Ruby felt decidedly out of place.
She sat among a large number of people, which on its own would already intimidate her. Adding in that just about everyone was older than her and the severe deputy headmistress delivering the orientation speech, then it became a most wonderful time. Not. It felt like the blonde on stage hated all of them and Ruby in particular, even though her piercing gaze never stayed on anyone.
Though intimidated, Ruby tried her best to listen to Professor Goodwitch just like the humans and faunus around her. They already did the general paper tests, which were multiple choice exams even twelve-year-olds could solve. Health evaluations were held ahead of time, she did those already. The most surprising part was that they could form teams of two people if they wanted. Ruby already expected the first ordeal to be a combat challenge, though nobody said what kind of fight it would be. Some people nodded along knowingly, which made her wonder if she missed something.
"The order in which you undergo the first trial is first-come, first-served. A list will be placed on this table, to be filled in at your discretion," Goodwitch explained while pointing to the furniture in question. Several sheets of paper settled under the power of her telekinetic Semblance. "Anyone who proceeds to the second stage will be hosted at Beacon in the interim. Provisions will be provided for the duration of your stay. That is all."
Ruby joined the polite applause while Goodwitch stepped back. With her presence receding, people around the young woman started to chat. Teams began to form but nobody so much as acknowledged Ruby. She in turn felt too awkward to talk to anyone. What if she asked someone and they brushed her off? What if they laughed at her? No, she reasoned, she could do it on her own. Although it would have been nice to make at least one friend.
She started walking to put down her name with a muted sigh, only to run into someone. Hopping back with a faint squeak, Ruby's attention snapped to the other person.
"I'm so sorry!" she started, only to be stopped short when she actually registered who she ran into. A tanned faunus girl clad in white and silver, with sheer fabric fluttering around her body in resemblance of the white gossamer wings folded on her back. Somehow this girl was shorter than Ruby herself, if not by much.
She thankfully shrugged off her apology. "There was no harm done. Everyone seems to be... excited."
A lame "Yeah" was all Ruby could provide. She awkwardly stood in place, unable to quite look away from the stranger who studied her in turn.
Then another voice grunted from behind her: "Damn, they let even kids in here these days."
The derisive comment made Ruby crumble a little more. Yet somehow the other girl's flat stare stopped her from shuffling away. Her gaze kept Ruby transfixed; something she could not understand went on behind those eyes.
Before she could really question how she knew this, the other girl commented on the byplay: "Age and aptitude are not necessarily linked."
It almost sounded like encouragement, which Ruby was grateful for.
"I guess so. It's still kinda hard when everyone's older than me."
"How old are you?"
"Uh, fifteen?"
Some laughter sounded around them; people were listening to them talk, which only made Ruby more anxious. Yet in complete opposition to her own feelings, the faunus girl remained unfazed. She simply nodded.
"Then you are not the youngest here, as I turn fifteen in a month and a half. Perhaps that helps. Now, if I may?" She motioned for the still blank list, completely ignoring the condescension around them.
Ruby stepped aside, only to pause in surprise as she realised what the other girl was doing. With how young she was, going solo just could not go well.
"Aren't you, y'know, looking for a teammate?"
The moth glanced back, expression unchanged. "I need no assistance and I will not suffer fools to slow me down. Not to mention," she added with a scoff at the crowd. "I believe the feeling is mutual."
Ruby made to respond but hesitated. If the other girl was so certain, even just asking the question felt daunting.
While she still worried about being denied, an older woman nearby interrupted them with a mean chuckle. "You girls should team up, you know?" she told the pair. Once both turned her way, her grin became outright mocking. "That way they only waste half the time with you. There's always kids getting in over their head, they never make it."
Her mouth fell open in shock at how mean this person was. She started stammering, only to be cut off by the moth girl: "And by your commentary, this is not your first attempt. I do not see how the words of a failure should concern me."
More laughter sounded, but this time probably not at their expense. The woman bristled and Ruby could only gape at the situation. Then the faunus girl motioned her to follow. "Come," she said and began to walk; Ruby did not even consider disobeying and fell into step with her.
"W-What just happened?" she asked after a few seconds.
"Do you want to team up?"
"Wha... yeah, sure."
Once the way this conversation went actually registered, she brightened up. "I'd love to."
"Good."
"But why? I thought you don't care?"
The more they spoke, the more eerie her surprise partner's unchanging expression became.
"Yes, but she does. So even if you are awful, I will see that we both pass the examination."
That sounded weird and hurt a little; Ruby did not understand how someone could just say that. Puffing up her cheeks, she shot back: "I'll have you know I'm pretty good. I mean, what if you slow me down?"
"Doubtful," was the instantaneous response, so certain that it convinced even Ruby. Another discerning look was given to the newly slumped girl in the pause that followed.
"But a pleasant surprise if true."
They reached the list then. First the moth girl grabbed the provided pen to write her name in the first slot. It was then offered to Ruby, who did the same; thankfully, she now got a chance to learn her surprise partner's name. The window to ask without it being awkward was already closed.
The moment she was done, the woman from before shoulder-checked her aside with a scoff. "Figures you brats have no idea how this works," she taunted. "First slot always goes in blind, that's why everyone else waited for some idiot to go first."
All that earned her from Ruby's partner was a snort. In a way it was impressive how much derision she fit into a mere sound.
They left the auditorium while others descended on the list alone or in pairs. Ruby needed a while to overcome her nerves, thoroughly intimidated by her new friend's confidence. She carefully ventured after several turns: "Sooo, your name is Hikari?"
A glance went her way, which she took as encouragement to continue: "I'm Ruby. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise. It says Hikari on my documents, but I go by Lumina."
"Oh, Lumina then?" The other girl gave a nod. "Okay, I can do that."
With introductions finally made, Ruby became a bit more animated. "So with us being a team and all, how do you fight? What weapon do you use? I've got this!" She unfolded Crescent Rose without waiting for a response, hugging the giant scythe to her chest. "And I do speedy things!"
Lumina stared at her for a long moment, which made Ruby feel mighty awkward again. Just as the older girl began to beat herself up over it, her partner leaned in. She ran a finger over the hardened, crimson steel. Whatever measure she took, she did not say.
"My weapon is light. You do not want to look at me when we undergo the ordeal."
"Oookay?"
Ruby collapsed her scythe again, wondering what to make of that statement. "But how does that work? You can't just make a sword out of light, can you?"
Atlesean Hard Light Dust would do the trick, but that was still new and expensive. Checking Lumina over for any hint of a weapon revealed nothing at all, either. The faunus girl herself was thoughtful.
"I could in theory," she admitted without saying how that would work. "But forcing light into physical form is draining for me as I am. A suboptimal choice by far. No, I simply emit light in the correct frequencies."
This only served to confuse Ruby more.
"But, but weapon? You need one!" she whined, grabbing the surprised girl by her shoulders. "You need one! Every hunter has a weapon! You can't just go without one!"
"This, this is news to me."
Even her general deadpan could not hide how flabbergasted she was by the turn of events. Meanwhile, Ruby shook her lightly and continued to fret. "Oh, and we don't have time to make you one, we're up in an hour!"
"I could buy one?"
"What? No! You need to make one, or, or commission something! The store-bought crap is for militias and posers!"
Her short albeit fiery speech earned stunned silence. Lumina sized her up once more, but this time Ruby did not relent. She refused to accept anything else as truth on this matter. Seeing her determination, Lumina faintly inclined her head.
"...you are surprisingly intense about this subject. Did you craft that scythe yourself?"
That was a nicer subject. Ruby let go and went back to beaming. "Yep. She's my pride and joy! I can help you make one too when we're through this!"
"Unfortunately, I doubt I have the funds to afford your services."
The refusal was waved off in an instant. "Psh, it's fine. Now we got to go this way, right?"
"Yes."
They kept going like this. With conversation petered out, Ruby did not feel like speaking up again. At the same time she felt a lot less tense. Perhaps she actually managed to make a friend?
In the meantime, Beacon's students filled into the largest internal arena. It was built large enough to allow a decent amount of styles, even including ranged combat. Selina laughed as she plopped into a seat.
"At least one good thing for the poor sods we're fighting, they get to be destroyed in a pretty place."
"Hear hear," Yang crowed, high-fiving the other girl.
"Repairing the indoor arenas must be a massive drain on resources without Professor Goodwitch's Semblance at hand," Pyrrha mused from the seat next to Ren not occupied by Nora.
Weiss, sitting between Pyrrha and Selina, nodded. "From what I read," she explained, "actual matches were only allowed indoors when Professor Goodwitch joined the staff. Only carefully monitored exhibition matches could be held here. The headmaster added a clause to the rules that allows proper battle if a member of staff can deal with the damages."
Pyrrha nodded thoughtfully, gaze straying to the man in question; he sat several rows behind them alongside the portly Professor Port and a sharply dressed man from the valean Council. From what Weiss gathered, the group was put together like this to ensure objective treatment of all participants.
Then two clearly older men plopped down next to Yang. Weiss had to look twice and admonish herself for staring, but they were both handsome specimen; one with bared chest and well-toned muscles, the other in a suit and with sharp features. The latter offered her teammate a condescending headpat and dodged the instinctive swing with a chuckle.
"Heya, sunshine."
His drawl did things to Weiss she would never admit to anyone, though her hormones took a backseat when Yang reacted with abject surprise.
"Wait, what? What are you two doing here?"
All anger was forgotten, even though she never let anyone touch her hair. The men grinned at her.
"Oz called us in as outside observers," the blond and bare-chested man explained cheerfully. "Like we'd miss a chance to come back and bully Glynda a little."
His comment prompted a further increase in the muttering between the students; Weiss did not know whether to pity or admire such confidence. The man himself tapped his companion's side.
"Doesn't this bring back memories?"
"Yeah, good times."
The two shared a chuckle. Weiss felt there was something they did not say, but could not tell why or what it may be about. While she was still busy not staring however, Selina leaned past Yang to talk to the newcomers: "I take it you're the dad and uncle we heard about? So you're both from STRQ, right?"
That actually made a lot of sense. Weiss shook her head to get it back into the game. The man who had to be Yang's father nodded amicably, which by process of elimination made the dark-haired one Qrow Branwen. It was him who answered with a big grin: "Yep, the coolest team that ever came out of Beacon."
"The coolest team so far, you mean. Sir," Selina added cheekily. Qrow smirked.
Yang huffed at their banter. "She's got a point," she agreed in a similar tone to Selina. "We're gonna kick ass, just you watch."
For some reason that reassurance merely amused both Huntsmen. Yang apparently failed to notice their matching grins, but Weiss did not.
"Pardon," she interjected from behind them. "Could it be that you know something we do not?"
While Taiyang seemed the slightest bit surprised to be caught, Qrow's expression did not even twitch. He turned back with an arched brow and a somewhat intense gaze. Then he grinned.
"Oh lookie there," he drawled, "the smaller ice queen."
There was no heat to it, but Weiss still felt a mite intimidated. Hence why she took the only way a Schnee ever took in such a situation: straight forward.
"Excuse me?!"
Unfortunately, indignation had little effect on Qrow Branwen. "You heard me the first time, kiddo. Whoever got the stick out your ass did good work."
Giggles and chuckles sounded around them. Weiss was mortified and fighting hard not to visibly blush. Her jaw worked soundlessly, only to click shut when Taiyang whacked his friend's shoulder and interrupted: "Excuse him, he's used to dealing with your sister. They get along like a house on fire."
Wetting her lips, Weiss managed to regain her balance. "Yes," she agreed, "I can imagine."
She muttered about uncultured peons under her breath, unheard by all. Then Weiss squeaked when Selina flicked her forehead jovially.
"Come on, let's all get along. We've got fights to watch and ass to kick!"
Though it was rude, Weiss had half a mind to agree to that. Someone else thankfully spoke up from behind the entire group, a woman. She drew their attention with a loud snort.
"Not much to see for now. Just two brats about to get kicked all the way back to whatever fancy school they come from."
It seemed the other participants were present as well. Her commentary interested Weiss, though.
"Pardon?"
"Ah, right." And that was Qrow again. "There's always some kids trying. Around your age with their heads in the clouds. Pretty ballsy to go first."
That was news, although the intriguing kind. The man next to the previous woman laughed, though. "Ballsy?" he parrotted with great amusement. "Stupid animal didn't even think about it before going for the list."
Something about this comment had Weiss bristle, but she got no chance to berate him. He pointed ahead.
"Ah, there's Goodwitch. Looks like they're starting."
Indeed, the stern deputy entered the arena with CRDL at her heels. Despite the imposing figure Cardin cut right behind her however, it was quite clear who the most intimidating person among the five was. Goodwitch took position below while the students walked to their half of the arena; Cardin stood front and center, flanked by his compatriots. Dove made to hide behind his leader's considerable bulk.
"Preparations are complete," Goodwitch announced. Her voice carried well, though some were still chattering. A single sound like a whipcrack extinguished all noise right after; the deputy attached the riding crop back at her belt, expression unchanged. "We will now begin testing the first applicants, a team of Kamiya Hikari and Ruby Rose."
Though she did not even stumble over the mistralian name, a loud "What?!" interrupted the proceedings. All eyes in the room turned to Yang, who stared dumbly at her family. The men now wore grins that Weiss believed her friends would describe as 'shit-eating'. Yang kept staring a moment longer before repeating herself softly: "What?"
"Surprise," Taiyang almost chirped back.
Selina apparently caught on as well. "Wait, your sister is going for a license? Isn't she, like, fifteen?"
"Yes!"
"Huh. I wonder how she... oh."
The wolf fell silent upon seeing the two applicants enter. All first years recognised Lumina in her pristine white and silver attire. The wings were a dead giveaway regardless. She was accompanied by a slightly taller woman in red and black who did not look like Yang at all, dressed in a dark corset and fluttering, multi-layered skirt. Lumina quietly spoke to her companion without even acknowledging the room.
Meanwhile, Selina's expression had fallen. "We're fucked," she announced.
"Oh come now!" Nora leaned over Ren with notable cheer. "I'm sure Yang won't mind us beating up her sis a bit. Promise I'm not gonna break her legs!"
"I don't think Ruby is what bothers her," Ren informed his maybe-girlfriend, who blinked in surprise.
"Wait, really?"
Meanwhile, Selina ignored the byplay and heaved a sigh. "It takes longer to explain than it takes to see," she told them, then raised her voice: "Cardin! Be careful about flashbangs!"
That earned a grunt from below and a sour look from the Council representative, but no rebuke. Not that Selina would have cared, considering she just kept shouting: "And you better be ready to explain what this is about, 'Hikari'!"
Lumina had already perked up upon hearing Selina's voice the first time. At this point she evenly met the older girl's gaze; whatever she said got swallowed by the buzz of renewed conversation, but her faint smile told the story well enough.
Then, suddenly, the softer expression was wiped away. Lumina's head turned until she all but nailed Velvet of all people to her seat with a sudden and unprompted glare. The brunette made herself small until Coco pushed in front of her to glare back. Her response had no visible effect on Lumina, though; the moth girl merely returned her attention to CRDL.
When Goodwitch left the field, Ruby stepped in front of Lumina. Cardin loomed over the two diminutive girls.
"Sorry about that," he joked with faux jovialty, "but you two are going down."
"We shall see," Lumina riposted evenly.
"Yeah... what she said!"
Even Weiss had to smile over Ruby's attempt to hide her nerves. It was plain as day to the heiress that this one in particular had confidence issues.
Then however, the younger girl took a deep breath and firmed up. Anxiety peeled off her like an onion's first layer, revealing that confidence. She bent at the waist into a clearly practiced bow. Some laughed but Weiss found herself interested. The gesture was not returned, which prompted a small frown.
"Go," Goodwitch called.
A flare went off the moment the word left her lips. Dozens shouted in surprise, but Cardin and Russel in actual pain. A heavy impact sounded before Weiss's vision cleared. Once it did she found Russel at the wall; Ruby was in the process of slamming an oversized super scythe into Sky at Cardin's other side. Dove made to stab her with his dagger, but she burst into rose petals that crested around the blade.
Then a searing band of light connected Lumina and Cardin for but a moment. His aura-meter on the main screen got cut in half, going into the yellow.
Ruby reconsolidated next to Dove, perfectly positioned to swing at him. Her scythe's blade gleamed in the sunlight as it hit him in the neck; the girl's momentum was strong enough to pull him along. He was sent flying right at Cardin, who still clasped his eyes. Sky and Russel were equally blinded.
Another beam from Lumina sent Russel's aura into the red. The buzzer sounded but went ignored as the boy in question was already out of harm's way. Ruby hit Cardin over the head and stepped around his blind retaliation; the mace he swung made a single tip of her hair flutter, having missed by millimetres. The far smaller girl raced by under his arm, scythe trailing after as its blade hooked around his foot.
Then Ruby pulled.
Cardin fell just as Lumina ended Dove's part in the fight. The fourth and final beam zapped Cardin again as he hit the ground. That was the third buzzer.
Ruby ended the fight by winding up and slamming her scythe's head into the back of Sky's. His aura went into the red.
The auditorium was silent, as were the combatants. Lumina stared at her fallen foes dispassionately, though Ruby slowly began to beam.
"We did it!" she cheered
"That was never in question," the other girl returned with what was now clearly earned certainty. She left a short pause before acknowledging her partner. "Good work."
They were interrupted by slow clapping. Eyes turned to Ozpin, who wore a pleased smile. Taiyang and Qrow joined in right after, then some of the other applicants and first years followed. Weiss was among them; these two earned her recognition fair and square.
"You get it now?" Selina quipped, loud enough to be heard over the applause.
Pyrrha nodded slowly. "Yes, I believe so."
Meanwhile, Yang was plainly confused. "How?" She asked no one in particular before turning to her father. "When?" But he only offered a mysterious shrug and Yang looked back to her sister. "How do we fight that?"
That was a good question, one which Weiss hoped she would find some sort of inspiration for during the next few matches. Unfortunately, all Qrow had for them was another condescending headpat.
"Have fun, kiddo," he teased his niece, much to her annoyance.
Once the applause ceased, Goodwitch stepped into the arena again. "Team Cardinal was defeated," she announced for the blind but not necessarily deaf. She did not say it, but everyone could clearly see that neither challenger's aura dropped beneath 95%.
"Next up...."
Similar performances were given the next two fights. Lumina went down another ten percent, barely even moving thus far. She ended fights before anyone ever reached her. Ruby took a single, devastating hit and simply walked it off. She was firmly at four fifths of her total aura capacity.
Then it was SNNL's time to face the pair.
Selina felt wary as led her team into the arena but did not let it show, head held high and projecting confidence. She stood opposite Ruby, but only had eyes for Lumina; the moth never lost her casual confidence and met Selina's gaze evenly.
"There is no shame in surrendering," she offered.
This annoyed Selina for a moment until she realised she was being teased. Then the wolf snorted and made a dismissive motion.
"Sure, but I miss every shot I don't take. We're not going to win this, but I'm landing at least one hit on you."
Meanwhile, Lumina sized her up with newfound interest. Selina's challenge drew a smile onto her face. The second she showed since entering the room; small, almost smug, but certainly genuine.
"No," she responded, a trace of amusement sounding along the single word.
"Okay, now it's on!"
"Begin!"
No sooner did the Professor's voice sound that three pillars of light flickered around Selina. She almost stopped blinking the spots out of her eyes when the buzzer sounded thrice. Her head swivelled around, only to find her teammates' aura-meters universally in the red. Even Ruby had stopped in shock, staring at her partner. The entire room swiftly realised that Lumina was, if not sandbagging, then definitely not fighting at her best.
Then again, these three beams took a decent chunk out of her aura. Selina took notice of how her friend was below a fourth of her bar and almost in the yellow.
Steps sounded in the silence. Lumina folded both hands behind her back, that same smile in place. "But you shall have a chance," she continued their banter as if nothing happened. "Ruby. I have taken care of the other three. Would you mind defeating the last one?"
"Uh, okay? Sure."
Selina adjusted and accepted the new state of affairs. Her team awkwardly shuffled back to the stands while she squared off with Ruby. The fight was on, but it was not a good one; fighting this girl was like trying to hit a cloud. She kept dispersing and reforming, every single petal constantly cutting at Selina's exposed skin.
It was not a quick defeat, but her aura was slowly whittled away no matter what she did. Selina was already resigned to a loss, but this was frustrating. She wanted to at least shave off some more of her opponent's aura. One good hit at the very least.
She lost a strand of her bangs while bending backward, barely dodging a swing of that montrous scythe. At this point she finally got Ruby's measure. The next time the other girl reformed behind Selina, the spear's butt slammed into her arm and sent the next swing wide. Yet Ruby already vanished while Selina whirled around to capitalise.
How did one fight an enemy who could disappear whenever she became open?
"Oh for fuck's sake!"
Instead of keeping up the useless attempts to trade blows, Selina leapt forward and threw her spear with all she had. Right at the unsuspecting Lumina. This single second felt like minutes to her adrenaline-fuelled mind; the entire room held its breath as the weapon raced toward the moth, too fast to dodge.
Light flashed momentarily and Lumina was gone. Suddenly she stood a metre to the left, gone before the spear reached. It crashed past her and into the wall just as Ruby's scythe slammed into Selina's head. She stumbled forward and recovered, pressing three fingers into the transmitter on her glove. Ruby failed to notice, having moved in to pressure her.
"Dodge," Lumina said.
"Huh?"
Once again most people would have been unable to dodge the returning spear; Gravity Dust propelled it that fast. Ruby, however, scattered into petals just before it slammed into her thigh. Selina caught it with a disgruntled noise, well aware she almost ran out of tricks. A pair of aura spheres loosened from her free hand, skittering away. One hit Ruby in the side when she next materialised, the other was once again dodged and dispersed because Selina lost focus.
A final swing of that monstrous scythe sent her into the red seconds later. The buzzer sounded while Selina picked herself up from the ground. Though unhappy, she achieved at least one thing: for the first time since the exam began, Ruby was panting. Her aura sat snugly at a bit over half.
Unfortunately, Lumina's started to regenerate a few ticks over the break she was given.
Taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart, Selina gave Ruby a clap on the shoulder and flipped off her friend before walking back to the stands. Her unhappy team already expected her; while Nora moaned about it being unfair however, Pyrrha was clearly reeling from the fact she was defeated in a single blow.
"Guess you're not the Invincible Girl anymore," Selina quipped, which earned her an annoyed look.
Aside from them, everyone else was chattering excitedly. Qrow and Taiyang clearly had the time of their lives.
The slaughter continued until it was SPBY's turn. Every team tried to dodge but as one could predict, no one possessed the speed to dodge light.
Weiss was not confident, but she felt she had figured out a thing or two. Leading her team into the arena, she took the front line for a moment. Ruby bowed to them as she had every time, to which she saluted with Myrtenaster, her trusted rapier. Weiss almost missed the bright smile this earned her.
While Lumina sized up the opposition, Yang started trash-talking her sister: "I dunno how you got that good, but it's time you get the ass-whooping you deserve."
"You need to catch me first, sis."
"Your sister?" Lumina interjected with clear curiousity. "Do you want to take her on yourself?"
Ruby considered this with a soft hum. "Hmmm... yeah. If that's alright with you?"
She received a nod and moments later, the fight began with blinding light as expected. Spiceberry learned from the previous matches, though; Penny was hardy and her dozen floating blades immediately came for the moth. Light flickered between the constant barrage of slashes as she dodged them.
Weiss and Blake opened their eyes a moment later, having successfully timed the flash. A snow white glyph sprang up before Weiss, constantly kept between her and Lumina as a shield. Blake dodged the light beams by collapsing into shadows and reappeared behind herself; her clones were run through and faded immediately.
Ruby danced around Yang without trouble in the meantime. Her aura dropped by a few points while Lumina needed to actually exert herself now. The moth began to approach the halfway point of her aura after a minute of frantic motion.
Weiss dared feel hopeful for a second, having thought of a way to corner Lumina. She failed to parse the sheer annoyance emanated by her scowl. Selina saw, but by then it was too late to warn anyone. Just like with SNNL, a powerful beam struck Penny and sent her into the red in one go. Then another ate through Weiss's shield, shattering her aura with excessive force. She stumbled back with a pained yelp, her shirt's front in tatters.
While instinctively clutching the scraps to her chest to preserve her modesty, Weiss stared in disbelief how her plans fell apart. Four-on-two had become two-on-two, with Blake and Yang clearly on the backfoot. Even when Goodwitch ushered the heiress out of harm's way, she never took her eyes off the fight.
Blake was hounded across the arena, completely unable to go on the offensive; Lumina stood with gleaming wings spread wide, her aura dipped to below 40% from those two shots alone. It steadily fell but the moth's exertion was miniscule when compared to Blake's.
For a moment it seemed like Yang could finish her fight. Ruby appeared right in front of her, scythe pulled back for a decisive strike. The blonde smirked, hair alight with flame. She wound up and threw a devastating punch that never landed. Ruby dispersed, only to reform next to her sister as she stumbled forward. The scythe's head hammered into the back of Yang's, finally dropping her into the red. Blake's final dodge did the same a moment later.
Two buzzers sounded, announcing the end of the fight. That was it. Victory for the applicants against all odds.
Weiss felt a little numb but also humbled. As much as it annoyed her to admit, she could not deny these two were each beyond any student in first year. She belatedly joined the baffled applause while Ozpin himself congratulated the girls on their success.
After that was lunch break. Yang sadly gave her leader no time to process the defeat and her resulting disappointment; she dragged Ruby along with them. Selina did much the same with Lumina.
Once introductions were made, Selina poked her fellow faunus in the chest. "Now, what's with that Hikari thing?"
Lumina merely shrugged. "I needed to give them the name on my documentation, not the one I go by. I have never been called by that name before."
The commentary clearly confused Selina and Weiss felt a little befuddled as well, though she shrugged it off easier than her friend.
"It is aptly chosen," Weiss said in the end. Then she realised where that sentence was headed and stopped herself. Selina noticed and gave her a nudge, but she shook her head. "No, that would be rude. Either way, Penny, where is Ghost? I did not see him today."
"Drawing maps in our room," the other atlesean answered cheerfully. "He seemed to have fun, so I left him there."
That was that. While everyone else began to fall into conversation however, Lumina's attention focussed elsewhere.
"Excuse me," she murmured as she rose.
"You haven't eaten anything," Yang tried to stop her.
"I will not be long."
She strolled off and went right for what seemed to be Team CFVY; Velvet made herself a little smaller, clearly not looking forward to the confrontation.
Weiss was distracted from her observations when Blake tapped her shoulder. "What were you thinking earlier?"
Pinching the bridge of her nose, she attempted a flat stare. "Just an idle musing of mine which I realised would be quite inappropriate. While her name is apt, I am not certain what to make of the fact I meet a moth faunus whose name means 'light' and whose Semblance is based on it as well."
Cardin started to laugh in response while Blake bristled. Selina simply shrugged in response. "Yeah," she agreed, "that's kinda weird."
"Oh, not at all."
The unfamiliar, rich baritone cut through all conversation. Everyone turned toward the new voice and was taken aback; there, right in the seat Lumina just vacated, sat a man. Lanky, one may call him. About as tall as Cardin if not even larger, with fair skin and black hair. The red tips and his features appeared eerily similar to Ruby, who stared up in equal befuddlement. His eyes were a bright crimson, almost luminescent. He wore perfectly tailoured, scarlet robes.
"Wha-, who are you?" Selina demanded.
"And why do you look like Ruby?" Yang added, somewhere between accusing and wary.
The stranger's lips curled into a toothy smile. "Why, my dear Yang. I am certain you can think of a reason."
He chuckled over a joke only he was privy to, then inclined his head toward an equally clueless Ruby. "Though it is disappointing you of all people would not recognise me. It was you who shaped me into this form after all. You danced marvelously today."
His eyes began to glow as if for emphasis. They became intimidating scarlet bonfires, which in turn caused Ruby's eyes to widen.
"Wait," she said in disbelief. "Grimm?"
That was not exactly what Weiss expected. Her friends were similarly confused, though the now named Grimm simply grinned.
"Indeed, it is I," he confirmed. For some reason Ruby started to beam at him in return.
Selina interrupted their moment, clearly done with whatever performance this was. "...yeah, let's put that aside. What was that about Lumina?"
Her question coaxed a smile from Grimm, whyever one would name their child that. "Oh, it is quite simple," he explained with clear delight. "You have your order of events wrong with her. It is not that she wields light due to being a moth. She is a moth because she wields light."
"I do not see how this makes sense," Weiss interjected. If her dubious tone bothered him, he did not show any hint of it. In fact his features were worryingly still. Weiss felt smaller than she ever had when he looked at her.
"Because, as simply as that, moths have always coveted the light. They aspired to it long before they were moths, so much so that they came to resemble Her over time."
He left a pause to glance in Lumina's direction. She was talking at a slightly intimidated but mostly flummoxed Velvet.
"The Radiance."
Lumina's head snapped back their way in an instant. Everyone could tell her focus was solely on Grimm, who winked at her... and dispersed into crimson flame about as fast as she appeared by their side in a flash of light.
No one quite knew how to react to this; Lumina ran a hand through where he just was, only for crimson sparks to dance around her fingers.
Nora stared between the various oddities of the day. "Okay," she finally asked, "who was that guy?"
An awkward silence draped itself over them. Lumina stood silent, staring intently as if to make Grimm return by force of will alone. Ruby squirmed in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with the attention.
Selina proved more adept at reining in her curiousity than Weiss, for she changed the subject: "Whatever. What did you want from Velvet?"
A moment passed, then Lumina slumped back into her chair. "Her Semblance interested me. She wields it crudely but there is potential with her, so I offered advice."
So saying, she dug into her meal with haste. No more words were offered to anyone; Lumina vanished in a flash of light as soon as she was done. She planned to sunbathe for the rest of the day. The other fights did not interest her to begin with.
Yet once at the cliffside, she grimaced.
"Why did I even miss you?" she muttered to no one but herself. Unheard by merely human ears, Grimm's laughter echoed on the wind.
