"Is that it?"

"No, that's a warehouse."

"Is that?"

"That's another warehouse."

"How about here?"

"…Ruby, that's a rock. That's the same rock we've walked past three times now."

"Uggghhrrghagh…"

And so the past hour was filled with exchanges much like that one between the trio: One of them vainly trying to identify which of the myriad buildings of Beacon was the auditorium with the other two pointing out why they were not.

After their fourth loop around to said rock, the sole male of the group throws up his hands. "Alright, fuck this shit. We're getting nowhere here. Let's just double back and ask for another map."

Himi just glares back at him. "I suggested that right after we realized Yang had them, only you shot that down thinking the staff would chew you out and went 'Oh, it shouldn't be that hard to find some dumb building here,´ despite the fact it took you three months to memorize where our apartment building was, and none of us had ever been here before!"

"Hey! I'll admit I let my pride get the better of me again, but it's not my fault the builders here made all those apartments look the same!"

"You kept blundering into people's houses by the train station! We live by the docks on the other side of the city!"

"Eoleo once suggested we put a dog's collar on you with the apartment's address on it because of that."

Caught off guard before she could try to stop the brewing fight, Ruby turns behind to see another three people had just joined them, two of which are instantly recognized by the bickering pair.

"Oh, Sveta! Rief!"

The one who spoke out is a young faunus woman of average height, lithe muscles and rather exotic features even by their standards, with long feline ears, a cat-like nose, and claws on her hands. Her outfit consists of a violet silk undershirt with long sleeves under a lavender blouse with white decorative trim and a maroon zodog jacket with tawny gold trimmings and roping modified at the sides to reach down to her hips. Her lower body is covered with violet silk leggings with maroon "sleeves" fastened over them with rope lacing, reaching from under her knees down to her ankles. She had forgone any footwear, revealing large paw-like feet with three toes and claws to match. Finally, a simple ring made of amegreen stone adorns her left ringfinger, her lilac hair was tied into twin braids that reached down to her hips, striking grass-green eyes flecked with steel grey and a look of fond exasperation on her face.

To her right is a smaller and leaner young man with pale skin, shoulder-length sea-blue hair and matching eyes shaking his head in amusement. His ensemble consists of a sky-blue tunic with azure trimming in a decorative triangular pattern underneath a matching robe, dark brown trousers and work boots. For accessories he wears dark grey gloves, a pair of small grey leather pauldrons on his shoulders, and large round-rim glasses, giving him a scholarly aura. Around his waist is a belt of satchels and pouches stuffed with unknown supplies, and fastened to his back is an azure metallic spear with a large triangle "cut out" of the base of the blade.

The last member of the trio is the same scraggly blonde boy that was feeling ill onboard the bullhead. Tall and lanky with fair skin and dark blue eyes, the young man is clad in a short-sleeved black hoodie with orange detached sleeves, blue denim jeans, black hightop sneakers and two brown belts criss-crossing over his waist. A silver-white breastplate coupled with a pair of metal spaulders and vambraces serve as his armor, with a mechanical sheath adorned with a crest composed of two pale yellow arcs over a circle, holding a simple arming sword attached to his left arm. He greets the lost group with a small wave and casual "hey".

Tyrell proceeds to throw his head back in overexaggerated exasperation while Ruby and Himi giggle at the mental image. "Man, is this day just meant for making fun of me or something? Give me a break!"

The bluenette gives a small laugh in response. "To be fair, you tend to blunder about enough to deserve the ribbing. Although Himi isn't without blame here either. Matthew and Karis both tried calling you about thirty minutes ago only to find you left your scrolls inside the suitcases." He emphasizes this by pulling out the pair of said scrolls, causing Himi to flush and duck her head down in embarrassment.

The odd faunus girl then takes this moment to approach Ruby, placing one arm over the other and offering a small bow once she gets close. "Greetings. You must be Ruby. My name is Sveta, and the young man there is Rief. We're part of Himi's adoptive family. I must say, though you have only met once, she has spoken very fondly for you."

Ruby just scratches the back of her head and shyly looks away, with Himi doing the same in the opposite direction. Tyrell then waves a hand to the blonde tagalong. "So who's this guy? He get lost too?"

In response the blonde puffs out his chest in an attempt to look impressive. "What, me, lost? Never. And the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet rolls off the tongue. Lady's love it."

"…do they?"

Ruby's honest confusion coupled with Rief's embarrassment sends Tyrell cackling, with Sveta and Himi giving giggling at how the now-named Jaune just deflates at the failure. "W-well, my mom said they will eventually…"

"We found him in a daze after he got shot down rather harshly by this aggravated snow-themed girl and had him come with us."

Himi grimaces a bit at Rief's explanation. "Did this girl happen to have long hair in a lopsided ponytail and a scar over her eye? If so we've had an encounter with her earlier as well. It was… not pleasant."

Sveta lets out a huff. "I can imagine. Regardless, we should get going. The speech is set to start soon and I would rather we not get expelled before the first day."

"Oh jeez, that would be bad. Let's book it!"

"Ah, Ruby, wait! That's not where to go!"

After corralling Ruby back to follow the two that actually know the way there, the group finally sets off at a brisk pace. Along the way Ruby glances at Rief's spear and initiates a conversation. "So, what kind of weapons do you guys have? Mine's Crescent Rose, a combination mecha-shift scythe and high-impact sniper rifle!"

"A what?"

"It's also a gun, Tyrell."

"Oh."

"Well, you have already seen my staff, Clotho's Distaff, and my semblance that night. I can also wield a masterwork katana known as Masamune and a longbow made of tempered silver."

"Take a right at this intersection, guys, then a left at the fountain. As for me, I prefer to use spears, staves and maces, with the spear I have here called Atropos' Rod. I focus on rendering first aid however and mainly use my semblance to keep foes at bay."

"Ooh, what's your semblance, Rief?"

"A mix of hydro- and cryokinesis like my cousin Amiti. He prefers to use liquid water while I tend to use ice."

"Wow, that sounds pretty useful, actually! All I have is my family heirloom, Crocea Mors. The sheath can expand into a heater shield, but other than that it's really simple. I… don't have a semblance yet."

"There's no shame in that, Jaune. Plenty of hunters never unlock their semblance and yet still kick enough ass to be famous, like Mr. Peter Port, and he's one of the professors here!"

"Wait, really?!"

"We've arrived."

With Sveta's announcement the group realizes that they did indeed arrive at the auditorium, with a large smattering of students mingling about the front of the building. A trio of said students on the right spot them and start waving them over, while Ruby spots a familiar length of wild blonde heading inside. "Ah, there's my sister! Thanks for helping us get here, guys, I'll see you inside! Hey Yang, wait a minute!"

"I see the rest our family as well. It was nice meeting you, Jaune, and I wish you luck in initiation!"

Jaune is caught off guard by his friends' sudden departures. "Ah, hey wait! Ah, now who am I supposed to talk to? I can't tell who else would be friendly here or not!"

"Hm?"

The rest of Himi's family walked up to the group to meet them halfway. Leading the trio is a tall lithely-built man with blonds spiky hair, fair skin and steel-grey eyes flecked with green. He's clad in a red vest under a dark-blue denim coat and matching pants, tanned leather boots and fingerless gloves, a leather belt holding several pouches and a slightly scuffed compass, and a battered yet well cared-for gold scarf. Strapped to his back is a large sheath holding a greatsword with a golden crossguard crafted into a sun motif. With an affectionate smile he gently embraces Sveta and kisses her on the forehead, a matching amegreen ring on his left hand shining as she returns the gesture.

Behind him is another somewhat thin man just slightly taller than Rief with pale skin, turquoise eyes and matching hair swept back in a low ponytail. His outfit consists of an open navy blue nehru jacket over a pale-gold shawl and an orange silk shirt, a navy blue sarong with gold trimming and dark brown leather sandals. He has a worn-yet-ornate cobalt-and-gold headband and pale-gold bead necklace for accessories, and a hand-and-a-half straightsword with a pale gold pommel and crossguard sheathed on his left. He has a fairly content expression as his right arm is entwined with the last member of the group.

Said member is a young lady with long emerald-green hair tied into a high ponytail, fair skin and amethyst eyes. Her choice of fashion is a pale white tunic with gold trimmings over a pink silk blouse, matching bridal gauntlets and knee-high boots and brown pantyhose stockings, accentuated with a pair of jade bracelets, gold teardrop earrings and a small purple cape. Despite leaning her head on her partner's shoulder she has an exasperated expression as she makes eye-contact with Tyrell. "I'm starting to think you enjoy getting lost on purpose at this point. Eoleo's collar joke might actually have merit."

"Oh, can we not, Karis? Everybody's been giving me shit about that today."

"Not until it's drilled into your head."

"Now now, the commencement speech is starting and Tyrell's been grilled enough. We can save the ribbing for later."

"Thank you, Rief. I think."

As the eclectic family head inside the other blue-haired man nods his head towards Jaune looking slightly lost. "I assume you all made another friend on the way here?"

Tyrell's eyes follows the man's gesture as he answers. "Sort of. His name is Jaune Arc. Apparently Sveta and Rief found him after he got shot down when he tried to get a date with-"

"You! We could've been blown off the cliff because of you!"

"Oh jeez it's happening again!"

"Oh wow, you actually exploded."

"-…that bitch. Oh what the fuck is she doing now?!"

"Becoming an annoyance that needs to be dealt with."

"W-wait, Tyrell! Himi! This is not the place to start a fight!"

"But that impudent, entitled brat is harassing Ruby over an accident she caused! Am I supposed to tolerate that?"

"No, but the other lady over there is already trying to diffuse the argument. I appreciate you wanting to help your friend and humble this 'brat', I want to as well, but if we go over there she'll see it as being ganged up on and just make things worse."

Any retort to that died as a rhythmic tapping from the speakers grabs everyone's attention. Looking to the stage they see Glynda Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin next to the microphone. As Ozpin clears his throat to start giving the commencement, the group hears a moan and snap their focus towards a swooning Sveta and her lover, looking pained like they're suddenly suffering a migraine. Karis, Tyrell and Amiti dash forward to catch and stabilize the pair.

"Aw jeez, Sveta! Matthew! You guys doing alright?"

Fortunately the two recover quickly from the sudden 'attack', Sveta gently prying Karis's hands away. "Ah! W-we're fine, Karis. Just… caught off guard by something."

"Caught off guard? By-"

"Not now. It can wait."

"But-"

"Please. We're not in danger, I promise. We just can't talk about it now."

Grimacing at Matthew's soft-spoken command and reassurances, the group nonetheless drops the issue for now, worried looks on their faces as they turn back to catch the tail end of the headmaster's speech. All the while an unheard conversation goes on between the two in question.

"Matthew, we need to be careful here. The headmaster here…"

"I know, Sveta. As well-meaning as he seems, someone with a spirit as ancient and cursed like that is someone to be leery of."

Very, very sorry about the year-plus-long delay. College, life events, 2020, wandering muses and just general laziness got in the way.