“Afternoon.”

Headmaster Ozpin sat languidly behind his desk.  Written on his face and resonant in his voice was the vestige of  resignation, though such a display of fatigue was not unwarranted.  No day carried with it more tumult, more upset, or more tremendous upheavals than school's first day, particularly to the man who arbitrated it all.  Forgeries, injuries, second chances, mysterious disappearances, and more all combined to give the silver-haired man an iron-crushing headache, but not all matters today were destined to wear away at his sanity.  Before him stood a trace of hopeful optimism: three transfer students about to begin the most important of their lives so far.

Cerulean Sebastian, clad in black, wielding blades below the shoulders, hailing from mistral, and of unabashed demeanor.  Krysanthe, last name unknown, a previous tenant of Vacuo and a boot user, strong of body and stronger of will.  Ebon Umbranox, from a locale as of yet undisclosed, master of drones and a warrior marked by pride.

“I'll keep this brief.  You three come from diverse places and diverse backgrounds, but now that you are here in my academy you must look forward.  Certainly, the past is immutable, but you must focus on the present to attain a future.  You will be held up to the same standards as every other student, and over the course of education, become no less than hunters worthy of taking on this world.”

Looking down at his scroll, Ozpin shuffled some icons around and before sending them off.  He slipped a trio of student scrolls from a desk drawer and pushed them toward the new arrivals.  “Every detail you need, including locations, identities, and faculties have been given to you.  While we have taken the liberty of breaking the ice for you, it is up to you three to forge the bonds that will last you for the next four years.  I'll give you a quick rundown of your situations.”

“Cerulean, you have been assigned to the newly-reformed team RCJM – Reclaim, captained by Rayna Bryson.  Your teammates are Jack Orpheus and Mokuren Sabella.  I hope you find them capable, reliable allies.  If you are interested, more information regarding the previous members of teams JRVR and GJMM will be rendered to you at a later date.”

“Krysanthe, your station is team KESS – Kiss.  Following a revelation concerning the background of the previous team leader Seilber Vulpez, she has stepped down, and none other than you will be filling her place.  Though you are new here, we are confident that your skills -as proved by your file- make you a fitting substitute for Seilber and a fitting role model for Sepia.  It is your job to reunite that team the best way you know how.  Question my judgment if you must, but I trust that you will abide by it nonetheless.”

“Ebon, you, too, are joining team KESS.  Our last eyewitness report of Mr. Ineko Irandi indicated that he fell off a waterfall several hundred miles away from here on a Survival class went sour.  Naturally a rescue team has been dispatched and honed in on him in short order, but as pronounced by the field medic his injuries were too severe and the damage to his cybernetics too extensive to allow him anything but the relief of hospital treatment.  As such, you are taking his place on KESS.  Do not think of yourself as a mere substitute, however.  We know you have the power to...what's the phrase nowadays?  Rock them.  Do so.  Exhibit a will powerful enough to catapult your team to number-one.”

“Dismissed.”

-=-=-

[center][b][color=007FFF]Abel Fulgurate[/color][/b][/center]
[i]Learn from mistakes of others?[/i]

That wasn't what Abel thought.  As expressed by the besuited mafiosos of the previous century, the theme of Mr. Albion's fable more closely seemed to Abel  to be [i]know when you're beat.[/i]  Sure, the fox learned something, but mere seconds before an ally had been slaughtered by a powerful evil that could not be reasoned with.  The story echoed the plight of the hunters and huntresses of Beacon, Abel reasoned, and if none of the people around him developed the skill of knowing when to give up, their careers wouldn't amount to a stain on the pages of history.

The remainder of the hour slouched groggily by.  Although he was still breathing heavily from the entire Survival class's near-death experience in the forest, the guardian was able to work through the assignment pretty easily.  Words had always been preferable to numbers for him, and a long time atop walls with mostly books for company left Abel appreciative of their art.  

When the bells finally announced the end of sixth period, Abel bid farewell to Robert and Mr. Albion and made straight for the dorms, though his sense of direction might as well have been as soggy as his coat, for he chanced to end up back in Combat class.  Realizing his craving for a little excitement, Abel casually entered and seated himself in the bleachers.  It took only a moment to discover the intensity of what was going on in the ring: a full-out team battle.  At first the raging confrontation looked to be a three-versus-three, but a quick glance upward determined that was not the case.  

On one side, the monitors displayed the faces of the unassuming but well-built team that had assisted him and Sapphire in the initiation ceremony against an Ursa: PHGM, Pan, Hansen, Gretchen, and Mary.  Across from them were four that Abel didn't recognize: a scruffy-haired blonde boy with a nervous expression, a ditzy-looking girl wielding a hammer, a tough-looking redhead that for some reason brought up the memory of breakfast, and a dark-haired boy with startlingly pink eyes.  The first member of this team JNPR -and the leader, which made it more humiliating- had his face grayed out, and when Abel scanned the battleground he saw him lying on the ground and drooling, a sizable bump on his head.

The other missing person resolved herself by suddenly becoming visible again directly behind the redhead, who was currently engaged with Hansen.  As Abel silently marveled over the thought of an invisibility semblance, he watches as the siblings Hansen and Gretchen attacked the girl simultaneously, using a well-coordinated combination of bone halberd and burning cattleprod.  It was with ease, however, that the other girl knelt and met both attacks with her shield, poked Hansen in the foot, swept Gretchen's legs beneath her, and then rose in a single fluid motion.  Before the brother and sister could fully scramble to her feet, the girl took their heads and slammed them together, cutting their aura levels to red.  

Meanwhile, young, innocent-looking Pan had summoned his shadow, and the two were fighting the hammer-wielding chick as one.  They constantly surrounded her, striking quickly from both sides, and not allowing her the space necessary to swing her massive mallet with enough force.  With a loopy smile on her face, however, the girl raised her weapon and smashed it into the ground instead, causing an explosion that blew both Pan and his shadow apart.  The phantasm vanished, his master's aura level reduced to critical.

“Break!”

Mary and the pink-eyed boy, currently engaged in a rather feeble fistfight, eased off.  The familiar tones of Professor Goodwitch resounded across the arena.  “That's three out of four down for team Pilgrim!  Juniper takes the match!”

It was at that moment that the guardian discovered his favorite coat pleasantly dry.  Nodding in grim approval, Abel vacated the combat hall for the second time that day, and allowed himself no distractions this time in his quest to return to bed.