Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum. Not me.

Eleven Years Ago…

It began with a flash of light on the horizon. Seven-year-old Orion first thought it was the sun. Then, he realized the sun was on the other side of the sky, not even close to setting.

Orion ignored everyone else's murmurs, his eyes fixed on the phenomenon. So bright and unexpected, its beams of light covering either side of the blue sky and reflecting off the blue ocean. When they faded, the faint rings of mist illuminating the sky overhead into what was the most beautiful thing Orion had ever seen.

"... what is that?" someone had said, pointing towards dark figures on the same horizon.

As shadows grew much closer and familiar, the murmurs became screams of terror.

The next several minutes were something out of a story. The sky, once shining bright, grew darker. Cups and tables on the deck toppled over, and the waters wadded from the approaching figures. Orion stumbled off the railing and fell on his stubbly limbs before everyone else's scurrying legs.

"Mom! Dad!"

The cacophony drowned his words and squeaky voice. Not an hour ago, the same people serenaded to soft music, played games, and watched the ocean on their trip to Mistral. Now, they ran for their lives, blocking Orion's view as some gathered their loved ones and others grabbed any belongings.

Cornered, Orion's lips trembled with the rest of him. "Mom! Dad! Where are-?" he called out again but stopped.

A familiar barrel-chested man and a woman in a violet robe pushed through to kneel in front of him. "Orion, are you alright?" asked the former, and Orion nodded. "We said not to run off! Do you have any idea–?"

"Now's not the time. Come on!" said the woman, and Orion was more than happy to hold onto his parents' hands.

Pulled by his dad's Vacuan strength and his mother's Mistrallian tenderness, young Orion ran with them. Or he tried to, despite the panic around him. One of the shadows circled high above their ferry, and Orion saw it clearly in the sky. Like the stories he heard, its wings wide enough to cover a stadium and its raven-like beak capable of swallowing people whole.

The Nevermore, one the infamous Creatures of Grimm, was not alone. Howls rang from what could only have been Beowolves, but what were they doing so far out at sea? Weren't they supposed to be on land?

Someone bumped past Orion's mom and his thoughts. "Don't let go, sweetie," she said.

"Outta the way!" his dad shouted at any oncomers, his snarl made fiercer by his dark beard. "I knew this would happen! We should've stuck to the mainland!"

"Oh, don't you start!"

In any other situation, Orion's face would have matched his dad's shirt. Now, it had a tint of green like his own. The claws tearing through metal rang with his pounding heart, his legs shook, and tears swelled in his eyes. He wanted to scream for people to move, for someone to help him and his parents, to find someplace to hide, and…

Nothing. His mind became blank.

… By the Brothers, was… was this what it felt like? To be helpless? The stories said a hero always saved the innocent. Weren't he and his parents that?

His mind blank again, Orion tried and failed to look in between his arguing parents. He didn't know where was going. How could he when everything swayed and people bumped and blocked his view? He just wanted to see and–

Flash.

–teeth of a snarling Beowolf tore in his tiny torso with his parents watching in horror–

–Orion skidded and pulled his parents aside out of surprise rather than fear. They all turned the other way when the Beowolf-the same one he had seen a second ago-popped its head over the nearby railing. A sailor's shot rang in Orion's ears, followed by the Beowolf's cry and the warmth of fire Dust brisking his nose.

"Quick, there should be some lifeboats left!" Orion heard his dad say.

Orion and his parents went to a section on the ferry which the sailors cleared out. More people crowded around, trying to find boats or move out of the aim of a sailor's gun. It wouldn't be long, it was–

–hideous insides of the Nevermore's throat seared his skin as he was devoured whole–

"GET DOWN!" Orion screamed and pulled on his parents' hands again.

They fell with him onto the deck, despite his meager strength. The shadow circling above fell over the ferry. A powerful wind ruffled Orion's short hair, and a loud tear of metal and men drowned any screams.

A second later, Orion' eyes widened at the three long gashes on deck and the torn railing where at least ten people once stood. Among the five or so other remaining people, his mom stared at him. "How…?"

"Don't worry about that!" his dad said while getting up. "There have to be more boats-!"

For the first time, Orion saw his dad freeze. It wasn't hard to imagine why. More claws and teeth tore at metal. Slithering hisses joined loud howls. A pair of large snake heads–one black, one white–rose alongside the three or four Beowolves clawing their way onto the ferry.

His mom's big sleeves wrapped around Orion. "It will be alright, sweetie. It will be over. J-just close your eyes."

Orion couldn't. He could only stare into those red eyes of the snake Grimm whose name escaped him. His dad, as big as he seemed, dwarfed in comparison. Their large fangs bared at any surviving sailors and passengers in their immediate vicinity, slowly turning towards Orion–

–trapped in the Grimm's mouth, he hovered in the air and could only watch a woman in white and black descend from a dark cloud above–

"Help is–!"

Orion stopped to look up. As did everyone else's, his eyes first followed the Nevermore's sudden descent into the ocean. Then, the faintest ring of purple energy circled in its place, and the appearing cloud rumbled from the storm it held inside.

Now, Orion closed his eyes from an unleashed bolt. He then gaped at the headless snake Grimm falling aside and the Beowolves fleeing from the scene. "Look, up there!" he heard someone say through his shock.

Descending past the cloud were three unmistaken bullheads-with their bulky main body and a propulsion jet on either wing-and the even bulkier and larger airbus-its red and white colors clashing with the gray emblem of Vale on its side. One bullhead lowered first, and Orion recognized the departing blonde, dressed in black and white.

A Huntress. A hero from the stories. The hero Orion had seen.

"Everyone, over here–!" the Huntress shouted, but everyone else crowded towards her before she could finish.

By the time Orion and his parents joined in, one bullhead had already flown off with its passengers. Another Huntsman hurried more into another. The airbus lowered, faster than the third bullhead which remained in the air–

Orion's hands protected his ears from the screams and the cry of the re-emerging Nevermore. He didn't believe it was still alive until the massive wings arose from the ocean. He spat out the salt water falling over anyone still on the ferry, both out of disgust from the salt water and the fear in his mind. There may have been no Beowolves around, but one Nevermore could do their job in minutes.

A purple blast struck the Nevermore's side. Screams turned into gasps, and Orion's head whirled to the Huntress responsible. The same Huntress adjusted her glasses. "Get on board. I'll handle this," she said, and flicked her short whip.

Orion barely recognized those stampeding into the airbus from the loud caws and strong gusts. His ears deaf to parents' words, he ran with them from a ship on the sea for another hovering in the air. Then, he jittered from the whirling engines and the large hatch closing behind him. He looked through the window in the hatch and gasped at the ferry's remains flying at the Nevermore.

He couldn't believe it. The creature of darkness and destruction, who terrorized him and everyone else seconds ago, was forced back. It tried to retaliate or attack from the side, but it couldn't dodge more parts flung from the ferry. Like the Beowolves, it was nothing more than a mindless beast, thrown around like a ragdoll by the Huntress whose actions were only told in stories.

No, she was more. Every flicker of her wrist released a purple glow to grab at any nearby wreckage or become tiny projectiles to pierce the Nevermore or summon the same circular emblem to protect herself from its attacks. Orion heard about Aura, the colorful manifestation of one's soul, and the Semblances of power. Seeing them in action was something else. The Huntress' moves, her Semblance, shone brightly and beautifully like the short-lived false sun.

The further away the airbus carried Orion, his parents, and everyone else, the less he could see the Huntress' shining Aura. He did see another light on his hands, colored bluish-green. The color of his Aura.

"Orion?"

He looked up to his parents' worried and relieved faces. If they had noticed anything, they only stayed close to him to give comforting hugs and pats. When the relief of being alive passed, Orion looked to his hands again and the several questions he held in them.

AN: Another snippet, another idea. This one was actually inspired by "Twisted Paths of Bloody Evolution." I thought just writing that would be enough, but I started to figure out a whole story from it. What you just read would probably be the prologue for said story. Now, whether or not it will be good (let alone if I do publish it) is up in the air. For now, I hope you like it. Until next time, take care.

Raika out.