The Bird and the Garden 2: Restart!

Chapter 4: The Initiation

Sasha gestured towards her outfit. "No other Kingdom's got clothes like these! I'm from Vacuo. Middle of the desert, small village."

Y/N had never met someone from Vacuo before, and he was wondering if everyone from Vacuo were giants. Sasha definitely gave that impression. Sasha seemed keen on getting to know him better - she was his new partner, after all. "So what's your Semblance?"

"I can heal myself really fast. There's a few limitations, though. Actually, a lot of limitations..." Y/N felt a bit embarrassed. "Pretty weak Semblance compared to my siblings. What about yours?"

Sasha beamed, clearly proud of hers. "I have a strength Semblance! When I get upset, I get stronger."

Y/N was beginning to grow more comfortable around Sasha. She was intimidating at first, with Y/N having to strain his neck to look her in the eyes. But her friendly attitude was one he could grow attached to. Sasha seemed curious. "You mentioned siblings? Are they at Beacon?"

Y/N nodded. "All three of them. There's Yang - you might get along with her. She has a strength Semblance too. There's also Vao; he's uh... A kleptomaniac alcoholic... He's got a teleporting Semblance. And then..." He trailed off. Sasha looked at him, mild concern spreading across her smiling face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... My little sister, Ruby. She's got a speed Semblance. She's a bit... Harsh, to say the least."

That was the understatement of the century. Y/N wondered if Ruby was just naturally violent. He didn't really like that; he wanted the old Ruby back. The one who once killed a fly and then cried about it for thirty minutes straight. Well, maybe not the crying part.

Sasha let out a hearty laugh. "Hey, I'm sure she's nice once she warms up to people! I try not to judge people based on what they tell me."

"That's a good quality," Y/N complimented. As they walked, they began to crack jokes, talking about their anticipation for what they might learn in classes in the near future.

...

Vao was slacking off again. What was new?

I'll tell you what was new. The location he was doing it in. He was as drunk as a skunk, dancing his way through the forest with a stupid grin on his girly face, swinging his weapon at anything that moved. Grimm, animal, he even attacked a few trees just because he could. Chaos was Vao's specialty, and anything he could do, he would do. A lone Beowolf trotted out of the trees - only to be blown to pieces by Vao's rocket launcher.

"Woohoo! Ten points! Ten points!" Vao cheered, swaying in place and stumbling about. He turned around, spotting three people standing behind him. He pointed his finger dizzily. "Eh... Who are you guys...?"

"I am a girl," the three strangers said in unison. "And there is only one of me, ma'am."

Vao was severely intoxicated. In reality, only one person was standing before him. A short girl with pitch black hair and bright green eyes. In her hand a paintbrush was gently clenched. She tilted her head, a blank expression worn on her face. "Are you alright?"

Vao shook his head like a dog trying to dry itself, making a mess of his long hair. "I'm fine... I've just been drinking a lil' bit. My name's Vao. I'm a dude, by the way. Not a ma'am."

The weird woman seemed to think about his words before answering. "My name is Verde Forest. You shouldn't be drinking here; there's Grimm about."

Vao suddenly looked very cross. "Oh, great. Another one to jump down my back about my hobby."

Verde sat down, patting the ground next to her. "Please sit, Mr. Vao."

"Just call me Vao. I'm not really that big on manners," he growled. But he still sat down. She seemed nice, if a bit blank. He leaned back on his hands. "So why are we doing this? I want to get this initi-thingy over with so I can go to Junior's."