Sorry for the short chapter, I had my first semester in college, rebooting LIARs as The RNBW Conspiracy, and work out the kinks in my Miraculous Ladybug fic all in the way. If you don't get half of the stuff I casually mention during this chapter let me explain.
Chaw: Hoolian, Noun: Group, Class, or team.
Battle Claws: Hoolian, Noun: Hand held weapons attached to Hoolian claws to give them more ripping power. John's gauntlets are based on them.
Chapter 3: The First Night
Even though it was one in the afternoon and I had just recently eaten, the day's events had really tired me out. I found my way into the ballroom which was going to be the sleeping area for the night until all the of the teams had been selected.
I rolled out a simple mattress pad made from memory foam used when I went out camping when I was younger, and placed my sleeping bag on top of it. I lay down not caring about getting into my pajamas or zipping up the bag and closed my eyes.
I opened my eyes after a felt a familiar pressure on my chest. My vision was filled with blinding white feathers, and my ears filled with a heartbeat. I leaned up and pressed my lips into the mass of down, causing the form above me to start producing a purring noise.
"I was wondering when you going to contact me directly." She spoke getting off of me and shifting into a standing position.
"I'm sorry," I began to explain, "jumping worlds caused the connection to break for a bit."
"Well you had me worried for a bit." She screeched, cuffing me upside the head with her wing. "I have no idea if they also control this world, I need more data on it."
"These places have been talking for eighty years. Of course they're here."
She walked over to a nearby table and corkboard filled with drawings and notes. Each detailing a various historical event and how they all tie together. "It's just," she sighed standing at the table and looking the information over, "you can't fly solo on this anymore. You need a Chaw."
"And Beacon is going to give me one." I explained getting up out of the nest. "You just need to let me be around whatever females they decide to stick me with. I promise you, I won't make the same mistake again that I made with Nicole."
"You better, or I'll break out the battle claws." She hissed turning her head around to face me.
"So what's the strategy?" I asked looking through the parchments laid on the table.
"I need you to gather as much information on Remnant history, wars, terrorism, conspiracies, anything, and encode them for me."
I made mental notes for me to write down on my phone later. "Oh and one more thing." I turned around to see her fully. To normal humans she would have been nothing more than a giant talking barn owl, but to me, she is my wife. She drifted forward and wrapped her wings around me and pressed her beak against my lips. "Stay safe."
"I will." I pulled myself out of the vision and got up from my makeshift bed. I looked around to see if anyone else was in the room and saw that an Asian looking girl with a French accent was standing near the entrance.
"Why hello, I was just here to see if anyone was in here." She explained calmly almost nervously. "They're having a barbeque outside, Prof. Schnee has some of her cooks preparing dinner."
"Thanks," I replied looking at my phone realizing it was now 6:30, "what's your name?
"Adrianna Li." She replied awkwardly blushing at my response.
"Nice to meet you." I responded getting up and walking towards the door. She led me through the halls towards the main front door leading from the main buildings to the airport that connected the school to the main land. All along the main walkway were various buffet stands with generic barbeque food laid out for everyone.
I walked over to one of the tables which had very few people around and grabbed a paper plate. I placed three hotdogs on the plate and sought a place to sit. I looked around and saw a little sign that said, ALL EARTH STUDENTS MUST SIT WITH THEIR REMNANT COUNTERPARTS, I sighed and went to find Winry.
I saw her sitting next a tree all alone with her rifle disassembled. As I approached I noticed she was blindfolded hold up the pieces of the bolt and firing pin trying to assemble them. I leaned on the tree and checked my phone for the time. I began slowly eating my hotdog watching her try to reassemble the barrel and trigger mechanism.
She eventually slid the receiver back into the weapon and placed it on the ground in front of her. I sat down next to her silently as I finished my first hotdog and took a drink from the water bag in my backpack.
"Look I'm sorry for what happened earlier in the mess hall." I explained sliding down to the base of the tree.
"You can't really apologize for almost stabbing someone!" She retorted.
"Me and her, we have some unresolved issues. Sometimes, me more than her. But you get the idea." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I just continued eating my hotdog. "Look I'm not looking for any form of forgiveness, but since we might be stuck together for four years, we can't be constantly trying to shoot each other."
"Well, snipers do need spotters." She outstretched her hand and I took it in a sign of alliance.
We were soon joined by Adrianna, Nicole, Michael, and a deer faunus girl. "You were right Adri, he is attractive." The deer faunus whispered looking Michael up and down.
"Make any funny movements and I'll snap those antlers off you head, got it?" Adrianna growled cuddling up to Michael. I was a bit shocked looking at this.
"Wait, you two are dating?" I asked curiously to the French kids.
"We met in middle school, he was using his Aura to be a superhero and he unlocked mine to join him." She explained. "When Earthers got the ability to go to an academy, we both applied. Oh, I forgot, this is Jennifer, she's from here in Vale."
We all said our greetings and then just sat and ate our food in silence. I then pulled out m phone and pulled up a game to pass the time until something happened. Winry was the first to speak up. "So, you are all telling me that, I'm paired with a with a psychopath, I know two superheroes, and we all want to be huntsmen?"
"Yep." I agreed.
"Oui." Michael and Adrianna joined.
"Totally." Jennifer said laying back on the ground.
"Well, we're all fucked." Winry facepalmed and the leaned back on the tree.
"Eh, if I'm going out I'm gonna take Nicole with me." I jokingly threatened.
"Why me?" She growled. I responded by giving her the finger and then burst out into laughter. "You wanna fight?"
Dressed in my stripped pajama pants and yellow tee shirt, I slid into my sleeping bag. I pulled out a pair of headphones and placed them on and began playing some music through them. I began recording my initial thoughts on the people I had met, encrypted them, and then sent them over to my beloved. I then pulled out my copy of The Bourne Identity and continued reading. I got about half way through one of the very long chapters when I noticed a group of people crowded around a small TV set up in the corner. I turned off my music and got up from my resting place.
Attached to the TV was an old Game Cube playing Super Smash Bros. Melee. I was never very good at games like this, but I always found them fun to watch. Four students: a female monkey faunus, a pale guy wearing an ushanka in this weather and inside, a male rabbit faunus, and Adrianna sitting there holding wireless controllers beating the ever-loving shit out of each other.
Adrianna had managed to keep three lives while the other three had only one. Michael appeared next to me and explained, "I wish I could say that it was me who taught her all of those moves, but she was actually training me to play this game." I smirked at the statement.
"Hey, I can't play this game to save my life." I joked.
Winry just appeared behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. "And if I can say anything about it, nothing will." I felt a hard tug and then I was suddenly in a broom closet.
"My psychological well-being and other various factors prevent me from making any more snarky comments about the situations you put me in."
"And if you care about your physical well-being, you'll shut up." She placed her hands around my neck, moving her main fingers to the back and her thumbs in the small indent in front of my ears. Persephone tried to grab me and pull me away.
"Your personality and physical exams recommend the Invocation of the Guardian as the one to activate your Aura." She explained. She began the standard chant that I had heard of many times during my research before coming to Beacon.
By the time she finished, she was clearly tired out. I placed an arm under hers and helped her stay up. She somehow had enough strength and aura to teleport us both back into the hall. I led her to where her sleeping bag was laid out and helped her to lay down. I went back to my sleeping bag and laid out inside of it. I checked my phone for the time, it was nine thirty. I knew I could stay up latter, but we were needed at the cliffs by ten tomorrow morning. I stretched out and closed my eyes for the next day.