Hey, this is a first time drop and hopefully it sticks. Have fun.

Humble Beginnings

The forest outside of Vale was peaceful in its own. The wind would rustle through the trees, the birds would chirp in song, and the sky was sunny and clear this day. The smell of summer coming to an end, and there was a taste of grass in the air.

Which is why Jaune's bloodcurdling screams ruined the atmosphere.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Why didn't anyone tell me there would be Grimm!? Jaune though to no one in particular. In hindsight, it's a miracle that he wasn't ambushed sooner by Grimm on his way to Vale. Currently, a Beowulf was chasing him through the forest, hot on his tail and gaining. He looked back to see the monster closer than he would've liked, nearly three feet away from him. A massive black claw from the monster reared back in preparation to swipe it's prey.

Jaune rolled to the side, a lone nail from the beast tore through his jeans and gouging his leg, blood gushing from the wound. A cry tore through his lips from the pain, but he didn't stop. He limped behind a tree and barely ducked another swipe, causing splinters to rain overhead.

Adrenaline is a useful drug in these situations.

The beast roared and swung another claw at the lone boy. Stuck between a Beowulf and a hard place, Jaune did the only thing he could do. The boy raised his shield.

Funny thing about huntsman who trained to fight Grimm, their Aura and training develops their stamina, muscle, and bone density to almost inhuman levels, allowing them to shrug off blows such as this one. For the common civilian who ran away from home, stealing the family heirloom and running off to a prestigious school of monster hunters without any sort of training whatsoever….

The result is slightly different.

Jaune's arm was torn from his shoulder, throwing his shield and former appendage to hit the ground away from him. Blood gushed from the jagged wound, staining the grass crimson. The lone boy slumped to the ground in shock, pain overwhelming his mind to the point of being numb to it. Well, that's not good… He thought mutely as the Grimm loomed over him. It seemed to take satisfaction of wounding it's prey, reveling in the victory of it all. His death by Grimm drew closer, opening it's maw to consume him.

The world around him seemed to slow down as death crept closer. Huh, maybe dad was right. I should've stayed home where it was safe… I can't even kill a single Grimm. He thought he would have adventures, save damsels, and be a hero his family could be proud of. He thought of how he was just seventeen and never properly had a girlfriend yet. He thought of how he never really stuck with anything and half-assed through life. And in those thoughts that he had a revelation. He was angry he didn't try harder in life.

Heroes like his dad put in work, time, and effort to save people. To help people. Jaune gripped Crocea Mors in his remained right hand and waited for the beast to get closer. With the last ounce of strength and spite he had, Jaune thrust the sword through the beast's jaw, skewering the Beowulf's skull. The beast stopped in shock before falling to the side. Crocea Mors fell with it, the boy's strength spent. Jaune chuckled to himself as he could feel death take him slowly.

Look at me dad... He thought, I killed my first Grimm…

He could hear the call of a crow before he slipped into darkness.

Now, Qrow was cautious man. He experienced loss of his teammate when she disappeared to be a hero. He experienced loss when his sister abandoned his team to be a bandit queen, whatever that was worth. And he almost experienced loss when his two nieces thought it would be a good idea to wander through the forest near Patch to find Yang's biological mother. The kids had no idea how lucky his niece's were, following the sisters before the Grimm could make them another statistic.

Which is why when Qrow saw a dying boy next to a dissolving Grimm, something tugged at his inebriated heart. Still in bird form, he dived down, wind howling around him as he approached. Before hitting the ground, he morphed into his human form and rolled with the momentum. Huntsmen always have a landing strategy. The smell of blood became stronger the closer he came. Then Qrow noticed the state the boy was in.

Gods above kid... You really got worked on, didn't you? He thought, noticing the arm a few feet away from the body. I'm gonna hate breaking the news to his parents. Maybe I can shove that bit on the cop's shoulders. Using what limited medical skills he had, he checked the pale boy for a pulse, not getting his hopes up. I'm gonna need something stro-

His inner dialog was cut off when he felt a soft pulse from the artery.

"Huh, you're a tenacious bastard, aren't ya?" He said, then his mind caught up with the fact that he was still alive. The boy didn't have good odds either way, so Qrow did the only thing a Huntsmen could do to save him. He unlocked his Aura. Qrow grabbed his shoulder and spoke his words.

"We are the hunters of the dark, flung to far corners to protect those who can't. Alone, we walk this path. Through loss we learn to protect those we love. Through vices, we learn that the past cannot be changed. And through misfortune, we prepare ourselves for the worst to come. By my hand, I curse your path with ours." Qrow chanted kindling the boy's Aura.

The first thing he noticed was that the boy had A lot of Aura, which promptly enveloped the injured arm and leg in white light.

"Well kid, it looks like it's your lucky day." Qrow said as he saw color return to the survivor's face. "Now let's see if we can't get you to a hospital."

Jaune slipped back into consciousness slowly. The haze that came with near death injuries left him feeling groggy and weak. White light filtered through his eyelids, as he became more aware. He was laying on something soft and his body felt uncomfortably sore. Sanitizer and lavender wafted against his nose. This must be heaven. It feels a lot duller than I thought. The feeling of peacefulness and bliss never hit him. Just a dull ache.

He slowly opened his eyes, the white light now intense. Unconsciously he put his arm in front of his eyes, only for nothing to happen. Confused, he looked at his left arm, to find that it wasn't there. He sat up, panic lancing through him as the recent memories crashed into his mind. Hyperventilation seemed natural at this point as his heartrate spiked, the image of the Beowulf almost killing him. It's white death mask permanently seared into his skull. No one could blame him for panicking, he would say it was for a damn fine reason.

A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders, rocking him out of his trauma. "Hey, kid! Stay with me here." Said the stranger. Jaune looked up to see a man with red eyes, black hair, and a shoddy beard. "Calm down, you're in a hospital. You're alright." He continued, letting go of him. "Well, most of you anyway."

Jaune swallowed his dry throat trying to get words out. "Where…. Um…. Where am I?"

"You're in Vale, dude. I stumbled across ya on my way from a mission. Name's Qrow, by the way." Qrow said as he plopped down in a chair next to his bed, taking out a flask at the same time. "Usually, kids don't wander through forest by themselves. Kinda makes a guy wonder what you were doing out there." He took a long draw from his flask savoring the burn.

"I… I was going to Vale actually." Jaune started, "Did you kill it? The Grimm?"

"Nah, was dead when I got there. Drink?" Qrow asked, handing out the flask. Jaune thought for a moment about what his parents said about underage drinking, then realized he just survived a near death experience and didn't care. At first, he tried with his left hand, then realizing it was impossible, he reached over and grabbed it with his right. Gonna have to get used to that, I guess. And promptly knocked back the drink. It burned his mouth and throat causing him to gag and almost spit it out. He forced himself to swallow it before coughing.

"Not used to it drinking, eh? Suppose that's a good sign." Qrow said, taking the flask out of his hand. Didn't want to waste his supply too soon. "You've been out for about a day. I see you're recovering pretty fast at any rate."

"It was dead?" Jaune asked dumbfounded, thumping his chest with his remaining hand. The alcohol was strong. A memory drifted back into his mind of him stabbing the Beowulf. An overwhelming feeling of spite and satisfaction at the forefront of it. The next feeling was more panic. "Crocea Mors! The sword, where is it?" The thought of losing the family heirloom because of him filled his heart with dread.

"Relax kid, I got the thing right here. It was uh… hard to get other part." Qrow said, bringing out the sword and scabbard. Relief filled him, knowing he didn't lose something important. Well, anything more anyway. "It's really old fashioned, which is kind weird. What's your name kid?" he asked.

"My name is Jaune. Jaune Arc." He said, taking Crocea Mors in his right hand. Is it lighter now? That's weird. "Thank you." Qrow seemed to nod and take another draw from his flask.

"Fuck, you're Nick's kid, aren't you?" He stated. Jaune missed the mumbled 'Damned Semblance' from Qrow on account of the panic that his savior knew his parents.

"Please don't tell them! I can't go back! Not yet!" Jaune pleaded. He could already hear the scolding that would come from him running away and nearly dying. I guess I can kiss freedom goodbye.

"Kid, I'm gonna level with you here, your parents NEED to know you almost died and missing an arm. That is not up for discussion." Qrow said with a finality to his voice.

"Please. You can't tell them." Jaune begged, on the verge of tears.

"And why not?"

"I… I want to be a Huntsman." He said, looking down at Crocea Mors. Qrow took a second to process that.

"You were going to Beacon? That is why you were out in the sticks? Are you fucking retarded? You didn't even have Aura!" Qrow yelled standing up. He may be a bit buzzed, and he may be venting from what his nieces did so long ago, but he didn't care. "Look at yourself! You're missing an arm and almost died, and you still want to be a huntsman?" Jaune didn't look up at Qrow as he threw logic in his face, trying to convince him to give up on the foolish dream.

But all he felt was spite. Frustration of him being crippled, anger at some else who he barely knows to give up, and rage at the fact that he almost did. Why does everyone think I can't do it? Why does everyone tell me no? Why do I keep being Denied!? The gripped on the family heirloom tightened with resolve. "Yes." Jaune said with a conviction he didn't know he had. His head slowly rose back up to meet the veteran's eyes.

"I'm going to be a huntsman. And I don't care who or what gets in my way."

Qrow saw something in those eyes that sigh in exhaustion, seeing the will behind the sapphire orbs. Another fucking kid wants to play hero. At least this one isn't disillusioned though. The drunk thought to himself. Looking up to the ceiling he mulled over the decision of what to do with the guy. But try as he might, he didn't have it in himself to abandon the kid. The bugger reminded him too much of his nieces. "Damnit, damnit, damnit." Qrow swore, "If you're that dead set on it, I think I can maybe help. How were you gonna get into Beacon anyway?"

Jaune paused to think about that question for a second. "Uh… I was just going to wing it to be honest." The drunkard was silent for a solid minute staring at him before he spoke.

"So let me get this straight…." Qrow began, "You ran away from home."

"Yep."

"With no training whatsoever…"

"Mhm."

"Through a Grimm infested forest."

"Yup."

"To reach Vale, and get into Beacon, without any recommendations or transcripts?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Qrow stared at Jaune for another minute before a thought popped into his head. This kid's a fucking idiot. "You're a fucking idiot." He said aloud.

"Okay, I deserve that." Jaune agreed, "But to be fair, I thought they had tryouts or something like that."

"They have initiation, dumbass." Qrow groaned into his hands. He could already feel the migraine coming on. At this rate I'm gonna need to get the top shelf whiskey.

"That makes more sense." Jaune said. He idly waved his stub of a left arm around, the cut forming a jagged scar. "I guess this makes being a huntsman more difficult…" an edge of sadness creeping into his voice.

Qrow looked at the stump and an image of a certain dick of a general flashed through his mind. "You know, I think there's a way to fix that." He said, mentally calculating how big of a favor he would have to owe. Jaune on the other hand, looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"Really?"

"Yeah kid. Just think about how to go about it. You're lucky you have a boat load of Aura, otherwise you wouldn't have survived period." He said whipping out his scroll and punching in some information.

Jaune paused for a second before speaking again. "Uh, Qrow, I have another question…."

"Shoot, kid."

"What's Aura?"

Half the hospital heard the groan that came from Jaune's room.

Hey everyone, this is just a start to what would happen to Jaune realistically without him outright dying. It's meant to be a slow burn and hoping to update regularly. This is my first time writing and any feedback would be helpful. Until next time.