Rays of sunlight filtered through the tall glass windows, stirring everyone in the ballroom from sleep. Awakening from her peaceful slumber, a girl with disheveled, rose pink hair rubbed her eyes open, revealing purple irises. She gave a long, loud yawn while she waited for her eyesight to adjust to the light. Just as her vision returned, she was greeted by a familiar face that just happened to be staring right at her...from only a few inches away.
"GOOOOOD MORNING ROSYYYYY!" A cheery voice exclaimed, a wide smile plastered across the speaker's face.
The pink haired girl gave a warm smile and nodded pleasantly. "Morning Sonara. Got enough sleep?"
"Boy, did I ever! I'm sooooo ready for today! Lookout world, super duper Sonara and radical Rosy are ready to kick some butt!"
"Nice to know you're ready. But remember, you can just call me Rosalie," she giggled, watching Sonara "shadow box" the empty space between them. The jagged layers of Sonara's dull brown hair swished from side to side, hiding sky blue eyes beneath her bangs.
"So why are you still in your pajamjams? C'mon! Let's go!" Sonara dragged Rosalie out of her sleeping bag, the latter only half-heartedly trying to free herself from her hyperactive friend.
"Why the rush? It's still really early. At least let me get ready. And eat something." Rosalie yawned, standing upright and straightening the wrinkles of her pink and blue nightgown.
She saw that Sonara was already decked out in her combat gear; a jade green chang pao, grey-green pants, and knee-high white boots.
"I can't sleep any longer! So let's go! Get ready!" Rosalie barely had enough time to grab her gear before being pushed hastily towards the changing rooms, smiling at Sonara's excitement all the while.
Nearby, Azure had been woken by Sonara's rather loud enthusiasm. He watched groggily as the two friends exited the ballroom before sitting up and looking over at Jad. Unsurprisingly, Jad was still fast asleep and snoring something fierce. Without making a sound Azure slipped out of his sleeping bag, grabbed his gear and made his way towards the men's showers. Jad remained asleep, not even twitching.
After a relaxing shower, Azure ventured out in search of food.
The dining hall was an impressively large room. There were four long tables running the length of the hall with students scattered along them. Joining the assembly line, he collected a plate of pancakes and started searching for a seat. He spied both Rember and Gayle, and then the two girls who had woken him, though he noted that Rosalie was no longer dressed in her nightgown. The girl now wore her combat gear, which consisted of a long-sleeved cerulean shirt beneath a pink and purple vest, a salmon colored pareo around her waist, and cuffed teal boots. Her long hair had been pulled back into a tight braid.
Opting out of social interactions, Azure found an empty spot at one of the tables. There was no one near him, which suited him perfectly fine. However, just as he began to eat, someone sat down opposite him. Azure sighed inwardly as he looked up to see who this new person was.
The first thing he noticed about the girl was a pair of rich red eyes peering through the layers of her bangs. Silvery blue locks trailed down her back in a straight sheet, with a single curled lock framing either side of her heart shaped face. She wore a long-sleeved grey shirt beneath a silver breastplate, and there was a black cape secured around her slim neck. Cool grey spat shorts covered her thighs and butt, with stockings tucked into dark boots adorned with a series of buckles.
"Hey there," the girl greeted, a friendly smile on her face, "mind if I sit here?"
Azure raised an eyebrow. Something about her didn't sit well with him. Nevertheless, he gave a shrug. There wasn't a good enough reason to decline, so he turned his attention back to his food. The new girl just continued to sit there, staring at him. Sensing her gaze, Azure looked back up at the girl.
"Something you want?"
"Nah. Just admiring the view, handsome~ " she teased, giving Azure a flirty wink. "Hehe, kidding. So what's your name? Mind if we talk for a bit?"
But I don't want to talk to you, Azure thought irritably.
"Azure."
"Nice name! I'm Valerie. Pleased to meet you!" She extended her hand towards Azure, and he gave it a quick, but soft shake. Breaking the contact, Azure tried to return to his food, only to be interrupted by Valerie again. "So are you excited to get assigned into teams today?"
"Huh?"
"Teams. We all get teammates for the initiation."
"Not really."
"Aww, why not?"
"Reasons."
Valerie made a playful pouty face at Azure's evasiveness. She had to try her best to not break out laughing, quietly giggling inwardly at his agitation.
"Ok then, but it's going to happen, you big sourpuss~"
Azure rolled his eyes and sighed internally. Yeah, he thought, annoyed. Can't wait for that.
At that particular moment, Jad made his entrance, placed his own plate of pancakes and a heaping pile of bacon beside Azure.
"Morning Pasty! Looking gorgeous today," he said, grinning lopsidedly.
"Morning." Azure sighed, rubbing his temples.
Realising that he had little time left to eat, Azure scarfed down his remaining breakfast as fast as he could manage. It was done in a manner of minutes, Jad and Valerie watching him in bemused fascination as the food disappeared.
"You'd think your food was gonna go running off, the way you pound it back. If you don't slow down you might get sick," Jad remarked with an amused chuckle as Azure got to his feet.
"I'll be fine," Azure said, rolling his eyes at Jad's remark. He briefly turned his attention back to Valerie, who still sat there eyeing him with a smile. "Nice talking to you."
Valerie's smile widened, her red eyes glinting with contentment. "Pleasure's all mine. I hope we can get to know each other more!" She watched as Azure left the table.
As she continued to watch the pale young man go, Jad cleared his throat to grab her attention. "So…" he began idly, "How's it going?"
Valerie snapped out of her fantasies and looked at Jad. "Oh...it's, ah, going well! Thanks for asking. I don't believe I know your name?"
"Jad. Jad Eclipse," he said with a proud smile. "That's jade with no 'E'. And you are?"
"I'm Valerie. Valerie Ashe. That would be ash with an 'E'." Just then, an idea popped into Valerie's head. "So…you know him? Azure?"
"Yesh ma'am."
Yes! Lets see what I can find out. Valerie smiled. How long could she keep up with the 'innocent curiosity' act?
"Could you tell me more about him? He didn't talk a whole bunch." she started.
Jad shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "Sorry, can't say much. Haven't seen him for a long time, and he's pretty much the opposite of what I remember."
"Oh. Well...that makes sense. Thanks anyway," said Valerie, smiling at Jad. She grimaced inwardly at her disappointment.
"However, I'd be happy enough if we got acquainted," Jad replied nonchalantly.
"Oh! Alright then…" said Valerie, pondering what she would ask him, "...what's your favorite thing to do?"
Jad's eyes lit up with enthusiasm and he grinned enormously. "Well you see, I'm currently in a long standing relationship...with motorcycles," he stated excitedly, "Motorcycles are my lifeblood."
"Really?" Valerie asked with genuine interest, laying her chin on her hands, "that's super cool! Do you have your own?"
"Oh boy, do I!" he responded, a little too giddy. "She's so shiny and chrome. I hate that I couldn't bring her with me," Jad reminisced, and with a sly glance he asked, "You wanna go for a ride sometime?"
Azure slowly let out a long breath. He wasn't used to such talkative people. No, check that, he wasn't used to people in general. Jad was alright, though he needed to get used to him after being apart for so long. Valerie was... just plain odd. Why was she so curious about him? It wasn't like he was that interesting. He didn't quite have an opinion on either Rember or Gayle, having only briefly talked to each of them, but they both seemed nice enough. At least they weren't pushy in trying to talk to him, which was nice.
Azure entered the school's locker room. He walked over to locker 144, where his weapons and extra gear were kept. Upon opening it, he strapped two small triangular, silver pauldrons on before slinging his quiver across his back and sheathing his blades. As he got prepped, yet another new face appeared beside him. Glancing over discreetly, Azure analyzed the new individual.
It was a girl. Not very tall, with a pale complexion, wavy white hair styled into a bob, and sharp green eyes. She wore a white laced up shirt, light grey leather pants, knee high brown boots, and a white cloak lined in black. A grumpy frown painted her face, but she didn't seem to notice she was being observed. Azure shrugged, returning his focus to his own belongings.
"Can I help you?"
Azure looked back at the girl, surprised by the unexpected question. "What?"
Not even sparing him a glance, she continued. "You were looking at me. So what do you want?" the girl asked impatiently, a slight edge in her tone.
"Nothing. I didn't want anything. Just taking notice of all the new faces." Azure replied. This girl really was in a sour mood. "And you are…?"
"Kyra." she answered, placing a gold circlet on her forehead and attaching two double-edged blades to her wrists. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got better things to do than waste time talking to you."
Without another word, Kyra's locker slammed shut and she left the room. Azure stared after her, puzzled as he tried to understand what had just transpired.
"Well, that was certainly interesting. I wonder what her problem is."
Azure snapped out of his stupor to see Rember standing nearby, watching curiously as Kyra strode hastily towards the exit. She gave a small wave and a warm smile as Azure made eye contact, fangs peeking out of the corners of her mouth again.
Azure let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, and shrugged. Composing himself, he reached back into his locker to pull out the sapphire necklace, pulling over his head. He realized that Rember had her battle gear on, which contrasted greatly with her sleepwear. She wore a simple black top with three-quarter length sleeves and two grey leather straps criss crossing from her shoulders across her chest. Two similar grey leather straps sat across her hips over black skin tight pants. Her weapons, which appeared to be two batons topped with wicked looking metal claws, were securely placed in holsters on her hips. Her hair shone brightly against the dark colours of her attire, almost like the hair itself was made of fire.
Realizing he hadn't said anything, Azure cleared his throat. " I don't know. Could be a lack of sleep."
"Meh, who knows?" said Rember. Spying Azure's necklace, she leaned in a little to get a better look at the gem. Azure was wary of the proximity, but he stayed put. "Sorry, I couldn't help but notice your attachment to the necklace last night. Did it belong to someone?"
Azure's eyes widened, but gave a small nod in response. Tucking it inside his tunic, he waited for Rember to straighten up before talking. "Yeah, it did."
"I'm so sorry," Rember replied sincerely. "You don't have to say anything else. I know what that's like." She pulled her own necklace out from beneath her shirt. It was rather plain, nothing more than a blue-grey stone on a leather string. After holding it out for a few seconds, she let it fall back into its place. "This was my sister's. She was only a kid."
At that moment the static feed of the school intercom grabbed everyone's attention.
"Would all first year students report to Beacon cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students report to Beacon cliff immediately."
"Guess that's our cue. Let's get moving. Azure, right?" Rember said, gesturing with her hand for Azure to follow.
With a simple nod of his head, Azure followed her out of the locker room.
The trek to the cliffs was easy enough. The initiates watched as the landscape around them changed from the lush gardens of the school grounds to a more rugged terrain. Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch stood at the edge off to the side, calmly waiting for the students to arrive.
"Each of you please stand on a platform and await further instructions. Again, everyone please choose a platform." Glynda instructed.
The students did as they were bade, each finding their own spot.
Azure analyzed the setup before him. Grey squares were placed in a neat line at the edge of the cliff, the symbol of Beacon etched into each one. Finding an unclaimed spot, Azure stood on top of the small platform and looked up and down the line. Jad was over a few spots to his left and Rember stood to his immediate right. Each one wore an expression of anticipation and excitement. For some reason Rember tapped the metal she stood on and grinned to herself, confusing Azure before he turned his attention elsewhere. He saw Gayle further down the line to his left. She seemed to have a different outfit on today, and Azure assumed that it was her actual combat gear.
Before he could scope out any other familiar faces, Glynda and Ozpin casually strolled to the centre of the line in front of everyone to address the initiates. Ozpin cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. Almost instantaneously, the students focused their eyes on the headmaster, ready for their orders.
"For years you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin began.
The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife as each of the initiates peered into the seemingly endless sea of foliage. Not a shred of open earth could be seen for miles.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of 'teams'." Glynda stated. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates...today."
Huh, guess what the girl at breakfast said was right... Azure commented silently, crossing his arms. He heard someone, a girl in a bright red hood far to his right, gripe to herself about the new information.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well," continued Ozpin. The girl in the red hood continued to groan, clearly not eager about getting teammates. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Azure almost winced at the loud, mixed reaction of the group.
"What?!"
"See? I told you-!"
"Better find a good partner..."
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest," Ozpin continued calmly, reclaiming everyone's attention once more. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."
That last statement clearly made a few of the other students uneasy, but Azure wasn't fazed. Glancing over at Rember, Azure saw that she was only half paying attention. Her green eyes searched the horizon curiously and she was singing under her breath.
"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and be graded appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin asked, concluding his explanation. A blond boy hesitantly raised his hand, but Ozpin either didn't noticed or didn't acknowledge him. "Good! Now, take your positions."
The students did as they were instructed and settled into their own stance atop their platform, with the exception of the nervous blond boy, who still had his hand raised.
Suddenly, the first student at the far left was launched from their platform and went soaring through the air towards the dense forest below.
They're catapults... Azure realized, his heart rate increasing. Drawing out his blades, he went back into a runner's ready position and waited. Closing his eyes, he listened to the rhythmic sound of the catapults launching.
"Hey, Azure."
Azure opened his eyes and looked over at Rember, who wore a confident expression on her face. "I'll see you around. Try not to get killed, alright?" she grinned.
A bit surprised, Azure nodded and smiled faintly. "Same to you."
With that, the mechanics in Azure's platform activated, vaulting him into the morning sky.