking his way. One was a tall, blonde boy and the other was a short, dark-haired girl that Talon thought looked familiar. She reminds me of a girl I met when I came to Vale for the first time. That probably isn't her. It's been 12 years since that trip, and I was only here for a month. My memories of then aren't the best, being so long ago. His mind took him back to a room with a blonde girl and himself wrestling while a small girl with a penchant for red clothing sat crying for them to stop. They were mad at each other for some reason, he couldn't fully remember why. He could vaguely recall some words they had taunted each other with…

"Back off, Gearhead! That is MINE!"

"No way, Firebrand! I WILL have it!" It was about that point that the two girls' father came rushing in.

"Kids! Kids! Calm down!" The father pulled him and the girl apart. Talon remembered that neither he nor the girl went easily. The father- Tai, I think was his name- held them both an arm's length apart from himself in opposite directions. "Alright, Little Dragon, tell me what happened."

"She started it!"

"I'll hear your end later, Talon. Now, what happened, Yang?" After that, the memory faded; and he let it. He'd found it wasn't a good idea to pursue a memory that doesn't want to be seen. It just led to headaches.

Right. The students. He started walking towards the two students. He heard the blonde boy talking.

"You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some kind of recognizable landmark?" The girl let out a laugh. "Is, uh, is that a no?"

"That's a no." The girl said, still laughing. Talon reached them around this point.

"As far as a food court goes, we have a cafeteria." The two students jumped as they realized he was there. "If you're looking for a directory, then I'm as close as you're getting." The girl stared at him intently. The boy eyed him.

"And you are…?" Talon smiled.

"Talon Teknos. At your service. Now, are you two lost?" The boy spoke up.

"I'm Jaune. This is Ruby. And yes, we're lost." Talon smiled.

"Well, follow me. I'll get you guys to where you need to be." He led the two students to the auditorium, which was not very far from where they were. "Well, here you go. Now, I must go, or Glynda will have my head. Farewell." He waved goodbye to Jaune and Ruby as he walked to the stairs at the side of the stage in the auditorium. He had barely reached them when Glynda came up behind him.

"There you are. I swear, if today is any indication, you and Mr. Frost are going to be very interesting to work with." Talon put on his most disarming smile.

"What could Michael have possibly done that would give away that working with him will be interesting?" Glynda stared him down so intently that his smile nearly faltered.

"I'll leave that particular story for him to tell. Now, get on the stage. We can't start without you." Talon feigned pride.

"Well, of course you can't. I am the greatest Huntsman I know." He put on a sly smile. Glynda rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Yes… Interesting indeed. Please take this more seriously, Mr. Teknos. The students will only take your lessons as seriously as you do." She adjusted her glasses with one hand. "Now, go on. Ozpin has to introduce you and Mr. Frost." Talon made his face the perfect picture of control and serenity.

"Yes, ma'am." Glynda nodded as they walked up the steps. Talon noticed Michael on Ozpin's right, still wearing his shirt open. Talon took his place to Ozpin's left.

"Glad you could join us, Professor Teknos." Talon kept his eyes ahead.

"Glad to be here. I apologize for my tardiness. I was escorting two students who were lost." Ozpin nodded.

"Well, let's get this started." Ozpin walked forward, motioning for Talon and Michael to step forward. Ozpin readied the microphone, then set his glasses in place. Talon looked for Rie, but didn't see her. He did, however, see a blonde girl that tugged at his memory. She was standing next to Ruby. Ozpin began his speech. "I'll… keep this brief…"