"I was transcendent but also trapped."

Chapter 2: Beacon (Pyrope's Point of View)

I look back over at Hyacinth, frowning slightly. How had she known what my emblem was when she hadn't ever seen it before today? I sigh a bit frustrated, displeased that she seemed to know stuff about me that she shouldn't yet. It made me feel a bit anxious on top of my growing frustration. Had we met before? I wondered to myself. Shaking my head slightly, No we had not met before. That would be impossible. This was one of the first times I'd been interacting with another human being for a while. I wanted answers but it seemed she didn't know either. I look back at her, a bit suspicious, and inspected her.

Hyacinth's long chocolatey brown hair with tints of red and gold was tamed by putting it in a simple braid. Her brown and green eyes still stared off out the window. Frowning again I look down. She seemed normal enough if I ignored the fox ears. Though that didn't bother me. I saw vivid red sparks flying between my finger-tips. Quickly I clenched my hands into fists and sat on them abruptly. Looking up I saw Hyacinth watching me. "What are you looking at," I half growled at her.

She seemed to contemplate her answer before speaking, "Nothing. I dunno, what are you looking at?"

Shrugging I look away to avoid eye contact, "Nothing you need to know about." My voice was curt. I go back to looking out the window. All of a sudden my eyes went wide. There was a large castle like building with various sized towers. "Is that Beacon," I ask Hyacinth a bit shocked at its grandeur. She looked out the window and her eyes lit up. Hyacinth scrambled out of her seat and pressed her face to the window. "Yup, that is definitely Beacon. The pictures from the website and pamphlet do it no justice," she said in awe. The brunette turned back to me, pulling her lips back in a grin.

I could feel my hands starting to flame up from excitement and decided it would be best not to stand up for a better look. "Wow it looks amazing, and to think that's our school," I say smiling a bit proudly. Hyacinth nods enthusiastically, too enthralled by the sight before her to properly respond.

After a few minutes longer I feel the airship beginning its decline to land. Finally we land before Beacon. I watch as my fellow passengers file off of the airship, but I stay seated. My hands were still engulfed with flames and there was no way I was going to walk around like that. Hyacinth looks my way as she gets ready to leave, "Aren't you coming?" She seemed to be incredibly excited to have arrived. I nod to let her know I was working on it. She gives me a friendly look, "I'll wait for you then." Feeling a sense of calm wash over me I slowly stand up as my flames went out. I wasn't sure where the sense of calm had come from but it was much appreciated. Then I proceed to follow Hyacinth off the ship and to Beacon. Luckily for me, she knew where she was going. Or so I had thought. Looking around I noticed we had been walking in giant circles the whole time.

"Do you even know where we are going," I ask her a bit skeptical.

"Um… No. Not really."

I stare at her for the longest time, "Just great. You got us lost and now we will be late. I hate being late." Hyacinth rolls her eyes, "I studied the map of the school 7 times last night. It is hopelessly confusing, because I can't read maps well, especially not the one I was given. The administrator must have given me the wrong map. Probably 'cause I'm a faunus." At this she made an ugly grimace, wrinkling her nose and furrowing her eyebrows, a sad frown on her face. "I honestly don't know why people hate my kind so much. Well, anyway, I figured you knew where you were going so I followed you. You probably got a decent map, right? Also we have twenty minutes until then. So come on, out with the map."

I put my hand on my head in a sheepish manner, "Well… ummm you see I wasn't given a map. I'm just as clueless as you are right about now." Hyacinth stared at me this time for a bit, a blank mask covering her face.

"The administrators hate us, don't they?" the Faunus said in a weary tone, more stating than asking. "I see a map over there, across the path. Let's go check it out, yeah?"

I nod and head off to look at the map, Hyacinth in pursuit. Once there I stare at it for a good while. It just looked like a bunch of lines to me. I didn't understand it in the slightest. What I needed was landmarks. That was how I traveled. Sighing I look over at Hyacinth, frustrated, "I can't read maps at all."

Hyacinth glanced over the map, eyes darting this way and that, until she gave a small nod of her head and turned back to me. "See that building over there, right behind us? That is the library, memorize it. Remember that it looks like a cathedral, but 3 times bigger and has a more gothic style than modern." I glanced over to where she was pointing, taking note of each of the details that stood out the most. The soaring arches, the curling decals, and sharp edges. I also noticed that it had a bell in the tallest tower. I turned back to Hyacinth, slightly confused.

"Did you memorize it?" she asks, and I nod in response. She gave a nod as well, before pointing to a spot on the map. "The library is facing us, which means that it is facing west, which means we are too far east of the auditorium, which is here," at this she pointed to a large block on the map, "inside one of the main buildings. We just need to walk west, and then slightly north. I'll take a picture of it for future reference." Hyacinth slipped her hand into her skirt (How the hell did she do that? There aren't any pockets on the thing, no seams, nothing!) and pulled out a very expensive/high-tech-looking phone and snatched several pictures of the map. She then grabbed my wrist and started dragging me to (hopefully) the direction of the auditorium.

I yank my wrist free from her grasp and walk slightly ahead of her by a pace or two. I glance back at her with a glare, "Do not touch me." Hyacinth shrank back a bit at my glare, her ears pressed against her head. My entire demeanor had become hostile as the grasp had reminded me of my past. Next thing I knew I had ran right into something and was sprawled on the ground. Still on edge I jump up with my red and black haladie raised, "The fuck just happened?!" I look down to see a lanky blond haired male laying on the ground. Hyacinth rushed over and was about to put her hand on my shoulder before she stopped and withdrew it. "Are you ok?" she asked me, ears slightly down, before looking down and gasping. "Oh my gosh, are you ok?!" Hyacinth crouched down and helped the blond stand up. The male seems to be flustered but fine. He was accompanied by a short haired female.

I take a step back, overwhelmed by the amount of people in the same area. I was nowhere used to this many people I didn't know. Having lived by myself with only my trainer to talk to for many years. I growl slightly and watch as blood red flames engulfed me. "Well this is just fucking great," I say sarcastically. No one was supposed to see my semblance, due to me still not having control over it most of the time. The three of them had very different expressions from each other.

The boy (because he is definitely not a man yet) had the reaction I expected: fear, caution, and quiet awe. The other two, though, I could have never predicted. The short female's eyes were lit up like a Christmas tree, her mouth hanging open and her body language screamed awe and admiration. Hyacinth reacted in a different way. She had a thoughtful look on her face, her head cocked to one side and her ears perked forward. She studied me and my flames, before giving me a gentle and friendly smile.

I instantly relaxed, not a lot, but enough to let the flames gradually die. The other two unknown students calmed as well, and Hyacinth gave a relieved smile. "Well, that was interesting. Is everyone alright now?" We all nodded or gave verbal affirmations. "Good. Now," The brunette turned to the two newcomers. "I'm going to assume that you two are new students as well, and are lost?" They nodded. "Ok, well we are heading to the auditorium as well. Want to join us?"

"Yeah let's go. My name is Ruby Rose and the awkward boy is Jaune Arc," the female replies to Hyacinth.

Hyacinth smiles at them happily, "I'm Hyacinth Crevan and the blonde is Pyrope…" She looks over at me questionally. I remembered that I had not given her my last name on the airship earlier.

"Akumi-Akamori," I say supplying my last name. Looking at the three of them, "Could you guys maybe not mention the whole fire thing to anyone?"

Ruby looks over at me, "But it was sooo cool! It didn't even harm you one bit! And-" Hyacinth gives a slight look and Ruby stops mid-sentence, "Okay. I won't say anything." Her expression seemed a bit dejected. I look over at Jaune and await his answer.

Jaune looks at me almost a tad hesitant, "Okay… just… don't shoot fire at me. P-please."

I sigh and walk off to the assembly, the others already walking excitedly in the direction of the auditorium. We only had 10 minutes until it started, so we needed to hurry. Ruby practically runs off shouting something about finding her sister, Jaune following her. I just walked at my normal speed, knowing I'd make it perfectly on time at my pace. Just as I had suspected, I entered the auditorium right as it began.

Who I assumed to be Professor Ozpin began to speak, "I'll… keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge- -to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have 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 the first step."

I look at him for a little bit. I was surprised at how short the speech seemed to be and it appeared I wasn't the only one who felt off about it. Shrugging the feeling away, I look over to Glynda Goodwitch as she speaks, "You will go sleep in the ballroom tonight and initiation will begin tomorrow." People begin to file out of the auditorium to prepare for the night.

I follow suit and change into my pajamas. Looking around the sleeping area in the ballroom, I find a nice secluded spot in the corner. Settling down I watched as everyone claimed their spots. It looked like Hyacinth was attempting to socialize with people. I lay down and roll over so that I faced the wall. Tomorrow was initiation and there was no way I was going to mess that up by not having rested. Closing my eyes I slowly drifted to sleep, ignoring the sounds of people gossiping.

End of Chapter 2

Hey guys, I hope you liked the story so far. If you have any feed back for me I would love to hear it. Anyways, there are new chapters coming soon. I intend for this to be a long running series and I hope to post regularly, probably multiple times a week for the first couple weeks just to get it off the ground then after that once per week.