It took quite some time to find the right building, and Ruby was already losing her mind on how confusing some of the castle was. None of it actually made any sense and some of the halls didn't even go anywhere! They just ended with a wall! The simple task of mapping out the sprawling campus was becoming more and more daunting the longer she walked its halls… and it had only been twenty minutes!
Jaune wasn't much help, being equally as lost as Ruby and often getting distracted talking about all manner of things. His mother, his home town, his many many sisters, it was maddening and she could feel her sanity slowly slipping the longer he rambled. Eyes twitching and tail thrashing back and forth Ruby had to hold her arm back from smacking him the longer this went on.
The whispers of grimm continued to egg her on, promising that the feeling of just dropping him off a building or stabbing him would be so good. That she would be at peace. Ruby verbally told the voices to shut the hell up… they of course… did not.
It got to the point where she was very tempted to throw him off the cliff which the academy stood upon, but thankfully seconds before she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt they were directed towards the auditorium. Jaune was safe for now, good on him. Ruby was just happy that she was finally going in the right direction and not being spun fifty times around and blindfolded.
The doors opened to reveal a rather dimly lit room that seemed to stretch on forever. So many chairs with people either sitting or standing near them… far too many.
There were far more students at this school then the wolf girl had realized, easily a couple hundred packed in rows and rows of chairs. It didn't really fit what Ruby had previously been told by civilians about the school, forty students, that's how many there should be.
"Hey Ruby! I saved you a seat!" The familiar voice of Yang rose over the mindless chatter of the room, saving the poor girl from trying to force her way into any seat that may be reserved for other people. Jaune was left alone in that moment, Ruby having up and vanished into the sea of faces. Occasionally her ears popped up in the crowd, but never long enough for the young man to guess or even calculate her trajectory.
It was like watching a submarine's periscope go up at one location, dive, and appear at another. Sometimes to the far left and sometimes to the right. But always getting closer to the Yangiest Yang of Yang kind, Yang.
Ruby was pretty sure that she was improving, she wasn't gagging nearly as often as ten minutes ago, although she still really wanted to throw up. So many bodies packed together was not an appealing smell, plus actually having to touch these people to get past them was so gross. So many of the girls here were wearing this powder all over their faces that just really creeped her out. By the time she actually made it to Yang she was a panting mess and very against the idea of ever allowing any of these people to touch her face.
"So what do you think? Enjoying the school so far?" Yang asked cheerfully, her kidnappers from earlier were nowhere to be found. Kinda weird how they show up to steal her away and then don't stick around afterwards… weird.
"Not really, after you left I smelled something really tasty and then accidentally tackled a girl and bit her finger. Well I didn't bite the finger more like I sucked on it, the thing smelled really good" The wolf girl replied, composing herself now and straightening up… still pretty short compared to the much taller Yang.
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"No… I don't think so-" Ruby felt an icy presence behind her sending chills up her spine as a familiar shrieking voice made itself known. The voice of a million souls wailing from the depths of hell, that's the only thing that Ruby could think of that was similar to the feeling she was getting.
"YOU!" Weiss's voice went up several octaves hurting the wolf girl's poor ears. She quickly hopped her way into the safety of Yang's lap, a failed attempt at putting distance between her and the vocal adversary.
"Wait so you really sucked on her finger?" Yang was confused, worried, and impressed by Ruby's sheer lack of understanding. The girl seemed to literally know nothing and had just decided that tasting someone was a good idea because their perfume was nice.
"It was an accident I swear! She wouldn't stop waving it in my face and it really smelled delicious!" Ruby replied, her eyes darting between Weiss, Yang, and the possible escape route that was making itself known as a tunnel under the chairs. She could probably fit down there, probably. Nope too many legs there was no way she could make it through that without removing a few.
"She, is standing right in front of you! And you… Beast! You actually assaulted me!" heads were beginning to turn towards them, this was bad. The confrontation outside had been hard enough but now it had been brought inside where there were even more eyes and ears to witness the incident.
"Hey! You better quit with that attitude" Ruby looked gratefully up at Yang only to find her furious, violet eyes flickering crimson as they stared into Weiss's own steady blue ones. The two appeared to be locked in a fierce staring contest as they spoke.
"And if I don't? What will you do? Ruin your future by attacking someone of a higher stature than yourself? I could so easily end whatever dreams you have with a simple phone call or snap of my fingers." Weiss's fists shook, either with anger or fear Ruby didn't know which it was.
"Keep up the racist remarks and that scar won't be the only thing wrong with your face bitch, got it? This isn't Atlas, watch yourself Schnee" Venom dripped from the womens mouths, the tension in the air so thick that Ruby wasn't sure Crimson Rose could cut it. Yang's fist shook, clenched in fury and hidden by the wolf girl's small form. If this continued to escalate Ruby feared that blows would be made, the two were like feral animals… and it was exciting.
The anger, the fear, even the eyes that had been drawn from seats around them. Ruby could not help but shake with the energy that seemed to spark between Yang and Weiss. Whispers made their way through the hall until darkness fell as suddenly as lightning. It startled everyone, blinding them, until the night was lifted by a single flash of light that fell from the ceiling onto a familiar man.
Yang shifted under Ruby's weight, picking her up under her armpits and placing her in the seat to her right, away from the vengeful gaze of a certain snow princess. Both seemed to have agreed that in this place at this moment it was not the best time to actually fight.
Ozpin stood straight and proud, or at least he looked proud to Ruby. He seemed to carry an air about him, a weight, almost like a king. A king that the wolf girl didn't particularly like, stories of him were still fresh in Ruby's mind. They should be at least, her mom had just told her last week.
"I will try to keep this brief… You are here in pursuit of knowledge and skill that will possibly keep you alive in our line of work. Right now all I see is wasted energy without purpose, without guidance. It is our job here at Beacon to nurture and guide you onto the path of becoming successful hunters and huntresses. Many of the lessons we provide will be dangerous, life threatening in some cases. You are free to leave at any time however you will not be accepted back into Beacon should you do so barring few situational reasons. The knowledge we give you will only carry you as far as your effort to apply it, it is up to you to push further than what we provide. That is all"
The speech was simple but the weight of Ozpin's words and tone seemed to shake the room. Even Ruby, who didn't care much for the man, could feel her legs shudder a little. She didn't completely understand everything he had said but it was the message that sat with her as whispers reignited throughout the darkness of the room.
They were given the option to leave, but it came with a price. There was the warning of bodily harm or even death that went hand in hand with the training. Ruby was no stranger to injuries having suffered numerous cuts, burns, and broken bones during her training with her mother.
Ozpin left the stage, disappearing through a side door. Glynda Goodwitch soon took his place to address the abandoned students, many of which now appeared unsure about their choice in coming here. Sure Ruby knew it was the best school for hunters in the kingdom, informed by an old man who had previously been grumbling about God not answering him.
Ruby didn't particularly see the dilemma. Grimm were powerful creatures, physical strength and numbers made fighting them a gamble on life and death every time. It didn't help that they were drawn to negative emotions and humans seemed to just reek of them so the constant threat remained. Ruby being part grimm herself could feel it in the air, subtle, but the emotions existed and permeated off of the crowd.
Now seeing as she was only part grimm, Ruby could only feel powerful emotions or a lot of small emotions in a close area like this. An enclosed room with hundreds of people all of which were worried or nervous or fearful. The Grimm she used to hang around all had better senses than herself, always finding her during games of hide and seek. It brought a small smile to her face as she thought back on those days.
"Thank you Professor Ozpin for that speech. Now if everyone will pay attention I have a few things to go over before you are dismissed to the ballroom. First off tomorrow we will begin two weeks of individual assessments to place you in teams of four, these teams are permanent barring special circumstances." Glynda took a breath, gauging the reactions around the room. Working in a team would be difficult for Ruby. She was a lone wolf kinda gall, plus having people so close to her all the time would make sneaking off to give reports more difficult.
"Secondly the school has a point based merit system, these points will be granted to those putting in the effort to excel in academics as well as the training missions. These points can be used to purchase better meals then the standard we provide, or to upgrade your rooms and equipment. Dust refills require points as it is a volatile substance and limited resource. Now that will be everything you need to know for now, if you will please make your way towards the ballroom, we have food and refreshments waiting for you."
Glynda finished speaking, looking around the room one more time as students began to raise their hands or ask their questions. These questions fell upon deaf ears, Glynda walking off the stage and through the very same door that Ozpin had chosen earlier.
Ruby was left with more to think about as the lights slowly turned on and illuminated the hundreds of heads that surrounded her. A merit system to buy stuff? Was it like the money stuff that mom had told her about and Cinder had given her?
This was a fairly confusing thing to work out for the poor wolf girl, especially since it was all brand new. Her life was about excitement and hunts in the wastelands, fighting and hugging all the grimm she could get her hands on. Now during Ruby's spy mission she was being exposed to so many new things.
So many rules as well. Ruby could barely wrap her head around some of them. No biting people, no taking apart random things, no crossing the street without the little man in the box saying so. She could almost feel a headache blooming as she stood up with Yang and began down the aisle towards the exit. Weiss was nowhere to be seen and Ruby was actually a little relieved. No more confrontations with the angry Schnee today, just eating and sleeping.
Ah… Sleeping… Ruby loved sleep almost as much as she loved a nice big platter of seasoned meat. It was like resting in a dark cave of absolute fluffiness and silence. None of the bad smells or over the top noises either, she was allowed to float in an emptiness that seemed to stretch for all of eternity.
Of course it all vanished when she woke up, but that meant she could possibly get some tasty meat! So it was a love-hate relationship.
"Alright, are you ready to party Ruby?" Yang asked, popping her knuckles and grinning fiercely in the direction everyone seemed to be headed. She seemed more at ease now then earlier, probably due to the clear lack of Weiss.
"Party?" Ruby said, not quite getting what Yang was saying but showing a little interest. The word had been thrown around in the past and she got the jist that it was a term for celebration.
"Well yah! It's the welcome to Beacon bash! All the seniors throw a huge party for the freshmen, which is us. You can make some friends and get to know the other students. I'm sure there will be plenty of people who aren't nearly as grumpy as that stuck up Schnee from earlier."
Ruby had to think about it as she began following Yang into the crowd. Meeting people? Making friends? Was it really necessary to do all of that? It might make a good cover if she ever got questioned on something, but it also meant more of a risk if she was always trying to sneak out.
Conflicted on the idea of friendship, Ruby looked up at Yang who seemed to bounce with every step… actually parts of her really were bouncing. Shaking her head just a little the wolf girl sighed and tried to look around at their fellow classmates a little. There was a pink girl with what looked like a folded up hammer… wait there was a hole in that hammer… a grenade launcher perhaps?
There was also Jaune over to the side talking to some red haired woman, oooooooh a well armored red haired woman. Ruby could just drool over the archaic style and that combat skirt, but sadly there was no way to safely navigate the turbulent ocean of people making their way down the hall.
Actually thinking back on the greater student body, there was a feeling of restlessness that seemed to hover in the air. It was almost electrifying, infectious so to speak. Ruby was getting a bit restless herself now because of it. Just had to get to the ballroom, then she could figure out the next steps of integrating into the life of a huntress in training.
When Ruby and Yang eventually made it to the ballroom they were met with not only an abundance of noise but also a surplus of flashing lights. These lights were attached to a series of strings and hung from each window in no decipherable pattern, they simply existed for the purpose of triggering epilepsy. Thankfully neither Ruby nor Yang had that condition and simply ignored the phenomenon.
The noise came from the sheer magnitude of students crammed in one spot. Sure the ballroom had three different floors to it and was absolutely massive, but Ruby had to guess that most of the students had yet to make it to those upper floors and were content with mingling near the doors.
Much to the wolf girl's surprise, rising above all the people's smells, the scent of meat and freshly baked bread (amongst other confectioneries) made its way towards her. Stomach growling Ruby grabbed Yang's hand and dragged her over to a series of tables where lunch… dinner? Linner! Awaited them.
"Geez Ruby, excited for food huh?" Yang joked, watching with mild fascination as Ruby seemed to navigate her way through the dishes. Dodging all of the greens and non meat items the wolf girl soon had a steaming plate of nothing but delicious seasoned meat. A quick whiff told her everything she needed to know about its ingredients, although she did notice a distinct lack of paprika.
"Only meat! But yes, food is always exciting!" Ruby said, watching Yang choose a more balanced approach to her diet. Humans were indeed weird.
"Well you should definitely have some vegetables, eating only meat is bad for you. It's like I'm always telling my uncle, yes alcohol is mostly water but that doesn't mean stop drinking water."
"What is this Alcohol you speak of?"
"Nevermind that, just eat some fruit at least" Yang sighed and grabbed one of the shiny red things that, if she remembered correctly, were called Aaaples. Begrudgingly accepting the fruit the two found themselves a wall to lean against and dug in.
The food was indeed heavenly, mouth watering, worthy of being devoured by a noble wolf such as Ruby. Every bite was like a tiny bit of peace, a sliver of her own personal heaven. Hopefully all the food here would be like this, well maybe it would. That point system thing that the witch had been explaining seemed like it would take an important role in their time at the school.
"What do you think the assessments will be like?" Ruby asked, her mouth quite full making her words difficult to understand. Yang got the gist of what she was asking thankfully.
"Assessments? Well the seniors all call them the trials, makes it more fancy. Anyways from what I've heard they are different each year so no one can prepare for them. Last year a lot of the trials were focused on psychology and resilience, a few of the previous applicants are still in the mental wards. This year… well whatever it is I'm sure you'll do just fine" Yang rested a hand on Ruby's shoulder, patting it softly before looking towards the tables again. "I think I see some drinks, I'll be right back"
Yang took Ruby's empty plate as she left, leaving her all alone to fend for herself in the ballroom. It wasn't too bad, most of the people actually left her alone. This gave her time to think about everything Yang had just told her, about the trials. If they were physically based then Ruby had no doubt that she would excel, however her mental knowledge was limited to what was normal or well known in the world.
Looking around the room at the nearby people, Ruby contemplated asking them questions but decided against it. They all seemed content with talking to people they already knew then bothering with the wolf girl who had bitten Weiss Schnee.
Ruby did catch a few conversations, singling them out from the storm of noises that assaulted her poor ears. Most of them were about how… hot? Some people were? Well that didn't make much sense, why would discussing someone's temperature be important? Humans… so weird.
One particular thing did peak her interest. The subject of the Whitefang. The wolf girl couldn't pinpoint exactly who was speaking but by the sounds of the muffled conversation it was between three people. Something about an operative… cutting ties… flowers? Oh and Schnee, wait why did they care about Weiss?
Hold on the Whitefang was that group that was working towards faunus rights… but also working against it. Would this be an extremist group like what Cinder had told her about in the past. Maybe? With not enough information yet to make an opinion about it the wolf girl cataloged those questions for later.
Grumbling due to lack of context Ruby pressed her ear against the wall, trying to focus on catching the final words.
"One more thing ladies, there's a secondary target that needs to be brought in for… interrogation. You all know who i'm talking about, bring them in. Adam wants to have a few words with them about-"
"Hey Ruby! They're handing out sleeping bags!" with a shriek Ruby spun around, pulling a knife from a strap on her leg and took a defensive stance. Yang cocked an eyebrow, looking at the short person whom she had apparently just snuck up on… strange she thought with Ruby's ears and nose that she couldn't be surprised. "Everything ok there?"
"Yah… geez you scared me" The wolf girl sighed, the hair on her tail unfloofing itself and the knife returning to its sheath. "Wasn't expecting you back so soon"
"Well I got the drinks, and it looks like we will be sleeping here tonight. Some of the seniors have begun handing out sleeping bags." Yang pointed with one cup straight at a rabbit faunus who was, as she said, handing out bright red sleeping bags.
Yes Ruby knew what a sleeping bag was, she would need to be a complete idiot to not know something as simple as that. So she thanked the very kind and surprisingly stealthy Yang before heading off to grab one.
It was about an hour later when most of the students finally decided sleeping was a good idea. Yang looked around curiously having lost Ruby when she had gone off to get changed, that was before a cookie smacked her head and crumbled to pieces.
Looking up Ruby could clearly be seen laying atop one of the upper rafters, eating cookies and looking directly at her. The reason she had chosen such a high place for sleeping was rather simple. Ruby was less likely to be stabbed sleeping up here than on the ground, and she didn't trust anyone to not stab her yet.
"What are you doing up there Ruby?" Yang sighed, brushing the cookie crumbs from her hair. If this was how Ruby was gonna act all the time then Yang was definitely in for a long year of hearing stories about the wolf girl.
"Its over Yang, I have the high ground, this is where I will sleep" Ruby telled back down, grinning like a fool before looking over at a pair of reflective amber eyes in the shadows.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm gonna sleep up here ok? Oh and there's another person up here who agrees with me."
"Who is it?" Another person who was sleeping in the rafters? This school year was already nuts!
"Who are you?" Ruby asked, the eyes rolling and the sound of a book snapping shut could be heard.
"Blake…" They answered, wait a minute! That was the cat faunus from earlier! Ruby could smell it, there was no way now they could hide from the great detective wolf Ruby!
"They say their name is Blake!" The wolf girl yelled to the mildly amused woman below.
"Ruby… come down here…" Yang sighed half expecting Ruby to just stay up there and go 'Nope'. Much to her surprise she was soon greeted by a crouching Ruby who had fallen three stories and landed without much difficulty, aura flickering softly just above her pale skin. "Thank you"
"Nooooo problem, so whatcha need. Do you also want to sleep up there?" Ruby asked, tilting her head in a curious manner. If Yang really wanted to sleep up there she could help, just show her all the climbing spots and voila rafter sleeping party!
"No I don't- ok look I just wanted you to come down so we're not just yelling in a room full of people trying to sleep-" speak of the devil and they shall appear. The steady sounds of someone stomping their way closer drew both of the girls' attention towards someone who immediately soured their moods.
Weiss Schnee.
Dressed in a silvery white night gown that ended at just around her knees, the woman still seemed to bleed an energy of superiority and entitlement as she finally stopped and put both hands on her hips.
"What in the world is going on here? Some of us are trying to sleep!" Weiss said, her voice much lower than earlier, probably because of the several hundred students actively sleeping or trying to sleep.
"It's none of your business alright, go back to your castle or whatever" Yang grumbled, glaring.
"Alright goodnight Yang, goodnight Snowberry" Ruby saluted the two girls, leaving them to their impending argument. Weiss's face turned bright red as she tried to come up with something to say, apparently calling her Snowberry had confused her… Ruby would need to remember to call her that more often.
For now the promise of sleep and maybe a late night conversation with Blake was more interesting than watching Weiss and Yang get into another argument. Sure they have only had one so far but it was already boring. Maybe tomorrow if they were still at odds she would sit back and watch.
Yang just waved goodnight to Ruby, watching as the wolf girl climbed her way back up to the rafters and the Blake person above.
Tomorrow was going to be interesting.
I must apologize for such lateness in this chapters posting.
It was never my intention on taking so long to finish but I ended up having to rewrite and revise multiple times as I went. Entire sections of the chapter were actually removed because they didn't make much sense, plus I had to get some foreboding in and set things up for later... It ended up taking sooooooooo much longer then I would have liked to finish.
Anyways the good news is that the chapter is done and ready for you to read, another thing is I got chapter two fixed and it should be readable now. For some reason it wasn't showing up properly, at all really. I reposted the chapter and now it is viewable. yaaaay.
Alright as always I love hearing from you and hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
Tata for now - Raccoon Lord