Reclamation of WYRD

Dramatis Personae

William Telos – 1st year student, Beacon Academy. 17 years old

Y'sh Maile – 1st year student, Beacon Academy. 17 years old

Rust – 1st year student, Beacon Academy. 18 years old

Dahlia August – 1st year student, Beacon Academy. 17 years old.

Professor Ozpin – Headmaster, Beacon Academy. Age: ? years old.

Professor Goodwitch – Teacher, Beacon Academy. Age: ? years old (no one dares ask)

Professor Port – Teacher, Beacon Academy. Age: ? years old (based on number of stories to tell, should be somewhere past 426. Actual age, somewhere around late 30s).

Professor Oobleck – Teacher, Beacon Academy. Age: ? years old (younger than most of the faculty, makes up for it with breadth of knowledge and enthusiasm. Also, insists on being called "Dr", as he didn't earn that PhD for nothing).

Please note: This story takes place approximately 10 years before the events of the series. Any inconsistencies with how the world of Remnant is portrayed can be chalked up to my own ineptitude with fact checking and perhaps how the world may or may not have changed within the framework of the story during the time difference.

The team name "WYRD" is meant to be pronounced "wired" but also retains the meaning of "fate", simply because I thought it was cool.

Also, this is my first attempt at a fic, so please bear that in mind.

With that out of the way, let us begin…

Chapter 1

As the wind rushed past his ears, William Telos looked around himself with a grin. He was finally at Beacon, going through initiation. He was going to pass, make some friends, become a Huntsman, and maybe, just maybe, show his father that he wasn't a complete waste of time, energy, and resources. Of course, that was all predicated on surviving the upcoming landing, but that was a problem for future William. For now, he was just enjoying the thrill of falling.

A few dozen metres to William's left, however, another new student was not having quite such a relaxed time, as she stared down at the rapidly approaching sea of green.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit" ran through Dahlia August's mind, and she desperately tried to force down the panic swelling up through her throat. She knew she shouldn't have had pancakes for breakfast, and they were about to come back and say hi to whatever made her lunch. Her eyes frantically searched for anything that might give her a hint as to how she might somehow manage to not die, and seized upon one of her fellows just ahead. With his arms and legs spread out in an attempt to slow his fall, he looked calm, collected and ready for an impact. Just before making contact with the uppermost leaves of the forest, he curled into a ball and crashed through, leaving a sizeable hole in the foliage. Dahlia took a look, then a breath, and thought "well, if it worked for him, might as well give it a go, huh?"

Dusting himself off, Rust looked around to get his bearings. Having never been in a forest in Vale before, he wasn't entirely sure of how best to navigate. But, there couldn't be too many differences between Vale and Mistral, right? Taking a guess at which direction was north, based on the direction he had been falling in, he set off through the trees, checking his weapons and gear as he went. After ensuring that his robe was undamaged, he coiled his tail around his waist, cinching it tight. After all, he may be at Beacon right now, but there was never a guarantee that his classmates would share the headmaster's welcoming attitude towards Faunus. After a few minutes, he heard a rustling sound from behind him, accompanied by an excited yell. Turning, he saw a Beowulf burst through the bushes, only to dissolve into ash before his feet. Tumbling through the cloud was an unfamiliar face, plastered with a grin, above twin curved swords that had clearly just been used to great effect. Rust's own expression was not so open, and he thought "Damn. Where were you, Y'sh?"

Approximately one hundred metres to the east of where Rust had landed, Y'sh was wondering the same thing. Similarly unfamiliar with the terrain as her childhood friend, she had however done her best to research the differences between the environments of the two kingdoms. Thus, she was somewhat better equipped to find her way northwards. However, she was unnerved by the fact that she and Rust had been separated like this. It had been some time since they had last had to fight without each other, and she was starting to feel uneasy. A sensation she intensely disliked. Keeping a firm grip on her beloved sword, she marched through the forest, pausing only to listen out for any tell-tale sounds of Grimm, or, failing that, her friend. After around ten minutes, she started to hear sounds of conflict ahead. Hoping that she would find Rust there, Y'sh charged in. Greeting her entrance, though, was a group of five Ursai, surrounding one of their other classmates. For some reason, the girl was carrying one of the most inappropriate things Y'sh had ever seen, a guitar of all things. Their gazes met, and as Y'sh could not leave her now partner to such a fate, she rushed in, gripping the hilt of her sword. Still, she couldn't help thinking "Rust, it should have been you…"

William hurriedly put his swords away, realising that he probably looked a little unhinged grinning with them out like that, and reached out a hand.

"Sorry for rushing you like that, the little puppy didn't want to take his medicine." He said, trying to ease his face into a more calm smile. "Name's William Telos, by the way. Guess we're partners, huh?"

The tall boy in front of him looked at the proffered hand, and tentatively grasped it. One shake, and then he let go.

"Rust. Look forward to working with you." His voice was unexpectedly quiet, for someone so big, William thought. But hey, stranger things have happened, and frequently did, according to one of his aunts.

"Awesome. So, do you know which way we're supposed to be going? Not gonna lie, kinda lost track on the way down of which direction was north. Might have been the branches that I caught myself on that swung me around." William scratched his head, sheepishly grinning. After a moment of incredulous silence, Rust pointed in the direction he had been headed.

"I think it's this way." He murmured, not entirely sure. Having had to stop and deal with a new interruption had thrown him a little, and his earlier assurance had fled him.

"You sure about that?" William asked. "Pretty sure you're pointing east, there, buddy." He bounded forwards, and pointed at the side of a tree. "See here, moss like this doesn't grow unless it's pretty shady, so it's usually found on the north sides of a tree, since that gets the least sunlight during the day."

Looking around himself at the other trees, Rust realised that his new partner had a point. He closed his eyes for a moment, silently admonishing himself for his arrogance.

"Hey, you alright there?" came a worried voice. Rust opened his eyes to see William looking at him with a concerned frown.

"Sorry, I was just reminding myself that I shouldn't be too confident here. Arrogance will get you killed, especially when dealing with Grimm."

William backed up, smiling again. Putting his hands in his pockets, he turned around and started marching through the forest, heading north. As he walked, he called over his shoulder "Look, you don't need to apologise. I was just worried is all. Besides, you're not from Vale, are ya? Can't expect you to know all the stuff a local would. So don't beat yourself up about it, ok?"

Momentarily stunned at William's easy-going nature, Rust shook his head and followed after the shorter student. "I don't think he and Y'sh would get along…"

Dahlia was having the worst day she could have ever imagined. First, she gets launched from a cliff. Second, the tactic used by the guy ahead of her really didn't work for her, so she got bounced and battered by every tree on her way down, leaving her bruised, drained and covered in leaves and twigs. Third, when she manages to drag her sorry butt off the ground, there are a load of Ursai around her, waiting to make her a snack. Just great.

As she scrambled to defend herself from blow after blow, she frantically tried to gain enough space to bring her weapon to bear. Normally she wouldn't be having so much trouble, but the nature of Grimm made it hard for her to feel the flow of the fight, leaving her hard pressed to do more than block. Thankfully, her weapon was more than sturdy enough for the task, unconventional though it may look.

Through a gap between her enemies, she caught a glimpse of someone breaking free from the trees into the little clearing she had been fighting in. She couldn't see clearly who they were, but she felt a wave of relief well within her. At least she would stand a better chance with someone else by her side.

One of the Ursai halted as it reared up, before falling into two pieces, crumbling to ash along the way. Behind it was one of the greatest things Dahlia had ever seen: swirling petals, a long ponytail drifting behind her, and a bare sword already moving to its second strike. Shaking her head quickly to refocus, she brought her fingers to the strings of her guitar and played several notes, each one resonating through the still air. They also sent a crackling bolt of lightning from the strings into each Grimm surrounding her, stunning them long enough to make the killing blows land even more easily than the first.

As the remaining Ursai decomposed into particles around them, Dahlia took a deep breath, lowered her weapon and smiled shakily at her saviour.

"Hi, and thanks. If you hadn't got here when you did, I probably wouldn't be standing right now."

At her words, the other girl's face soured, and she turned her back on Dahlia, stalking away into the forest. Dahlia paused, dumbfounded for a moment, then followed her, mentally berating herself for making such an appalling first impression.

"He, hold on a second!" She called. The other student stopped, and turned back to face her. Seeing that her expression was now back to a more neutral one, Dahlia sighed in relief. "Look, I'm sorry I needed you to come and save my ass like that. I really do appreciate it, and I'm also sorry if I said something to offend you. I have an unfortunate habit of saying things that sound funny in my head, which don't go well when my tongue gets involved, and you did all the really hard work back there, which was awesome, by the way, and I'm rambling, aren't I?"

She stopped talking, mortified that she had just made the same mistake again, within scant moments of each other, only to see the other girl smile slightly.

"I wasn't offended, you have nothing to apologise for, and I was very appreciative of the way you used your weapon to stun those Grimm to make my task more simple. I just… Have difficulties seeing the way those… Things can disappear the way they do, leaving no traces. No evidence."

A flash of hatred lit her eyes for a brief moment, just short enough that Dahlia wasn't sure if it had been there. She stepped closer, and put out her hand.

"Dahlia, nice to meet you. Guess we're partners from here."

The sword-wielding girl looked at her, and smiled again. Bringing her hand to meet Dahlia's, she returned the gesture.

"Call me Y'sh Maile."