Argus Schnee
"Come on Argus! You'll be late!" Contrary to how it sounded, it was not, in fact, Argus' mother that was demanding him to hurry so. Rather, as he casually walked through the castle halls, it was the young princess that frantically jumped around him in circles, insisting he hurried. Both her long white hair and white cloak trailed behind her as she ran circles around him. It was rare to see her so hyper, especially so early in the morning. Well, early for her, Argus was always up well before this time. He had already made Dust today.
"Summer-" Suddenly halting at the sound of her name, she blocked the path right in front of him as best as she could. "You know it's still early, right? I still have like an hour to-" He stopped short, already seeing the glint in her eye that told him he had just said the wrong thing. Mentally bracing himself, the crown prince of Vale prepared for a scolding from his little sister.
Stamping her foot while she yelled with a constant pout, Summer declared, "Just because you're up early doesn't mean you can dawdle! You should be there as soon as you can! Being up early isn't an excuse to move slowly, it's a chance to have more time at the academy!" At some point, her arms had moved from her sides to up in the air, her hands waving around as clenched fists.
"Summer... I..." He couldn't help but feel nervous. Argus heard Summer's voice, but they sounded more like his mother's words. "Why would I need more time at the academy? Classes don't start till-"
Focusing her expression, Summer glared up at her much taller, older brother. "You're not going there to learn, stupid!" While she was correct, that language was pushing it a bit too far. Argus was fine with playing around with her antics, but the second his hand rested on his hip and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, Summer knew she had gone too far. "Um... I..." From scolding to scolded in an instant, and without so much as a word from him. Argus mentally was proud of himself for being so efficient.
Before he could tell her to relax - after all, she had clearly just gotten a bit too worked up - a different voice sent a shiver down both their spines. "Summer Schnee!" Wincing in pity for his sister, Argus' eyes looked up and over her head, their mother at the end of the hall and rapidly approaching with a frown that could freeze a demon in place. "That is no way for a princess to talk! And certainly no way to talk to your older brother!"
Weiss was strict, but not unfair. She only ever really got angry over certain things, one of which was either of her children being rude or mean to the other. At least, above a playful level. Summer had been a bit too aggressive, crossing over that line. The both of them watched as their mother got closer and closer, eyes sharp and hands almost glued to her sides. Making the smart decision, Summer chose to quickly hide behind Argus.
Though, that left the prince with the unfortunate task of facing this beast head on. "Mother, it's fine-" His words stopped for a moment when her sharp gaze flicked to his mismatched eyes. "Summer was just playing around." The truth was always the solution when dealing with an angry Weiss Schnee. As a queen, she had always instilled the ideal to her heir that honesty was the most valuable of resources, as it was so rare in politics. Lying was cheaper than air when it came to anyone richer than his Aunt Yang. He did his best to stick by that ideal, especially when dealing with his mother.
After all, it was much easier to face her head on than try to escape. He had made that mistake once, and never so much as attempted it again. "There is a fine line between playing and being snappy. I didn't raise either of you to be snappy with each other." Well, now this had turned from 'mother is mad at Summer' to 'mother is mad at the both of them'. Argus had to wonder what he did to deserve this. "Summer."
At the sound of her voice, the little princess jumped. She was practically hugging Argus' leg as she hid behind him. "Yes...?" Nervously peeking out, she no doubt gave the best puppy-dog eyes she could. This was a dangerous play, it always was. Weiss had a resistance to it, apparently their mum had done it a lot before either of them were born. If it failed, it would only make her more mad, but if it worked, they were home free. Looking at her face to try and gauge their success, Argus' prayers were answered when the queen had to fight off a smile.
Looking away, no doubt averting her eyes from the eyes Summer was giving her, their mother spoke in a voice of surrender. "Be nicer to your brother." Turning back to look at said brother with a flat expression, she said, "Have a good day at the academy." As she walked past them, Argus caught the glint in her eye and the warm smile on her face. Like the game Summer had been playing earlier, their mother too liked to do things like this. She was fine with playing the bad guy when it came to them fighting, after all, it got them back on the same side. While Argus had long since figured it out, he doubted Summer had yet.
When she thought their mother was out of earshot, Summer tugged on Argus' shirt gently before softly saying, "Thanks."
The queen was right, honesty was more valuable than Dust when it came to diplomacy. But as she proved constantly, there was a reason lying was so common.
Flying over Vale, Argus let the air currents and winds carry him in his half form. The flight took minimal effort, and he had only gone so high to avoid the people on the ground. Yet as the academy got closer and closer, the fact that he would have to land was becoming more and more of a problem.
The temptation to simply open a Spatial gateway onto school grounds to avoid people looking at him landing was strong, but inevitably it would be worse. Seeing a Dragon up close was a sight, but seeing him open a portal onto school grounds would be an even greater one. Argus didn't have too much of a problem with attention, rather, he instead had a problem with dealing with people. If they gawked or stared on from afar, it was fine. It was when they approached and tried to talk to him that things got difficult. After all, his mother had raised him into a man that believed in the power of honesty. He wasn't afraid to use it.
Beginning his descent, he didn't do anything as dramatic as going into a dive. Rather, he simply stood straight on the air and let his wings point up, allowing the air to rush past him. Falling fast, he timed it well and flapped his wings just before the ground, giving a gentle push up before landing on his feet. Glancing around, he had been correct, students and teachers watched with wide eyes, all of them frozen in place staring at not just a Dragon, but the prince of Vale. Like a Spell, their frozen bodies began to move again when he returned to his base form; his scales, wings, and horns all shattering like crystals into a fine powder before disappearing.
The academy was quite large, almost as big as the Arc estate. It didn't have a name, it didn't need one, each kingdom only had one in the capital, after all. If someone did need to refer to it by a name, it would be 'The academy of Vale' or 'Vale's academy'. A main building large enough to easily have five floors, it had rows upon rows of windows and a large slanted roof. The whole thing had a charming rustic vibe to it, made of strong oaks and grey stone bricks. Two towers sat a distance away from the building on each side, a floating bridge connecting the both of them to the main structure. Behind the main building, there were three more, all of which were spaced apart in a large square to fit a sports arena between them.
Before he could even take a step, a familiar voice made him smile. "Yo! Argus!" Turning, the prince gleamed at his cousin.
"Jasper!" He was relieved to find his cousin so quickly. Of the two of them, Jasper was definitely the more approachable. The prince had every intention to cheat on his mission; he could simply become friends with whatever people Jasper found. It was a foolproof plan. "How long have you been here?"
"I left home early. Not all of us can fly, you know." Deadpanning at him for a moment, Jasper turned and started heading towards the entrance. "All the new students have to meet in the arena." Like Argus, Jasper wore the uniform of the academy. It was pretty simple really, a white shirt with a green tie. Of course, Argus wore his red cloak, too. Surprisingly, his grandfather hadn't demanded the academy change its colours to match the Schnee theme while he had been in Vale. Maybe that's just because the shirts were already white.
Following him inside, Argus noted that the girl's uniform was the same, the only difference being a green skirt if they opted for it over pants. The main hallway split in a cross, one going straight from the front door to the arena side, and an intersecting hallway that no doubt had classrooms littered across the sides. Lecture halls, labs, probably a library or two. Argus figured it was all pretty standard, but the purpose of the towers still eluded him.
"I'm glad you know where to go." He mumbled absentmindedly as they went through the building.
Jasper chuckled, turning back to him and saying, "It would have been funny to see the prince get lost here too."
Rolling his eyes, Argus laughed sarcastically. "Very funny."
Heading out the other side, the incredibly large courtyard had a mostly glass floor. On four points, right outside the doors to the buildings, there were stairs down to the seats for the arena. It was styled like a small colosseum, not much smaller than the one at Beacon. Heading down the steps just in front of them, the seats had mostly been filled already. Despite that, it was pretty easy to find a place to sit.
"Prince Argus! Sit here!"
"My prince, over here!"
"Argus! Here!"
At least three voices called out at first, and that only served to tell more people that he was here. Soon enough there was at least thirty students yelling for him to sit next to them. He could only imagine how many more would have been if his Dust production was common knowledge. Glancing over, Argus spotted a quiet fellow who had two empty seats next to him. Meeting his eyes, the boy glanced at the seats before shrugging.
"Over there." Sitting in the offered seats with Jasper, the boys heard a collective groan of disappointment sound from behind them.
His cousin found it hilarious. "First day and you're already the popular kid." Groaning a bit himself now, Argus hung his head. "Hey, cheer up. Look at the bright side, it'll be easy to make friends." Argus still didn't even really want friends, and certainly not if they were as shallow as the people behind him. It annoyed him that they were calling out his name like they knew him.
Still, it was a little odd to have this much attention. He had expected it, but to be here was something else. His mother, the council, they often discussed the citizens of Vale, but Argus had never actually been around the people all that much. This was the most he had ever been exposed to it. Sure, he did more for them than maybe anyone else in the kingdom by supplying Dust in such high amounts, but, regardless of the benefits, he did that for himself. These people, all the people around him, they would age unlike him, they would grow old and die, some of them would spend their lives chasing power that he could already wield like it was nothing.
He was a Dragon, he was a prince, he had a hybrid Affinity. From the moment of his birth, Argus had been blessed... Quite literally. His strength came from a deal invoking a boon of good luck to make him stronger. But what about the rest of them? Looking at Jasper, he too - to a lesser extent - was lucky. Berserker eyes, related to the royal family, even being a Hellhound was quite lucky. Most of the students were no doubt Elves, Dwarves, Faunas, the more common races. Without trying, Argus could defeat them all, even the teachers.
Why did he deserve such power? Did he even? Was there a point to it, a use for it? Did he have some grand destiny? Was what he did already with it payment enough? The more he thought, the more Argus started to wonder if his mother had sent him here for more reasons than just making friends.
Finally having his thoughts interrupted, a teacher walked out into the middle of the arena. Argus wasn't sure if he used Magic, but his voice boomed loud enough for everyone to hear. "Welcome to the Academy! Many of you will spend an unfortunately small amount of time here, so I'll make this short." Humans, races with lower lifespans, even himself since his mother didn't intend to keep him here long. With a shorter life came less time to do what you wanted or needed to do, no one would come here if it was just a waste. Like his mum, she had never gone to an academy.
The teacher introduced himself as the head professor. He was a shorter man, apparently a Drake, a lesser Dragon. That surprised Argus greatly, but despite his higher power than expected, he would still be no match for the prince. Of all the different things he talked about, he did indeed keep things brief, however, at the end, when he gave his final welcomes to the academy, he just couldn't resist calling out Argus and welcoming him personally.
Which the prince loved, of course. Why wouldn't he love that now everyone for sure knew he was here. "Just make it through the day, Argus." Hopefully it wouldn't be long.
"I hate this..." His groan was very much appropriate given the vibe of the whole class. It had been a couple hours since the welcoming ceremony, and Argus had been incredibly upset to find out that he wouldn't be sharing all of his classes with his cousin. The first lecture had gone by smoothly, it was all things he had heard before, but it was interesting to hear them in a new - much less detailed and correct - way. That was until the second class, in which he currently sat.
A lecture hall once again, but this time all the students had to answer questions. It was incredibly painful, no one was enjoying it. Everyone else because they hadn't been expecting to do work on day one, and Argus because the 'work' was some of the easiest questions he had ever seen.
Some of the 'difficult' ones that other students had struggled on were things he saw as simple. How do Affinities stack? What is a Title? What's the difference between an Enchantment and a Curse? Is there any connection between the colour of an Affinity and the colour of Dust?
Slumped in his seat, Argus watched painfully as the class struggled and the teacher gave easy question after easy question. Finally, he asked the class a question that no one dared raise their hand for. Which gave him the chance to pick out someone of his choice... So of course he chose Argus.
"Why did you send me to this cruel fate, mother?" Eyes glazed over; Argus glanced at the question before sighing. It was a simple one. Name the colours of three Affinities. "Fire is Orange, Water is Blue, Ice is Light Blue." He answered too quickly apparently, as the teacher wanted to hear more. As many as he could name, in fact. "Lightning is Yellow, Earth is Brown, Wind is Light Grey, Illusion is Black-" The teacher realised pretty quickly that he intended to name all of them. "Support is Green, Physical is Grey, Anti-Magic is White, Holy is Yellow and White, Poison is Purple, Spatial is Magenta, and Time is Lime."
He had left out only the Big four, as he had been told by Glynda a long time ago that they weren't public knowledge. Which still confused him a little. Did people hear 'Platinum High Wizard' and think that it gave a Lightning Affinity or something?
Unfortunately, the prince had forgotten about a different kind of Magic he wasn't supposed to talk about. Which was how he ended up at the head professor's office... In trouble. On the first day. In his second class. "Mother is going to kill me..."
"I... Struggle to figure out how to deal with this situation." The head professor was nervous, obviously. By virtue of his position, he was supposed to scold Argus, probably expel him, and report him to the crown. Unfortunately, he was the crown prince. "I just... Why would you say that?"
"I... forgot." Argus hung his head in shame. It was foolish of him, but in his defence, he had spent most of his life around people who knew more than he did. Still, that didn't change that all knowledge about Time Magic was illegal, including its colour. The lack of available knowledge on it was probably why he couldn't make Dust of its kind yet... Well, that's what he chose to believe. Argus had put much time into trying to accept that it was his own failure.
The door suddenly opened behind him, and the professor looked to be half relieved and half terrified. Argus had to be reprimanded, sure, but the professor couldn't do it, and he also couldn't punish the prince. So, he had to call the castle. Argus too had been nervous of his mother coming here personally, but it turned out luck was on his side. At least, till he got home. Turning around, he saw the deliverer of his reprimanding.
"Hey kid." The great and mighty Harbinger of Death, who as always, smelt like alcohol. "Guess I gotta step in and be the bad cop again." He had definitely been drinking, some of his words were interrupted by small hiccups.
"Again?" Was Argus' question. But perhaps it should have been why exactly his mother had chosen to send him of all people.
Stumbling a bit closer, Qrow responded simply. "Ah, when your aunt Yang was younger, Tai was a bit too soft on her when she beat people up in school." Argus really didn't like where this was going.
"So you... Told her calmly not to?" His voice was hopeful, but his hope was clearly misplaced.
"Wha? Nah, I'm talking when she was like your age... Yeah, see, I could hit a lot harder than she could." Qrow wasn't abusive, so that must've just been about teaching her what it was like to be the little guy. Not that Argus could ever imagine his aunt Yang bullying anyone.
"Wait, is he about to hit me-?" Argus' thought was cut off when Qrow reared his fist back to do just that. The punch was slow, and not strong enough to hurt him since Qrow hadn't used any Magic, and Dragons were inherently stronger than Rocs. While Argus' Magic was still less than half as strong as it would be when he was an Adult, his body was already at the peak it would reach without training. Even when Qrow hit him full force like that over the head, without Magic, it was barely a love tap.
"Now what did we learn?" Qrow slurred a bit. If Qrow had wanted to hurt him, Argus would be crying right now. Even drunk, he still had incredible self-control.
Taking a moment, Argus responded, "To not leak secrets of the crown in a public classroom?"
"Good job." Patting his head gently, Qrow turned to leave. The whole situation had been incredibly entertaining to the prince, but as he looked at the head professor, he found that the man was horrified. Of course, that made sense, considering he just met one of the most powerful people in Remnant... and they acted like that.
"My uncle is usually more serious." Argus quickly tried to reassure him. "Today he's just a little-"
The head professor cut in. "Drunk?"
Argus couldn't exactly say no, so instead he just had to sit there awkwardly for a minute. "Maybe...?"
Sighing, the man gestured to the door, implying Argus was free to return to class. As Argus was leaving, he heard him mumble, "I pray for our kingdom the day Atlas comes for us..."