I woke up in a daze. Hunger pulsated in my whole body, anxiety was flaring through the whole campus, which, in turn, made me yearn for any type of food. I threw on the uniform in my dresser, and blearily made my way to the dining facility that was offered to the school. A large hall filled with many tables and students chattering loudly. Anxiety pulsed through the whole building. My head pounded with fury and hunger as I shakily made my way through the line. The voice in my head fought to get out, but I resisted it as best I could. My vision became a tunnel, I grabbed anything and everything food wise, walked through the hall and sat down at an empty table. I shoveled the food into my mouth, which caused the voice and my headache to calm down a little bit, but each conversation carried with it a small flare of anxiety. Of course it would, it's the first day for so many first years, and first day back for regular school-goers. I blinked blearily as my eyes cleared and I noticed people staring at me. A lot of people. I looked at myself in my camera on my scroll, and saw I was COVERED in meat grease. I looked to my tray and saw a mess of slop. Eggs mixed with turkey, beef, pork, and all manner of meats which most of it ended up in my mouth or on my cheeks. I coughed loudly, grabbed a napkin from the dispenser on the table, and cleaned myself up. Luckily, I managed to miss getting my uniform dirty. I sighed loudly, and finished up eating as quietly and nonchalantly as I possibly could. It was hard. Heads and eyes kept turning towards me, which I attempted to ignore. Shade's voice came through clearly as I stood up and cleaned up my tray.
"We could feed on them, y'know?" Shade proposed.
"And become an Atlas plaything? No thanks." I muttered.
"You look crazy talking to yourself." Shade taunted. I ignored his comments and pulled out my schedule on my Scroll. "What's first, Combat or something boring?" After a few seconds of scrolling I found out I was with Group A of the first years. Professor Port... Grimm Anatomy.
"Doesn't seem so bad." I muttered. "Let's go." I followed the directions on my scroll and arrived to class ten minutes early. The class was slowly trickling in, and I sat on the second row, next to the wall. I leaned up against it. Ten minutes passed quickly and the bell rang. Professor Port stood up and began to walk to the front of the class.
"Welcome first years!" Professor Port spoke. His name was a good description of him. He was a portly middle aged man. Red cheeks, bushy eyebrows which covered his eyes, a large mustache and well groomed - if outdated - hair, all gray. He wore a crimson and gold trimmed uniform, which mimicked a navy officer of the Valerian fleet. Must have been a sailor. "I welcome you all to my class. Your heads are empty but will soon be crammed with knowledge of all walking creatures that pose a threat to you on your missions!" Port explained. "Now.. let's start with attendance!"
The next few boring minutes dragged on. Until RWBY and JNPR were called. They were absent.
"Interesting.." Professor Port said. "Well, education doesn't wait for the tardy-" The professor was cut off by eight bodies piling into the room. RWBY and JNPR arrived.
"S-sorry Professor! We were just unpacking and lost track of time and-" Ruby stammered, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. Before she could continue, Professor Port held a finger out.
"It's alright, Miss Rose, please just take your seats and we will continue!" Port exclaimed. I watched Ruby and her team take a seat a row in front of me, team JNPR sat in the open seats next to me. The class continued.
"Monsters, deeeemons, prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Aha!" Professor Port Exclaimed. I internally rolled my eyes, and Shade begged to get out. "Ahhh... And you shall too upon graduating from this prestigious academy. Now, as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsman!" He pointed to himself, puffing his chest out. "Huntresses.." He winked at Yang who rolled her eyes and looked around awkwardly. "Individuals who have sword to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"
"Ayy yeah!" A student in the back cheered, standing up holding his hand up excitedly. When no one else joined him, he embarrassedly and timidly sat back down in his seat.
"That is what you are training to become.. but first... a story." Professor Port picked up as if he hadn't been interrupted. It was at about this time that I decided to tune him out and doodle. I was never good in the schools I attended, which weren't the best anyways, but they got me to a basic knowledge of the world and history around me. As I was thinking about my past, my surroundings became dull as I thought about the previous things that had happened to me.
[ Flashback, five years ago Y/N POV, age 12 ]
I woke up. Another day in paradise. I groaned as I threw my legs over the edge of my mattress to touch the ground. I slept in an attic room, on a small sleeping mat, which could have probably been used as a mattress in a baby's crib. It probably was. I stretched, yawned, and stood up. My room didn't have much. It wasn't painted, in fact, it was just the wood paneling of the skeleton of the house. No posters decorated the walls, there were no records, cd's, instruments, staples of the average twelve year old boy. In fact, there wasn't anything except for my lame mattress, a few blankets, and a dresser full of clothes a little too small for my stature. I looked out the one circular window in my room that overlooked the front lawn. My mother and father were sat out there enjoying their cups of coffee like normal. I jumped back as a crow jumped from the tree next to our house right onto the rim of my window. I fell onto my butt, but recovered quickly. The bird sat there, almost like it was watching me. I shrugged and made my way downstairs and quietly as I could. I had school in a few minutes and if I slipped out the back maybe my parents wouldn't make me-
"Hey!" My father yelled, walking into the house. The front door creaked as he entered and saw me throw my backpack on, hand on the doorknob of the back door. "You forgot to clean our dishes, you pest." He pointed to a few dirty plates and bowls on the dining table.
"If I don't leave now I'll be late." I said simply.
"I don't give a shit! Now clean them!" My dad said. He flung a mug in my direction but I ran quickly and avoided it. I grabbed the dishes from the table and started hand washing them. "And clean up my mug too, you ungrateful little bastard."
I sighed as I watched the clock on the wall tick slowly past the start of school. I finished the dishes as fast as I could, and hastily swept up the debris of the mug. Dumping the remnants of the mug in the trash, I left out the back door, hopped the fence, and sprinted to school before my parents could dish anything else on me.
Hours passed in school, most people seemed to ignore me or avoid me, but some stared. In awe, hatred, or sadness I couldn't tell, because I always kept my head down. Bruises scattered my body some on my face, and some hidden by my clothes. My shoulder-length black hair (If I said something else in the past, I'm retconning it lol) kept most of my emotions hidden from the people who stared. I tried to ignore everything, but it was hard. The day finally ended, and I left school. Instead of returning immediately home, I took my time. I stopped by the river nearby, my favorite spot other than the blacksmith's shop. It being a Monday, I knew Scar wouldn't want me in. That's when the guards came around for weapon repairs and Scar didn't want any distractions, especially unofficial journeyman running around.
I skipped a few rocks, dreading the future that awaited me at home. I wanted to be loved by my parents, after all they were all I had, but they treated me as though I was a burden to them. I sighed loudly, throwing a handful of dirt into the river and falling onto my back. I closed my eyes and let a few tears fall from my eyes. Hatred. I felt hate burn inside me for a split second before I thought about my mother. A few gleaming days every once in a blue moon, she would actually treat me like her offspring. I yearned for those days but... I sat up and rubbed the dirt and grass from my back. I walked home, reflecting on my emotions, hate especially.
Hate... It would appear every once in a while. Out of nowhere like a snake in the grass, and bite the rest of my emotions. I felt the hate surge for my parents, for my life, and for whatever cruel God or Gods did this to me. I was positive others had it a lot worse, but I didn't care for them. Not in the moment the hate took over. I felt only anger and an urge to fight, to kill. I always tried to bury the hate. My thoughts ended quickly as I tripped. I caught myself before I fell, and looked up. I arrived to my destination. My house, if you could call it that. I wiped my face of any emotions and tears and walked through the front door. No sign of life. That was good. I climbed the stairs quietly and ended up in my desolate room. I sat down in my room, pulled my school work from my bag, and quietly did it, forgetting about my hatred, and tried to move on.
[Flashback end]
I awoke with a start. The bell rang and I looked around, everyone was getting out of their seats and leaving. The emotional pull from everyone must have taken a toll on my energy. I stood up, stretched, and left with the crowd. I went through the rest of my day at a bit of a drag. I ignored the world around me and tried to recover from the nap I had just accidentally took. I rubbed my face in an attempt to stay awake in Professor Peachs' class. I was bumped on the side of my arm, by Ruby. Her team was sat to my left. I blinked a few times as she showed me a doodle she drew. It was a drawing of Ruby and I, fighting Grimm. Me with a dagger, and her with Crescent Rose. Beowolves surrounded us. I smiled and gave her a subtle thumbs up. She blushed a little bit, folded the paper, wrote something on the front and slid it towards me. I took it covertly, and read what she and written on the front.
'Hang out with JNPR and Us in the common room this weekend?' I thought. I pondered the question, mulling it over a bit. A little bit of hanging out with people couldn't hurt. I looked over to Ruby who was pushing her pointer fingers together awkwardly her cheeks slightly puffed out. I nodded and she smiled happily. The rest of the day continued like normal, I ate alone in a corner of the cafeteria and mostly kept to myself. I didn't want the feeling of hunger and hate to take over.
__________
A/N
Hey all.
I don't know where to put this, other than here so I'll go into a bit of a rant.
Rest in Peace Rooster Teeth.
I remember growing up with RT, watching the Red Like Roses trailer literally hours after it first launched on YouTube. I was hooked. I liked Red Vs. Blue a lot, and was excited to see a first real show come from them. I watched the podcasts, I bought merch, I watched AH, Funhaus, CowChop, and my biggest ambition was to move to America and work for RT... and I slowly watched it all die. I personally stopped watching RWBY at Volume 6, I hated Volume 4 and 5 and what they had done to the show, but I decided to give 6 a chance. They ruined it and I stopped. I moved on from RT as they slowly grew different from what I'd known. Different isn't always bad, but they just didn't make me laugh like they used to. They felt less tight knit and friendly and more corporate. I hoped the best for their company and their progression, but I drifted away from it.
Now hearing the news... It's kind of bitter sweet. It was a long time coming, sadly. I pray for the people who worked there, that they may get through this upcoming rough period in their lives. Unemployment is hard, especially in this economy. I never actually imagined Rooster Teeth would end up getting shut down, and now knowing Monty's show will end... it's sad. I personally believe his show ended with him, but it was nice to see people put effort into something someone loved so much. It was an amazingly beautiful thing, even if it was a butchered animal.
I don't know why I'm writing this, and I know most of you don't care enough to read this, but I just wanted to throw this out there. I loved RT, RWBY, and AH. Hopefully everyone will let this chapter end, and RWBY finally rest.
I'll keep writing, I'm not dead, I was just having severe writers block.
Thanks for reading.
It's been an honor, RT.