Grayson leaned against the column and rechecked the crowd. All 40 students were accounted for.
He'd only needed seconds to find this secluded spot. The others were too distracted by the empty stage. They congregated at the centre of the auditorium, circulating trivial chatter amongst themselves. Predictably, they were all excited to become Huntsmen. He checked his watch. Ten more minutes before the opening announcement.
He tapped his scroll, and the screen sprang to life. He aimed the camera at the crowd, displaying their Aura capacities numerically. Naturally, it wasn't a perfect solution. Aura capacity and Aura affinity were discrete categories. But he'd yet to find a skilled Huntsman with a negligible Aura capacity. His scroll highlighted someone in the centre. It was a girl with a red ponytail. Her brown corset and red mini-skirt caught the attention of many. A circular shield and a short javelin hung behind her back.
Pyrrha Nikos, the "Pride of Mistral". She'd won the Mistral Region Tournament four consecutive times. Her popularity couldn't be underestimated. After all, not many people had their faces printed on the front of a cereal box. Every newspaper Grayson had gathered had various mentions of her attending Beacon. However, none disclosed her reasoning. A minor but noted oversight.
He cleared his thoughts and moved his scroll again. Another girl. One with long, messy blond hair. She was chirping with a shorter girl in a black dress with red linings. Her arm looped around her shoulder. A sense of familiarity dawned on him. He took out a small pouch and sniffed it. The cinnamon smell activated his Semblance. Snippets of reports and newspapers played in his mind. The Atlas manuscripts, no. Mistral News, no. Vale Daily...
Yang Xiao Long. She used to be a student at Signal Academy. More infamously, however, she destroyed a nightclub in Vale a few months ago. A trial was pending. But her charges were silently dropped. Not even with his best effort could he uncover why. A task he must resume following this ceremony.
His scroll highlighted a man in a dark green hoodie this time. He was standing on the outskirts, hiding his face underneath his hood. Only a fraction of his black hair with purple highlights was visible. His deep blue eyes were the most distinctive features. A longsword attached horizontally across his lower back. His fidget was suggestive of nervousness. His posture indicated his low self-esteem. Grayson held his gaze for a bit longer. There was no mention of that person.
"Getting some good pictures?"
Grayson looked to his right. Then, up. A bear Faunus, with a missing left ear, stood in front of him. His yellow tank top and bright red full-body harness confirmed his unprofessionalism. His arms and legs were covered in brown fur. A massive and simplistic metal mallet rested around his waist. If Grayson moved his scroll 20 degrees to the right, he could scan him. But that was too suspicious.
"No." Grayson returned his scroll to his pocket.
The Faunus grinned and pointed at himself.
"Call me Philip."
"…Grayson."
"Ha, Gray. I should call myself Brownson with my…" Philip shook his head. "Oh, whatever. What you doing here?"
"I am attending the ceremony."
"No. Like, why are you standing here looking all cool and mysterious? Trying to get the girls swoon over you?"
"That would be unproductive."
Philip chortled. "Wow, you're a ray of sunshine. Relax. We're all friends here."
Grayson narrowed his eyes. Like the Jonathan individual, his friendliness was illogical. Was he trying to acquire information about him? True, his timing and behaviour were doubtful. It was plausible that this Philip person was here with ulterior motives. But what could it be? Grayson had switched three airships before arriving in Vale. No one should be aware of him.
"…Hello? Remnant to Grayson?" Philip waved his hand across Grayson's face.
"That was unnecessary—"
The loudspeaker cracked to life. Ozpin tapped the microphone and cleared his throat.
"I'll...keep this brief. You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."
He surveyed the crowd and continued, "But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."
The murmur intensified in the audience.
"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step," Ozpin concluded.
Glynda stepped up, glancing at the retreating Ozpin. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your Initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
"Serious stuff, eh?" Philip chuckled. "So, what are you…"
Grayson continued walking towards the ballroom. There wasn't a "Philip" in his memory either. That meant he was either a foreign student or an insignificant pupil. The latter would be more straightforward than the former. Still, the Initiation was the priority. His preparation should focus on it.
When dust came, Grayson finished inspecting his energy pistol. He sat on his bedding, hiding himself from any potential prying eyes. His sight had adjusted to the dim lights. The other students had long settled themselves. They changed into their sleeping clothes and chatted with one another. Some even showed off to the opposite sex. The hooded man from before, however, was already asleep.
Discussions eventually faded. The hall lights were switched off, and more people drifted into sleep. Only a lonesome candlelight lingered, lighted by a girl next to him. She was reading a book, wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and a matching skirt. A black ribbon was tied with a large bow on her head.
"You're staring at me," she deadpanned.
"Correct."
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Your bow moved."
She stopped turning the pages. She looked up from her book. Her amber eyes were curiously alarmed.
"So? It must've been the wind."
"The windows are closed."
She rolled her eyes. "So, what? Stranger things have happened. Don't you have better things to do?"
He kept his focus on her. Her defensiveness was disproportional to a simple observation. She was undoubtedly hiding something.
She noticed his holster and looked at him flatly. "You know we're supposed to put our weapons in the locker room, right?"
"It is a precaution. Nowhere can guarantee absolute security—"
"How cautious of you." She returned to reading her book.
"It is only logical. Your bow—"
He halted. His peripheral vision caught Yang pulling a girl towards them. It was that little girl. She didn't seem pleased.
Yang waved at them. "Hellooo! I believe you two may know each other?"
"Aren't you…that girl that exploded?" The girl next to him asked.
"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me Crater..." She chuckled, a slight blush appearing on her face. "Actually, you can just call me Ruby."
Grayson skimmed his memory. There was no one with that name.
Yang looked at them expectantly. "So… What's your name?"
"Blake."
Then, all the attention was on him. Grayson let out a long exhalation. Perhaps socialising at this stage was expected.
"Grayson."
Yang clapped her hands together. "Great! Now that we know each other's names, we're one step closer to being best friends!"
He noted her preference for fallacies.
"What's it about?" Ruby pointed at Blake's book.
Blake widened her eyes. "Huh?"
"Your book. Does it have a name?"
"Well… I-It's about a man with two souls. Each fighting for control over his body."
"Oh, yeah… That's real lovely!" Yang rolled her eyes.
Ruby interjected. "I like books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!"
Grayson remained silent. He didn't expect others to volunteer their personal information so readily. If he could utilise these small talks well, his intel-gathering might be more time efficient.
A different voice interrupted his thoughts. "What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realise some of us are trying to sleep?"
A girl with long white hair stomped towards them. She took one look at Yang, and they both groaned.
"Oh, not you again!"
He observed the argument for a while. It took him little time to realise their argument wasn't constructive. After exhaling again, Grayson lay on his bedding and closed his eyes.
Author's Notes:
I like writing for Grayson. His point of view is just technical.
In my original draft, I didn't involve Blake at all. Grayson was only watching the scene from afar. But I felt it was best to introduce them early. Especially considering RWBY has a lot of characters. Some are more relevant than others.
See you next week.