Out of the Ashes

Welcome to Beacon (Part 1)

- 2 Years Later -

I sat by the large curved window, looking out at the city passing by excitedly. My ears twitched and my tail swayed, as if trying to mirror my excitement.

Since I'm a Faunus, most humans passed by without a second glance and many of the other Faunus seemed to be intimidated by me. Because of this, I decided to sit at a window booth by myself.

I yawned, leaning my head against the windows. I had, in a sudden wave of self-consciousness, scooted into the corner of the booth. I shuddered, watching the different people as they walked past the booth.

I was in a whole new setting, not the calm, knowing vibe of my village. I scooted back to the edge of the booth and looked around the ship. One person in particular caught my eye, a girl with short black hair that ended in red tips. I squinted, trying to get a better look at her.

She was obviously younger than usual, and her mannerisms further proved my point. I jumped, feeling the burning sensation of someone staring at me.

It was then that I noticed a slightly taller girl next to the red one staring at me intently. This girl had long, blonde hair and an almost biker-like style. "W-wow...pretty" I muttered to myself, staring at the blonde intently as she stared back. I felt my tail perk up and stiffen.

The red haired girl noticed me staring and looked straight at me. I inhaled sharply, her eyes seemed to cut straight through me. "Silver eyes..." I thought as I looked away, my face burning painfully.

I looked back up, but both girls were gone, I sighed, slightly disappointed that I didn't get a better look at the blonde girl.

I rested my head on my hand, in an attempt to soothe the sudden burning sensation in my cheeks.

~Timeskip (3rd person POV)~

After a short speech by Professor Goodwitch (and after you got over the embarrassment of screaming and clawing at the windows, because the Professor's hologram was "Stuck in the window!!") The airship landed. You walked off into the courtyard, set on taking a tour of the campus before initiation.

You quickly abandoned the idea when an explosion shook the ground, a large chunk of concrete flying past your head. "Huh?! What the fuck?!" You yelled, anger flaring out of your confusion. You stomped over to the small pillar of smoke. "Hey! Watch out! You could've killed-"

You stopped, the same red-haired girl that you'd had an extreme match of 'Try not to blink' with turned towards you "Oh! I'm so sorry!" You looked away, hoping she wouldn't recognize you "Oh no, it's okay..."

You turned on your heel, but you were too late. "Hey...aren't you the one that was screaming at the windows?" You turned around again and smiled. "Heh...yeah..." The other girl, the one dressed in all white raised an eyebrow at you. "Have you never seen a holographic window before?"

You rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly, your ears drooping slightly. "Actually, no. I came from a small...uh...farming town. We didn't exactly own the newest technology." Red laughed "Well, tech savvy or not, my name's Ruby. Nice to meet you, stranger" You nodded quickly and continued staring at her, in total awe of her silver eyes.

The girl with white hair cleared her throat. "Do you have a name?" You jumped, blushing in realization. "O-oh yeah! I'm (Y/n) (L/n)" You smiled again and looked at White.

"What about you? What's your name?" "I'm Wei-" "She's Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust company, and also queen of the world" Ruby interrupted, mocking Weiss' voice, earning a little giggle from you. "Shut up! I do not sound like that!"

"Excuse me.." You felt a tap on your shoulder, causing you to turn around. "Hm?" A girl, dressed in all black, held up a small container full of red dust. "Are you the one who dropped this?" You stared at the container blankly. "What is that?" Weiss quickly snatched the capsule from the girl in black. "I dropped that, thanks to a certain someone." She glared at Ruby, and Black rolled her eyes, turning to walk away.

"And you! (Y/n)!" Weiss pointed at you. "Hmm?" "How do you not know what dust is? Don't you need to use it to survive the Grimm?" You shrugged "I can transform myself into a lion, and so could the other hunters at my village, so it was easy to take down the occasional Grimm that attacked." Ruby and Weiss stared at you with shocked looks. "You can turn into a lion?A full lion? Is that your Faunus trait?" Ruby asked, her eyes wide with excitement. You nodded, "Yeah, it's a semblance that's been passed down for many generations" "Wow! That must be really fun! Imagine that!" Ruby yelled as Weiss rolled her eyes and started to walk away, her butler rolling a cart full of luggage behind her.

You smiled apologetically "Well, I'd better get going, see you around!" Ruby waved enthusiastically as you walked away, set on starting your tour of Beacon.

~Timeskip~

After the vague speech given by Ozpin and a day of exploring the campus of Beacon, you were extremely tired. You laid out your bedroll, put down your bag and started to undress yourself.

You heard gasps as you absent-mindedly pulled your shirt up over your head "Ahh! (Y/n)! What are you doing?" You turned towards Ruby's voice and cocked your head at her. "Huh? I'm changing into my pajamas, of course...?"

Ruby covered your partly exposed chest with her hood, her face matching the crimson color of the fabric. "G-good thing we're in the girl's wing, or you'd never live that down" You groaned as Ruby forced you to change in privacy.

"Damn you Ruby, I'll change anywhere I please" You muttered to yourself, still confused as to why you couldn't change yourself where you wanted.