Ren pulled out his sleeping bag, placing it softly on the ground, surrounded by dozens of others on the male side of the Beacon Hall. He sighed at the annoying hooting and horseplay of the various other huntsmen in training, but winched as he looked over at Nora and Yang on the girls side, playfully arm wrestling, which he knew would erupt into a Hall destroying pillow fight before the evenings end.
"This spot taken?"
Ren blinked in surprise, turning his head to face a tall blond boy who had appeared at his right.
"No, it is free if you'd like."
"Great" the boy replied with a cheery, yet nervous tone, placing his sleeping bag down next to Ren's. Ren had finally noticed the Blond's pajamas, which were baby blue onesies, with a very prominent bunny face on the front. Ren fought down the urge to snicker, as the boy introduced himself.
"Jaune Arc" He said as he extended his hand, and Ren turned, introducing himself in kind, before turning back around to carefully watch Nora and Yang, monitoring in case things escalated.
Jaune followed Ren's gaze, and found what the Black-haired boy was staring at. Two women, one a tiny, short haired orange girl and a taller girl with long blond hair, with a…um…impressive chest, were arm wrestling on top of their sleeping bags, with a slightly terrifying look in both of their eyes, and a small group forming around them to watch.
"Do you know them?" Jaune asked, as Ren's eyes narrowed.
"Yes" Ren replied, still focused on the soon to be natural disaster unfolding before them "they are my…."
What would he call them? Friends felt like it was too casual for either of them. It wouldn't be incorrect, but the closeness of his relationship with both of them made him feel that the term failed to capture it. While not blood related, sisters could also work, as he knew both of them long enough that they may as well be, but that didn't really feel right either.
"…friends." He decided, sitting himself down into a cross legged position, as Jaune sat down to join them.
"Ah, so do you also pretty much only have female friends?" Jaune asked, a cheeky grin forming across his face.
Ren paused and actually chuckled a bit. Jaune wasn't wrong. Granted he could really only say that he had two friends' period, occasionally three when Vernal had decided to be pleasant, but he had found himself all his life, surrounded by mostly women. Probably explained a lot actually. He wondered what Jaune had meant by also.
"Yes…were you as well?" Ren asked, half just to make conversation, and half out of a genuine interest.
"Seven Sisters" Jaune replied, and Ren nodded knowingly "Plus over there…"
Jaune pointed across the Hall and Ren found himself looking at a group of three girls sitting around in a circle, engaged in a much less destructive conversation then Nora and Yang.
"….the one in the rose pajamas, she's Ruby. She's been like pretty much my best friend since I was ten. I only met Pyrrha, who has the hoodie and Blake, she's wearing the bow, today."
Ren observed them. The girl Jaune called Ruby was chattering away about something or other, holding her weapon on her lap…wait was that a giant scythe….the taller redhead, Pyrrha, appeared to be listening politely. Ren thought he recognized her, but he couldn't quite figure out what he knew her from. The other girl, Blake, was leaning back on her elbows reading a book with a content expression on her face, but her eyes kept moving methodically around the room. Also did Ren just see her bow move? He blinked, just to make sure he was seeing things right, but the accessory appeared to be stationary.
"You…make friends fast" Ren stated flatly, meeting Jaunes eyes.
Jaune shrugged "I dunno what to tell you. They came into Ruby and I's compartment on the airship, and we started talking. They both seem nice, not like…"
He paused as Weiss Schnee, the normally white clad heiress, now in a light blue nightgown, stormed past them and started berating Nora and Yang. Yang, whose hair was on fire, appeared to have won the arm wrestling competition, and now the two girls were engaged in a powerful pillow fight, with their audience having backed away slightly, the force of their impacts causing the floor of the hall to rumble.
"They…um seem strong" Jaune commented, gulping slightly, as Ren cautiously got up and begun to assess the situation.
"You don't know the half of it." He muttered, taking a few careful steps towards the fray, before pausing as his friends were frozen, bathed in a violet light, before being forcefully slammed into the nearest wall, with the stern teacher who had given the orientation when they arrived, having stormed over and begun yelling at them.
All the students who had been around them dispersed into the crowd, cowering in the presence of her wrath. Even Weiss had sheepishly snuck away, when Professor Goodwitch had arrived, and neither Ren nor Jaune could particularly blame her. After Goodwitch had forcefully stuffed them into their sleeping bags with her telekinesis, both girls had begun giggling maniacally, when Goodwitch had stalked off.
"So…you aren't secretly like them, right?" Jaune asked Ren tentatively, who shook his head in response.
"I believe I have been referred to as their sense of reason on a few occasions." Ren replied flatly, now taking a deep breath that the crisis had been averted "But I would be lying if I said they haven't roped me into their schemes before."
Jaune paused before asking his next question, realizing it may be better to not know which schemes this insanely calm, to almost a creepy extent, boy had been roped into.
With that the lights had begun to dim, and both boys had gotten the hint to get into their sleeping bags, as the once noisy hall had quieted, with only a few scattered hushed conversations continuing.
"Night Ren"
"Goodnight Jaune"
"Wake up Lazy Butt!"
Ren squinted, as he was awoken, staring face to face with Nora, with Yang waving in the background.
"It's time to geeeettt ready!" Nora cheered as she yanked him out of the sleeping bag, with Ren groaning in complaint. He was most definitely not a morning person. He knew it was pointless to delay the inevitable, so he rolled up his bag as he let out an annoyed yawn. Unfortunately, all of the commotion had woken Jaune, who stared half asleep at them, a messy blonde mop above his head.
"Okay sleeping beauty that's long enough" Yang said, hooking her arm with Ren's as she dragged him along to the bathrooms, with Ren barely having enough time to give Jaune a small wave bye, as he was carted away by his two friends.
The mornings were the same as they usually were with Nora and Yang. Mostly Nora yammering away about something or other, with Yang chattering back almost as frequently, with Ren occasionally interjecting whenever he could.
"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! I mean not that I thought any of us would get kicked out or anything." Nora chattered as the three of them were brushing their teeth and hair in the washroom, after finishing breakfast, with Nora of course helping herself to copious amounts of pancakes.
"I thought Goodwitch was going to last night" Yang chuckled as she gently pulled her brush through her long golden locks "I can't believe she nearly lost her shit on us just playing around."
"Yang, I don't think property damage, and causing a small earthquake qualifies as just playing around." Ren countered, in the middle of tying his own long hair up back in a tie. "Also, I thought we were supposed to be lying low and not drawing attention to ourselves."
"Oh, lighten up" Yang teased, as she pulled her jacket over her crop top "Nora and I just needed to work off our energy before bed. We can't all be super slugs like you. Plus, Mom's told me stories about when her and her brother went to Beacon. You really can't think that she didn't get up to any shenanigans while she was here."
Ren paused for a moment, considering commenting that Yang herself was living proof of that statement, but choose to simply roll his eyes, and finished lacing his own jacket up, leading the way to their lockers where their weapons were stored.
"Oh, do you think we'll all be on the same teams?" Nora wondered, as she cheerily skipped to keep up with Ren and Yang's much longer strides.
"All I know is I better end up with someone cool, if not you two." Yang shrugged "If I end up with a bunch of sticks in the mud I'm going to flip."
"Maybe they'll rub off on you, and we can stay here more then a year." Ren jabbed.
"Hey Mr. Crabby Pants watch it, you're on thin ice as it is." Yang teased, playfully shoving her raven-haired friend "Don't think that your good looks and generous sharing of hair products will save you this time."
Ren actually blushed faintly at this, turning his face away and remaining silent. Yang had a proud look on her face, relishing in her victory over the ninja.
Now it was Nora's turn to roll her eyes at the display, before turning a corner making it into the locker room.
They made it to their lockers, all lined up in a row, with their various weapons contained within. Yang strapped Ember Celica onto her wrists, Ren adjusted Stormflower, before letting them slip into his sleeves, and Nora threw Magnhild, now in its grenade launcher form, over her shoulder and attached it to her back.
"Anybody up for a quick spar before initiation" Yang asked, as she massaged her wrists.
"YES" Nora excitedly said, as she cracked her knuckles in anticipation, reaching back to grab Magnihild.
"Perhaps" Ren interjected, placing a hand on both their shoulders "It would be wise to save our aura and ammunition for initiation. We don't know what Ozpin will throw at us so we should be cautious."
Yang was about to argue but a loud voice came over the intercom, that sounded suspiciously similar to the voice that had torn into Nora and herself the night before.
"Would all first-year students please report to the cliffs for Initiation." Goodwitch said dryly "Bring your weapons, fully loaded, with you as well."
"Rats" Nora complained, as she pulled her arms back "guess I'll have to save the bashing for the grimm then."
"You think we'll be hunting grimm for initiation?" Yang asked, as they strolled out of the locker room.
"Probably" Nora shrugged "That's what huntsmen do, and this way they can get a bunch of free labor out of us."
"Bastards" Yang joked.
Jaune was dragged out of bed shortly after Ren by Ruby, with Pyrrha following her. Blake apparently had disappeared before either of them had gotten up, so it was just the three of them preparing for the day. Ruby, almost shaking with excitement, devoured a bowl of Pumpkin Pete's, while Jaune decided to decline, his stomach flipping and flopping enough without being full of sugar, and instead had some toast. Pyrrha, being the health nut athlete that she was, ate a hearty bowl of oatmeal.
All of them, had elected to change in the stalls, and Ruby and Jaune headed into their respective gendered shower rooms for a quick rinse. Pyrrha, had elected to take a shower the night before, due to the length of her crimson hair. Instead she went to one of the nearby gyms the campus had available, and did a quick warm up on one of the five hundred pound heavy bags, joining Jaune and Ruby as they headed over to the locker rooms to collect their weapons.
"You seem offer chipper this morning Ruby" Pyrrha commented as Ruby hummed while tying up her bootlaces.
"Yep, no more small talk or getting to know you junk" Ruby smiled, as she pulled her enormous scythe from her locker "I get to let my baby do the talking for me."
Pyrrha's face fell slightly at this, with Jaune noticing and deciding to step in.
"I think present company is excluded" Jaune interjected, with Ruby nodding her head furiously as it turned red in embarrassment "Ruby just really hates ice breakers."
"Yeah, I think I still have a bad taste in my mouth from Weiss." Ruby commented, as Pyrrha and herself found their locker, with Jaune's nowhere to be found.
Jaune sighed, as he combed through the rows and rows of locker, having forgotten the number to his, and Crocera Mors was nowhere to be found.
"Ugh, why didn't I write the number down" Jaune muttered as he wandered away, muttering simple nothings about why the hell couldn't the universe just let him have a morning free of stress.
As he weaved through the dozens of lockers he finally found the one he was looking for, a large grey locker like all the rest, but with a distinct dent that he hoped would make the locker stick out more. There was only one problem, or potential victory depending on how Jaune played his cards. Weiss Schnee, the apparent Queen of Mean, sitting on a bench in solitude, adjusting the cartridges of dust in her rapier.
Trying to be as suave as he could, Jaune strolled past the Heiress.
"Snow Angel" He acknowledged, as he shot out finger guns "I dunno if you thought about the whole team's situation, but I'm thinking me and you would make a good one."
Weiss groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose "Oh great, it's you again. As I'm sure everyone but you is aware of the teams are made up of four people. You most certainly don't even crack my top ten, let alone top four. I'd even rather have the little pipsqueak in red or tall, dark and moody then be on the same team as you."
Jaune's expression changed from that of infatuation and attraction, to that of anger.
"Listen, Ice Queen." Jaune retorted, face turning red "We might not be Princess of Atlas or whatever, but I know for a fact that Ruby can run circles around you any day, and compared to you, Blake is Miss Congeniality. I can see why Pyrrha rejected and shut you down on the train."
Weiss has a shocked expression on her face. Rather pleased with himself, Jaune continued on to unlock his locker (thankfully on his first try) grabbed his weapons, and walked right past Weiss, only stopping briefly to speak when his back was to her.
"Also, I'm pretty sure Ruby is taller than you."
Blake crouched, allowing the thick foliage of the tree to keep herself hidden, as she looked down on the dozens of students strolling over to the cliff side, where initiation would be held. Blake noticed the platforms at the edge, where some students were already being instructed by Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch to take their place on top of them.
So, they will be launching us into the forest, Blake thought, as she readjusted her weight on the branch she was on. It wasn't exactly a typical way to assess students, at least not as far as Blake was aware, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time she had done something like that.
Her enhanced vison drew her attention to the far end of the cliff face, where Weiss Schnee had already taken her position on the furthest most spot. She looked even less happy than usual, an angry scowl inhabiting her pristine and otherwise beautiful face. Blake's neutral expression lightened slightly but paused as she noticed something she had not before. A large scar, covering Weiss's left eye. Blake wondered to herself how someone, accustomed to a life of luxury and comfort would have received such an injury.
Granted she was a huntress in training, Blake reminded herself, rich or not, training accidents did happen. She supposed that it gave less credence to the idea that Weiss's position in Beacon was bought, rather than earned.
Ignoring the heiress, Blakes eyes shifted to another group reaching the other side of the cliff edge. Ruby, Pyrrha and Jaune were walking together, clearly engaged in some conversation. Blake's stomach had a slight twinge in it as she wished for a moment that she was down there with them. No, she said to herself this was more important.
She couldn't guarantee that she was get any of them as a partner, so she needed to inspect the student population, to scout out the others, to look for any other acceptable choices. While she didn't plan on revealing herself anytime soon, it seemed inevitable that her team would find out her true nature eventually. So, she needed to find someone who would be less judgmental of her than others.
Her eyes continued down the path, to an especially large male student with short brown hair, strutting with his chest out, a family emblem adorn upon it. The Eagle of the Winchester family. His family wasn't exactly popular in the faunus community. While not as hated as the Schnee's, the Winchesters were known to produce generations of huntsmen, who were often known to support, and aid causes that weren't particularly faunus friendly. Such as guarding and acting as security in the aforementioned Schnee's dust mines or transport shipments. The cruel sneer across his face told Blake that she would definitely be avoiding him.
She then noticed another group of students, two girls and a guy taking their time getting to the cliff side. One of them was even smaller than Ruby or Weiss, but a bit more well-built than either of them, with orange hair, and was much shorter than either of her companions. She wore a black vest, with a sleeveless white shirt under it, and a confusing armor piece that wrapped around her waist and back. Her skirt was bright pink, as were her gloves. Her weapon, seemed to be some kind of grenade launcher, which was held on her back.
The other girl was much taller, with very long and thick blond hair. Like her friend, the girl's outfit made her stand out like a sore thumb, a short sleeved brown bomber jacket, over a very low-cut yellow shirt, with an orange scarf around her neck. The girl's midriff was exposed by her jacket, as were most of her legs, as she wore a pair of tiny black shorts, rather than pants or a skirt. Her weapons were not overtly visible but could be connected to the bright yellow bracelets that were on her forearms. Unfortunately, Blake couldn't be sure without a closer look.
The boy was only a bit taller than the blond, with black hair that was nearly as long, but was instead held in a ponytail. While covering a bit more than his companions, his outfit was no less distinct, in a green tailcoat with white pants. The coat was adorned with a black and gold trimming, that wrapped around the boy like a vine. Most noticeable of all however was the singular strand of hair on the front of his head, dyed a bright magenta, matching the color of his eyes. Like his friend who appeared to be trying to put him in a headlock, his weapons were not clearly visible, but Blake noticed a weight in his sleeves.
There was something about them, an energy that put Blake on edge, that unlike the Schnee or the Winchester, appeared to be unfounded. As Blake was climbing down the tree, she still kept her eyes on the trio. To her surprise however, as boy was able to nimbly avoid the blond's latest attempt to grab him, he looked directly at Blake, having noticed her observation of them.
She froze, as their eyes locked. The boy's eyes narrowed as Blakes widened, and she slipped behind the tree, vanishing into a group of students who had past her hiding spot. She took a deep breath and she walked to the other side of the cliff, where Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha were already on their spots.
"Ren, what's wrong?" Nora asked, as she noticed her friends shift in demeanor.
Ren scanned the dozens of students who were approaching their location but did not notice the mystery girl. That was the girl Jaune mentioned knowing right? Blake was it? He did not like the way she was looking at them. He took a small breath, before turning back to his ginger haired pseudo sister.
"Nothing Nora, just thought I saw something."
There they were, lined up on the side of the Beacon Cliffs, overlooking the at least hundred-meter drop into the Emerald Forest. The wind was strong up here, with some of the students feeling like they could be blown over by the sudden storm like gusts.
Ozpin who was standing in front of them, his cane pressed firmly to the ground, and cup of coffee in his hand begun "For years you have trained to become warriors, and now your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
Glynda Goodwitch, who was standing next to Ozpin with a tablet in her arms continued the speech "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates…today."
Several sounds of shock rang out from the students in the line. Ruby in particular's mind raced in horror, as she imagined herself paired with a variety of unpleasant characters.
Ozpin took the lead again "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest that you pick someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person that you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
More noises of horror erupted from the students, with Ruby nearly on the verge of fainting.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation."
He and Glynda looked at each other before continuing "But our instructors will not intervene, you will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
Hesitantly, Jaune raised his hand "Will we be coming up with our own landing strategy?"
"Yes, you will be."
Jaune sighed as he raised his shield in front of him. He hated landing strategies.
With a smile on his face, Ozpin indicated to Glynda to press the button, as the students all got into position. The springs were released on the platforms on their feet, one by one and launching them into the air, as they all fell into the sea of green and grimm below.