Eirn stretched while sneaking out of the ballroom the prospective students had spent the night in. It was less than ideal he had needed to sleep in his cloak, but he wasn't going add unnecessary risk to staying in an unfamiliar location by baiting attacks from anti-Faunus morons. I was probably one of the safest from them, but I don't want to start anything until I have the full protection of the Academy. As he made his way through the halls, he noticed the young woman in bronze armor from yesterday. Why do I feel like I've seen her before Beacon? Deciding to try making two successful social interactions with strangers in as many days, Eirn wandered over to her.

"Hello"

"Hello again!"

"Thank you for giving me that spot yesterday."

"No need to thank me, no one else was using it."

"This will sound weird, but have I met you before? I feel like I've seen you somewhere, but I can't place it."

"I have been on CCT broadcasts before."

"That wouldn't be it, I haven't watched anything in the last five years."

She looked over, surprised. "Not that I disapprove, but why?"

"No opportunity to do so." Eirn then shook his head. "Where are my manners, Eirn Taurus, nice to meet you." He extended his hnad to shake.

"Pyrrha Nikos. Nice to meet you as well," she said shaking his hand.

That name sounds familiar… Oh! "That's what I remember you from. We had a publicized match about six months ago."

Pyrrha seemed to be searching her memory, then found it. "I'm sorry, I didn't ever get your name, I was just told you were called 'The Golden Eagle'. The helmet certainly fit the theme." She perked up slightly. "That was one of the best fights I've had in a while. Would you be interested in a rematch sometime?"

"Absolutely. It's rare for me to find someone as skilled as you, and this time I'll be able to use all my weapons, not just my worst."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at that. "That was a very well made rapier with the smoothest transition to a quarterstaff I've ever seen. How is that your worst weapon?"

"Sorry, that was poor phrasing. It is made to as high of a standard as my other weapons, I just prefer the options and styles encouraged by my other weapons when fighting skill-focused opponents, especially ones with good armor."

She nodded along with that. "Understandable. I have to say, most people with a cloak or cape end up with it being a distraction at best, or a weakness at worst, but yours turned some of my strikes during that fight."

Eirn smiled slightly. "I'm rather proud of this trick, and surprised I've never heard of anyone else using it. My cloak is made of gambeson." At Pyrrha's confused look, he elaborated, "cloth armor made from layering durable fabric. It's good at dampening crushing blows, has good resistance against quick slashes and thrusts, but severs quickly under a dedicated slash or strong piercing attack."

As Pyrrha nodded, Eirn realized they had both eaten their breakfast while talking, and were headed for the lockers holding the combat equipment. Pyrrha, seeming slightly… nervous, maybe, asked "Have you put any thought into who you might want on your team?"

Eirn shook his head. "Not much, but I would gladly be a member of a team with you on it. There's one other person I met yesterday that I get along well with, but I don't know most of the people here."

Pyrrha seemed to appreciate that response. "Well, if circumstances align, I think I would enjoy that."

As Eirn prepared to continue the conversation, the girl in white from the day before walked over, and started trying to schmooze her way onto Pyrrha's team, seeming to assume that was a decision Pyrrha had control over. He sighed, shook his head, and walked away towards his locker. That kind of behavior never got good results, outside of the hunt for quick profit. Oh well, not his problem. He pulled open his locker, reached in, and pulled out a fencing dagger, which promptly disappeared down his left sleeve. Sverdsperre, which he had demonstrated to Ruby yesterday, returned to its home on his right hip. Finally, he pulled out a longsword, which was attached to the magnetic plate on his back, hilt over the left shoulder. And the concealed knives are all in place. Eirn noticed Pyrrha looking increasing uncomfortable with the white-haired girl, and decided to give her an out.

"Hello again, Pyrrha."

"Eirn! Hello again!" Her eyes and stance seemed to plead for an out.

"Would you mind showing me the way to the staging area? I seem to have forgotten where it is."

"Absolutely. Goodbye, Weiss."

"Wait!"

Not doing so, Pyrrha walked just slowly enough to not seem like she was fleeing, with Eirn following along behind. "So, what was up with her?" he inquired.

Pyrrha looked tired. "A combination of preemptive social climbing and a fan seeking a connection to a celebrity."

Eirn cocked his head for a second, puzzled. "Oh yeah, they called you something ridiculous after those tournament wins, didn't they?"

"Unfortunately, yes. And with my win streak, the hype has only gotten worse. Hopefully I can actually lose a fight here without throwing it."

Eirn smirked. "Don't worry about that. If you want me to, I can do my best to not only win, but make it look easy if we get a chance to spar in a public setting."

Pyrrha looked like she doubted him, then took in the extra weapons. "I never asked, what would your preferred weapon to fight someone like me have been?"

Eirn patted the war sword on his back. "The longsword has some of the best options for dealing with a skilled opponent with a lighter weapon, and that's without getting into the unique form I added to this one. Of course, I could also match you, and see how well you fare into a mirror match."

"Mirror match?"

"Your leaf-bladed sword/javelin/rifle and a hoplon against my falchion/glaive/hand cannon and a skoldir."

"You have a shield? Why aren't you carrying it?"

"I am. It's just well hidden, though still accessible." The sunlight glinted off Eirn's bracers as they arrived at the cliffs, and separated under Ozpin's instructions. Time to let my weapons do the talking, and hopefully get a team I can stand.

End Notes: This was supposed to be the initiation chapter, not the meet Pyrrha chapter. Looks like the first fight scenes come next time.

For anyone curios about the weapons named in this chapter, a hoplon is the shield carried by the Greek hoplites, a skoldir is a Viking shield, though the name translates as just "shield" in Old Norse, and Eirn's falchion is a type 3C on the Elmslie Typology. As stated in chapter 1, his glaive is basically a shorter form of his sword blade on a longer handle.