Aboard the airship, the four soon-to-be students of Beacon Academy took the time to try and get to know each other.
"So," Cyrus began. "Who should start first?"
Sebastian gave his opinion first.
"I think we should all do rock-paper-scissors. That way, the last guy left goes first."
"Sounds fair to me," Axel agreed.
"Alright, on the count of three. One. Two. Three!" They threw their hands down, and Axel, Damien, and Cyrus's hands all showed rock, while Sebastian's showed paper. The others stared at Sebastian, confused.
"I could have sworn I didn't go rock," Cyrus said.
"Me neither," Axel added, looking puzzled.
"Same here."
Their gazes fixed on Sebastian, who was smiling widely.
"Don't look at me. You guys just suck at this game." He looked at them all with a shit-eating grin. "Looks like I'm safe. Have at it, you three."
The others went again, this time Cyrus emerged the victor. "See? I wanted rock that time, trust me."
"Don't worry. I do," Sebastian nodded, backing him up. "Now then. Damien vs. Axel. Who will win?" Sebastian spoke as if he were an announcer for some wrestling competition. Axel eyeballed Damien, grinning smugly.
"One. Two. Three!" they both exclaim as they slam their hands down.
"Ha! You always pick rock, you stooge!" Axel mocked, laughing.
Damien shook his head, a slight smile on his face.
"Fine. I guess I'll go," He said, turning to the rest of the group. "As you all know, the name's Damien. Damien Pyros. Lived in Vale my whole life. As you can probably assume, I'm kind of a vigilante around here, kicking the crap outta crooks and other lawbreakers, Torchwick's guys, White Fang, those kinda guys.." He leaned back, as if that was all he had to say.
"That's it?" Cyrus asked.
"Pretty much. Not much else to tell." Damien said hesitantly, turning his head out the window.
Axel sat forward.
"Guess it's my turn. As previously stated, the name's Axel. I run a weapon shop on the other side of the city with my dad. You've all been there. You didn't meet my dad though. He was in the workshop trying to replenish some stock." He turned to face Cyrus. "Thanks for the parts, by the way."
"No problem. Speaking of, my story is simply that I lived in Atlas for most of my life. And rather than join their militaristic academy, I figured Beacon would give me a better experience. So I decided to apply here. As for how I know Smithy, he's been a good friend of mine since childhood and was willing to give me a lift here while still helping him out on a delivery."
The group turned their gaze to Sebastian, who leaned forward to address the group.
"Name's Sebastian Skobeloff. I kinda pissed off the White Fang so they're trailing me. Every time they've tracked me down though, I've kicked the crap out of them. One in particular hates my guts, but I try not to worry about it all. So I've been running along, livin' lone wolf, er cat style. But Beacon is gonna give me a chance to sit down and do something with myself. Also, as you've all probably noticed by now, I am indeed a faunus. Well half actually. My dad is a human while my mom is a faunus. It's caused me a few snags here and there but I've seemed to manage."
"Attention everyone," the airship driver spoke over the comms. "We will be arriving at Beacon shortly. Please look out the windows on your right if you want a good view," he said as he brought the ship in. Everyone inside crammed against the windows, struggling to get a look at the magnificent structures of the prestigious Beacon Academy. Axel, his face pinned to the wall behind the horde of people, struggled for air.
"Uh, guyth, can we thave the thightheeing till we get ophth the phlane?" he said, sliding down to the floor and crawling through people's legs to freedom. He stood up, his hands on his knees, gasping for air.
As everyone got off the ship, the four boys met up once again and began their walk into the auditorium. Everyone gathered up in a crowd around the stage where a man in a black uniform with gray hair was waiting for their attention, alongside a woman in a black and white outfit with a purple cape.
"I'll… keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you finish, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose. Direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge will only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." The man then hobbled away with his cane, as the woman behind him stepped up to the microphone.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You're dismissed."
Axel turned to the rest of his group.
"Welp. guess we better get cozy," he said as the group started making their way to the ballroom to set up their sleeping area. "I don't suspect there's gonna be much elbow room."
"Anything is better than that musty hotel from last night. Compared to that this is much more… lively." Sebastian mumbled happily while getting settled into the sleeping bag near his three acquaintances.
"It was better than nothing, you know," Damien replies, sitting on the sleeping bag to Sebastain's right.
"Well at least you guys got beds. I had to sleep on Axel's couch." Cyrus added, rubbing his neck. "I think it permanently bent my spine." He looked at Axel, who was glaring at him. He flinched. "No offense," he said with a nervous laugh.
"If you didn't like it, you could have said something. I was just trying to be hospitable." Axel said, irritated.
"Let's just all get some good sleep tonight," Cyrus said, looking down at his new friends. "I suspect we'll need as much as we can get for tomorrow."
Sleep, huh? Sebastian thought to himself as he stared up into the ceiling.
The four, snuggled inside their sleeping bags, drifted off to sleep, eagerly awaiting their opportunity to start their tenures here at Beacon Academy.