Never Change

Chapter 11

"A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom... But about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression."

"And as you all are well aware that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color."

Huh. He'd never thought about that. So all the people's names were colors in one language or another. That was... weird.

Wouldn't there be a limited number of names? Then again, it couldn't be possible that everyone was named after a color...

Ozpin's voice drew him away from his thoughts.

"It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity, through diversity."

"As I have said, today we stand together, united... but this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, huntsmen and huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsman or huntress, on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week.

"But no matter which path you choose... remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

Well Ozpin certainly knew how to give a speech. The speech he'd given at the beginning of the semester was... dreary at best. This one, though, was inspired by the confidence he had in them. That was reassuring, at least.

"So, Percy, the headmaster gave us permission to take on a higher level mission?" Weiss quirked a perfect eyebrow at him, as if daring him to lie.

"Yep," he said, popping the p.

"Express permission?"

"Yep!"

"And you're absolutely certain of that."

"Oh lay off him, would you?"

Surprisingly, it was Blake of all people who came to his defense.

Weiss only huffed instead of pressing the issue, and Percy's lips quirked upwards in amusement.

"Search and destroy?"

"Hell yeah!" Yang pumped her fist, "way better than some recon mission or diplomatic mission."

They all shuddered simultaneously. That would be catastrophic.

"High Grimm activity, only suitable for higher year teams. Quadrant 5, Mountain Glenn. Mission start: ASAP."

Percy narrowed his eyes in thought. Mountain Glenn... where had he heard that name before?

"Well, looks like we found our mission!" Ruby commented excitedly.

Percy typed his team's name in, half expecting for it to be denied.

It passed through, to his slight relief, and Weiss' nearly inaudible gasp.

"Come on, let's head to the docking bays!"

The corner of Percy's lip twitched upward in slight amusement as the overenergetic Ruby started skipping happily.

Perhaps this mission would go just as planned.

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"Velvet? Are you okay?" Blake asked the rabbit faunus, who turned around.