She hadn't slept the night prior to this Academy's so-called "initiation," deemed it an unnecessary risk, too many potentially sticky fingers. Sure, not all her armor was Beskar quite yet, in fact outside of her breastplate, helmet, gauntlets and sabatons all her armor was plastoid, but that didn't change the fact that it was all expensive, and she didn't trust anyone here to not try and steal something from her while she slept. Besides, it wasn't as if she really needed the rest, anyways, being that operating for several days straight without any rest was a common occurrence for all her people, be they a Foundling, Apprentice or a fully fledged Mandalorian, and she'd gotten eight hours the previous night, so she figured she'd be able to keep going for another four or so days before she'd actually NEED any sleep, two and a half to three before she actually felt any fatigue set in.
Nevertheless, morning brought with it a cacophony of groans and yawns as this year's student body lazily pulled themselves up and began their usual morning routines. Yang was among them, though Ruby's morning preparations were notably harsher than the rest. A hundred push-ups, crunches, jump squats, and a kilometer run all in armor before finally stepping over towards the bathroom so she could see to her oral hygiene, though her sister of blood only joined her for the latter action, and unlike her sister she'd opted for a much smaller meal when it came to breakfast. Whole grain bread dipped in a dish of Mando Papuur'gal, or Mandalorian Wine in basic, she'd poured from the small bottle she'd kept on her person, olives, and a side of fruit she'd topped with some honey. She didn't bother cracking into the Uj'alayi she kept as a field snack in one of the pouches on her belt or drinking any Ne'tra Gal from the flask she kept in a flask for celebratory occasions, she was neither in the field nor did she have anything yet to celebrate or really drink for, so both felt uncalled for at the moment.
"Hey Ruby, is that alcohol you're dipping your bread in?" Her sister asked just after swallowing a large bite of pancake while she wiped around the edges of her mouth with a napkin. Ruby turned her head slightly left to better acknowledge her, not wanting to come off as rude by only giving her silence.
"Yes, Mando Papuur'gal, or Mandalorian Wine in your tongue. My lor'vram- er... my breakfast usually is just what you see here, wine-dipped bread with olives and honey-topped fruit, although admittedly the bread here is a little bland compared to the bread we make back home, and both the olives and the fruit don't taste as fresh... and the honey is... unusually sweeter than I care for. I'm guessing sugar was added." Ruby's complaints didn't seem to have any noticeable edge to then, but she still wore a mildly disappointed expression on her face when regarding the food, not that Yang was particularly surprised.
"Well, it is school cafeteria food. In general school-provided meals aren't usually great quality, just sufficient enough to suit the student body's needs. Good pancakes and syrup, too." Ruby glanced down momentarily at the half-eaten pancake on her sister's plate before releasing a small chuckle and shaking her head.
"Been awhile since I made any pancakes, waffles or syrup. We have our own recipe back home, last I made it must've been about a month and a half ago when I cooked breakfast for myself, ner buir, ner vod and ba'vodu... er... my father, brother, aunt and uncle." She couldn't help but crack a small smile at the mental image her sister left in her head, but Yang was more flattered by her sister's apparent efforts to keep everything translated for her. It at the very least showed that her sister must've not thought as lowly of her as she did their peers here, given she hadn't bothered to translate a single word for anyone here besides herself.
Their breakfast did not last long, though Ruby did end up waiting on her sister who unlike herself deigned to enjoy and savor her food instead of merely viewing it as sustenance. She hadn't said anything, but she did appreciate that the moment Yang noticed she was waiting on her, the girl seemed to hasten her pace, leading them to make way for the locker room where everyone but Ruby had their gear stored. It was mostly silent, their time in the locker room, with the majority of the noise coming from the opening and closing of lockers, the clanging of weapons and the small-talk that some of the people around them made, not that they'd necessarily paid them any heed.
"So... you get to keep your weapons on you at all times, huh? What kinda heat you packing?" Yang posed a question towards her younger sister, taking the girl's attention as she stood up properly from the previously nonchalant and lazy posture she'd previously maintained while leaning against her own locker.
"Blasters, flamethrower, wrist rockets, concealed vibroblades, flechette launcher, a disruptor, thermal detonators, my Z-6 Jetpack, Jetpack missiles, graviton charger, my aura blade, my scythe, and an experimental weapon built into it. Aside from those, I have my armor and all the technology built into it. Night Vision module was fixed after it gave out last I was in Vale." Ruby listed off her equipment without missing a beat, making Yang visibly recoil from the thought of just how many weapons her sister was carrying at any given time without having to carry around several bags to contain it all. "So, you know my weapons. I see you got those shotgun-bracelets as your open-carry, what other weapons are you concealing?
"I- er... Well... I ah... I don't carry any concealed weapons?" She couldn't help but snicker slightly as Ruby's head shifted back a bit and tilted upwards, seemingly enough having caught her little sister off guard a second time. "These are all I need, made them myself! Their name is Ember Celica, they pack quite a punch!"
"Hm. Limited firepower, not very versatile. I assume you're wearing some sort of concealed or low-profile armor under your clothes?"
"No? Don't need armor, I got my aura."
"Tch. I'm sure every Hunter who'd fallen from the first blow after theirs broke said the same thing." The scathing remark she couldn't help but wince slightly from sounded VERY judgmental, but she couldn't quite fault her sister for saying that. She really didn't have a leg to stand on for that argument, especially since Ruby's aura was so many magnitudes stronger than her own, yet she still wore armor. When that much was placed into perspective, she really couldn't find any way to justify her lack of armor, especially when there was lightweight armor that didn't hinder a user's mobility readily available, even if it wasn't Mandalorian armor, generic armor on the market still provided a decent measure of protection against most armaments outside the Mandalorian arsenal.
She could only sigh as she dropped her head for a moment and nodded in a begrudging agreement, before picking herself back up, checking herself over in the mirror, and shutting the locker. She was armed and ready to go now, though she couldn't help but feel somewhat naked in terms of firepower and protection compared to her sister now that the girl had pointed it out. Mildly frustrating as it was, she was at least thankful for a fresh perspective since among her other peers, REAL combat experience was extremely rare, at least within their grade and those below it.
"So... you got anyone you you want on your team? Surely, you've been scouting out our peers for the best." Yang force-changed the subject, although it for the most part only elicited a shrug from her sister.
"You're the only one that comes to mind. I don't really expect much if anything from anyone else undergoing this initiation trial. If I'm being honest, if there's even an iota of resistance I wholly expect about half our "peers" to either run or get themselves killed if my kin aren't allowed to interfere." Ruby's voice carried an almost sarcastic tone, and was followed by a few coarse, throaty guffaws as she stepped around Yang and gestured down the rows of lockers with her left hand. "I mean, do you really expect tall, blonde and scrawny over there to actually kill anything?"
"What about Pyrrha Nikos, the Mistrali tournament champion? She's pretty tough for a non-Mandalorian, don't you think?"
"Am I supposed to be impressed when one's only notable victories emerge from controlled tournaments? We Mandos may have our own tournaments, but it isn't what we judge one's battlefield prowess on. Maybe she's just as capable on a real battlefield as she is in the ring, but until I can see for myself how she performs in a real battle, I'm not gonna be impressed by a pretty tournament record."
"You really like looking down on anyone who isn't a Mandalorian, don't you?"
"They've yet to give me a reason not to. C'mon, as much of a joke as this "initiation" may be, we'd do well not to be late... and do put on a good show, hmm? My kin will be scouting out worthy warriors for a shot to join our ranks, and I wouldn't be cross with you joining us." Yang couldn't help but raise a brow as Ruby began making her way for the gathering point, unsure of whether her last statement was a compliment or her just stating how she'd feel about the matter. Shaking her head back and forth, she flicked her hair back and began trailing behind her, still trying to piece together just how exactly to piece together the picture that was her sister...
Elation. It wasn't a feeling she often found herself feeling, admittedly it was one of the least common feelings she'd held throughout most of her life thus far, but it was exactly what she was feeling at this moment. Most likely would've rather felt insulted by the conversation she'd overheard, or at the very least upset to be written off so casually. However, it brought her neither anger, nor did she feel insulted, rather a certain peace of mind. Rather, being dismissed so nonchalantly only added onto just how good these last twelve or so hours felt for her. First was Jaune Arc, a blonde boy who hadn't the faintest idea who she was until Weiss, rather rudely to him she might add, properly introduced and metaphorically sucked her off, and now the Mandalorian among them didn't care in the slightest about her long status as an undefeated tournament champion.
Admittedly she was worried the Mandalorian might've held some manner of expectations of her, but here they'd rather brashly spoken of how she'd expected no better of her than anyone else here. Humbling as it was, she couldn't help but label it as a best case scenario to end up on a team with this Mando. A team of herself, the Mandalorian, their sister, and Jaune. It was best-case scenario, but she did truly hope that's the way the cards would fall. She wasn't too keen on being in a team with someone like Weiss who'd already had her on a pedestal before they even met, but if nothing else, so long as she ended up on a team with at least one person who didn't view her as above them, that was enough for her. Be it a team with both Jaune and Ruby, or with just one of them, she opted to affirm to herself that she'd accept nothing less than that much.
Tournament Champion. Junior, at the very least. Her name was Pyrrha Nikos, and she had never been defeated in official tournaments, which was a streak she was hoping to maintain even among the greater peers she'd hold here, not that she'd be too broken up if an opponent that was truly superior got the better of her, just so long as she put up a damn good fight. The only one among her peers here she could see possibly getting the better of her was Ruby, if on account of reputation and wargear alone, and she was eager to cross blades with the Mandalorian at least once before all was said and done... however, tantalizing above all else, the prospect of possibly joining a family such as the Mando'ade, who'd not put her on a pedestal like everyone else did? If she had a shot of joining such a family, then she damn well wasn't throwing that away.
"C'mon Pyrrha, time to put your best foot forward and show them your A game! My ultimate goal isn't just to graduate from Beacon now... now I got my sights set on New Mandalore, and joining that family!" For the first time in so long, the next step forward and the future ahead of her didn't feel so certain, and by dust, it felt good. The Mandalorians were a tough crowd to please, and thriving on the battlefield was radically different than dominating the ring. She couldn't bring herself to feel any sort of confidence that she'd be selected by them, and the tingle it sent down her spine, that feeling of uncertainty... she relished it. "That's all I need. Even if I don't get selected today, even if I don't get selected tomorrow or the day or week, month, or years after, I am NOT throwing away my shot!"
It was around midmorning when they'd all gathered at the cliff hanging high above the canopy of the Emerald Forest, ready and eager to begin their initiation trial. 20 of them were present in total, although this wouldn't be the only initiation for this year, just the first of five. That being said of course it was the norm for prospective students to feel a certain excitement, a confident bravado to stir them onwards... but that was far from the overriding feeling today for most present. It was one thing to say there was a Mandalorian among them taking the initiation as well, which already had most of her peers on edge, but it was another thing entirely when it was five Mandalorian ARC Troopers waiting for them at the cliff as opposed to the Headmaster and Vice Headmistress.
These weren't any of the original Alpha Class ARC Troopers that had arrived in the Blackout, these were all Remnant-born Mandalorians that had distinguished themselves enough to be selected by the Mand'alor to undergo his own version of the ARC Training Program. Midnight Class ARC Troopers, they'd come to be known as a nod to the man who'd trained them, they were the most publicly known Mandalorian Special Operations unit. The best of the best they called themselves, and it was no exaggeration. A Mandalorian ARC Trooper was to other Mandalorians what Mandos were to hunters, being just below the Honor Guard in the hierarchy of traditional battlefield superiority, and as their high publicity was fully intentional, they adopted the classic phase 2 prototype clone armor and visor with the almost tear-shaped eyes in their visor as opposed to the slit every other Mandalorian unit used, helping to further identify them as was the intent.
Three males and two females among them, all of them from different clans, thus bearing different signets upon various points on their armor, albeit none of them bearing the infamous signets of either Juggernaut or Ne'tra, all of them donning the white, blue and grey that most modern ARCs seemed to favor. Color wasn't enforced among their ranks, much like any other Mandalorian they weren't restricted in how they equipped themselves or customized their equipment, but like most other prestigious formations among their kin it was the universally recognized color scheme, and most chose to don said colors as a mark of pride in the same way as they usually had their armor. None of them were carrying particularly heavy weapons, mostly just the usual aura blade, dual blaster pistols and blaster rifles or carbines if discounting the myriad of other integrated weapons they had in their armor, but no one dared to guess that any single one of them didn't carry enough firepower to level a small city.
"Psst... hey, Nemiel... why do these kids all look so damn nervous? It isn't like this is a difficult initiation, hell, it shouldn't even be as intense as any of their Live-Fire Combat Final Exams from the secondary academies they'd graduated from, so is there something we aren't tracking?" A shorter, female ARC Trooper with an almost perfect hourglass body whispered over to the taller male she'd called out to on her left. Nemiel, who'd had a notably slender build compared to the other two men in their group, simply shrugged his shoulders, before turning his head slightly to better regard her.
"I think it's our presence that's spooking them more than anything else, Ash. Can't blame e'm, they know the best of the best are watching and potentially even selecting a few of them to join our ranks today. I'd imagine that'd be reason enough for even the strongest to be nervous." Nemiel's voice carried what might've been mistaken for understanding or sympathy for those they'd be watching today, but he voiced no more words regarding the matter. He didn't really think any would catch any of their eyes, especially since the only one who they'd even consider would ever be a Mando among this group was already a Mandalorian Apprentice, but they'd at least looked at the dossier built on all the others present and picked out a few prospective students to at least keep an eye on, if nothing else.
"Twenty on the scraggily blonde with the sword and shield becoming a stain just after launch. Any takers?" The largest Mando of the group, a man with a dry and husky voice spoke in a low tone just loud enough for the entirety of their own group to hear.
"Aye, I'll take that bet, Davis. I'm betting fifty lien that at least two of these students are killed by a pack of Ursa or Beowolves." the second female, a woman of a tall and muscular build who had a strong New Mandalorian accent chuckled, arms crossed over her chest as she sneered at the throng of students before them.
"Well, Linda, that's an awfully generous estimation of you. One hundred lien says at least seven or eight of them either get pinned to the ground by a horde and are ripped to shreds or are helplessly carried off by something avian back to their nest to get picked apart." A more cynical voice spoke a bit louder than the rest, more than clearly enough for all the students he was speaking of to hear, not that he particularly cared. Turning his head back to the first to speak up, he jerked his head a bit to catch her attention. "Ashley, Nemiel, you two care to bet?"
"Ah, Morris, you're always just the most positive and uplifting guy I know, you know that?" Ashley drawled as she met Morris's gaze, before turning her head back to the group of students that now had most of their eyes on them. "I'll make a safer bet, thanks very much. Two fifty lien, Ruby kills at least a two hundred Grimm beasts before she finishes the mission. Nemiel?"
"Hah! Way to play it safe, Ash! Here's my bet: Exactly sixteen are coming out alive, four will die horribly, and Ruby will snag just over five hundred kills upon weaker beasts and slay at least two massive beasts before the mission ends. One thousand lien on it." The other four ARC Troopers groaned in annoyance as Nemiel listed off what he was betting on, knowing well that he was a monster of a gambler and was usually right on the money with his predictions. Not always, but he usually was.
However, before they could continue with putting money on the line, the sound of someone rather loudly and deliberately clearing their throat drew all eyes back to the back of the throng of students. Unsurprisingly, the Headmaster and Vice Headmistress wore a rather amused expression, at least the former had, whereas the latter wore a both tired and deadpanned expression, seemingly too exhausted to even bother sighing. She'd spent the better part of the last nine hours dealing with the Mandalorians on campus that had set up their enclave. It was mostly logistics and other tedious work, but she also had to set out the occasional flame that rose in the form of disputes between normal campus staff and the Mandos that were now providing security or were just waiting on standby to go on missions. It was mostly the latter that were occasionally a problem, as they had pretty much free run of academy grounds and were thus led to just kind of roam around in search of something to do to cure their boredom born of momentary inactivity.
"Well, now that everyone's here, I'd like to regard you all with the customary "Good Morning." It may well be the last time some of you hear those words if you're careless or find yourself lacking in skill today." Ozpin stepped around to the edge of the cliff, one hand holding his cane while the other held his favorite coffee mug. Nodding to the ARC Troopers now on his and Glynda's left, the five Mandos nodded and filed in behind him, crossing their arms or resting their hands on their hips whilst tapping feet impatiently. "I'm aware you've all heard there'd be partner assignment, so allow me to clear the air. You WILL all be receiving a partner today. I'll allow ARC Commander Ashley Leviathan of the Mythos ARC Corps to give you all the details pertaining to your Initiation today."
"Alright, listen up, because I'm not repeating myself. Your partner will be whoever you first make eye-contact with after you're on the ground. They'll be your partner for the next four years you'll be here, so try not to look into anyone you don't think you can work with's eyes, else your next couple years here are reeeaaaaally gonna suck." Ashley spoke as she stepped up just ahead of the Headmaster that stepped aside to allow her to pass, her voice both booming and commanding in great measures despite making her voice only slightly louder than Ozpins. "Aside from that, your mission is simple. Survive the landing, find a partner, make your way to the ruins at the northern end of the Emerald Forest to reclaim some relics... whatever the hell they might be this year, and get back here without dying in the process. If survival alone isn't enough of a motivator for some of you wimps, Mythos has sent us to observe and hopefully find some prospective recruits from the lot of you losers. Let that thought play on in your minds, you lot have the opportunity to go from being the average virgin hunter in training, to being the casual Gigachad Mandalorian, so best not disappoint, right?"
While some of her words might've been insults, her tone was overall friendly and her mannerisms as she spoke both drew some muted chuckles from her fellow ARC Troopers and alleviated some of the tension hanging in the air. The choice of Ashley to speak to the students wasn't random, as he had spoken with all five ARC Troopers in his office the previous morning. They were all Commanders, each commanded immense authority and held ranking superiority over all ARC Troopers who held lower rank than them, but Ashley was the most sociable and agreeable among them towards non-mandos. Ozpin couldn't help but shut his eyes for a moment, smile and shake his head as she spoke, before reigning his focus back in as soon as she started speaking again after a deliberate pause.
"Now, put on a good show for us, eh? You'll all be graded based on your performance, but neither myself, my fellow ARC Troopers, nor any other observers will intervene under any circumstance. Hold nothing back, or you will die. Horribly, at that. Not saying any of you will die, nor that if you do it'll certainly be a horrible, painful, gruesome death, but Nemiel put money on just that and he's usually on point, so... Good luck out there!" Ashley spoke in a joking manner as she listed off the last bit of relevant information, drawing out some more heavy guffaws from her kin behind her, amused laughter from the confident of the student group to include Ruby, and nervous chuckles from those who weren't so confident. "Now, take your positions, and try not to become a stain when you hit the ground! Any questions?"
"Y-yeah, just-"
"THERE WILL BE NO QUESTIONS!" The ARC Commander bellowed as everyone, save for the scraggily blonde they'd bet on becoming a stain earlier whom she'd interrupted, began to assume their positions to ready themselves for battle. "Just kidding! What'cha got, vomit boy?"
"Wha- how did you even- n-nevermind, how ah... how are we deploying, are you like... dropping us off?" His voice caught her off guard, as she could've sworn he should've already hit puberty, but she couldn't help but wheeze out a fit of laughter, leaning forward somewhat before throwing herself back up with a louder lough from the belly this time, albeit abruptly ending after just a few seconds to look him back in the eye.
"You serious? No, you'll be falling, use your landing strategy."
"Oh, right... and ah... did anyone hand out like... parachutes before this?"
"Oh. Yeah, you're gonna die. Bye."
"Wait, what do you mean by thaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴛ?!." The boy's voice carried out and grew fainter and fainter as the launched propelled him further and further away, drawing all eyes from the cliff onto his wildly flailing form. Reactions were mixed overall, with Ozpin merely sipping from his coffee as he watched the boy disappear without even an iota of grace into the distance, Glynda still being too tired to give much more than a quizzical glance towards the fleeting forms of 20 launched students, and the other Mandos all begrudgingly handing over the fifty lien they were due to Davis...
A/N: An update from me. I'm doing a little better, still trying to get back into the swing of writing again but it's rough going. Sorry if the chapter is a little disappointing.