Today was the day. Finally, after twelve long years, Summer was going to be allowed into initiation.
Well, today and tomorrow. Initiation was a two-day affair.
She had tried before, to convince Professor Bean, the fill-in Headmaster to allow her to try out two years early, but he wouldn't budge. Well, technically Professor Bean was the full-time headmaster now, but Summer didn't think she would ever see anyone other than Professor Oslo as the Headmaster.
Still, Professor Bean was nice enough. And he let her stay at Beacon after Oslo died. Truthfully though, Summer didn't think he had a choice. She really didn't have anywhere else to go, and Oslo was the one who decided she could stay until she was old enough to attend Beacon as a Huntress.
And now the day was finally here. She wouldn't have to live off of the charity of the school anymore. She could finally start her journey as a Huntress, and live up to Professor Oslo's expectations.
He had believed in her. And She wouldn't let him down, even if he wasn't there to see.
Summer had crossed Beacon's courtyard thousands of times over the years since Oslo saved her, but today… it was different. Today she wasn't just some dorky kid hiding in the background. No one would talk about her anymore, wondering why someone so young was allowed at the academy, like she couldn't hear everything they were saying. Today, She would be on the same level as everyone else, a prospective student.
"I didn't think I would see you out here today, Miss Rose. I would have thought you'd already be in the ballroom."
Summer turned to find the newest addition to Beacon's staff, Professor Ozpin, the history teacher. A tall man, with spiky silver hair and glasses, He was also the youngest, only seven or eight years older than herself.
"I wanted to see the other students arrive." Summer answered.
"Oh? Already looking for a prospective partner?" Ozpin inquired.
"What? No! I just…got a little excited. I didn't wanna just sit around waiting."
He smiled. "I understand. Although I wasn't accusing you of anything. In fact, I think you should try looking for a partner before initiation begins, or at least take a look at your future peers. You will be spending at the bare minimum the next four years of your life with whomever you end up with."
To be honest, Summer was looking for a partner, she was just caught off guard by Ozpin. He had joined Beacon six months ago and she still hadn't quite gotten used to the sight of him. At least she had known Professor Bean for a long time before he took over Headmaster' duties. Ozpin, for his part, was the only member of the staff who went out of his way to befriend her. The rest just kinda forgot she was there, except for the Headmaster, and even he was only ever cordial.
Summer came out of her thoughts as she realized Ozpin was looking at her expectantly.
"Did you say something, Professor?"
He shook his head, smiling again. "Not at all. Go. Enjoy yourself. Today is your big day after all."
Summer shuffled her feet, looking down as Ozpin began to clean his glasses. "It's not like I'm the only one here. Besides, nothing's decided until initiation."
Ozpin pushed his glasses back on, still smiling. "I have the utmost faith in your abilities, Miss Rose." He took one last look around the courtyard, and began to walk towards Beacon. "Well, I ought to get back to the ballroom, make sure everything is ready for tonight. Best of luck."
Summer looked back towards the oncoming students. Nearly all of them had disembarked from the bullheads by now, and she always loved to see the new arrivals' reaction to their first look at the academy. Sure, a handful always had that unimpressed look, usually from one of the richer families used to grand buildings, but the vast majority always took at least a moment or two to stare in awe at Beacon.
It was during this moment Summer took a closer look at the applicants for someone approachable. Summer saw a Faunus with ram's horns and some kind of polearm in her hands. It looked like she was fiddling with some sort of mechanism for it. Probably best to leave her to it.
Nearby, there was a blonde haired girl with glasses, and some kinda weird leather spatula thing. Was it some kind of whip? Whatever it was, she looked super grumpy. Summer was looking for someone a little more easygoing.
A loud laugh drew her attention. Another blonde, a tall man with brown khakis and a vest had attracted a small crowd around him. She saw him say something, and the crowd broke out into another round of laughter.
He seems nice, Summer thought. She began to walk over and introduce herself when several things happened at once.
A loud bang came from somewhere to her left, but before she could turn she felt something yank her back, and tumble to the ground. She groaned, rubbing the back of her head and opened her eyes. They quickly settled on the form of a thin young man, with spiky black hair and red eyes. Oh, and a cape! Thank the brother's she wasn't the only one with a cape. She was starting to get self-conscious. Wait, didn't he just throw her to the ground?
"Were you the one who just yanked my cape?" Summer asked
The young man tilted his head and frowned. "Yeah, so?"
"What do you mean, "so "? You can't just go around pulling people's capes, you know! It's rude! I was just minding my own business and- Hey! Where do you think you're going?" He had begun to leave in the middle of her speech!
He turned back towards her. "Wherever we're supposed to go for initiation."
"The ballroom isn't even over there! Aren't you going to at least apologize?"
He made a show of looking behind her. "For what, not letting you get shot?"
Huh? Summer turned around. The faunus from before was rushing over to her with a panicked look on her face.
"I'm so sorry! My weapon was stuck in its halberd form and I was trying to get it to collapse. Something must have jammed to make it go off." She frowned. "I gave it a tune-up right before I came here though, it should have been working fine."
Oh no. The bang she heard must have been the Faunus woman's weapon firing, and that other man must have pulled her out of the line of fire. And she yelled at him! How was she supposed to find a partner and make a good impression when she yells at people who help her! She had to apologize right now and- Oh crap he's gone!
Summer looked frantically around the courtyard, but couldn't spot him.
No, this is fine, relax. He said he was going to go wherever he was supposed to for initiation, so I know where he is.
All students spent the night before initiation in the ballroom, since dorms wouldn't be assigned until teams had been formed. She just had to find him and apologize. No biggie.
Qrow was having a Terrific day so far.
Really, just peachy.
First, he was separated from Raven while they were boarding the bullheads, which he was sure he would hear about later, then he had to deal with some annoying blonde talking his ear off the entire ride from Vale. And to top it all off, as soon as he manages to get away from said blonde, his semblance causes some girl's weapon to malfunction, and he has to pull some other girl out of the line of fire. Who then proceeds to chew him out.
Serves him right. Should have just let events run their course. If nothing else, there would have been one less huntress to deal with, and wasn't that why they were here anyways?
But Qrow had spent a lifetime dealing with his semblance. He had to constantly watch for any way he could cause something to go wrong, and make sure nothing happened that would inconvenience the Tribe in any serious way. It seemed that was a habit he needed to break, at least for now.
Oh well. At least some good had come out of it. The brat had mentioned something about a ballroom. He figured he'd be able to link up with Raven there. Hopefully things were going a lot smoother for her.
Raven had not been in Beacon for eight hours, and she was just about ready to say screw the Elders, and murder the insufferable Huntsman-to-be who had decided that she was a good person to strike up a conversation.
The second she got off the bullhead, she marched towards the entrance, intent on finding wherever initiation was set to begin, knowing she would find Qrow there sooner or later.
Unfortunately, no one had elected to tell her that initiation began tomorrow. Something she had to find out from a teacher after spending nearly an hour wandering Beacon's halls. Apparently new arrivals spent the night before initiation inside the ballroom.
For the thousandth time, she wanted to wring the Elder's necks. Two years of preparation, two years of dreading the day she and Qrow would inevitably be forced to integrate with these weaklings, and it was shaping up to be every bit as horrible as she feared.
"So, what about you?" Huh? Oh, that boy was still speaking to her. Why was he still speaking to her?
"What about me?" Raven asked in a half growl.
The boy raised his hands defensively. "Woah, easy there. I was just asking where you were from. Since, you know, I just finished telling you all about me?"
Great. Just what she needed. Unfortunately, Qrow had spent practically all of yesterday explaining in great length that while no, they weren't required to play nice with the other students, the less attention they drew by being aggressive and standoffish, the longer they'll be able to maintain their cover. What's worse, Raven agreed.
Which meant she was now forced to socialize.
"Mistral."
"Oh cool! Where in Mistral though?"
"The Forest."
"Uh…ok. Do you know where in the forest?"
Raven thought for a moment. "Near the Grimm." This was easy. And Qrow was worried about her blowing their cover. She'd been fighting for her life for as long as she could remember, of course she would be able to fool a bunch of teenage brats whose only experience fighting was in school.
"Yeah, you don't really care do you?" The boy interrupted.
Damn it, Raven thought. What the hell did I do wrong? She decided there was no point in continuing to put up a front.
"I have no idea who you are, or why you're talking to me, and I couldn't care less if someone paid me to." She admitted.
Strangely, the boy just laughed. "Yeah sorry, that's my bad. I tend to start oversharing when I get nervous, and, well, we're at Beacon. Sort of a big moment, you know?"
Right, most of these brats are actually excited to be here, Raven thought. She could do this. How hard could it be to fool a few teenagers that she really gave a crap about this stupid school anyways?
"Oh yes, I agree. Very nerve-wracking." There. She made sure to sound as neutral as possible. There was no way he could take that as a negative.
"Right. Still don't care. Gotcha." He observed, still smiling.
Oh for the love of- No. This is fine. It's not as if this conversation matters. It's just one person, She's not drawing attention to herself. He must just be very observant. That's all.
"Well I seem to be boring you, so I should probably let you get some sleep. Even if you might not care all that much, we still got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." With that, he stood and made to leave.
At least he knows when he's not wanted. I could think of a few people back in the tribe who could learn that little trick. Still, he had the decency to leave once he realized he wasn't wanted. That warranted something.
"My name is Raven-" She began, but paused. She was going to add, and you would do well to stay away, as a courtesy. But unlike the Tribe, where that was a relatively well-intentioned warning, even she wasn't dense enough to realize that would sound a lot like a threat here in Beacon. Which she wasn't supposed to do. Her eyes widened as she realized what her unfinished sentence sounded like. Brothers, he's going to think I'm trying to be friendly.
Sure enough, he broke into a smile. "Tai. And good luck with initiation tomorrow. I'll see you around." Finally, he gave Raven some peace and quiet. And some time for her to finally give some thought towards initiation.
Eventually, Raven stood. She scanned the ballroom looking for a familiar pest. There. She made her way over to a secluded corner of the ballroom. She and Qrow had a few details to iron out about initiation to ensure they became partners.
Besides, She still had to chew him out for getting them separated at the bullheads.
His legs were gonna kill him before any Grimm did.
They had been standing on this stupid cliff for nearly two hours now, and no sign of the headmaster at all. In fact, the only member of the staff was a guy who looked barely older than they were. The history professor, apparently.
"So… When does initiation actually begin?" Qrow couldn't see who spoke, but he sounded male. "We've been waiting here forever." Apparently he wasn't the only one getting tired of standing around.
The Professor, Ozpin, remained unfazed. "Initiation will begin once the headmaster arrives. No sooner, no later."
A collective groan rang out from the gathered students. Then, a voice shouted, "Finally!" and the prospective huntsmen all turned their heads. Qrow turned with them.
"Huff…huff...Sorry, terribly sorry." The man in question was running up to the group, and it looked like he had been for a while. He wasn't ancient, but definitely older. mid sixties probably. His hair had more white in it than brown, and he had wispy mutton chops that he really ought to just shave already. He was also definitely on the heavier side of things. This was the guy who replaced that old man? At least with the last one, Qrow was intimidated. He had no doubt the only reason he was able to kill him was because he was distracted. And now, he was supposed to learn how to fight from someone who looked like he'd lose a fight with an unpowered treadmill.
The headmaster took a moment to recover himself. "There were certain… matters that were brought to my attention only this morning." Was it his imagination, or did his eyes flicker over to Ozpin? "I apologize for my lateness, but little can be done about it now."
The headmaster scanned the crowd and took a deep breath, before beginning. "Firstly, congratulations. No matter the outcome of today, all of you have been recognized for your exceptional ability. Beacons standards are high, and each and every one of you have managed to surpass them. That is no small accomplishment."
There was a murmur of agreement in the crowd, and Qrow had to resist rolling his eyes. They're congratulating themselves over being allowed to apply.
"My name is Professor Bean." The man continued. "Should you succeed, I will be your headmaster for the duration of your education here at Beacon. The next four years of your life will undoubtedly be your most important, and this is the day that will shape how those years unfold. For not only will today guarantee your spot at Beacon Academy, it will also decide the most important person to your education besides, of course, your teachers; Your partner."
Once again, chatter rose up in the crowd. Qrow, however, wasn't surprised, and he knew that wherever Raven was she wasn't either. Turned out the elders didn't know all that much about Beacon, or how to apply, or how initiation worked. Which meant Qrow and Raven had to blow most of the Lien the Tribe had given them bribing a few rejects who failed initiation so they knew what they were getting into. The rest of their money went into paying for fake transcripts.
At least it was worth the money. The transcripts had gotten them in, and Qrow and Raven were given a little warning; Don't make eye contact until you meet someone you want to partner up with. Of course, the only option for their partners would be each other. Thankfully, Raven's semblance made that all but guaranteed.
Professor Bean had stopped talking. Ah crap, Qrow thought. Shoulda been paying attention. Hang on, why did the students look panicked?
"SON OF A-" Qrow's eyes widened as he saw the familiar form of his sister launched into the air, and off the cliff. Not one of those assholes we bribed said a word about this. The blonde haired boy in khakis that Qrow was stuck with on the bullhead was launched next, and Qrow watched as the rest of the attendees were launched shortly after.
"Oh well," Qrow shrugged quietly, before bracing himself. He felt the ground spring up beneath him catapulting him off the cliff and over the trees. As he unsheathed harbinger in an attempt to slow his descent, someone crashed into him. He felt his weapon slip from his grasp as he let out a curse.
Just what I need. He just barely managed to cover his face as he fell through the treetops. There was a tearing sound, and Qrow felt his aura getting lower and lower before he hit the ground with a thud.
"Why me?" Qrow groaned as he sat up, taking a look around. There wasn't much to see. He was in the middle of the forest, just like everyone else, only he was missing his weapon. I spent a year making that damn thing, I better not have lost that because some asshole wasn't paying attention. He checked for any serious injury, and found what made that tearing sound. The bottom of his cape had torn off. Better and better. Whatever. It didn't matter. Once Raven arrived,they'd go look for it, and complete whatever asinine task they were supposed to do for initiation.
"Shouldn't be more than a minute or two." Qrow said as he leaned up against a tree, crossing his arms. Despite a messy start, he was sure they'd be able to get the plan back on track.
"Must you insist on trying to drive me to an early grave at every opportunity? I had thought, for once, maybe, I might have at least one year without some disaster or mishap going off, but you go ahead and permit bandits to participate in initiation. Are you trying to drive me into an early grave?" Jack had been ranting from the moment the last student was shot off out of earshot and hadn't let up since. Not that Ozpin could blame him. He did have an excellent reason to be angry.
"I believe that the Branwen twins are capable of being shown the error of their ways. And anyways, there isn't much of any real risk involved."
"No real risk? You told me these were the same ones who led the raid on Sabo. The same ones who killed you Oz, so don't tell me they aren't dangerous."
"I didn't say they weren't dangerous." Ozpin amended. "I said they weren't a threat." Ozpin straightened up. He had let Jack vent his frustrations, but it was time to explain his decision properly, now that he would listen. Thankfully, Ozpin was very well practiced breaking bad news to his colleagues. He had done this far too many times.
"Think for a moment; We have a chance to take two potentially incredibly dangerous adversaries, and give them an honest life, and a proper home. The Branwen tribe has been a headache for Leo for some time, and we can not only deal them a heavy blow, but help set two children on the right path as well."
"Seventeen is hardly a child, Ozpin." Jack sounded less sure of himself.
"They were with the Branwens at least two years ago, and they were probably born into it. This is our chance to show them there's something more to life than senseless murder and robbery." And if Ozpin was remembering right, the boy at least was already unhappy.
He smiled. "And if i'm wrong? Well then, we've just guaranteed that two dangerous criminals will be surrounded at all times by dozens of fully trained Huntsmen and Huntresses, and hundreds of students, for the next four years of their life."
His old friend threw his hands up in the air. "Fine! You win! Let them in. I suppose you make a good point. So long as they don't place any students in harm's way." Jack seemed to deflate as his anger left him. "I do wish you would have told me earlier. A note in my bedroom on the day of initiation is not proper notice."
"I apologize. I let my curiosity get the better of me. You can imagine it was rather jarring to see the two responsible for my death apply to my school. I was occupied trying to find out what they had been up to since arriving in Vale."
"Anything interesting?"
"Not particularly. They seem to be trying to keep a low profile. The only thing of note seems to be that they always travel together. Speaking of…" Ozpin pulled out his scroll, and frowned. "That's odd."
"What's the matter?"
"The boy, Qrow, seems to be leaning up against a tree. One would think that he would try to search for his sister. The girl, Raven, has already found a partner." He took a closer look. "She seems displeased."
Jack perked up at that. "Well, it's probably better to separate them anyhow. They likely counted on finding each other as partners."
"I disagree. They'll be much more on edge if they're separated from each other. We want them to be comfortable in Beacon. Besides, there's always a chance they may end up on the same team, if not as partners." Ozpin began flicking through the numerous cameras. "But enough about the Branwens. They are far from the only candidates here. I'm sure this year will produce some very interesting teams."
This was ridiculous. A freaking hour and nothing from Raven. All it would take is two seconds after landing and she could open a portal right to him.
That was a relatively new addition. Raven had unlocked her semblance only six months ago. So far, she'd managed to keep it secret from everyone in the tribe other than him. They both agreed it was better to keep a few cards up their sleeves for when they might need it.
Maybe that was the problem? She landed too close to someone and didn't want to reveal her semblance? Made sense. The only other option would be if she were injured when she fell for some reason, and he just didn't see that happening.
Qrow scowled. This was bad. If Raven was stuck near someone chances were good they already made eye contact. If they were split up their whole plan just got a lot more complicated. He was pretty damn sure he couldn't keep his cover for four years without Raven on his team, and he knew he wouldn't be able to.
Standing around won't solve anything. Raven wasn't coming by anytime soon, and Qrow didn't have his weapon.
May as well try to solve at least one of those two.
He needed to find Harbinger, and fast. If he was lucky, he might even find Raven while he was at it.
He snorted. Fat chance of that. When the hell was luck ever on his side?
Qrow brushed a few leaves off of his shoulder and picked a direction.
Sooner or later, I'm bound to run into something.
He didn't count on things actually going smoothly.
Qrow wasn't about to complain though. He'd gone this long without running into any Grimm, and while he heard voices now and again, he managed to stay away from any of the other students.
And there was still no sign of Raven. That pretty much confirmed it. Someone else had to have made eye contact first. There just wasn't any other reason for her not to have met up with him already.
He pushed it out of his mind. There was nothing to do about it now. Maybe they'd still end up on the same team.
He spotted something out of the corner of his eye and felt his chest get a hundred times lighter. "Finally! Now how the hell'd you get all the way over here?"
Harbinger was lying in the dirt, still in its sword form. Qrow checked for any damage, but it seemed perfectly fine. It better be. No weapon that gets damaged from that kinda fall will be any help against Grimm. Qrow collapsed Harbinger into its more compact form, and placed it behind his back. Alright, that's done. Now all I have to do is find Raven and make our way to wherever we need to-
For what had to be the hundredth time today, Qrow's thoughts were interrupted, this time by a yelp of pain.
There was that girl again, the same one who chewed him out for pulling her out of the way of a bullet. To be fair, Qrow didn't think she understood fully what was happening. He only reacted like he did because he was so used to accounting for his semblance; always looking for anything and everything that could go wrong. He should have just let things be. She probably would have been fine, and even if she hadn't, so what? The whole point of this stupid mission was killing huntsmen, and all he did was draw even more attention.
No point beating myself over it now. Besides, she seemed to be handling herself well. The cry of pain didn't come from the girl as he originally thought, but from an Ursa that was already dissolving. There were a few beowolves in front of her, keeping their distance, but she seemed focused, and if she could handle an Ursa, she could handle them.
Qrow's eyes widened as he caught something creeping up behind her. A King Tajitu, curled around a tree, preparing to strike. Willing to bet she hasn't noticed that. Qrow took a breath. He had no reason to interfere. If he did, chances were good they'd make eye contact and he'd be stuck with her as a partner. If he didn't, well, one less threat he and Raven may have to deal with in the future. No one would know if he left her to deal with it. It wasn't his problem. And the Tribe had made sure he learned time and time again that good will brought nothing but pain. Besides, she might even live! Huntresses were supposed to be resourceful, right?
Qrow turned his head and kept walking. I'm not gonna help, It's not my problem. I'm not gonna help, It's not my problem. I'm not gonna help, It's not my problem.
He sighed.
Summer was having a not-so great day so far.
Really, it was kinda awful.
After the whole fiasco at the courtyard, she had tried looking for that Red-eyed boy in the ballroom to apologize, but there were just so many people in there, it was practically impossible to find him.
She did manage to find a girl with the same color eyes, who sorta looked like they might be related, but she was glaring at everyone, and really scary looking, so she decided against asking.
The next day hadn't gone much better. True, she had managed to spot him lined up at the launching point, but she couldn't just go up and talk to him, not while they were all lined up waiting for the headmaster to arrive.
Once they were all pretty much in the air, she tried to direct herself towards him, but she…kinda…fell a lot faster than she thought she would and ended up crashing into him, sending them both careening off into the forest.
Not exactly the "controlled" landing she was planning on, but at least she was pretty sure he didn't see her. So…silver lining?
Summer shook her head as she focused on the fight she had found herself in. Initiation had been a complete disaster so far. She wasn't even sure which way she was launched from, let alone where the relics were!
There was only a single beowolf left, at least, but Summer was hesitant to close in; too many things had gone wrong today and she REALLY didn't wanna end up dying on initiation to a freaking beowolf.
Thankfully, her patience was rewarded. The Grimm must have realized it was slowly being pushed back, and made a desperate leap at Summer. She sidestepped, and smoothly sliced it in two with her Axe.
Done. Now I just have to figure out where the hell the relics are. Unlike pretty much everyone else in the forest, she actually had some vague idea of what initiation was going to look like going in. You don't get to live in Beacon for twelve years without hearing a few things. Unfortunately, no matter how many times she asked, neither the students, nor the staff, would ever tell her anything more than a few useless hints teasing her for trying to "cheat". Stupid traditions.
Summer heard a low hiss, and quickly whipped around. You have got to be kidding me. How did I let this sneak up on me? A King Taijitu. She barely had time to register what was happening before booths heads lunged at her. Summer closed her eyes. I'm sorry Professor Oslo. You always had faith in me, but it's been nothing but disaster after disaster ever since you died. And now, I'm going to die without even getting through initiation.
But the inevitable strike from the Grimm never came. She felt something rush past her head, but it came from the wrong direction, from behind her. There was a shearing sound and a howl of pain that must have been from the Grimm, and then silence.
Slowly, Summer opened one eye. In front of her, panting and leaning on an oversized sword, was the Red-eyed boy.
He spent a few moments catching his breath, before lifting his head. He went through several faces, from relief, to realization, to anger, before finally settling on resignation as their eyes met.
"Idiot" He said quietly.
Summer snapped out of her surprise. "I'm sorry! I was super focused on the beowolves, and I wasn't really paying attention behind me even though I really should have. I just kinda thought-"
The boy frowned. "I wasn't talking to you"
They fell into silence again. Summer wasn't sure whether to apologize for yesterday, or for crashing into him in the air, or if he even knew that was her, or even if he remembered her at all from yesterday. Thankfully, the Red-eyed boy decided to speak first.
"So…We're partners then?"
"Well, uhm…yeah, that's how that works, when you make…eye…contact" Summer began to point to her own eyes for emphasis, before quickly putting her hand back at her side. Brothers, she was making a mess of this. She was going to be a Huntress. That meant being on a team, communicating with them, not standing around too afraid to even talk!
Her new partner sighed, before collapsing his sword and securing it behind his back. "In that case, I hope you have a better idea of what we're supposed to be doing than I do."
It was Summer's turn to frown. "Didn't you hear Professor Bean? We have to find one of the relics hidden in the forest, and return it to Beacon."
"Huh. Guess it makes more sense than what I had in mind. And no, by the way. I zoned out halfway through Mutton-chop's speech. Is Professor Bean seriously his name?"
Summer's anxiety faded as she felt her anger rise. "What do you mean you weren't paying attention? This is the most important day of our lives! And Professor Bean happens to be a very nice man, thank you very much!"
The boy quickly raised his hands in defense. "Hey, whatever you say, I'll take your word for it."
"Good." Summer harrumphed. Then she frowned. "Wait, if you didn't know about the relics, what did you think initiation was?"
"Yeah, about that…I was kinda betting that whoever I got stuck with woulda been paying more attention."
"Well then, I guess today's your lucky day."
Anger flashed across his face, and was replaced as quickly as it came with an unimpressed look. Summer wasn't sure what she said wrong, but for whatever reason, he was trying really hard to look like he didn't care. And now that she thought about it, he seemed that way in the courtyard too; almost too eager to get away. Well, she wasn't going to be the one to tell him he's got a terrible poker face. Wait, she was supposed to remember something…
Crap. The courtyard.
"Uhm…I don't know if you remember yesterday, but you pulled me out of the way when someone's weapon was malfunctioning, and I kinda flew off the handle because I didn't realize what happened, and thought you just yanked on my cape for no reason, so I went looking for you, but you had already left so I just wanted to say sorry…for…yelling at you." Well that was absolute hell to get through, but it was over now. She apologized.
The Red-eyed boy shrugged. "Apology accepted, I guess. I dunno why you're thanking me, It was my problem, and I fixed it."
Summer tilted her head. "How was it your problem? It was just an accident, It wasn't anyone's fault."
His eyes widened for a moment, and he straightened out of his slouch. "Yeah, you're probably right. Don't know what I was talking about. Let's just find the relics and get this over with."
Ok…weird. She didn't know why he wanted to change the subject so quickly, but Summer was the last person to get on his case for not wanting to spill. Although, come to think of it, she should probably introduce herself properly, since they're going to be partners anyway. She didn't even know his- and he's walking away again.
Summer walked a bit more quickly to catch up to his side. "So what's your name? We're going to be partners for the next four years, and I can't just keep thinking of you as "That Red-eyed boy."
He raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's what you've been calling me? Silver eyes aren't exactly run of the mill either, y'know."
"Hey, I'll have you know I've already seen at least one other person at Beacon with red eyes!"
He rolled his eyes. "Oh great, you've met my sister then."
Summer gasped. "I knew you were related! The two of you looked way too similar not to be. But, uh, I didn't exactly meet her. It was more like I saw her from the other side of the ballroom, and I was totally going to ask if she knew you, but she was kind…super scary. No offense."
The boy snorted. "None taken. You made the right call." Their conversation fell silent after that, and Summer wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now? Was this an awkward silence? Or just a normal silence she thought was awkward because she was nervous?
"My name's Qrow, by the way. Since you asked and all." He finally answered.
Summer beamed in delight. "Summer Rose, pleased to meet you." She stopped walking, and stuck out a hand, smiling.
Qrow looked unsure for a moment, before he hesitantly reached out to shake her hand. "Uh, likewise." He frowned and let go of her hand, pulling out his sword. "You hear something, or am I going crazy?"
Summer strained her ear and listened. Something was coming towards them, fast. "No, I hear it too. Get ready." She pulled out her own weapon and faced the direction the sound was coming from.
Her partner seemed to have heard something she didn't. Without any warning, Qrow put his sword away. "This just keeps getting better. I'd put that axe away if I were you. She's gonna be in a bad enough mood as it is."
"She? Do you know what's coming?" Summer asked, lowering her axe.
Qrow sighed. "Unfortunately. Congratulations, Summer Rose, you will soon have the distinguished honor of meeting my-"
"There you are!" A woman emerged from the tree line and stormed up to Qrow. "Finally! If I had to spend five more minutes stuck out here with no one but Blondie, I was going to kill someone." The newcomer huffed.
"-Sister." Qrow finished lamely. He regained his composure and smiled. "Raven. So pleased to see you, and in such a timely fashion. I must have misheard you yesterday, as I was under the impression that we were aiming to partner up together." He continued, every word laced with venom.
Raven scowled. "I wasn't exactly in a position to do anything about that. The moment I landed, This one met my eyes. He was under the impression I needed a partner." Summer looked closer at the boy trailing behind Raven. He didn't seem at all bothered by Raven's obvious displeasure at being saddled with him. Summer frowned. Why does he look so familiar? Her eyes widened. This was the other boy from the courtyard! The one she was going to introduce herself to before everything went to crap.
"What's your excuse?" Hmm? Oh, she was still talking to her brother.
"A King Taijitu was sneaking up on Summer here," He jerked a finger in her direction, "and I figured it'd be the right thing to do to lend a hand."
Raven snorted. "Sure you did. Whatever. It doesn't matter now. As far as the school's concerned, you and I are partners, and so are Tai and whatsername. Let's get going.
"We can't just swap partners halfway through Initiation." Tai protested.
Raven smirked. "Sure we can. It's not like they have cameras out here."
"Uhm… actually they do." Summer piped up. "Have cameras, that is. Like, everywhere."
Raven' face fell. Summer winced. She was only trying to warn her! She might have gotten in trouble if she tried to change her partner! It didn't seem to stop Raven from glaring at her. Summer looked over to her partner for a swift rescue, eyes pleading,
Qrow crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Relax Rae. It's not her fault they take security precautions at a freaking Huntsman academy. If anything, she just saved the two of us a massive headache down the road."
Raven scowled. "Why the hell are you taking her side anyway? She's the reason we're not partners right now."
"Pretty sure you're the reason we're not partners right now." Qrow observed. "And I'm taking her side, because you almost botched our chance to get into this stupid place!"
Raven opened her mouth to reply, but Tai spoke first. "Ok, ok! Clearly not everyone is happy with their partners." He interrupted. "But we can't do anything about that now. Like…Summer, was it? Like Summer said, they have cameras all around the forest, so there's no point trying to get out of it, unless you want to try failing initiation automatically. And I really don't. Now, I don't know how many relics are left, but I know that if we stand here arguing all day, the others are going to find them first, and then none of us get into Beacon. So how about, for now at least, we all try to get along, and find the relics? Sooner rather than later, hopefully."
Raven was still glaring at her brother like she wanted to run him through with her sword, but eventually she tore her eyes away. "At least someone here is speaking sense." She huffed. "Let's find those stupid relics." She stormed off without looking back, leaving the three of them behind.
"Oh, thank the brothers that worked." Tai said in relief. "I wasn't really sure it would." He made to follow Raven, leaving Summer and Qrow alone again.
Summer broke the silence. "That went well." She remarked
Qrow snorted, before breaking into a full laughing fit. "Pffffft-Ha! Ah, hahaha! You can't be serious!"
Summer stomped her foot. "I am being serious! She looked like she was about to stab you. Or me. Or Tai. Or really anything that moved, and probably a few things that didn't."
"Ehh, maybe you got a point there." Qrow conceded. "Hey, were you telling the truth back there? About the cameras?"
Summer frowned. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?"
"No reason." Qrow said quickly. "Just thinking back to when I spotted that Grimm creeping up on you."
Summer laughed. "It probably wouldn't look great if you just walked by with a King Taijitu about to tear me to pieces."
"No it would not." Qrow agreed. "Glad I saw it when I did."
"So am I." Summer nodded. "I've been kinda worried about who I was gonna end up with as a partner, and I'm glad it was you. Someone else might not have stopped to help, and kept searching for the relics."
Qrow scratched the back of his neck. He seemed uncomfortable. "Yeah, well, you did pretty alright yourself. The way I remember it, the only reason you didn't see the snake was because you already had your hands full."
She beamed. "Whoever we end up with on our team, we're gonna be the best in Beacon, I can already tell. I really lucked out meeting you. Come on, let's catch up!"
Qrow winced. "You really shouldn't have said that."
She turned back, confused. "Why not?" She asked.
Qrow shook his head. "You know what? Never mind. I've been separated from my sister, launched off a cliff, my cape was torn in half, and we still haven't found those stupid relics. What's the worst that can happen?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed Summer.
Ozpin was pleased. Despite a small number of…complications towards the beginning of initiation, everything turned out rather well. Summer passed, of course, as he knew she would.
He wished he could do more for the girl than offer some words of encouragement, but he couldn't very well tell her anything. Certainly not yet.
As for his little side project, he was very happy with the Branwens performance. The sister had, regrettably, broken out into a fist fight with her partner, as soon as she landed, but for some strange reason, it seemed to have actually cooled her temper. As for the brother…
Ozpin frowned. He hadn't considered the possibility of Qrow partnering with Summer, and he wasn't sure he liked it. He was willing to allow them into his school because he believed he could help them, but he was under no illusions why they were here. These people were dangerous, and Summer was far too trusting for his liking.
Even so… Qrow had chosen to go back for her. And given his reaction later, he was unaware there were cameras. That was good. Hopefully, it was indicative of something. He already knew That Qrow wasn't quite as satisfied with his current lifestyle as his sister, perhaps this meant he would be easier to convince
Only time will tell. And while he didn't like putting Summer at risk, there was little he could do about it now without drawing attention, and possibly scaring them off. Besides, if there was anyone who could reform a pair of bandits, it would be her. The girl was just too sweet, too caring, and too damn stubborn.
Ozpin yawned as he lifted his cup of hot chocolate to his lips.
He was far too old for this.
Why did he have to go and do a stupid thing like that? His semblance had been unlocked since he was four years old, he knew damn well not to play games with it.
But he had been tired and fed up with how the day had been going, so he had to go and tempt fate. What's the worst that can happen? Qrow scoffed.
They had found the relics alright. They had even been placed on the same team as Raven! Except, Summer had been elected as leader. And from the way Raven was glaring at her from across their new dorm room, it had placed a giant target on her back. Which meant his life was about to get that much harder trying to keep his sister away from her. Four years. Four years of this crap.
Qrow sighed. Why me?