For those of you wondering Koku-Ran is a black orchid found in japan.

Chapter two: The Airship

A feeling struck me, deep in my gut, the moment I had seen the great walls of the kingdoms. A barrier between civilization and the monsters that lurked outside and I wanted to go in. It was hard not to be impressed by the fortifications, built during the last great Grimm wars, they were tall enough to hold back any size of land based grimm and the impressive aura fueled ballista were more then enough to take care of any airborne threat.

Passing the gates was fairly easy, my dad showed the proper papers and we were let through without much fuss, the letter from beacon even earning us a place in the quick line. I have to admit, as impressive as the walls and gates were, I was not prepared for what lay inside.

The areas near the walls were mostly agricultural but, opposed to my village, where the house lived like island surrounded by their fields, every house was lined up with their neighbors, their lands stretching in a long thin line behind them. There must have been a thousand people living there... the number was oppressing for me, my small village counting a bit less than half of that number.

Taking in the sights, I was led by my father to the airport to await the airship that would take me to Beacon. The massive structure was made of the same grayish white stone that composed the walls and seemed to make up most of the official buildings. When we finally reached the boarding platform, a big clock advised us the next departure wasn't due for another hour.

Uncomfortable silence fell on us as my father had never been much of a talker and I had nothing left to say to him. Ten minutes passed in unbearable silence until I decided to talk

"You know.. you don't have to wait for the ship...I'm sure you've got work to-"

He nearly growled cutting my sentence short. "Nonsense! My son is more important... but I see you are uncomfortable with me here" he sighed "Your mother would have been better at this than me"

Hearing about the mom I'd never met, I felt a pang in my heart. My father had loved her dearly and almost never brought her up.

"Here take this" I looked down to see a black leather tube whose length was half my size.

The moment I grabbed it, the power from within radiated into me, I knew what it was "I can't accept this, you should keep it"

My fathers face, looking half determined half begging, told me I wouldn't win this argument. "Your mother would've wanted you to have it.. I already have my weapon it's about time you had yours"

He left a few minutes later.

It seemed that time slowly dilated itself making every minute an excruciating eternity with the precious package across my lap as I sat on the bench. I hadn't told him but he knew, I wouldn't, couldn't, use this, ever.

The countdown was now showing 20 minutes to departure and I was still alone of the pier. That's when I understood the feeling I had since the walls. It was apprehension... I was leaving everything behind here: My home, my only friend, the village that saw me grow up and my dad. I was afraid, I hated the feeling.

Fifteen minutes before departure is when the faunus showed up. Tall, dark and handsome... you know the type. He looked like he was built for speed and stood at least a head taller then me, no small feat considering I'm 6'2.

He almost looked human, but the fluffy tail and husky ears betrayed his nature. He walked up the the bench where I sat and the slight nod was all I got before he took a seat besides me. Oddly, his silent presence felt better that having an empty pier. Almost like two old friends contempt with each others presence.

"So.." I was almost startled by the sound of his voice. "I take you are going to Beacon too?"

I looked at him and he pointed to the letter I still held in my left hand.

"Yeah.. the name's DeWinter."

He raised an eyebrow "Got a first name DeWinter?"

I shook my head, I hated my name. "Yeah. It's Sky. I know I have blue eyes...real original"

His laughter was rich and genuine. I looked at him, it was the laugh of a man who understood my pain

"Hey at least your parents didn't try to be creative!" he gestured to his short black hair and deep black eyes " I'm Kokuran" It was my turn to laugh.

We shook hands and no other word were exchanged but my mood was much better. If people were like him at Beacon, I might actually have a good time...

The Airship...

Oh my god the airship. I think I'd never seen someone laugh so hard at me as Kokuran did when he saw my reaction. Any illusion I was from the kingdoms shattered the moment this metal behemoth entered my field of view.

Hesitant steps took me aboard and only the hurt pride of my earlier display with Kokuran pushed me to walk to the windows and take in the view. Had I been alone I think I would've sat in the middle of the ship trying very, very, hard not to look outside. The view was so very worth it though. I felt as if the world was unraveling below me. I could see the curb of the earth off in the distance.

Silently stepping up to where I was, I heard my new Faunus friend make a low whistling sound "Always the best view"

I couldn't help but agree. My hands grip the railing so hard my knuckles went white when the airship lift off and took altitude. For a moment, I thought I was going to hurl but the feeling in my gut had changed... this was exhilaration... this was flying. Not the soft falling I did with my aura but true blue sky flying! I knew this moment would be burnt into my memories forever and a great many nights would have me close my eyes to see this again.

The rest of the trip to next stations was done in a calm manner, neither of us speaking, hypnotized by the land and the sky before us.

As we made distance, the agricultural areas made way for more and more house with smaller and smaller lots of land, I knew these were called suburbs and I couldn't understand why people would chose to live in such a cramped area but those thoughts were soon forgotten when the City of Vale came into view.

Giant, monolithic, physics defying structure and more people than I thought possible. The last stop before beacon was a pick up at the heart of Vale and, though we had picked up a few passengers from the previous ports, nothing had prepared me for the mass of living being that flooded the airship.

We were at capacity. I suddenly found myself very happy I had taken up position next to the windows, the thought of being in the middle of this mass of people made me uncomfortable.

My friend, it seemed, had no problem with this influx of passengers, he was casually leaning on the railing looking at everyone coming, flashing smiles and winking at girls, who all seemed more than happy with the attention they got from him. Studying him again, I had to admit he looked good. His short dark hair look incredibly fluffy and the two dark triangular ears only accentuated the v shape of his jaw giving him a nearly canine look. His black leather pants and red shirt were both extremely form fitting, not that it was a problem for someone like him. His dark eye though, it seemed, were what drew girls in and, I guessed, his canine heritage helped too since he seemed to release on aura of confidence and command.

I sighed looking at the sun-bleached jeans I wore and the state of my weather beaten leather jacket. I was no match "Not that I want the attention either..." I quietly reminded myself.

I looked around at the people who would become my colleagues in short while. Most of them had opted for a simple look and I understood them, the first day at any school was always daunting and this was no ordinary school. Still a few stood out from the lot and my eyes drifted from a blond boy who seemed to be having problems with air travel to a duet of girls.

One, significantly shorter than the other, sported a short red trimmed black skirt complemented with a black and red corset but, it was her cape that caught my attention as it seemed to be made of some form of red silk I couldn't quite make out and gave the illusion that rose petals fell from it. My gaze then moved to her exuberant partner who was...well endowed and dressed to show it. In leather and yellow fabric that complemented the blondes hair colour, she left quite a bit of skin exposed and though it was more than I had seen from the girls in my village it still covered enough to be acceptable by my taste.

The Blonde one picked up her short partner and exclaimed "I CAN'T BELIEVE MY BABY SISTER IS GOING TO BEACON WITH ME" Try as as I might I couldn't stop my laughter when I saw the look of distress on the red haired girls face.