A blast of chilly air swept through the entrance of the airship and the outside world revealed itself as the ship's door creaked open. Platina and May stepped off the massive airship that had brought them to Haven Academy. They were dropped off on a small concrete area with a large fountain. The school was made up of an expanse of large, cream-colored buildings with black roofs, and two CCT Towers neighbored the complex. Streetlights lined the sides of the boulevard, and on them were deep orange banners bearing Haven's national symbol. The area surrounding the courtyard was a spacious grass field dressed in rows of sakura trees. Platina and May both took a long breath and loudly exhaled; relieved to have some fresh air after the long trip.

"Finally, we're here!" Tina exclaimed, hardly able to contain the amount of excitement and happiness that was buzzing inside of her.

"This place is freaking huge!" May exclaimed with a wide grin. "It's like, thrice the size of Signal!"

"Thrice?" Platina giggled.

Lost in conversation, May didn't even see the person who ran into her until they collided. Both of them fell to the ground in a slow, almost dramatic fashion. May held her head for a short second, then she looked up to see the person who bumped into her. It was a taller girl with long white hair with a small portion of her bangs dyed green. She wore a green denim jacket with a large symbol on the back; a white circle of flowers. Her scarf was white, and her shorts, leg armor, and boots were black. She dropped her weapon, which looked like a sniper rifle, and holstered at her side was a standard-looking pistol. The girl also dropped her suitcase; spilling small cylinders of what May assumed had to be Dust cartridges.

"I'm sorry!" May scrambled to stand up and reached out a hand to help the girl.

The girl looked up at May, revealing a cute face with rounded, blushing cheeks. Her soft emerald eyes matched the green streak in her hair. She stared at May momentarily, then averted her gaze and took May's hand.

"N-no…it was my fault, I should have been paying better attention to where I was going..." The girl stuttered as she was pulled up.

Tina and May bent down to help the girl pick up her Dust cartridges. They gathered them all up and fit them into the holes made for them in her case. When they were finished, the girl shut her case and stood up.

"Thank you!" She said as she beamed a smile at Platina.

"Wow, your weapon is really cool!" The girl's face reddened as she turned and saw May examining her weapon. It was a sniper rifle that bore a revolver's chamber instead of being magazine-fed. May's eyes were shimmering in the same way they had when she was telling Platina about her mom.

"Sorry, I kinda have a thing about seeing new weapons. Honestly, it's my favorite part about meeting new people. My name's M-" She was cut off when the girl practically ripped the rifle from May's hands.

"I-I'm sorry," she began to stammer again, "I left something on the airship, I have to go." The girl sprinted off in the opposite direction, leaving the other two to themselves. May and Platina exchanged similar looks of concern.

"Weeeell…she was…" Tina started, smiling awkwardly.

"Incredibly socially awkward?" May finished her thought; slouching slightly. "Well, I'm sure once she gets to know us she'll be able to relax a little. Maybe the next time we see her, we can make a new friend." She turned to Platina and smiled maliciously, "By force if we have to."

Platina giggled, "That's if she doesn't run off when you talk to her."

"Oh, God, did that sound harsh?" The blood suddenly drained from Platina's face as she realized she just said something without thinking.

"Speaking of running off," May said as she adjusted the strap of her bag, "it's my first time in this town, and I kinda want to do some sightseeing. I'll catch you later!" She cheered as she waved Platina goodbye.

"W-wait!" Platina called after her, stopping May in her tracks.

"Huh?"

"You know they're holding a rally to welcome all the new students, right? We should be there for it, so we're not lost tomorrow." She tried to convince May to stay by her side.

May sighed as she locked eyes with her new friend, "Listen, Tina, I'm just going into town to have a few hours to myself. I'll be back later tonight, and maybe you can show me around the school grounds when I see you. I won't be long, but don't wait up for me, okay?" She finished and began walking away from the school.

Platina started to protest, but May was gone before she knew it. Tina stood still for a while and wondered what to do next. Her mind began to dwell on her childhood and how she struggled to make new friends. Her old school was so small that she doubted anyone she knew had made it to Haven, especially considering the low acceptance rate. Most of the people here were probably from larger schools like Sanctum Academy. Her brooding began to spiral into feelings of helplessness.

"What if I end up friendless?" The question forced its way into her head. She remembered what it felt like to be alone; it was one of the worst feelings she thought a human being could experience. Because of that, she made a habit of talking to herself.

"What am I going to do?" She asked herself.

"No, you have to stay positive," Platina attempted to shake all the negative thoughts out of her head, "like Reese would." She rummaged through memories of her friend from school, Reese Chloris. She wasn't someone who would let her stress get the better of her when things didn't turn out right. Tina balled her fist and let out a calming sigh.

She turned towards Haven Academy; the place she always dreamed of attending. Although she still felt terrified about going to a school without any of her original friends, she reminisced on the words of Reese and August about having more confidence in herself. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and took the first step.

Location Notes #1 Haven Academy; Built across the peaks of two mountains, Haven Academy overlooks the entire City of Mistral. Here, people come from all over Remnant to train to become Huntsman and Huntresses. Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart is in charge of the school and all of its operations, with the help of carefully selected faculty members. Haven Academy prides itself on traditional values and aptly trained graduates.