Author's Notes
Howdy again, if you're a regular reader, and howdy for the first time if not. I've got a few things to talk about, but of course if you're not interested you can just read on.
So, over the past several months, my productivity has been in the gutter for several reasons. One of those reasons, I feel, has been a loss of passion for a lot of what I had once loved, as well as some misguided views on certain things that I won't go into. However, I recently came to the realization on all of this, and vowed to fix it by writing things that I truly feel passionate about again. As part of this effort, I have a total of three stories I intend to work on primarily until I can get back into balance, so to speak, then look at some of the others that I had once struggled to write. Those stories are my most recent MHA story: Princess of the Demon, and a few RWBY stories, one or two I already have, this one, and one other one I have yet to release. Ultimately, I hope that this will help me get back to the quality I expect of myself.
This is something of a more unique effort on my part, a story where every primary protagonist is an OC of mine instead of it being balanced between OC and canon characters, although the canon characters are in the story and will have their own parts to play, they aren't the protagonists. I know that most people won't read this because of that, but honestly? I'm fine with that. If you do decide to read it, I hope you enjoy. If you don't? Maybe you'll come across something else of mine you like more.
Remnant was home to many kinds of people. Civilians in the major cities, farmers in smaller settlements. Workers, blacksmiths, people just trying to make it between it all. Of course, there were Huntsmen, who made it their job to carve out a future for humanity through blood and iron.
However, even in a world like Remnant, there are fringe cases to society. People who fall through the cracks and vanish.
Some of them become criminals, bandits, and other types of miscreants.
Fewer still become something else. Something much more terrifying than mere bandits.
One such group of people, known simply as 'The Choir', aimed to sing a song of devastation. They sang not for themselves, but for the Grimm, and for the whispered tales of their Queen, a woman never encountered except for in myth, but who they were certain actually existed; the woman who would help usher in the rightful state of the world. A state where the Grimm were the only ones that remained, and humanity would be ushered to their next life, in another world, far from Remnant.
They waited for the arrival of 'The Herald', who would signal the end of days. The time where the Grimm would overwhelm humanity. She was to be their harbinger, their savior. A twisted, dark messiah, whose story was scrawled in blood, and whose life was naught but the bringing of suffering.
This Herald, however, was not to merely be born. They were to be created, and their life would begin with suffering, similar to the suffering they would one day bring unto others.
When this child was born, she was given no name. She was simply known as 'the girl', and she was treated with many of the worst kinds of neglect. Beaten, neglected, tortured, tormented, and never given a moment of peace. She was experimented on, but The Choir had not yet seen satisfaction.
When this girl was merely six years old, a Huntress who had been on the trail of the Choir for years entered into their hideaway, a cave network isolated from civilization in the Kingdom of Vale, and began to systematically exterminate them. Her goal was to bring them to prison, but none of the members of the Choir were willing to be taken prisoner. Still, a lone Huntress was more than enough to deal with waves of lunatics.
The woman, with tanned skin, burnt orange hair that fell to her shoulders, irises that were red in one eye, blue in the eye, and a pair of twin sickles, saw the girl, but was incapable of saving her prior to the girl running off, being too preoccupied with The Choir's relentless attacks to manage both at the same time.
The girl, with scraggly black hair, crimson eyes, fair skin, and a form covered in scars, vanished into the wilderness.
For many years to come, she would survive there. Sometimes, foraging and hunting animals. More often, stealing food and supplies from villages. She spoke to no one, acknowledged no one—trusted no one. The Choir, she knew, was on her heels. There was no way that they had all perished that night. There were too many of them to be annihilated that easily, and even if that place had fallen, the doomsday ideas they held were not going to fade easily.
She remembered the first person she had to kill.
Someone spotted her while she was rummaging around some trash cans. They called out for her to stop, and then chased her when she ran. She found herself in an alleyway, with only a dagger for protection. Cornered, the person came towards her. Cornered, she felt her ears ringing.
She couldn't hear what the man had said, but she knew what he had to be.
One of them.
The cornered rat bites the cat.
A dagger plunged into his neck, and the man died gurgling on the ground, blood pooling around him. He looked up at her in his last moments, and the panic in his eyes was clear. She stared at him in shock for a few moments, but was quick to run after that, the dagger kept in her possession.
For many years, this would repeat. She would never truly let her guard down, never rest, because The Choir wanted their herald. They wanted the one who was fabled to bring the end-times they so desperately craved.
Numerous counts of murder, many of whom were innocent, law-abiding citizens that the paranoid girl simply didn't trust. Numerous assaults. Numerous robberies. All pinned on a girl that nobody knew the name or appearance of. She was merely dubbed the 'Phantom of Vale' for her ability to vanish after leaving her victims either dead or broken with fear.
Naught but a wild animal, she did what she felt she had to in order to survive.
It was only when she was nine that this cycle had broken.
A Huntress took up the mission to find this phantom, the same Huntress that had given her the opportunity to escape the Choir, those years ago.
She found the girl, scared and alone, cowering in the corner like a stray cat. The girl was afraid of her at first, but the Huntress remembered her. She felt awful that she had never found the girl prior; in some way, she felt that the life she had lived up to this point was her own fault.
So when the girl tried to attack her with a knife, the Huntress, Shi Marzenie, acted.
She took the knife easily, and pulled the girl into a hug. The girl struggled at first, but upon realizing she wasn't in any danger, she began to cry. The woman whispered to her, "It's okay, Mija, it's okay. I'm so sorry you've had to go through this… Do you have a name?" When the girl muttered a negative, the woman hummed, "How does the name… Ebony, sound? Like your hair."
The girl didn't say anything, but neither did she rise in protest. So, Shi took that as a positive response. "Well… come with me, Ebony. I'm not going to take you to jail." She lifted the girl in her arms, so malnourished and weak that it took no effort at all, and said, "From this point on…
"I'll take care of you."
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The girl, now aged seventeen and still remarkably short at only 4'7'', stared at the entrance to the Headmaster's office at Beacon Academy, within Beacon Tower. She wore a black sleeveless tank top with a golden eclipse symbol on it, dark blue jeans, and black combat boots with white accents. A spiked collar was placed around her neck, and on her back were two sickles, sickles that had once belonged to the woman she had called her surrogate mom.
Her crimson eyes were tired, her hair was unkempt and messy, scars littered her body. She walked forward into the elevator that took her up to his office. Once she was there, she stepped out and started to walk over to him.
Professor Ozpin looked surprised for a moment, but a sad smile came onto his face not a moment later. "Ebony Marzenie. I know of your past." The girl froze for a moment, until Ozpin continued, "But you needn't worry. I made a promise to your mother that I would keep you safe, and allow you to join my Academy. The next semester is soon to start. Is that your wish? If not, I can simply provide you with lodging on campus grounds."
Ebony finished walking up to him, and stared at him for a moment. Until, eventually, she nodded, "Yeah…
"I want to be a Huntress."
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Violet Merino had not always known a good life.
Her early life had been chock-full of challenges. Her parents hadn't been… the best. The orphanage she ended up in, as well, mistreated her. Yet she had eventually been adopted by a man she eventually came to call her Grandpa. She found an escape from her mental troubles in games, anime, and other forms of media.
Yet when her grandfather died of cancer, she knew that she had a duty. To pick up where he had left off, and continue his legacy. That meant becoming a Huntress, as he was a Huntsman, and a damn good one at that.
Though she loathed leaving behind her easy life of playing games and living off the pension her Grandpa had that never stopped even after his death for some reason, she knew that this was what she wanted to do.
The girl was 4'8'', with a slightly chubby frame while remaining strong. Her skin was fair, and her hair was brown, cut to her neck and framing her face. She had a large bushy raccoon tail behind her, and a constant field at her outline, seemingly distorting the environment around her slightly as if it was gas vapor, or heat. Her silver eyes shone slightly, when caught in the light just right. She also had large… assets, wearing a DD sized bra.
Her huntress gear consisted of a black tunic with red accents, a pair of black shorts underneath, and a pair of black combat boots, and she wore this gear when the day finally came.
She looked at Beacon Academy in the distance, and dreamed of what was to come.
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Neve lived a fairly ordinary life, raised by his mother and father, and grew up helping around their cafe/diner, The Changing Seasons, while simultaneously helping raise his siblings when his parents were too busy or otherwise occupied. As easy as it would have been for him to simply be a civilian, take over the business when he was old enough, and live a quiet life, he wanted something else. Something more.
He wanted to help people, like his mother had when she was younger. He wanted to be a Huntsman, and help better the world in any way he could. It was for this reason that he dedicated himself to training for many years.
He was 5'9'' and fairly slender in frame, with pale skin, ice blue eyes, and fluffy black hair that covered his ears. He wore a black turtleneck, a pair of jeans, and a pair of black boots with blue laces that crossed over each other all the way up. Over that, he wore a white long coat that stopped at his heels, with black shoulder pads with starry designs on it and golden trimming. He also wore a pair of black-gloves under a set of bracers, adorned with yet more snowflakes. The most stand-out feature was his scarf, colored orange with black loose end-fabrics, and a single black echelon on each side over an Ice Dust crystal shaped in a diamond pattern, similarly on both sides.
As the day drew closer, he prepared to leave for initiation, and he too looked towards the Academy that loomed in the distance.
There, he could make a real difference.
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In a kingdom far, far away from Vale, in snowy Atlas, in the frigid air of the capital city, there sat a humble, unassuming abode, a two story townhouse located not far from the Schnee manor. In this unassuming home there lived an unassuming family, but with a daughter that dreamed of greater things.
She played her guitar, which appeared to be made of mahogany wood, but in reality was made of metal, with various additions to its acoustic-electric design, as she looked out at the sky from outside of her bedroom. Occasionally, she'd glance down to look at her planter filled with flowers. In it sat orchids, snowdrops, violets, and red spider lilies.
She was a fair skinned girl, with honey-gold, hexagonally shaped irises, and black and gold hair that fell to her shoulders and was colored in alternating stripes. She had a somewhat above average bust size at a D cup.
Her Huntress outfit consisted of a cropped shirt colored honey gold and black, hanging off the sides of her shoulders. She bared her midriff and wore a short skirt that was colored black with gold trimmings at the edges, with a belt-like ribbon tied around it and hanging off her side. It also had a slit on the left side, showing a glimpse of the short shorts she wore underneath. Her boots, meanwhile, had speaker-gratings on them between the laces, betraying their usage as further amps for her guitar, Muse.
Long had she dreamed of being a Huntress, long had she dreamed of playing songs that could devastate Grimm with the aid of her guitar and equally lift the spirits of her comrades. Long had she dreamed of getting away from frigid and nigh-colorless Atlas, and the overbearing Schnee manor that sat not even a couple blocks away.
Now, she would get that chance. She had been accepted to Beacon Academy, and the hour of departure was soon upon her when she would board the airship that would take her to the legendary Huntsman academy.
It all started there.
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When the day came, the airship ride to Beacon Academy proved to be abuzz with excitement.
For just about everyone on board, this was the culmination of years of training. This was what would lead them to becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses, defenders of Remnant, and hopefully creators of a new tomorrow.
Yet for all that excitement, some still preferred to stay out of the throngs of talking hopefuls.
Violet sat on one of the outcropping benches against the wall of the ship, reading a manga. It was one of her favorites, about a young boy in a superhuman world born without superpowers getting the greatest power of all from the best hero in the world.
Meanwhile, Neve sat not too far away from her, his arms crossed as he watched the crowds. To him, many of the people there didn't look too interesting, but there were equally as many who did. From the girl with black and red hair talking to her blonde sister who was clearly younger than the rest, to the white haired girl standing in a corner with her arms crossed, and then, of course, the girl sitting near him.
He was always the kind of person to try to make friends, and he figured that, pass or not, he could at least walk away from this experience with a few of those. The girl next to him reading manga seemed a bit odd (her outfit choice was certainly something, who wore just a tabard, shorts, and boots?), but at least she had a great scimitar on her back. Meanwhile, his own weapon was hidden behind the small of his back, in one of its forms, that being twin swords with ice blue grips and pure white blades, resembling ice and snow.
He cleared his throat as he looked at the girl. "Hey. This is a big step, huh? Excited? I'm Neve by the way. Neve Cadere."
She started slightly at being addressed, having not even really noticed the boy next to her. She smiled a small and awkward smile as she nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty huge. I wonder what the entrance e- I mean, initiation is going to be?" After a beat, she remembered the whole 'name' thing and cleared her throat before adding, "A-Ah, I'm Violet Merino. It's n-nice to meet you."
Neve smiled at her. He had anticipated her to be a bit shy, but on top of that she seemed incredibly awkward. He supposed he could expect the same for most other Huntsmen trainees; it seemed a running theme that they didn't know much about talking to people. "I heard that it's pretty similar every time from my mom. She mentioned that the students are usually sent into the Emerald Forest and made to collect 'relics' which are just random things that the headmaster decides."
"Well, that doesn't sound too hard," Violet noted, rubbing her chin. "Though I guess the challenge is fighting the Grimm and not getting the relics…" She shook her head. "A-Anyway, want to be friends? That's… how you make friends, right? Like sending a friend request online?"
Neve chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Not… entirely, but… sure, I'll be your friend. You seem nice enough." He grinned. "Nothing wrong with having your own way of making friends."
Before Neve could respond any further, they saw a blonde guy wearing segmented armor run through the gathered crowds with a hand over his mouth. He vomited, getting some of it on the blonde girl's shoes. Neve cringed as he looked away and muttered, "Yikes. Talk about starting off on the wrong foot… I'd hate to be that guy."
Violet hummed as she rubbed her chin. "I dunno… I think it'd be pretty romantic if that was the start of what eventually blossoms into a romantic relationship."
Neve blinked a few times as he slowly turned his head to look at her. "You're a little… out there, aren't you, Violet?"
Violet snickered and responded while smiling at him, "Yep, but you already said you'll be my friend, so there's no getting out of it!" Her smile grew to a smirk. "Better get used to it."
He chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "Yeah, guess you're right."
Not too soon after that, the ship came to a stop, and everyone got off so they could head out.
As Neve and Violet walked together, they passed the boy who had vomited on a girl's shoes, currently emptying his stomach on the grass, and spared him pitying glances before they kept walking.
It was Violet who broke the silence this time, looking at him and asking, "So, what's your weapon?"
Neve grabbed his swords off the small of his back and brought them around, joining them together into their glaive form, with one of the sword blades having thinned itself out and become part of the shaft. "This is Fimbulvetr. It's a glaive that can break apart into two swords, or shift into a hunting rifle." He split it apart again and returned it to where it had been before.
Violet raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What's your semblance?"
Neve smirked. "I can lower the temperature in the area, or just where I touch. I can make it drop to below freezing right now, but I think I can get it lower if I train it hard enough. That's why I named it Absolute Zero."
"That's really cool." Violet giggled at her joke while Neve rolled his eyes in exasperation, having heard the joke a thousand times over by this point. "My semblance is Visual Soul." The strange slightly-obfuscating aura around her separated, turning into a charcoal facsimile of herself that promptly gave two thumbs up. "It lets me split my aura off into a mostly-autonomous second. Downside is, while it's split, I only have about 20% of my aura left on me."
Neve whistled before he responded, "Wow. That's a really powerful semblance. I don't think I've ever heard about anything like that before." He then looked at the weapon on her back. "What's your weapon?"
"Oh, this?" She looked back at it as her aura returned to her. "This is Suncutter." She unsheathed it, revealing how the blade started colored like the afternoon sky at the tip and slowly turned to night in a gradient until it was entirely dark blue at the base. "It can split into a chakram and rifle."
As she sheathed it, he nodded. "That sounds pretty interesting. A great semblance and a great weapon? I think you'll do just fine."
Violet blushed and giggled before she grinned. "I think so too! Likewise, I think you'll do great. Maybe we can even team up? If they let us team up."
"Oh, definitely," Neve responded, before looking forward. "We should get to the auditorium, the Headmaster's supposed to give a speech soon." Violet nodded in agreement, and so the two hurried on ahead, off to see the Headmaster's speech.
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Sitting on one of the currently empty dorm rooftops, Ebony watched as the hopefuls filled the walkways and paths of the campus, mostly making their way towards one of the many auditoriums on campus in order to listen to orientation.
Ebony herself didn't care much about it; fanciful traditions and speeches meant little to her.
What mattered to her, rather, was what was to come. She was told she would have to participate in initiation and join a team if she wanted to be a Huntress. So of course, she had little recourse but to accept that, even if the idea of spending time around three strangers for what would amount to four years made her skin crawl.
Still…
As she saw the dark haired boy and brown haired raccoon girl enter the auditorium, she wondered just who would become her partner, out of the hundreds attempting to gain entry.
Maybe she'd seen them already.
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Orientation was surprisingly swift, due Headmaster Ozpin's apparent desire to keep things brief.
Afterward, they were allowed to explore around Beacon if they desired before they had to turn in for the night at the dance hall.
It was there that Orchid set up shop against a wall. As night began to fall, and the room began to fill, she figured it a fitting time to put her musical talents to good use. So after dressing in her pajamas, which consisted of a honeygold top and black bottoms, she sat on her sleeping bag with her guitar and began to play some songs.
She didn't play anything too loud, and kept it acoustic. Mostly to keep from being a nuisance to anyone trying to turn in early. Before long, she had garnered plenty of attention. People sat nearby, or at least turned their attention to her, as she weaved together a variety of songs in order to help raise already high spirits amongst the assembled hopefuls.
Of course, many people were looking more at her than they were listening to her music, but she expected that and was all too used to it. One got a sense for that sort of thing and learned to filter it out, when they lived a life like hers.
She eventually winded down and thanked everyone for listening, and most attention turned away from her. Some few looked like they wanted to approach her, but none did. Maybe they thought better of it.
However, there was one who had escaped her attention until then. The black haired boy with icy blue eyes dressed in a simple white T-shirt and checkered pajama bottoms who approached and gestured to her left with the sleeping bag wrapped over his arm. "Hey," he asked, "mind if I set up here? That was a great performance, by the way."
She had a good feeling about him—she wasn't sure why, but he looked like he had some idea of what was what. So, she gestured to the spot he had and nodded while saying, "Go right ahead. What's your name?"
"Neve Cadere," he responded with a smile as he unrolled his sleeping bag, "and thanks. I was a bit late coming in, so I didn't exactly get a chance to stake a claim. Mistake on my part, but what can you do?"
Orchid chuckled and teasingly said, "Have you never heard the phrase 'the early bird gets the worm?' Or, well, I guess I would be an early bee. I'm Orchid Grove by the way, nice to meet you."
Neve laughed softly and briefly as he sat on his sleeping bag and said, "Nice to meet you too, Orchid, and I have, but I promised a friend I'd look around with her. I don't like breaking promises unless I have to." His own tone grew teasing as he quipped, "And I wouldn't go around talking about birds and bees so close to one another right now. Some people might think you're a weirdo."
It was Orchid's turn to laugh lightly as she shook her head in bemusement. "Nah, if they figure out I'm weird, it'll probably be for a different reason, but hey, everyone's a little bit weird, aren't they?"
"Oooh definitely. No doubt about that." He smiled as he rested his head on the wall and looked at the chandelier that hung above. "With the amount of people I've served at my family's cafe in my lifetime, I've met some real weirdos. You can usually tell based on what kind of frappe they order."
Orchid raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh? Got any examples?"
Neve hummed as he reached for a memory before eventually finding one. "Yeah. This blonde guy and his… sister, I think? Came in one day a few months ago. They said they were on a family vacation and wanted to get something for their family. Most of the drinks were normal, but the girl ordered—and get this, a green tea frappe with chocolate sauce, chocolate chip, extra whipped cream, and made it tall."
Orchid mimicked gagging before saying, "That sounds horrible! Geez, does that girl exist entirely on sugar and sparkles?" She snickered. "Now that is a weirdo alright. At least it was only tall." She shook her head. "So, you used to work at your family cafe? What made you decide to become a Huntsman?"
"Oh, you know." He smiled awkwardly and scratched his cheek. "The usual stuff: wanting to protect people, hoping to make the world a better place, that kinda thing. What about you?"
She tapped her chin. "A few different reasons. To make some money for my folks, is one. To try and help people, of course, and lift spirits with my music in a more proactive way, and… well, to stick it to someone."
Neve raised an eyebrow at the last one. "Oh? Mind if I ask who?"
Orchid glanced off to where a pale white-haired girl with a lopsided ponytail and a scar over her right eye was. "See that girl?" Neve looked and nodded once he caught sight of her. "Her, she's a bitch." She shook her head and a frown tugged at her lips as she continued, "I won't go too much into it right now; I'd rather not ruin my mood before I go to bed, but I'm doing it to shove my success in her ass as well. Maybe it'll push the stick she's got up there right out of her mouth."
Neve had to resist the urge to cringe at the visual, but he understood what she was saying. "Oof, remind me not to piss you off." She at least smirked at that. He yawned and stretched. "But, anyway. I'm kinda getting tired, so I think I'm gonna turn in."
Orchid nodded as she took her guitar off and went to put it into its case. "Same here. Tomorrow's gonna be busy, I can already tell. It'd be a really bad idea to go into initiation sleep deprived."
They were in agreement, and so both settled into their sleeping bags, and before too long sleep found them.
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Violet was seriously regretting not getting more than six hours of sleep the night before.
Sure, she knew they were going to wake up early, but she challenged anyone to go from sleeping at 'weird' hours to suddenly sleeping at 'normal' hours without there being a few stumbling blocks along the way.
At the very least she didn't have a lot of prep she needed to do that morning.
She changed into her Huntress outfit in the privacy of one of the stalls, grabbed her weapon out of her locker, and at the very least took a few moments to take in what everyone was up to around her.
The friend she had made the night before, Neve, seemed to be busy talking to some girl with black and gold hair, which made sense. He seemed the kind of guy to make a bunch of friends, the opposite of her. She also noticed a girl with black hair and red highlights talking to her sister, the same girl that got vomit in her shoes the night before.
Violet decided she was going to title her 'Vomit Girl', due to the unfortunate fate her boots had met.
The blonde boy that had caused the scene, henceforth titled 'Vomit Boy', was flirting with some white haired girl, before subsequently getting pinned to the wall by a spear. She cringed at the sight, but she had to wonder what drove him to act that way.
Oh well, at the end of the day, it wasn't her problem, and she was far too tired to approach him and see if he was okay.
Instead, she made her way out at the announcement for hopefuls to meet at a cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest.
Once they were there, Violet looked around at the people who were assembling on the pads on her left and right. She spotted Neve, she spotted the black and gold haired girl, along with some of the others she had seen around. Yet, there was one girl that she had never seen before, standing directly on her right.
The girl was actually an inch or two shorter than her, which was amazing in her mind, but she had to wonder why. Judging by how skinny the girl was, she doubted it was just a matter of genetics like it was for her. Maybe malnutrition? The way her crimson eyes held a look of tired exasperation seemed to indicate as much.
The girl noticed her looking at her, but didn't say anything. Rather, she just glanced at her, and that was enough for Violet to look forward again as Professor Ozpin went through what to expect.
"As many of you have asked, I will take the time to address a primary concern. You will be getting assigned your teams today. This initiation trial will not only establish whether or not you are prepared to face what's to come at Beacon Academy, but it will also determine who your team will be."
Meanwhile, Neve reached into his satchel and fished out a vial of powdered Ice Dust, and a vial of Water Dust.
"It will be critically important to try and team up with people you get along with, as you will be spending the better part of the next four years with them…."
Orchid readied her guitar, a visible smile of excitement on her face.
"...That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years. So try to have some awareness of who you look in the eyes the first time around."
Violet's body glowed as her aura enveloped around her like an exoskeleton.
"After you've met your partner, both of you are to make your way back towards this cliffside. On the way, you will find a ruin that contains relics in the form of chess pieces. You are to take one of these relics and bring them to me. From there, you will be graded on your performance."
Ebony readied her sickles and grinned in excitement and anticipation.
"...Finally, the forest is sure to be filled with Grimm. So make sure you're adequately prepared to do battle. We will be watching, not just to hold students to the rules, but also to evaluate your skills. Try to do your best, but most of all… good luck."
And then, the first of them was launched off the platforms.
Neve flew through the air as he uncorked both vials of Dust. He glided over the tops of the trees, a smile on his face as he felt the wind hitting him. As he began to descend further, he threw out the first phial, the one of Ice Dust, while activating his semblance. Ice formed a lot faster than it would have on its own, providing a downward slope that he began to slide on.
Next came the Water Dust, which he threw out in front of himself as he reached the end of the Ice Dust's slide. The Water Dust formed a much longer slide, reaching out towards a clearing in the forest. He grinned as he reached the end of the slide, kicking off of it and backflipping before landing on his feet on the grass with a bright smile.
Orchid grinned as she began to play a snippet from a song, Touch the Sky, and as she did so, the Dust from her guitar began to activate. She sang, "I looked in the mirror, and I gotta say! It's been a long long time since I felt this way!" Sound waves emitted from her guitar, launching her further into the air as she reached the treeline.
"Right now! I'm just a bit surprised!" She finally broke past the treeline. "'Cause I feel just fine, and I might just touch the sky~!" Wind enveloped her from the Dust in her guitar, slowing her fall as she reached closer to the ground. As she finally got close enough, she strummed one final verse, which launched her a couple feet into the air again as she almost hit the ground, allowing her to land on the ground safely while giggling to herself.
Violet, meanwhile, proved to be a lot less graceful. She crossed her arms in an X in front of her as she reached the treeline, breaking through it with the protection of her auric exoskeleton, knocking over a tree as she smashed through it. She smirked as she landed on the ground, kicking up dust and cracking the earth beneath her while muttering, "Badass."
Ebony raised her sickles as she was shot forward, her light frame allowing her slightly more control as she fell with style through the air and towards the trees. She broke through the treeline, not ceasing her fall as she snapped branches along the way. As she reached a branch that was drawing rapidly closer to her face, she held out a sickle and hooked it onto it. She spun in a full 360 degree rotation before slipping off, the branch breaking in the process, and continued on.
She reached the full trunk of a fairly thin tree and hooked her sickle into it as she almost flew past it. There, she spun all the way down, breaking bark and leaving a trail as she spun around it while sliding ever downward. Finally, as she drew closer to the ground, she dug her other sickle into the tree and brought herself to a stop before pulling both out and kicking off the trunk, landing on the ground with a huff.
Finally, all four hopefuls began their way through the forest. The first priority for most was to find a partner, while Ebony merely wanted to see if she couldn't get to a relic first. She wondered, maybe if she got one without anyone seeing her, she could get by without having a partner? Surely, they had rules for something like that.
However, as she wandered through the forests, the sound of footsteps not far from her caused her to immediately start thinking of an escape route. She looked around before wielding her sickles and using them to help her climb up a particularly large tree.
However, as she reached a sickle out to a branch, she miscalculated the amount of weight it could take. As she let the other sickle leave the trunk of the tree, she tried to climb onto the branch, but the sickle dug deeper into it than she would have wanted. The branch then snapped, causing her to fall as she yelled, "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!"
Instead of hitting the ground, she found herself being caught by something… strange. Not entirely solid, but just solid enough to hold her bridal style. As she looked at it, she found that it was a charcoal gray facsimile of a girl she had seen before, although now that she looked closer at it, its hair was wilder than hers, less tame.
The girl herself stepped into it, and the shade faded into her as the girl smiled down at Ebony and greeted her, "Hey, partner." She set her down before Ebony got the chance to try to scramble out of her arms. "I'm Violet Merino. Guess we're in this together now, huh?" Violet had initially been intending to continue to look for Neve so they could be partners, but she had known going in that the odds of her finding him before someone else were low, so she'd take any partner that looked worth their salt over none.
Ebony blinked in surprise a few times at this girl, having no clue what to say or what to do. "Uhm…" The filing cabinet inside her mind was throwing papers around the office, trying to dig out old shredded pieces of information that might help her. Until, eventually, she simply settled on saying, "Ebony Marzenie. Yeah, guess we are."
The two girls started off, having been given a general direction they were supposed to head in. Violet wanted to talk, but she had admittedly no clue what to talk about;maintaining conversation wasn't exactly her strong suit when she had no springboard. Meanwhile, Ebony mostly just wanted to get the exam over with. The sooner it was over, the sooner she could find some alcove to settle in to for a nap.
"So…" Violet tried, not being entirely sure what to say but still feeling as if she had to try to say something anyway. "Where were you during orientation? I don't think I saw you anywhere, and I went all around campus."
Ebony hummed and answered the question bluntly, "I was on a rooftop watching people. Headmaster Ozpin already told me I didn't have to attend orientation, and I was already here to begin with, so I just got comfortable and watched." She snorted. "Most people out there didn't look like they were worth shit."
"I didn't really pay that much attention either," Violet responded with a shrug. "There were a few people that looked cool, but yeah, most of them looked like they hardly knew what they were doing. I doubt they'll pass their initiation, but I guess that's why this place has such a low acceptance rate, even if it brings so many people to its initiation."
"Because most of those people hardly know what a real fight is," Ebony responded with a scoff. "To them it's all fun and games until a beast is staring them in the eyes, be that beast Grimm or man."
As if to punctuate her words, growling caught their ears. Both drew their weapons, with Violet's shifting into its two separate forms, gravity-powered Chakram and Mini-14, as a pack of Beowolfs came into view.
There weren't many, but they were led by an Alpha, which would prove to be the greater challenge.
They wasted no time and exchanged no words; instead, Violet began to fire upon the smaller Beowolves, taking them down with Dust rounds while Yuvi separated and charged towards the Alpha.
Ebony herself surged forward and dug her sickle into the neck of one of the smaller Beowolves, before ducking as another attempted to swipe at her and striking it with her other sickle, jamming it into its chest and dragging it upward before yanking both her weapons free.
While Violet would hardly call herself an elegant fighter, watching as her chakram sawed a Beowolf's head clean off before she directed it to help Yuvi, who was currently grappling with the Alpha, she noted Ebony's fighting style. There was no grace to how she fought, no real practice to it. Whereas others followed certain fighting styles, passed down from person to person, Ebony's seemed entirely her own. It seemed… primal. Desperate. As if this fight could be her last, even if realistically these Grimm posed neither of them any threat.
In a way, Violet felt, perhaps there was a certain grace to that. As antithetical to the word as the scene itself might be.
The Alpha was being grappled by Yuvi, who kept her arms under its forelegs in order to prevent it from moving, while the chakram continued to try to dig into its skin. Eventually, inevitably, the chakram began to make progress. However, it wasn't until Ebony jumped onto the beast's back and began to dig her sickles into the back of its' neck repeatedly and ferociously that the beast well and truly fell, with Yuvi retreating back to Violet as to avoid being crushed underneath it.
All told, the fight only lasted a couple minutes, but it still served to wake Violet up more from her lack of sleep. She had to remind herself that this was real, as real as it could get, be it just a test or no. She would have to bring her best, and luckily, it seemed like Ebony was intent on doing the same.
Violet sighed. "Those're dead at least. Let's keep moving. Maybe we'll be able to get to the relics before anyone else."
Ebony nodded in agreement, turning her attention back to the path while muttering, "The sooner the better."
The two partners journeyed forth, intent on reaching their destination.
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Ozpin sipped his hot chocolate as he watched Ebony and Violet leave the dead Beowolves behind. "Impressive work. I wouldn't quite call it teamwork, but they're doing well enough."
Glynda sighed. "I'm still not sure letting that Ebony girl in was such a good idea given her history, but… at least she's somewhat capable of working with others. I just hope you understand what's at stake since she's partnered with Violet."
"Of course I do, Glynda." One of two silver-eyed warriors in this years' selection, Violet was high on his priority list of candidates to observe, to say the least. "I'm confident it will work out. Violet's got the heart of a warrior, just like Greyson did, even if she's not his blood, he still raised her. She might not understand everything yet, but that's why she's here. I'm certain Ebony will help her reach her goal. Whether she knows it or not. Now…"
He switched the screen on his Scroll, observing Neve Cadere skulking through the bush as he did so. "Let's see what some of our other most promising hopefuls are up to."
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The sound of parting bushes and footfalls on the dirt filled the ears of naught but birds and the man making the noises to begin with.
Neve had never quite been the type to traipse about in the open if he had an opportunity for something else. In a forest like this, he had a much better option. Traveling through it, he had shifted Fimbulvetr. Now he held a hunting rifle, complete with a scope at the top and a magazine well at the bottom, the other blade having transformed into a bayonet underneath it.
Eventually, he heard the sound of a girl's hum—and one he recognized, at that. He glanced down the path, and sure enough, there stood Orchid, walking down the path with nary a care. He stood up and cleared his throat as he stepped out of the brush, making himself known.
Orchid turned to him and grinned. "Oh, thank the Brothers. For a couple minutes there I was worried I was going to end up partnered with Weiss or some other person I would… probably end up hating. This place seems perfect for that sort of thing."
Neve smiled and chuckled, approaching her while shaking his head. "Well, hopefully you don't end up hating me. I'd probably have to do something really stupid to get on your bad side."
"Eeehhh, yeah." Her grin brightened as she kept her eyes on him as she turned away, before entirely looking away and ahead. "Getting my order wrong at your coffee shop would probably get you on my shit list."
"Hah." He snickered as he caught up to her, shifting his weapon and turning it into its glaive form, holding it close at hand. "Guess I'm lucky I'm not working there anymore, huh?" He nodded ahead. "Let's get moving, don't want to sit around too long."
Orchid nodded as he started off while saying, "I'll follow your lead. My fighting style is better if I'm further back, anyway." She gestured to her guitar while explaining, "Muse here is infused with all kinds of Dust in its strings and a couple other places, lets me be very dynamic, kind of a 'Dust Mage' as some people have called it. The main problem is I'm not very good up close. Not that I can't throw a punch if I need to, it's just not how I fight at my best."
"Well, I'm sure we'll find an opportunity to get a feel for each-other's fighting styles." Suddenly, the snap of a branch breaking to their left caused both teens to turn in the direction of the sound. Neve readied himself, shifting his weapon back into its glaive form before raising it, held in both hands to be on-level with his chest. "Speak of the Grimm, as they say…" he muttered.
Orchid readied her guitar, and soon after, two Ursa burst from the treeline. Luckily, neither of them appeared to be an Ursa Major, although an Ursa was still something not to be ignored.
The fight began with Orchid strumming out a wave of sound towards the Ursa, which connected with them and caused them both to stagger back. As she did, Neve stepped forward and swung his glaive, catching one of the Ursa on the shoulder and then ducking as the other tried to swipe at him. In his hair appeared an orchid, while in Orchid's hair, a snowdrop appeared.
She played a few more notes, not feeling that this battle needed any song in particular, but still playing out an instrumental of one of her favorite songs, Hunter, while humming along to it. From the head of her guitar, lightning cracked as she aimed it at the Ursa that Neve hadn't hit, blasting it and causing it to stagger backward.
Neve followed up, flourishing his glaive before swinging it forward at the Ursa Orchid had hit. As his blade connected, he watched as Fimbulvetr slammed into it hard enough to knock it on its side and send it skidding away, a force much stronger than he could normally muster. 'Must be Orchid's semblance,' he reasoned. He muttered under his breath, "Well if that's the case…" He might as well show off his own.
As the Ursa he had hit earlier charged him again, he activated his semblance. The temperature in his immediate area dropped significantly, although notably it didn't seem to affect Orchid. The cold seemed to run through Fimbulvetr, and as he stabbed forward with the blade and lodged it into the Ursa's mouth while it was roaring, cold seemed to transfer through it. So complete was the cold that it caused the Ursa to lock in place, and as he yanked the blade out, the unmoving beast merely toppled over.
Two Ursa lay dead, and both students stood firm as Neve cut off his semblance and Orchid stopped playing her guitar. The flowers in their hair vanished as her music stopped, and she smiled while saying, "Nice semblance."
"You too," Neve responded, looking back at her. "Music, huh?"
Orchid nodded and grinned. "This guitar isn't just for show! It works with my semblance. I can augment others, or myself, with any music I'm playing or listening to. The effect depends on the genre."
He smiled. "That's going to be fun to work with." He then looked forward towards the path. "We should keep going. Ursa don't work in large packs, but if there's any other Grimm in the area, they probably heard us." As much as he wished he could ask her more about her semblance, it would have to wait until after they passed initiation.
So, the two of them hurried off, ever onward towards their destination.
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Ozpin hummed as he watched the two students hurry off. "An interesting partnership," he mused.
Glynda crossed her arms and noted, "Miss Grove was near the top of her class at Alsius Academy. One would wonder why she didn't follow the usual route to Atlas, but… looking at her, she doesn't seem the type to take well to James' military lifestyle."
He chuckled and shook his head. "Certainly not. It seems to me she is a much better fit for Beacon. Her semblance has the potential for great synergy with others, should their team learn to capitalize on it. The reliance on music may prove troublesome for her at some points; she's certainly not someone I'd send on a stealth mission."
She hummed in agreement and looked at Neve while commenting, "This one didn't attend a combat school, he was mentored by his mother. June was an accomplished Huntress back in her day. I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise that her son opted to follow the same path, but you would think that a more civilian lifestyle would have been more appealing to him, considering he could have simply taken ownership of his family business."
Ozpin shook his head slightly. "Some people simply can't ignore the call. It's likely he inherited his mother's ideals, and from the looks of it, her penchant for taking charge."
Glynda nodded and added, "His semblance has a lot of potential to it. Absolute Zero, an apt name. If he can master it, he may prove one of the more dangerous of our students for Grimm and humans alike to face."
"Indeed." Ozpin smirked as he took a sip from his drink. "Between those two and the other partnerships we've noted, this is certain to be a very interesting year…"
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As the two partnerships hurried through the forest, it wasn't long before they reached the ruined temple that held the relics, simple chess pieces.
Neve and Orchid were first, with Neve smiling as he approached the podiums. "Finally." He picked up the Gold Queen piece, "Now, let's-"
He was interrupted as he heard Violet calling out to him, "Hey Neve! We made it!" Violet grinned as Neve looked towards her. Ebony wasn't far behind, although she maintained a certain stoic expression.
Neve raised a hand in greeting while Orchid waved a bit more energetically. "Friend of yours, Neve?" she asked.
"Well, we only met yesterday, but something like that."
Violet hurried up to them, clearly a bit out of breath as she came to a stop. "Man… I haven't run that much in a few years. Thank the gods for aura." She walked up to one of the podiums and took the other Gold Queen piece.
Orchid greeted them both with a smile as she introduced herself. "Hey, I'm Orchid Grove."
In response, Violet nodded as she turned towards her and said with a small smile, "Violet Merino, good to meet you."
Everyone looked at Ebony, which she didn't like very much, but she just shrugged. "Ebony Marzenie."
Before they could leave, a series of events transpired.
First, a blonde girl and dark haired girl hurried into view. The blonde one grinned as she waved at the assembled others. "Hey there! Guess we weren't the first, huh? Bummer." She came to a stop and then looked at one of the pieces, picking up a Gold Knight. "Oh hey, a cute little horsie." Then, she looked at the group. "Hey, I'm Yang."
The dark haired girl greeted them as well, although in a markedly more monotone voice. "Blake Belladonna."
The crew exchanged greetings, but before they could leave, the sound of manic laughter turned their attention towards the woods. A girl then burst through the treeline while riding an Ursa, and not far behind her was a dark haired boy with a single pink highlight in his hair.
The Ursa fell and the girl rolled forward. She then stood up and pouted before kicking the Ursa in its head and whining, "Awh, I broke it…"
Blake noted with a bit of curiosity, "Did she just ride in on an Ursa?"
Before anyone could comment on it, the dark and red haired girl dropped seemingly out of nowhere with a laugh. As she landed, Yang exclaimed, "Ruby! Where'd you come from?"
Ruby smiled awkwardly and looked up at the sky just as a Nevermore cawed loudly. On it was the white haired girl that Orchid had previously called a bitch. She was holding on for dear life while asking loudly, "How could you leave me?!"
Ruby responded like she was stating the obvious, "I said jump!"
Blake questioned once again, "Did she just fly in on a Nevermore?"
What would turn out to be the final event occurred not a moment later. The pleading screams of a boy yelling, "Pyrrha! Help! Pyrrhaa!" filled everyone's ears before a red haired girl that most recognized as Pyrrha Nikos burst through the treeline while running towards the temple. Not that far behind, a Deathstalker broke through the treeline, knocking over several trees as it did.
There was a blonde haired boy holding on to the Deathstalker's stinger, but as it flung it forward, he was sent flying at the same time as the white haired girl let go of the Nevermore. She crashed into him on her way down and ended up sitting on his back while checking her nails. "My hero."
To which the boy responded, "My back."
The two soon joined the rest at the temple, and Yang commented, "Great! Now we can die together."
Then, through the treeline, a final beast the size of a bus burst through the treeline. It looked like a giant platypus, with a single spike on each of its knees, clawed hands, and most notably, a shell on its back that was split open, with several tentacles on its back flailing around.
Faced with not one, not two, but three giant Grimm, the group all drew their weapons while backing up. Neve commented, "All three at the same time? I don't like those odds. We should split them up."
Ruby nodded. "Yeah, but not here. We need to try to run first, maybe we can get away without having to fight them."
And so the twelve teens turned and ran. They escaped past the broken temple while the Deathstalker merely broke through the wall, scattering the remaining pieces. Thankfully, at least, all of the partnerships had grabbed one.
The Platypus Grimm, otherwise known as a Splitback, followed not far behind, running to the right of the Deathstalker.
They ended up in an area filled with stone and old ruins, and as they broke past what had been an amphitheater, the Deathstalker knocked over a massive pillar, which cut off Neve, Orchid, Violet, and Ebony. They all let out a collective swear under their breath.
Neve looked at the others for a moment before shaking his head and turning around. "Alright guys, we have to trust that the others can deal with the rest. This Splitback has to go down." He broke Fimbulvetr into a pair of scimitars and dropped into his battle stance, a slightly lowered form as he looked ready to sprint forward.
Orchid readied her guitar with a smirk. "I've already got a song picked out, hope you guys are ready to rock."
Violet nodded and drew Suncutter, letting the blade separate from the rest as it shifted into a chakram and a Mini-14 respectfully. "What, this thing? Psh! We'll make Perry here wish he never left home!"
Ebony grinned as she joined Requiem into a new form, a bladed boomerang, "Finally! A real fucking fight!"
Neve grinned and said, "Great. Let's rock!" prompting Orchid to begin playing the song she had earlier, Hunter, but this time she intended to play the full thing.
"Destroy! Apathy and hope~! Destroy! Everything you own~!"
Neve burst forward while brandishing Fimbulvetr. He weaved between some attacks the beast made as it stood in its hindlegs, before delivering a solid strike to its side and causing it to growl.
"Nihilistic tendencies within my bones~ You gotta break a few! You gotta lose it all!"
Ebony ran towards it while holding up Requiem. She grinned, a small glint in her eye, as she tossed her boomerang. It spun through the air in a curved arc before cutting off several of the beast's tendrils, causing it to shriek. She narrowly avoided it trying to punch her, before it brought its tail around and whacked her, sending her back a couple feet.
"This fear… No, I'm not ashamed! Giants tower over bodies charred and maimed! Am I sick with a disease or am I sane?! You gotta start to run! Before you learn to crawl~!"
Orchid shot several soundwaves out of Muse at the beast, keeping it from progressing further. Fire Dust sent out waves of flame that crashed into it along with the soundwaves, charring the beast and several of its tendrils, even as the beast fought on.
"My mind's a wreck~They tell me everything will be okay~ Well, I wanna be the hunter not the hunted! I wanna be the killer not the PREEYYY~!"
Violet shot at the beast, trying to shoot at the vulnerable parts of its face through its armor, while her chakram cut through several of the beast's tendrils before digging into its tail. All the while, Yuvi charged forward and punched heavy punches at its side.
"My heart can't take much more! Constantly repeating every single beat I felt before! Every single time I hit that wall~! Crystal bodies hold me tight, as I fall into the night! Just for a chance to see the light!"
Neve activated his semblance while swinging his swords. After they grazed the beast's sides, he transformed it into a glaive before jumping backward and cutting into its body. Ice began to build up around its side, and its movements slowed, although not for long.
"The beating of the drum~ ! What I heard so many times I became numb… Are we constantly tormented just for fun~? We'll never understand… The killer starting gun!"
Ebony recovered and spotted Yuvi nearby. The auric Violet gestured for her to come closer, and so she did. Yuvi cupped her hands together and, as Ebony put her foot on her 'hands', she launched Ebony into the air. Ebony laughed as she did, throwing her boomerang down while falling towards the beast. The boomerang cut into its side before coming back, and she caught it before transforming it back into two sickles. As she landed, she dug into the beast's upper back.
"Hold your breath and plunge too deep! My demons always had my soul to keep~! And I'm dying every time I fall asleep~! I wanna be reborn! Instead of being done~!"
Violet changed magazines, stuffing her old one in a satchel at her side while producing another magazine. She inserted it before firing off several ice rounds, catching on to what Neve's semblance was doing to it.
"My mind's a wreck~ What use is believing if I can't pray~?"
Orchid sang softly as Neve began to put an idea together in his head, before he ordered, "Violet! Get Yuvi to force it on its hind legs more. Orchid, put your semblance on Ebony, and Ebony… hurt it!"
"I wanna be the hunter not the hunted… I WANNA LIVE ONE MORE DAAAYYY~!"
Orchid sang the second half loudly as she gave Ebony a buff and shot out another bolt of lightning at the beast, crashing the bolt into its head and cracking its bone plating in the process.
"Can't take much more! Constantly repeating every single beat I felt before! Every single time I hit that wall~!"
Yuvi charged forward again and grew several feet taller before crashing into the beast's body. She uppercut it and caused it to stagger upward before Yuvi crashed into the Splitback again, grappling it to hold it in place.
"Crystal bodies hold me tight! As I fall into the night! Just for a chance to see the light!"
Ebony felt strength coursing through her body. Whereas before she struggled to dig into its neck, she was now able to completely plunge her sickles inside of it. She then stepped off its body, sliding down it instead while dragging her sickles with her, causing the beast to shriek in pain.
"Give me a chance to see the light~!"
Neve rushed to the beast's right. It stood precariously near a set of stairs that led down the amphitheater, and he transformed his weapon into its hunting rifle form before firing several Dust rounds at its side, causing it to stagger towards the stairs.
"Human disease~! I'm getting sick of it~! Fall to your knees! Fake it till it washes all away…"
Yuvi got under the beast's footing, causing it to trip and fall down the stairs as Ebony yanked her sickles free and jumped off of it before landing and standing up straight again.
All four of them looked at the beast as it lay smoking at the bottom of the pit. Then, Orchid laughed in relief, Violet smiled and pumped a fist in the air, Ebony merely smirked, and Neve grinned while saying, "Good job guys. Let's get going, see if the others are faring as well."
Ebony frowned at him and spoke in an annoyed and unhappy voice. "So what was that back there? Are you some kind of poser culo perra?"
Neve looked at her in confusion, as did the others, but nobody focused on it at the moment. Instead, they all hurried to get around the pillar that had fallen before in order to see where the others had gone.
It turned out they ended up over a ravine, and the four students arrived just in time to see Ruby behead a Nevermore after dragging it up a cliff. Neve whistled, impressed, while Orchid smiled, Violet chuckled, and Ebony remained apathetic.
They headed down and met up with the other two teams before making their way back to the starting area. Professor Ozpin all gave them top marks before sending them to another auditorium.
This auditorium had blue theater chairs in it, which everyone sat in. After a few minutes, Ozpin arrived on stage and began calling out students to be given a team name and leader. Amongst the several that were made, the ones that stood out were Team RWBY led by Ruby, and Team JNPR led by the boy who turned out to be named Jaune.
Finally, Ozpin called them up. Once they were standing on the stage, he read out, "Neve Cadere, Orchid Grove, Violet Merino, and Ebony Marzenie. You claimed the Gold Queen pieces. You will be led by Neve Cadere, and together you will be known as…
"Team COVE!"
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! The song Orchid sang was Hunter by Ken Ashcorp. I'm hoping I can remember to list the songs she sings within the fic, but in case the name wasn't specific enough, I figured I'd say it again down here.