Chapter One

Alex checked himself in the mirror for the umpteenth time. A teen on the verge of adulthood, his blonde hair combed neatly to the left stared back at him. His cleanly shaven face gave him a look of youthful, confident enthusiasm.

He wasn't the largest of people, but he was confident of his strength. On his hip he wore his faithful sword, sheathed safely in its scabbard. Its blade was slightly longer than his arm and its hilt was simple. A simple, no nonsense guard and pommel on either side of a two handed grip. Like a nervous boy on a first date, he wanted to make sure he looked perfect.

Appearances matter in making a first impression, he was told and he planned on finding out if it works. He combed his hair once again with his hand. He was nervous. Who wouldn't be?

Alex eventually stepped out of the men's room and joined the crowd of people gathered around a large screen showing the news. An update on an infamous criminal or something similar.

Not all were watching the news of course. Quite a few were enjoying a bird's eye view of Vale that they otherwise might not have the opportunity to enjoy. Over in a corner, he saw a girl trying to comfort her friend down.

"It's going to be fine, Gabe. Just… just don't look down," he heard the girl say.

"You know it's not the height that's the problem, right?" replied the guy. Deciding to leave the two alone, he decided to watch the news to waste time.

"Is it just me, or is the only news we get nowadays is about some crime being committed somewhere?" someone asked from behind him. It took Alex a while to realise it was directed at him.

"Yeah," he replied without turning around. "It's been kind of depressing to watch the news recently."

"Good thing for us anyway."

Caught by surprised by what he said, Alex turned to face his conversation partner to find an unkempt teen, slightly shorter than himself but otherwise of similar build to himself. The contrast in how they looked after their own appearances couldn't be any more blatant.

"Why'd you say that?" Alex asked.

"Because otherwise, we wouldn't have a job." The simple, honest truth in his answer caught Alex off-guard.

"That's a… blunt way to put it," Alex managed to say. "I'm sorry, but I never caught your name."

"Roy," came the curt response. "Roy Mason." He extended a hand which Alex shook after a moment's pause.

"Alex," he introduced himself. "Alexander Farr." Before they could exchange any more words, a roar of noise erupted from the crowd around them. Everyone crowded around whichever window was closest to them. Both Alex and Roy found themselves doing the same.

"Would you look at that," Roy said, clearly enjoying the view.

Alex wasn't paying attention. He was too captivated, awestruck to pay any attention to Roy. With his face practically pressed up against the glass, Alex couldn't contain his excitement. It was getting closer and closer with each passing moment.

"Beacon Academy," he said.

"Aaaand breath." Gabe matched his words with a deep breath of fresh air. They were among the first to disembark from the airship after it landed but while the other students made their way immediately into the academy, Gabe and Diana stepped to the side of the crowd for a breather.

"You okay now Gabe?" she asked.

"Think so," he replied. Only a few students still loitered around outside making the large courtyard feel even larger. "Feels good to be on solid land again."

"If you're okay now, let's get going," Diana said, her concern turning into enthusiasm. "Come on, come on, come on."

Unable to resist her spirit, Gabe picked up his bags and fell into step next to her as they made their way into the academy. Eventually, they entered a large auditorium, joining their fellow Hunter candidates.

"Great, we're going to have to stand up while listening to some boring speech? Wonderful," Gabe said when he noted a lack of seating. "Just when I thought I could catch forty winks." He caught a blonde guy next to him giving him a toxic look but he paid him no heed.

"You can't be serious."

"Weren't you the one who would sleep through every class?" Before the two of them could start arguing however, two people, a man and a woman, stepped on stage.

"Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch," Gabe heard the blonde say.

"Hooray. It's speech time," Gabe said with fake enthusiasm.

Roy wandered out somewhere as soon as the speech was over. Alex didn't mind being by himself for now. He didn't know what to think of Roy. On one hand, he was accepted into Beacon, just like he himself was, so Roy must have the potential to be a Hunter.

However, Alex couldn't bring himself to accept Roy's messy self-presentation. To Alex, it was important to look the part. Hunters were supposed to be symbols of hope and heroism were they not? That's what they were to him.

He stopped and chatted for a while with the few familiar faces he knew. Everyone was talking about the same thing. How would their teams be decided?

Rumours suggested everything from lottery to picking your own teammates to being assigned a team by the academy. Alex didn't mind the method, as long as he got a team he could rely on and that in that team, he himself would not wind up being a dead weight.

He would not let himself be a dead weight, he told himself. People don't tell stories on useless people.

Gabe couldn't sleep. Sure it was still early, but Gabe had been trying to sleep for a while now. Maybe it was the noise in the large, shared dormitory he was in. Some of the other freshmen were horsing around. Even Diana had disappeared somewhere.

The look of disappointment on her face when he said he wasn't in the mood to wander around. Even though he had said that to her earlier, he felt like taking a walk now thanks to his inability to sleep.

"I hope I don't run into her," he said to himself as he drifter around random empty corridors with a tinge of guilt. He eventually found himself on a balcony where the cool night air greeted him.

"Is that… smoke?" he asked when he smelled something weird.

"Sorry," he heard someone say from his right. Turning around he saw someone sitting on the railing smoking a cigarette. "Are you sure you should be smoking here?" Gabe asked cautiously.

"Don't think so. But I can't sleep unless I had a smoke," came the reply. "No need to be so stiff. I'm a newbie like you."

"Don't blame me if you get kicked out before you even start."

"Don't worry. I won't. Anyway, are you sure you should be up here? This place is kind of high up you know?"

"Say what now?"

"Don't be shy. You were the one on the airship trying his hardest to not look afraid."

Gabe sighed. "It's not the height that's the problem." To prove his point, he leaned over the railing as far as he felt safe. "It's the whole being on an airship thing."

"I see," was the replied. He took a long drag of his cigarette before flicking it off the railing. "Name's Roy by the way," he introduced himself as he dismounted. "Roy Mason."

"Gabriel Cain," Gabe replied extending his hand which Roy promptly shook.

"Hope we get along while we're still alive," Roy said. "I'll be heading back now. See you around."

Gabe was left alone on the balcony as Roy re-entered the building. "While we're still alive huh? Guess I'm not the only pessimist here." He looked to over where his house would more or less be. "Wonder if they're already asleep."

"Missing home already?" Gabe jumped when he heard a voice from right behind his ear.

"Would you not sneak up on me like that?" Gabe said to Diana after recovering from the jump.

"It's payback."

"For what?"

"For taking a walk after telling me you didn't want to."

"That's because I didn't want be walking around with you," Gabe replied. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I changed my mind when I couldn't sleep," he found himself apologising when Diana started pouting again.

"Apology accepted," she said with her usual vigour just before she had a long drawn out yawn. "Let's get to sleep. Long day ahead." They walked back side by side.

"Long day ahead," Gabe agreed.