Beginnings

Professor Ozpin took a sip from the cup before speaking. " For years you have trained to become warriors..."

Looking at the sixteen expectant faces, he again wondered how many would live through the next few hours. They wouldn't be here if they weren't competent, but there was always the chance of unexpected accidents. Mistakes in the forest beneath the cliff tended to have lethal consequences.

" ...do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you~ will~ die!"

How many times had he repeated that speech now? Too many surely, but then again, not enough if the reports he'd received recently were correct.

Eight teams would be formed this semester, thirty-two Hunters and Huntress' in training, if all managed to graduate. This was the first group to be initiated, the next would be tomorrow, and all of them would hear the same words.

The questions had all been asked before, most dealing with clarification of how partners and teams were formed. He should probably change a few things in the statements he'd repeated over the years, but then the students might get the idea that questions were unnecessary.

He needed them to ask those questions. Simply following the herd wasn't a good thing, these young people needed to find answers to problems that were still on the horizon. There would be no teachers handy when they faced life after graduation.

" Good luck!"

Ozpin and Goodwitch stepped back from the launchers as the hopeful students began to prepare themselves. The sounds of weapons being readied could be heard along the length of the line.

Tan Tyrson:

" The first person you lay eyes on will be your partner for the next four years."

Tan glanced nervously at the teens nearest him. He'd only seen six boys in the group last night, now he was surrounded by girls. On his left was a human of average size, on the right was a large faunas with canine ears who looked like she could pound him into the ground with her fist alone. He looked away when she turned her head towards him, afraid she might want to make conversation while they waited.

Being raised as a single child on a farm had made it difficult to make friends when he entered fighting school. Being around girls who were armed with a variety of lethal weapons hadn't helped him overcome his natural shyness, the tendency toward mumbling when spoken to had kept them at a distance.

Vacuo girls tended to be very straightforward and confident, these young women surrounding him didn't look any less so. Sparring matches with them at the fighting school had been one of the most difficult things he'd ever done, since he'd been taught as a child that hitting girls was not nice. Overcoming that particular childhood lesson had taken more than a few losses in the classroom before he discovered that it was better to hit than receive. The chances of pairing with one of the guys seemed to dwindle to nothing.

As the headmaster finished answering the last question from someone further down the line, Tan drew both Gunfa's from their holsters and jacked a round into the chambers with a jerk of his arms. Housed inside the metal tubes were large gauge Dust shotguns that fired a variety of rounds, depending on what he'd loaded into the clips concealed in the grips. Combined, they formed 'Shotfa', the double-barrels capable of bringing down an Ursa of any size at close range. Used singly, they could be held against the lower forearm to block or deliver a powered punch. Reversed, they gave him a medium ranged attack with multiple shots, something that had proved useful for keeping girls armed with large weapons at bay.

Loud thumps from down the line announced the beginning of initiation into his new school.

Hope for the best, expect the worst. The trite phrase seemed to sum up how the day was starting out.

Renee Delacourt:

'This'll probably be the most fun I'll have all week. Might as well make the most of it.' the faunas girl thought.

Renee shook her head and drew ' Sunset ' from its place on her back and separated the wide blade into its two single-edged components, Fire and Sky. Looking to her right, she watched the black-haired girl checking her staff. ' Pretty little thing. But she looks like the sort that worries more about grades than fighting.' she thought. Her canine ears twitched, the sound of a gun cocking drawing her attention.

'Skinny thing, ain't he?' she mused, looking at the slim boy on her left. Her own wide frame would easily make two of him. Still, he handled those twin guns like he knew what he was doing with them.

Holding the swords at her side, she contemplated what it had taken to get here. For a faunas from the slums of Atlas, this was more than just a dream come true. Thanks to the persistence of her parents, scrimping and saving for ten years, she'd done what no other member of the family had managed. Escaped the enforced poverty of her people and gone on to another life, one that had meaning.

Her parents had worked constantly to earn enough to send her to a fighting school on an island to the west. Dad had rarely been home, double shifts nearly killing him in his attempt to give his daughter a better life. Mom did every small job that was offered, but always finding time to spend with her only child. Uncles and aunts had pitched in too, pooling the money. They never spent a single lien more than was necessary to keep life within them, all the rest had gone to her education.

She'd done her best over the years to make sure their efforts weren't wasted. Her fellow students had helped her with extra tutoring until she'd graduated high enough in the class to earn a full scholarship to Beacon in the end. She owed those kids a lot. It had been the first kindness she'd experienced from humans.

She hadn't seen her parents in four years. Until recently, letters from them had been rare, they hadn't wanted to spend the money on postage. Scrolls were a still a new thing to her, she'd never seen one as a child.

Renee looked out over the forest without seeing it. 'I need to go home sometime soon.'

The launchers firing off to the left broke her reverie. Crouching in preparation, she crossed the blades. Her ears perked forward expectantly. Time to see what waited below the treetops!

Kicking upwards as the pad lifted her skywards gave enough impetuous to reach the same height as the others. Just for fun, she spread her arms and waved the swords up and down.

The thought of what she must look like, an oversized bird with brown hair streaming in the wind, made her laugh.

Akiko Washi:

Dark brown eyes narrowed as she made final adjustments to her weapon while wishing that the headmaster would stop speaking and get this test started. This whole 'partner' idea was making her tense, the idea of working with a complete stranger was almost repulsive She had little patience for most people, a product of growing up in a household where excellence in all things was demanded of children. Impulsively, she smoothed the two long strands of golden tinted hair that frame her face.

Although he disapproved of her choice of career, her father had told her to either come in first in her class, or don't come home at all. Failure to succeed at hand to hand combat at the fighting school in Mistral had almost cost her the chance to come to Beacon, he would not allow a second disgrace. Only her skill with the Firestaff, plus her mathematical ability, had raised her grades enough to graduate second in her class , earning his grudging respect. Her younger brother had not been so lucky, his name was no longer acknowledged by their father. Privately, she hoped he hadn't done anything drastic after leaving home.

Hopefully whoever she eventually partnered with wouldn't slow her down academically. The boys from last night were, for the most part, not acceptable. Too many had been flexing muscles for female admirers or wrestling each other. One or two had been quiet enough, a definite plus. A partner who could keep their mouth shut would at least give her less trouble.

As she flew through the air, Akiko watched the flapping arms of the large girl from behind. Why did there have to be so many stupid people in the world?

Holding the Firestaff crosswise, she fired a blast to change course, not wanting to land near anyone who thought this test was supposed to be fun.

As her forward motion slowed, she began searching for a good landing spot.

Hart D'Ore:

Hart looked out over the forest, eager to begin.

' Northern end of the trail? No sweat! I did more when I was a kid!'

Having been accepted a year early to Beacon, she was determined to prove herself worthy of her old teacher's efforts.

Holding ' Oathblade ' in her right hand, she drew the Fire dagger from its sheath with her left. She gazed fondly at the narrow blade, remembering the day her mentor had given it to her, the old Hunter had been impressed by her killing of a Grim with it at the age of nine. He'd agreed with her demand to become a Huntress, doing everything he could to get her to this point before his death six months prior.

Eight years of hard training, chasing her life's dream, was nearing its end. Being at the same school as two of her childhood friends was just the icing on the cake! The next four years promised to be exciting, if Ruby's description of what had happened in the last year were considered to be normal here.

Crouching, she began timing the 'thumps' of the launchers. The girl next to her flew into the air, two streamers of gold showing against the black hair.

'2..1..Yeah!'

She couldn't help shouting in exultation as the launcher threw her upwards.