The Courtyard
Ruby, Kaito, and Yang walked out of the ship alongside the other new students, following the paved path toward the front of Beacon Academy. The school rose ahead of them — towers and archways catching the afternoon light, broad and unhurried and enormous.
Ruby & Yang: Wow…
Kaito: …Whoa.
Yang: The view from Vale's got nothing on this!
Ruby went briefly chibi — starry-eyed and floating — at the sight of the other students and their weapons.
Ruby: Ohmygosh, sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword (Yang grabbed her by the hood and pulled her firmly back into realistic proportions)
Ow! Ooww!
Yang: Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons.
Kaito: Just weapons, she says.
Ruby: Yeah how dare she.
Kaito: Oh, she dared. (He snapped his fingers in solidarity.)
Yang: Okay, I keep forgetting you just go with the flow like that, Kaito. (beat) But what I'm actually saying is shouldn't you be happy with your weapon, sis?
Ruby: (transforming Crescent Rose into scythe form) Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better.
Yang: (playfully pulling Ruby's hood down over her face) Ruby, come on — why don't you go make some friends of your own?
Ruby: (pushing it back up) But… why would I need friends if I have you? And Kaito?
Kaito nodded solemnly.
Yang: Well (a group of students appeared from nowhere, surrounded her, and the whole lot of them swept off down the road in a single cheerful wave) my friends are here. Gotta go catch up. 'Kay, see ya, bye!
que Kaito Aura farming watching what happens next)
Ruby: (spinning, dizzy-eyed) Wait, where are you going?! Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms? (stopping, still reeling) I don't know what I'm doing…
She walked backwards directly into a luggage cart. Cases scattered across the courtyard. Someone was standing over her immediately.
Weiss: What are you doing?!
Ruby: (scrambling up) Uh sorry!
Weiss: Sorry?! Do you have any idea what damage you could have caused? (snatching the case from Ruby's hands and snapping it open to reveal its glittering contents) This is Dust mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!
Ruby: Uuuhhhh…
Weiss: What are you, brain-dead? (holding out a vial of red Dust) Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy! Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!
Ruby, who had been receiving increasing amounts of Dust directly to her face throughout this speech, sneezed and produced a full explosion of flame, snowflakes, and electricity. The vial spun through the air and landed at the feet of Blake Belladonna, who picked it up without looking away from her book, noted the Schnee Dust Company logo, and glanced over at the scene.
Weiss: Unbelievable. This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about! Ugh you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?
Kaito: That's enough. (.) My friend made a mistake and she apologised. And you really should have checked that your Dust was properly sealed before carrying it through a crowded courtyard isn't that right, princess?
His Tome was filled with , pleasant mockery.
Blake: (approaching, off to the side) It's heiress, actually. (She held up the recovered vial as Ruby and Weiss both turned to look.) Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world.
Weiss: (smiling smugly) Finally! Some recognition.
Blake: The same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners.
Weiss: Wha — how dare
the nerve (she closed the distance to Blake's face, snatched the vial back, and stormed off with her retinue behind her) Ugh!
Ruby: (calling after her) I promise I'll make this up to you!
She sighed, watching both of them go, then turned to find Blake already walking away in the other direction. Ruby stood alone for a moment — then collapsed flat on her back on the courtyard stones.
Ruby: …Welcome to Beacon.
A shadow fell over her. She looked up.
Jaune: (extending a hand) Hey. I'm Jaune.
Ruby: (taking it, standing) Ruby. (a beat) Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?
Kaito: Whoa, Ruby. Smooth.
The Walking Path
Beacon's interior opened around them — scenic trees, arching stonework, a winding road alongside a quiet river. Ruby, Kaito, and Jaune walked it together, Jaune already on the defensive.
Jaune: All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a far more common problem than people give it credit for!
Kaito: I concur, my good sir. Lucky for me, I don't have it.
Ruby: (laughing) Look, I'm sorry — Vomit Boy was just the first thing that came to mind.
Jaune: Oh, yeah? What if I called you Crater Face?
Kaito: (immediately) Hey — he's right. That is actually a very good nickname. (He reached over and ruffled her hair.)
Ruby: Hey! That explosion was an accident!
Jaune: Well — the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it!
Ruby: (skeptical) Do they?
Kaito: I bet they will.
Jaune: They will! I I hope they will. My mom always says… never mind.
Ruby giggled. A short, slightly awkward silence settled.
Ruby: So I've got this thing! (She pulled out Crescent Rose and drove it into the ground.)
Jaune: Whoa is that a scythe?
Ruby: It's also a customisable high-impact sniper rifle!
Jaune: A wha…?
Ruby & Kaito: (in unison) It's also a gun.
Jaune: Oh. That's cool!
Ruby: So what have you got?
Jaune: Oh! I, uh (unsheathes a blade) got this sword!
Ruby: Ooooohh!
Jaune: Yeah, and a shield too! (He raised his arm, and the scabbard expanded outward into a broad metal disc then retracted, then expanded again, then retracted once more, before finally settling back onto his belt at reduced size.) The shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just… put it away.
Ruby: But wouldn't it weigh the same?
Jaune: (quietly) Yeah. It does.
Ruby: (giggling) Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons so I probably went a little overboard designing mine.
Jaune: Wait you made that?!
Ruby: Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?
Jaune: It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war.
Ruby: That sounds more like a family heirloom to me! (laughs) Well, I like it. Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days.
Jaune: (sheathing the blade) Yeah… the classics.
Ruby: So why did you help me back there? In the courtyard?
Jaune: Eh why not? My mom always says strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.
Kaito: With that attitude, I'd be worried about you getting kidnapped.
Jaune face fell a little
Ruby: Kaito. Be nice. (to Jaune, then glancing around) Do you have any idea where we're actually going?
Jaune: Oh, I don't know i was following you. (looking around) You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some sort of recognisable landmark? Is that… is that a no?
Ruby: (laughing) That's a no.
Kaito: (exhaling through his nose, somewhere between fond and exasperated) Man. Beacon is going to be so fun.
Ruby: Kaito, it's not funny you can sense everything, so just lead us there, Mister Six Eyes.
Kaito: I will never know why I told you how any of that works.
Ruby: (smugly) Puppy dog eyes.
Kaito: …Puppy dog eyes.
He turned them both in the correct direction and walked. Ruby and Jaune followed, and somewhere above them Beacon's towers caught the last of the afternoon light, indifferent to the fact that none of its newest students had any idea where they were going.