Blake's First Day.

As the Weiss Schnee stormed off in a huff, Blake couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. She decided it was her moment to leave when the red hooded girl shouted, "I promise I'll make this up to you."

Beacon Academy, one of the four huntsmen academies in the world. Located in Vale, it wasn't as technological as Atlas, it wasn't as cultural as Mistral, it was certainly more orderly than Vacuo. Blake had her reasons to choose to go to Beacon. Haven was too close to home for Blake's liking, and Atlas was probably the worse kingdom for faunus, Shade might had been fine with faunus, but Blake wanted to live in a place that wasn't survival of the fittest. Vale was decent when it came to faunus rights.

So why wear the bow?

When the question crossed her mind, Blake reached up and ran her finger over the ribbon that concealed her cat ears. Blake wasn't ashamed of being a faunus, but she didn't want to attract attention. Vale might had been better than Atlas, but people still noticed when a faunus was walking down a street. Blake just didn't want to be stared at because of what she was. Even if the bow was a little tight on her ears.

"Ah."

A yelp caused Blake to look at exactly what she hated. Another faunus girl had been pushed to the ground, her books scattered across the sidewalk. Her long brown rabbit ears drooped in fear. The one who pushed her was a human, no surprise. He was big, his brown hair slicked back, and he wore expensive looking armor. Not to mention looking smug. When the rabbit faunus tried to gather her things, he actually grabbed one of her ears and yanked her away.

Blake's hands curled into a fist and her teeth clenched in anger. Why anyone would let someone like that become a huntsman was beyond her. Before she could even take a step.

"Hey!"

The large human was suddenly knocked on his but, "Go pick on someone your own size!" Someone else had come pushed him away from the faunus girl. It was another brown-haired boy. However, he was the complete opposite from the bully. His hair was spiked out in an almost crazed fashion. He was outfit was comprised of a hoodie, baggie pants, and large shoes all in red and black. Hanging from his neck was thick silver chain and the pendant was shaped like a clown. What surprised Blake however, was the lack of animal traits on him.

A human was protecting a faunus.

Blake stood and witnessed the scene in front of her. The bully stood up pulling out his mace, the spikey haired boy held up his hand as small lights began to appear in the palm.

"You want a piece of me, you little-…" He stopped and took a step back. Appearing in a flash of light was a weapon Blake never saw before. It looked like a giant key. The boy didn't flinch.

"Leave!"

The bully glared at him, then turned around. In another flash of light, the key disappeared. The boy turned and crouched down to the faunus girl, his face once hardened, now soft with concern, "Are you okay?"

"I'm…" the rabbit faunus stuttered, "I'm okay."

"Let me help," he began to gather up some of the books. The rabbit faunus, who was surprised by the boys intervention forgot about her books for a minute, then remembered and started to gather them as well.

Blake hid behind a tree and watched. She focused on the boy. She decided to double check to see if he really was human. He didn't have ears or a tail. His nails looked human, maybe he was a chameleon like Ilia? Blake did believe there were humans who cared and would stand up for faunus, she really did. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to be skeptical. And what was the weapon and where did it come from? Was it his semblance?

Before Blake knew it, the boy had given the rabbit faunus her books back, and she left. Blake then approached him from behind, she needed to get a closer look. When the boy turned, he jumped when he saw Blake with a yelp. Blake looked at him, he wasn't exactly intimidating, he might had been a year younger than her. In fact now that she was closer, he didn't look scary at all. Why'd that bully run.

"Um… hi?" the boy greeted uncomfortably. Blake then realized she was staring. So, she decided to get this over with. His skin was clear, chameleon faunus had spots that humans believed to be just freckles, so he wasn't a chameleon. Then she grabbed his hand, "Hey."

Her father was panther faunus, she knew claws when she felt them even if they were retracted. She gently thumbed his index finger nail. It too soft to be a claw. This boy was a human.

"Can I have my hand back?"

"Yeah, sorry," Blake released him. She was feeling particularly stupid now she sighed and looked at her feet. She just invaded someone personal space because she had a hard time accepting the fact humans could be kind. Dammit Blake, the point is to not draw attention!

"Um…" the boy began, "So, I'm Sora, what's your name?"

She looked back up at him, he looked uncomfortable, she couldn't really blame him, "I'm Blake. Sorry I was… Just sorry," What was she supposed to say, 'humans can't be nice to faunus?' But, "Why did you help her."

Sora went from uncomfortable to confuse, "What do you mean?"

"Why did you help her?" Blake repeated the question. Was he being genuinely kind, or was he just trying to look cool?

Sora continued his confused look, "What do you mean, 'why?' Why do I need a reason to help someone?"

Blake's eyes widened slightly. She looked him in the eye, there wasn't a hint of deceit. He meant it, and when he asked it out loud, it just made sense. She turned away.

"Sorry."

She walked away from the boy, she bothered him enough already. She found the amphitheater where first-years were supposed to go. Blake managed to get a spot in the corner, as isolated as possible. She just wanted to be alone. While she was waiting for the assembly to begin, her thoughts drifted back to that boy, Sora. Blake didn't understand why she was thinking about him. How he defended that rabbit faunus, that strange weapon he suddenly made appear. Maybe he was a student? Maybe they would have class together? Maybe they'd wind up on the same team?

Blake sighed, she couldn't focus on that. Whoever she teamed up with, she would do her best to get along with them, but she wasn't going to reveal the fact she was a faunus.

What if they find out?

Blake squeezed her shoulder. She couldn't think like that, everything was going to be fine. It had to be. She was going to become a huntress and make the world better for faunus.

What if they find out you used to be a member of the White Fang?

They wouldn't she wasn't going to mess up again. She would do it right and not run away, because this time she had no where else to run to.

What about Adam? He's going to find you eventually.

Blake's grip on herself tightened. What if he did find her? She couldn't fight him, or at least, couldn't fight him and win. He taught her everything she knew. She shook her head. She couldn't think like that. That was the reason she was at Beacon, to learn how to fight. Learn skills that Adam didn't know and hopefully become stronger.

"Ahem," the sound of throat clearing caused Blake to look up at the stage. The headmaster, Ozpin was on stage about to give a speech, "I'll keep this brief. You have travelled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills…"

Blake stopped paying attention when she noticed who was standing on stage with Professor Ozpin. On his left was Glynda Goodwitch, a well-known huntress and teacher at the academy. It was Glynda that drew Blake's attention, it was who was on Ozpin's right. Standing there with his hands behind his head, clearly bored, was Sora. What was he doing standing next to Ozpin?

Ozpin left the stage and Glynda announced that all first years were going to be staying in the ballroom and that their initiation was the next day. Blake did hear that, but her eyes just followed Sora as he walked off the stage with the professor.

Hello again everyone. It is I TalkingSalad. It has been a difficult month, with the death of Stan Lee and Stephen Hillenburg. I had entered a period of grieving. They brought so much joy to my childhood and to know they are no longer part of this world brought me so much sadness. But we must be strong. They Stan and Stephen wouldn't want us cry, they would want us to celebrate. It was their achievement in life to make us happy. The greatest way to honor our fallen heroes is to live. And so, we must press on, for them.