Xavier arrived at the giant auditorium, filled to the brim with people, a few minutes early. As it was in his nature to be punctual when it came to fulfilling his duties, and right now as a student, it was his duty to arrive early and not miss the grand opening.
He didn't have to wait long for the event to start. Ozpin was already at the front with a blonde woman standing right beside him, observing the freshmen with a critical eye. Her gaze, however, stayed on Xavier's form for quite some time before breaking contact.
A mic feedback played as Ozpin cleared his throat to begin his speech. This results in taking everyone's full attention.
"I'll... Keep this brief. " Ozpin started. "You have traveled 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."
The students stood proudly, as if their dreams were finally within reach. The recognition of their efforts made them smile, and some even became more confident in their abilities.
"But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." This sentence came in like a hammer. Students began whispering among themselves, and some narrowed their eyes, turning serious. "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."
Without paying heed to the students' afterthoughts, he left.
'Weirdo.' Commenting silently, Xavier then focused his eyes on the woman who had been standing on the side. She began to step up to the center behind the microphone to talk.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." She spoke with efficiency.
As people started to leave the area, Xavier stood with a blank expression. 'So... What am I supposed to do now?'
A quick welcome wasn't exactly what he had expected from a top huntsman academy.
'Oh yeah, I need a drink!' A revelation kick-started his body to move. 'Now where is the cafeteria?'
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The sun soon fell, and students filled the ballroom to the brim. Each one of them prepared the bedding and pillows that were provided to them.
Xavier prepared his bed on the second floor of the ballroom, right beside the mezzanine, away from most people, and across from the window through which he could see a great view outside.
He looked at his watch and saw that it was still early by his standards. So, contemplating how to pass the time, he wondered for a bit. Since he doesn't use his scroll that often, only to read news and similar content, he could listen to podcasts, but most of the online material isn't satisfactory.
So, he did the next best thing: he grabbed his acoustic guitar, folded a paper napkin to use as a pick, and began practicing silently. The paper napkin made playing the guitar quietly, possible, and since most of the people in the ballroom had already fallen asleep, save for the few energetic ones, he had enough reason not to wake them up. He sat against the railings and started to immerse himself in his practice.
Meanwhile, below where he set up his camp. A familiar black haired girl who was also immersed in her hobby. A book that she's been reading since earlier was held up by her delicate hands, flipping once a page has been finished. She had found the perfect spot, quiet and inconspicuous. As she was reading her book, she heard the strings of a guitar being softly strummed. At first, annoyance was placed on her face, already wanting to find another spot.
But then, as the guitarist above continued playing, she realized that they were being quite considerate. The music they played also sounds nice, and is quiet enough not to distract or wake everyone up.
So with the nice and quiet music above, she continued reading her book, while enjoying the free tunes she's hearing.
Then, the moment of joy was killed by a girl singing "Hel-looooo!"
She was a blonde with lilac colored eyes, and in her hands was the girl that she had seen earlier.
"I believe you two may know each other?"
She scanned the two, before replying, "Aren't you... that girl that exploded?" She spoke softly.
The girl in question answered "Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby!" Ruby awkwardly reached out for a handshake, but soon pulled out as her hand wasn't being accepted.
"But you can just call me Crater..." Smiling from embarrassment, "Actually, you can just call me Ruby."
Her amber eyes never left her book, as she gave an automatic "Okay."
"So... What's your name?" The blonde asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
Sighing, she replied "Blake", hoping that they'd go away.
"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister! I like your bow!" Yang said, figuring a compliment might help.
Blake, starting to get irritated, gave a "Thanks!" Before trying to continue where she left off.
"It goes great with your... pajamas!" Yang tried again, only to be met with a long "Right... " From Blake.
Ruby laughed uncomfortably as her sister tried to deal with the introverted girl.
"Nice night, don't you think?"
Having had quite enough of them, Blake figured a strong hint would finally make them leave. "Yes - it's lovely! Almost as lovely as the music that guy's been playing, and this book!" She pointed her eyes above, making the two follow suit.
"Music?" Both Yang and Ruby said in sync.
They looked up to see the back of a guy, leaning against the railings as he strummed the guitar in his hands.
All three went quiet, trying to listen to his song. The sounds were quiet, so after lowering their voices, it was then that they heard it.
"~ I'll be your light~"
His singing came as a surprise to Blake. After all, for a while, the guitarist was quiet as he had played earlier.
"~so don't you cry, we'll be fine~"
"~when you're feeling down, I'll hold you tight~"
"~you'll be brave enough to seize this fight, I swear~"
"~let me share my color with you now~"
"~my path is only with you~"
Then he stopped as he sensed someone was watching him. He looked down, to see three familiar girls looking at him in a moment of daze, but soon snapped back as he turned his head away.
He hurriedly cased his guitar before lying on his bed and closing his eyes to sleep. Ignoring the stares he got as he turned his back towards the railing.
"Huh, weird guy. " Yang commented. "Still sounded nice though."
Ruby agreed. She then turned towards Blake, who was still looking at the man above. "Your book." She gained Blake's attention.
"What's it about?" She asked curiously, a genuine interest was laced in her voice.
"Well... I-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." She replied.
"I love 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!" Blake listened attentively, laughing a bit as she heard the naive girl speaks out her ideals.
"Why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake mocked.
"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"
Smiling at Ruby's childlike ambitions, "That's... very ambitious for a child." A saddened look appears on her face, "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."
"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better." A quick reply greeted Blake, a sentence that impressed her and Yang.
"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister! Yang hugged her sister tightly into the air. Making Ruby squirm, which later evolved into a dust clouds of fighting limbs and flying stars.
"What in the world is going on over here?!" The schnee stormed onto the scene in her pajamas. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"
"Oh, not you again!" The Schnee and Yang synchronized at the sight of each other.
Meanwhile, at the top of ever-increasing voices. Xavier, who first thought that he had awoken those below him, realized that he had panicked. Those three weren't asleep to begin with, and they're starting to get louder, especially when another one came into the mix.
He lifted one of his hands, making a snapping motion.
*SNAPS*
Then the lights went out.
'To hell with misfortune' right now he wants nothing more than to sleep, and if it means dealing with more annoying stuff along the way. Then he'll gladly take it.
(To be continued)
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