Ash stood amongst a sea of men and women, patiently waiting for the last stragglers to find their way into the amphitheater and finally allow the headmaster to begin.
He absently pulled at the collar of his clothes, finding discomfort in the formal attire that he was forced to wear, atleast until his armor was repaired and cleaned.
Professor Goodwitch had made a big fuss about how he couldn't just waltz around covered in his own blood. He found this ridiculous, if it was the Abyss Watchers they would congratulate him for surviving, not hound him about his state of dress.
'No more thinking about them, It'll spoil my mood.'
"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces." Ozpin spoke above the cheering and chattering of the amphitheater.
Strange, there was already cheering... had he missed the announcement of a team or two?
Ash shook his head and started to listen to Ozpin, deciding that he could remember the good times later, and that he shouldn't build himself a reputation of being disrespectful.
"From this day forward, you will work together as Team Juniper. Lead by... Jaune Arc!" He announced.
Jaune sputtered, obviously not believing his ears as his face contorted in a look of fear and confusion.
Ozpin donned a smug grin "Congratulations young man."
The girl with red hair, Pyrrha Nikos, playfully slugged Jaune in the shoulder, sending him toppling to the ground with a "Woah!"
Pyrrha quickly helped him up and lead him off the stage as the next team was called out.
"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiaolong. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces." Said the Headmaster.
"From this day forward, you will work together as Team Ruby. Lead by... Ruby Rose." Ozpin said
Yang jumped at her sister excitedly, crying out about how proud of her she was.
"Finally... Ash Cinerous, and Cyrus Aranth."
Ozpin called out the two's names.
Ash made his way up to the stage, meeting up with the man who was to be his partner for the next four years and greeting him with a nod before respectfully awaiting Ozpin's next words.
"The both of you collected the white bishop pieces, and will make up the first duo team in Beacon Academy's history." He announced, the crowd looking uncertain in their applause.
Probably because survivability is much higher with four members, and we are only two.
Ash and Cyrus locked eyes as they gave eachother a sideways glance, the other man's dual-colored eyes meeting his own two purple ones.
The boy had charcoal black hair, one red and one silver eye, he was very pale, and he also stood at a height of roughly six feet tall.
Ash noticed a gun strapped to his hip, one about the size of his forearm and made of enriched wood and polished metal.
A fancy metal sheath was fixed to his hip on the opposite side, holding the form of a sabre with another blade built into the hilt.
And strangely, the boy had one more weapon. A wrapped and hidden greatsword was sheathed to his back, covered in bandage and cloth. Maybe it was a backup weapon?
Cyrus wore dark colors, a dark gray long coat wrapped around his body with dark silver bracers attached on the forearms, underneath the coat was a sort of formal attire wrapped with several belts along the midriff and part of his chest.
A black leather cap sat upon a head of charcoal black hair, with withered feathers jutting out of it's tricorn fashion.
Ash deduced that Cyrus was a fighter that favored speed and agility over defense. He himself was much the same, but not to the extent at which Cyrus was.
He noticed he was staring for a bit too long, and quickly moved to introduce himself.
"A pleasure to meet you, as you've probably already heard... my name is Ash." Ash offered a hand to Cyrus
Cyrus stared at his hand for a moment, before nodding and giving it a friendly shake.
"Looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year." Ozpin commented as everyone started to filter out of the amphitheater.
Ash and Cyrus left the stage and left to find their dorm, Cyrus having their room number on his 'scroll.'
A few minutes of walking later and they had located the building their room was in, though it was mostly due to the fact that they were tailing another team.
Cyrus opened the door to their new dorm after confirming it was the right one, stepping in and revealing a bedroom with two doors on opposite sides, and two beds placed a couple feet away from eachother.
His partner made his way over to the bed on the right, removing his hat and placing it on a nightstand beside it as he claimed the bed as his own.
Ash shrugged and went to sit on the left one, completely unbothered by Cyrus's lack of communication. He assumed that the boy was simply shy, or perhaps was physically unable to speak.
"Forgive me if I'm being rude, but... do you speak, or are you just unable?" Ash decided to ask, believing it was better to ask now than on the battlefield.
Cyrus pointed to his mouth and made an X with his hands and shrugged.
"Oh... I'm sorry. I'll try to be mindful of that." He felt a little bad now but knew that it was a necessary question, and hoped Cyrus did too.
They looked at eachother awkwardly for a couple moments, Ash finding nothing else to converse about.
Ash broke their little staring contest, eyes trailing across the room to look at the shattered moon in the sky.
"It's getting late, I think I'll go to sleep. Feel free to do as you please."
He got changed in the bathroom and made his way to bed, finding that his feet hung uncomfortably off the edge... he would find a solution another time.
...
"Maybe we're too early?" Ash thought aloud
Cyrus shook his head and knocked on the door, waiting a few moments before the lock started to move and the door was pulled open from the inside.
A large man dressed in a dark red suit stood in the doorway, a beaming smile plastered across his face. Ash couldn't help but admire the man's mustache, it would surely make Siegward jealous.
"Ah, you two must be Ash and Cyrus. You two are a bit early, but please come in." The man stepped out of the way and beckoned them both in.
"You may sit where you please, but I highly recommend you sit together. Both in this class and all the ones you have together."
Ash tapped Cyrus on the shoulder and pointed to a desk, the first one on the right when entering the classroom. Cyrus didn't seem to care and sat down.
"Oh my, where are my manners? I am Professor Port, and I will be teaching you Grimm Studies this year." The man introduced himself and stuck out his hand for Ash to shake.
Ash grasped it firmly and gave it a slight shake "Nice to meet you, I hope we can have a great year together."
Port seemed a little surprised by Ash's formality, but quickly regained his jubilant and joyful persona "The pleasure is all mine! Why, this reminds me of the time-"
Ash decided to sit down at the desk while pretending to listen to Port's story. He didn't want to be rude, but he's heard enough stories from Siegmeyer to last him centuries.
Cyrus seemed to have the same idea and pulled out a book bound in black leather... titled 'How to Pick Up Fair Maidens'
Ash was so going to hold that over his head once they were more comfortable with eachother.
Cyrus looked him right in the eye and followed his gaze to the letters on his book, terror showing in his features.
Ash smirked as Cyrus hurriedly stuck the book in his pocket and pulled out a different one-'Beginner's Guide to Grimm'-and shot him a pleading look.
Ash laughed and fished a worn notebook from his pocket, opening it to the first page and frowning when he spotted that the corner of it was singed.
He'd taken a liking to sketching during his time in Lothric, even though he was admittedly bad at it. He could only handle connecting basic shapes, and his drawing were more polygonal outlines of his reference than an actual picture.
Regardless of how well it functioned, it still did. Having his own little bestiary helped a lot for when he was encountering a new enemy, and that's why he dedicated a page to every new foe.
He retrieved the stick of charcoal he'd been using from between two pages, one holding the likeness of the First Flame's guardian, and the other left bare.
Pressing the charcoal to the page, he roughly sketched out the canine form of a creature he learned was called a 'Beowolf.'
The only reason he knew what it was called was due to the large depiction of it on the wall, along with a helpful summary of it's physical traits and known behavior.
'Agile, frail, but numerous... pretty much like a hollow, actually.'
He was just about to get started on a drawing of a 'Nevermore' when the feeling of a hand tapping his shoulder caught his attention.
Cyrus pointed to his drawing and then stuck a thumb upwards in a sign of approval.
"Oh, thanks... but I'm not going to let that book slide if that's why you're complimenting me." Ash said bluntly.
Cyrus pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, he was trying to take Ash's mind off the embarrassing novel.
A pale hand shot up into the air, followed by a feminine voice "I do sir!" Answered the voice of Weiss Schnee.
'What are they talking about?'
"Well then, let's find out." Port gestured to a locked cage.
There was something in it, that was for sure, for it rattled and trembled from the force locked inside of it.
'Ugh, a practice fight against a Grimm, genius. What else would it be?'
He sighed and slouched forwards to rest his forehead on the desk, boredom gnawing at his sanity.
Obviously he'd be expected to watch and refrain from doodling his crude little sketches, but he knew for a fact that the girl fought with a rapier.
He vaguely remembered wielding one a very long time ago, and if he wasn't so impossibly drowsy he might shiver in disgust of the memory.
A rapier required a certain level of patience and accuracy that Ash could wield, but chose not to in favor of the sheer power of a greatsword.
Well, if he voiced his preference in that way he'd definitely be seen as brutish, if not a little savage. But anyways, he was getting distracted again, it would do him good to atleast get a semblance of an idea on what her... damn it.
Forehead met desk as his head crashed down, submitting to the force that was gravity by loss of all strength.
'Curse the fiends that decided to name their reality-defying superpowers after a common English word. Their children too, while I'm at it, 'cause why the hell not??'
An audible groan escaped him as he slowly pulled his head up off the table, eyes blinking slowly as he realized that the demonstration had actually been over for a few minutes now.
"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and stay vigilant."
'Ugh, probably should have payed attention... would've been a good idea.'
"Class Dissmised"
He sighed once more, begrudgingly deciding that he'd get used to the whole school thing, and then Ash Cinerous the Abyss Watcher tripped on his own sleeping foot and fell flat on his face... infront of the entire class.
...