"Ruby! Hunter! Over here, I saved you two some spots!" Yang waves at her sister and her silent friend upon seeing her enter the hall.
"Oh, hey! I'll see you after the ceremony, Jaune." Ruby waves Jaune goodbye as she jogs to her sister and Hunter follows.
H-hey, wait!" he called out but went unanswered, "Great, where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl and a silent, brooding guy to talk to?"
"Hey sis, how's your first day?" Yang asks as she crosses her arms, and Ruby glares at her.
"Oh you mean after you ditched us and we almost blew up?"
"Jeez, meltdown already?" Yang asks, mistaking her words for a metaphor,
"No. Literally blew up!" Ruby yells, "There was this mean girl, I ran into her, almost broke open a couple of jars of Dust so she kept yelling at me and I just wanted her to stop-!"
Ruby rants and waves her arms to show just how annoyed she was at the situation, only for her to accidentally smack someone behind her. Before she can turn to apologise, a familiar voice interrupts her,
"You again?!" the girl in white asks as she rubs her face where Ruby accidentally struck her,
"Oh gods, I'm really, really sorry." Ruby apologises once more but the girl wasn't having it.
"First you nearly blew us off a cliff, now you're going around hitting me?"
"It was an accident, I didn't see you!" Ruby stresses before Yang got between the two,
"Alright, it's clear both of you got off the wrong foot." Yang interrupts hoping to stop the argument before holding out a hand for the girl in white, "Look, my name's Yang, over there's Ruby and her friend, Hunter. What's yours?"
The girl scoffs at the offered hand, "The name is Weiss Schnee."
"Wait…Weiss Schnee as in the Schnee Dust Company?" Yang asks, her eyes widening.
"The who?" Hunter signs at Ruby who answers,
"They refine practically half the Dust that Remnant uses," Ruby explains just as she was realising who she might have pissed off.
"It's three-quarters by latest counts." Weiss corrects with a glare, although from how long he's known her, the Hunter thinks it's just how she normally looks.
"Look, both times was an accident. Really." Ruby once again explains before reaching for the jar Hunter picked up, "Here, you dropped this and forgot it back there."
"...At least you're not a thief," Weiss grumbles as she snatches back the jar of Dust.
"Like my sister said, we got off the wrong foot." Ruby says as she extends a hand, "Can't we just start over and be friends?"
"Oh yeah, and we can go to the mall, get our nails painted and talk about boys like pale, brooding and scraggly over there." Weiss gestures to Hunter who looks around his shoulder, thinking she was talking about someone else.
"Eh, I don't know, he's about 5/10 in the looks department? 6 if you're being generous." Yang shrugs.
"I think he looks nice." Ruby defends as Weiss sighs,
"That was sarcasm." Weiss grumbles as she facepalms before pulling out a thick pamphlet, "Look, you want to make it up to me?"
"Yeah." Ruby nods as Weiss shoves the pamphlet in her hands that reads 'Dust for Dummies'.
"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarise themselves with this easy-to-follow guide to Dust applications and practices in the field." Weiss quickly speaks with such speed even Ruby had trouble keeping up, "Read that and never speak to me again."
Ruby was about to try again but then they were interrupted when their attention was drawn to the stage of the auditorium where the headmaster and vice-headmistress were seen. Everyone became dead silent as the headmaster Ozpin taps the microphone,
"I'll…keep this brief. You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, to commit yourselves to four years of training more harrowing than you can imagine to preserve these peaceful times brought about by your ancestors."
Ozpin speaks and all around them, students felt their confidence boost at his words of acknowledgement to them, only for his tone to change,
"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 can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step. If nothing else, be prepared, for what lies ahead for you is anything but peaceful. "
All the students pause and whisper among themselves, some offended by his words, some confused about what he was going for before the headmaster smiles wryly,
"With that said, you're still students, so let's make these school years fun, okay?" he says with a smirk, "You will all gather at the ballroom tonight, and try to have a good rest. I wish you all good luck."
"What was that about?" Yang mutters confused about their headmaster's attitude.
"I don't know, but it's like half the time he wasn't there." Ruby agreed before glancing at Hunter, "What do you think?"
However, she finds him not looking at the stage, but instead staring to his side where his eyes met another pair that quickly looked away. He was looking at a girl with black long black hair with a bow, dressed in black and white.
"Who's that?" Ruby asks and the Hunter shrugs.
"Someone staring at us." the Hunter signs to her, "Saw her in the airship. Was looking at us back then as well."
"Huh, that's weird." Ruby mutters worriedly, "Should we be concerned?"
"Who knows?" The Hunter shrugs, "Probably nothing."
Blake clenches her fist when she saw the news report of the latest White Fang robbery. She came this far into Vale to get away from all that, not get closer. Part of her thought about turning back to somewhere, maybe Vacuo? But that would be too risky, she'll have to watch her back twice as much in a place in Vacuo.
Mistral? It has a pretty facade with its seedy underbelly it was only just better than Vacuo.
Atlas? Don't even think about it, even with the reforms there was still lots of prejudice towards the Faunus, especially with Atlas being the headquarters of the Schnee Dust Company.
Vale did seem like the best choice for her. A fresh start, away from everything, away from the White Fang, away from Menagerie. The White Fang will move on eventually, they always do. She knows how they think, the occasional strike here and there to show they mean business, but all with their limited resources they would mostly be concentrated against the SDC meaning they'll move on eventually.
She glances around the crowd and sees mixed reactions. Some barely paid attention, and some muttered amongst themselves about the White Fang and Faunus, she recognises some derogatory slurs used along with the hate and fear in their eyes as their gaze wandered to the few Faunus in the airship, all looking either outraged, saddened or uncomfortable at the news.
And then a chill runs down her spine. A feeling she was more than familiar with, the number of close calls she had in the field when she was part of the White Fang, and the number of times she nearly got spotted by SDC security systems as she infiltrated a high-risk location. But this…this felt different.
Her eyes started searching the crowd instinctively, trying to identify the potential source of danger before they fell on a male student dressed completely in a black coat with a short cape and tricorne hat. The boy's gaze moved across the room, glaring at all the Faunus he could spot as they flinched and looked away before their eyes met.
It was a brief moment, and he doesn't seem to realise she was one, but even then that brief moment made her stop breathing. It took all the training she had just to appear stoic like she didn't notice him.
He was speaking with a girl dressed in a red and black dress with a red cape around her neck, or more accurately signing to each other in a sign language she doesn't recognise, which was surprising since her time as a White Fang operative meant she had to learn a lot of signs to communicate in the field silently with her former comrades.
She tries to keep her breath steady as his back was turned to her, and she sighs. What was that all about? There wasn't any hate in that gaze, it was more of a cautious glare, and yet she was reacting like this.
Blake sighs as she rubs her eyes, maybe it was the lack of sleep she was getting? She hopes to catch up on that once she gets into Beacon. And hopefully, put whatever that was just now behind her.
But as she comes to expect, she thought too soon. As she approaches Beacon's entrance she overhears a commotion, looking to find that girl in black and red earlier, the one talking to the boy in black, arguing with a familiar girl in white.
Weiss Schee. The heir to the SDC, here with no security and only her weapon to defend herself. Were she still a White Fang operative she'd try something right now, the training she went through urging her to strike, his words urging her to strike, even if it meant being cut down. As long as it served the cause.
But she relents, shaking her head to clear those thoughts. She wasn't like that anymore.
She was about to step in and tell off the rich heiress when suddenly she feels a chill. Not out of nowhere considering it was in Spring, but this felt differently, like an icy coldness that seeps into her bones and down the back of her spine as a pressure was built around her.
It was the boy again, this time he was glaring at the Schnee girl with some mist rising off his body. If she was feeling this just from being in the area, she almost pitied the Schnee girl for being on the receiving end.
Whatever she thought about doing, she changed her mind, turning her head and walking faster hoping to put as much distance between her and the strange boy as possible.
But of course that wouldn't be the last time they see each other, this time he seemed to have caught on.
They were standing at the assembly hall listening to Ozpin's speech when she noticed him again, standing with that girl in black and red, along with a tall blonde girl.
She wonders who exactly this guy was. There was no way a normal student would exhibit that sort of aura around them, making her feel that dread like she was in a dangerous scenario. She hasn't even seen him speak a single word, only communicating in those strange signs of his.
But her gaze lingers for a moment too long and his head snaps to his side, staring right back at her. It took everything she had to not leap back in shock as their eyes met.
They seemed innocent at first, looking at her with curiosity but the longer she stared into his eyes the more it looked like she was staring into an abyss. She wanted to look away, and she did, but something felt like it was locking her in place as the world around her quieted to the point she could only hear muffled whispers. Fear clashed with curiosity as they stared at each other, but fortunately, before anything could happen, the girl in black and red got his attention and his stare broke, allowing her to look away as quickly as she could.
It was then she realised her hand went for Gambol Shroud's grip instinctively like she needed to defend herself from something. Curiosity wants her to take another glance at the boy, and try to decipher the mystery about him, but she resists.
She's had enough for one day. Maybe by the end of tomorrow, after teams are picked, he'll be his team's problem, and the only time she'll have to see him was perhaps during the hallways and classes they may share.
"So it's kinda like a big slumber party," Yang notes as she lies with Ruby on their side of the hall with the rest of the girls while the boys were on the other end of the hall.
"I'd hate to think what Dad would have thought of all the boys," Ruby says, not looking up as she writes on a piece of paper. Without Yang seeing, she folds the paper and drops it in the hands of an awaiting Messenger who happily accepts it, disappearing before reappearing a moment later and handing her the paper back.
"Well, I know what I think of it all." Yang purrs as she stares at the couple of boys who decided to sleep shirtless, certain that more than a few of them did that intentionally, before the sight of Jaune in pyjamas ruined the mood for her, "So… whatcha got there?"
"Er, just a letter to some friends back in Beacon?" Ruby quickly hid the note but sighs at her sister's disbelieving stare. Okay, that was her fault, she should've come up with a more convincing lie.
Yang of all people knew her social life, or lack of one, was like back in Patch. She would constantly be dragged along with her sister to meetings with her friends, forced to hang out with strangers whose names she only partially remembers when she'd rather be at home training or tinkering with Crescent Rose.
"Okay fine, this is a note from Hunter," Ruby says as her sister's eyes gleamed.
"Ooh, what are you guys talking about?" Yang asks as she snatches the note from Ruby's hands without warning, reading it before she could argue, "You wrote; 'Hey Hunter, how're you doing? How's Beacon so far?' and he responded with a frowny face…and an axe?"
"No, see, that's his Saw Cleaver. And the frowny face means he's bored." Ruby explains as she tries snatching back the note before her sister could read further, "Now give it back!"
"What's this on the back?" Yang asks as she flips it over, squinting her eyes, "Do you wanna meet up later then? Ruby, don't tell me you're planning a little midnight escapade? Aren't you a little too young for that, baby sis?"
Yang asks half-teasingly and half-concerned as Ruby blushed,
"What?! No, I just-!" Ruby takes a breath to calm down, "I…just have trouble sleeping after what happened last night. I figured I could spend some time training."
Ruby hates that it wasn't the full truth, she feels she should tell her sister, father and uncle about what happened with Hunter. But she also knows they would freak out if they ever found out. She can't have them worry about her any more than they already do.
"Oh…" Yang trails off in realisation, taking on a softer tone, "Sorry. You can go do some extra training somewhere, just try to get enough sleep, alright? I'll try to cover for you if the teachers come by."
"I'll be fine, thanks," Ruby says, not mentioning she didn't have to move a spot to go train. She just needed to close her eyes.
"Well don't let me stop you, just be sure to play it safe alright?" Yang returns to teasing once more as Ruby smacks her lightly, both in embarrassment and frustration.
"Yang! Stop it!" Ruby yells as her sister laughs,
"Alright, alright, that was the last one, I promise." Yang chuckles as she calms down, "Anyways, how was your day?"
"Well, it's kinda weird not knowing anyone here," Ruby admits.
"What about that Jaune guy? That's plus one friend!" Yang says encouragingly.
"Yeah but then there's Weiss, she hates me so that's a negative friend. So it's back to zero." Ruby grumbles as she hugs a pillow.
"That's not true, there's no such thing as a negative friend, you just made one friend and one enemy," Yang says, trying to sound encouraging.
"Yay, more enemies." Ruby rolls her eyes, "As if I didn't have enough of them already…"
She mutters, looking away from her sister before her eyes widen at the sight of a black-haired girl just a few feet away.
"Huh, someone you know?" Yang asks.
"No, she was just staring at Hunter and me back at the assembly, and back at the airship as well," Ruby answers remembering what Hunter had said.
"Well, maybe she wants to talk, come on!" Yang says, suddenly grabbing Ruby's hand and dragging her against her will, approaching the girl who was busy reading a book next to a lit candle.
"Hello!" Yang greets the girl who looks up from her book annoyed before changing to recognition when her eyes land on Ruby, "My name's Yang, and this is my sister Ruby."
"...Alright." the girl says before returning to her book.
Yang glances back at Ruby stumped, who shrugs in response before her older sister continued her attempts at making small talk,
"So…I like your bow," Yang says chipperly as the girl looks up again.
"Thanks." she says, irritated, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Eh, just dropping by to say hi. My sis over here, and her friend noticed you looking at them." Yang explains, "Figured you must've been too shy to say hi, so here we are, saying hi to you instead."
The girl stares at her for almost a full minute, and Ruby saw her body tense just the slightest bit. Yang was a second away from declaring the girl a lost cause before she finally answered.
"...I was simply wondering how the two of you got into Beacon." she speaks up, looking at Ruby, "You looked rather young."
"Only by two years," Ruby says defensively.
"I see." the girl nods before once again silence reigns.
"So…nice night, am I right?" Yang speaks up to break the silence.
"Yes, it is…almost as nice as this book." the girl says, "Which I will get back to…The moment you leave."
Ruby suppresses a snicker at the blunt rejection before asking, "So what's it called?"
"Hm?"
"The book." Ruby clarifies, "Does it have a title?"
"It's about a Grimm pretending to be human." the girl explains, not answering Ruby's question, "The book's mostly about its perspective, exploring how a Grimm may think about us, how it would interact with us."
"Well that's just nice." Yang says sarcastically, "Does it have a happy ending?"
"I'll let you know once I finish, but considering the author's previous works I'm not that optimistic." the girl snarks.
"Well, I prefer fairy tales to horror. My sister used to read them to me every night." Ruby says, "Stories of heroes and monsters, fighting for what's right and protecting those that can't. They're one of the reasons why I want to become a Huntress."
"Why's that?" the girl asks, a slight smirk on her face almost like she was amused, "Hoping to live happily ever after?"
"Doesn't everyone?" Ruby chuckles, "I just want to help people like in the books. Fight for what's right, protect those who can't protect themselves."
"That's ambitious." the girl admits before frowning, "But this isn't a fairy tale. This is reality, and it isn't as kind."
"I know that." Ruby says, slightly losing her chipper attitude as she remembers last night, "The world's unfair and cruel, I knew that but I only just started to understand what it means."
Her mind flashes back to how she felt when she was bleeding out in front of her home, her eyes scratched out. She remembers how hopeless it felt, how she thought it wasn't fair. She also wondered just how many people around the world right now had that same feeling.
"The world is unfair, but that's why we're here. We might not be able to completely fix the world, get rid of all that unfairness, but as long as we fight we can make the world a bit more fair, one step at a time." she says with conviction behind her tone, "That's what I believe at least."
The girl looks her in the eye, seeing her resolve and realising Ruby believed every word she said. To her, it still sounded childish and naive, but there was conviction in her that she can't help but respect.
"Aww, that's my baby sis." Yang wraps her arms around Ruby.
"...I'm Blake, by the way." she introduces herself at last, "Blake Belladonna."
Ruby smiles, "It's nice to meet you, Blake."
"So now that I know your reason, what about your friend in black?" Blake asks.
"Huh, you mean Hunter?" Ruby looks towards him in the boys' side of the hall, "He's pretty simple. He just wants to hunt Grimm."
"...And?" Blake asks, expecting there to be more only for Ruby to shrug.
"That's just it," she says.
"Yeah, apparently he's enthusiastic about hunting Grimm." Yang pipes in remembering what Ruby told her earlier today on the airship, "Don't know much about him, just that he's a bit of a weirdo, but he grew up somewhere in the boonies of Mistral."
"Mistral, huh?" Blake mutters.
"Yeah, I can introduce you to him if you want." Ruby offers as Blake's eyes suddenly widen.
"No!" she says louder than intended, surprising the two, "Sorry, I mean…I just reached my limit for social interactions today, and it's getting late. We need all the rest we can get for tomorrow."
Yang glances at the clock, "Oh shoot, she's right. Better get some sleep if we want a full eight hours."
"Right." Ruby nods in agreement, "I'll see you tomorrow Blake! Good luck at the initiations!"
Blake sighs in relief, glad she came up with a good enough excuse to avoid meeting that Hunter guy. Honestly, she expected anyone friends with him that also wore black must've been creepy like he was, but the girl seemed alright. Naive, but alright.
…A naive girl and a dangerous boy, at the age she was impressionable.
Despite her fears, she glances towards the boy's side to look at this Hunter guy, looking like he fell asleep sitting straight up, eyes closed thankfully. But just in case she looks away quickly, as if he could wake up any moment.
She hopes she was just overthinking things, but she also hopes that whatever relationship that was going on between the two wasn't anything like it was between her and Adam. She knows full well what it was like, to have your hopes and optimism twisted and crushed because you trusted the wrong person, and she'd hate to see that happen to Ruby.