Saffron yawned wide, covering her mouth out of pure reflex, as she pressed herself to the glass. The Atlas airbus was freezing, and she couldn't wait to get outside to what she saw ahead of her:

Shade.

She really was tired; she'd stayed up all night last night, unable to sleep out of pure anticipation. And now it was happening! She'd never [i]dreamed[/i] that she'd get to see a Huntress academy in person, much less attend one! Barely withholding a manic giggle, she pressed herself to the glass even harder. At long last, she'd escaped the crushing, stifling cold--both metaphorical and literal--of Atlas, and now she had a whole life spread out ahead of her. And Shade was the first stop on that life. She couldn't wait! It was all she could do to not jump up and down in the cabin as she left her sad old life behind her.

As the shuttle landed, she dashed over to the door, hopping in place a little bit as she waited mpatiently for the thing to open. And when it finally did, it wasn't even fully open before she couldn't take the suspense and [i]waiting[/i], and Flickered out. The heat of Vacuo rolled over her, and she smiled hugely as her feet touched the ground about ten feet from the shuttle, looking around at the myriad people disembarking from all walks of life and regions of Remnant. There were the Atlesians, of course: tall, cold, usually arrogant, ninety percent of them definitely had sticks up their asses. [color=#f4c430][i]They really like big weapons, don't they?[/i][/color] she thought, making sure that both pieces of Checkmate were safely tucked into the fancy orange sash around her waist. She'd worn her nicest clothes today, and she hoped that the short, sleeveless cheongsam, black with brilliant orange trim, would make a better impression than her usual sweatshirt. [color=#f4c430][i]Not that I'll be wearing that much here,[/i][/color] she thought, smiling even wider. She wasn't really even conscious of the fact that her tail was swishing back and forth excitedly until it nearly clipped a tall Mistralese.

"[color=#f4c430]Sorry![/color]" she exclaimed, spinning and skipping away from him before a response could be made. Speaking of the Mistralese, there were some of them unloading too, though it looked like fewer to her. [color=#f4c430][i]Maybe it's too far away,[/i][/color] she thought. She saw one or two more cheongsams among them--it was, after all, a Mistral fashion first and foremost. She threw the whole crowd a cheeky wave as they disembarked, all the while walking backwards towards the gate to Shade. There were the Vacuan natives, of course. They were usually distinguishable by how at-ease they seemed in the weather, and what kind of clothing they wore to deal with the harsh climate (to most people) of their homeland. Saffron laughed out loud. Harsh climate? This was great! She felt so alive!

And then there was the kingdom of Vale, and--

A guitar riff [i]ripped[/i] through the air, and Saffron's mouth dropped open as she looked for the culprit. Standing halfway between the dock and the gate was a very brown-looking girl, a white tee and tan shorts clearly exposing her faunus tail as she hunched her shoulders, seeming very nervous. A [i]massive[/i] smile split Saffron's face, and she darted over to the girl, grabbing her hands in her own.

"[color=#f4c430]That was awesome![/color]"