Chapter 2

Welcome to Beacon

The day that all the new students arrived was always the noisiest, most chaotic day of the year. People were running around trying to find their friends, or trying to explore as much as they could before the meeting, while at the same time not giving even a modicum of effort into containing their excitement. And there was always the one student that would vomit immediately after exiting a ship. However, as much as Galen thought he had known about this day beforehand, it was a totally different experience to be a part of it rather than just a spectator like in previous years. He was actually experiencing a rare moment of unsureness. He didn't have any friends other than a few that were already attending the school...and that was just because he was always around. He'd have to try and talk to some of these people at some point, but so far he's just been walking by them all without even making eye contact. Galen knew their gazes were drawn to him despite him trying to blend in...he could feel it. How somebody dressed in all black could draw so much attention was beyond him. Perhaps they noticed the retractable sword hilts hanging off of his belt on either side of his body. Or maybe they thought he was a second or third year student, which wouldn't be surprising since he did look a bit older than he actually was. Either way, something was attracting their attention to him. What is it about me that these people find so interesting? He thought to himself before coming to an abrupt halt as someone stepped in front of him.

"Dude! That is an awesome jacket! Is that your emblem on the back?" asked the overly excited blonde kid now standing directly in front of him.

Oh. It's the coat. Of course it's the coat. Galen almost rolled his eyes. He had put on the jacket that Glynda had given him when he turned seventeen. It was a waist-length, black jacket with a strap belt along the bottom that was not done up, but rather hanging just slightly down below his waist. He didn't usually do up his jacket unless he was in combat, when he didn't want it flailing around and getting in his way. It's collar stood up a bit taller than most, almost reaching his jawline on the sides and curving around to cover the back of his neck. The most prominent feature was the red, double dragon emblem stitched across the back, reaching slightly more than shoulder blade to shoulder blade. It was something that Galen had been doodling for years, and Glynda had decided that it should be his personal emblem. It was a good thing he agreed to it as well, because she wasn't really giving him any choice in the matter. All that along with the red highlights throughout the jacket did kind of make him stand out.

"Thank you. And yes, that is my emblem" Galen answered the blonde. "The name's Galen" he introduced himself as he held out his hand.

"Sweet! I'm Nicoult, but you can call me Nic" the blonde replied, shaking Galen's hand.

Galen pulled the left side of his mouth up in a half smile as they shook hands. This is the part of meeting new people that he hated...what is he supposed to say now? They exchanged names, but now he can't think of anything to say that wouldn't seem random or forced. He almost let out a sigh of relief when Nic took it upon himself to continue the conversation.

"So, what are those things you've got there?" he said, pointing to the contraptions hanging from Galen's belt. "I mean, I assume they're collapsible swords of some sort...but is that all they are, or do they do anything awesome?"

Galen took one of the items in question off of his belt and held it between them. He flicked his wrist and the blade shot out to full length from within the hilt. It was a long, thin blade, but it was exceptionally strong. "Yeah, they can do a bit more" Galen began. "They can connect at the base of the hilts to become...well, a double-bladed sword, essentially. When apart, they can transform into pistols." he explained.

"How are they able to do all of that?" Nic gaped at the weapon.

Galen shrugged, "I had some assistance in building them. I pretty much just described what I wanted, and we made it work. I know more about how to use them than the specifics on how they function".

"So they basically make no sense" Nic smirked.

"Pretty much" Galen chuckled along with the blonde for a moment. This encounter hadn't actually been too bad, surprisingly. Maybe he'd find himself on the same team as this guy, and they'd end up getting along. He knew it wasn't very likely though. Even he didn't know how Ozpin was forming teams this year, and with all of the new students, the odds of being teamed with this one guy he'd met so far were pretty slim. Galen placed his weapon back in it's place before turning back to Nic.

"So, Nic, what kind of weapon do you-" Galen started only to be interrupted by a loud, explosion-like sound. They both looked over in the direction the sound came from, to find two girls covered in soot and what looked like dust.

"Looks like someone's starting the year off with a bang" Nic joked, turning back to Galen who had his eyebrow raised with a deadpan look on his face. "Yeah, like you thought I was going to let that one get away" Nic laughed.

Galen smiled and shook his head, looking back to where the explosion had happened. "Well, what do you say we head over there and see what happened?" Galen asked, already starting to make his way to the small crater that was now in front of the school. Nic jogged for a second to catch up, and then walked beside him.

When they were almost there, they noticed that one of the girls was storming away from the scene. Galen recognized her as Weiss Schnee. He had seen her once before, but never actually talked to her. He was considering stopping her to ask what had happened, but after seeing the look on her face as she stomped in their general direction, he decided it may not be a good idea.

"So, I'm just going to let this one pass and find out from someone else. How about you?" Galen turned to Nic.

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing" the blonde responded. "After all, we wouldn't want her to explode on us!" he added.

"Excuse me?!" the two guys heard a very angry, feminine voice shout.

Galen and Nic stopped dead in their tracks before Galen leaned over to talk quietly to the blonde. "Alright, I'm going to pretend I don't know you. Good luck" he said before looking back up at the approaching girl.

"Yeah, I understand. Save yourself buddy" Nic nodded, accepting his fate of being the punching bag for an angry heiress.

Galen quickly left Nic's side and proceeded to the site of the incident. Just as he was about to get there, he saw a tall blonde guy offer the second girl a hand, as another black haired girl walked away from them. He immediately recognized the girl being helped up as Ruby from the previous night. I am literally not surprised in the slightest Galen internally sighed. The girl gets accepted early the day before school starts, and less than twenty-four hours later she's blown a crater in the courtyard. Can't even imagine how great that must feel. Galen couldn't help but smile when he realized Glynda would have to come fix it. He knew how much she loved doing that. Galen decided that instead of approaching Ruby about how she had exploded, he would go after that dark haired girl he saw walking away.

Galen picked up his pace a bit to catch up to the girl. As he passed where Ruby was standing, her gaze drifted to meet his own, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. She managed a nervous smile and a small wave, attempting to hide that she thought he was about to yell at her. Galen simply nodded his head once, facing forward again as the two started walking away.

Galen stood in the auditorium, sparing a few glances around himself at all the new students. They'd taken on quite a large number this year. Either Ozpin was becoming more lax with whom he allowed into the academy, or people thought that seventeen years ago was prime time to have a child. Well, except for Ruby, seeing as she's only fifteen he reminded himself. He never did actually find out how she blew herself and half of the courtyard up. The girl he decided to catch up with - Blake, if he remembered correctly - wasn't sure how it had happened herself. Although, with how much she seemed to want Galen to leave her alone, she may have just found lying easier than explaining the details. It wasn't really a bother to him though, as he knew he'd find out when Glynda eventually ranted to him about it. That woman absolutely despised cleaning up after other people, but her semblance made her the perfect one to do it.

Galen found himself looking for the dark haired fifteen year old among the crowd, though he couldn't figure out what it was that made him do so. He had left Ozpin's office the night before with new found determination to help her out rather than begrudge her, though by the time he woke up this morning he found himself wondering if he should just carry on like she was just some other random student. He figured they could get through the four years with fairly minimal interaction, and she might find Galen's indifference towards her a little bit better than him hating her. Not that he did actually hate her, but he'd consider it a safe bet to assume that's what she thought herself. He knew the first impression he gave wasn't exactly the best, but Ozpin offering early admission to the school had set him off like a landmine. He still had to remind himself that it was what Ozpin had done last night that angered him, and not anything Ruby had done. The problem was that she was just so much easier to blame than the Headmaster. She wasn't the one who raised him after all.

His thoughts were interrupted when he caught sight of a certain white haired heiress, who seemed to be arguing with someone. Well, I wonder who that could be Galen almost thought out loud. Sure enough, a taller blonde moved aside to face Weiss, and Galen caught sight of the hooded girl. She appeared to be cowering slightly behind the blonde, which lead Galen to wonder whether or not Ruby had actually managed to make a friend already. Or perhaps she somehow knew this older girl from outside of Beacon. He thought of the possibility of them being related somehow, but he tossed the thought aside after noting the lack of similarity in appearance. Come to think of it, the blonde seemed to be nothing like Ruby at all. She was fairly tall, had exceptionally light - or rather, bright - hair, and seemed to be significantly less shy and reserved than the aforementioned younger girl. In fact, judging by both her outfit as well as the way she carried herself, Galen could almost say that she was confidence personified. No, he was willing to bet that they were nothing alike. Perhaps their families were friends with each other.

He was brought out of his thoughts as he felt something bump into his arm. He turned around in time to see a small brunette girl just barely catch her balance before she could fall forward onto the hard floor.

"S-sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you. I must have tripped over something, or...something" said the quiet voice of the girl as she looked up at him, her face wavering between nervous and apologetic.

"No problem, I hardly noticed it" Galen half-smiled down at the girl. If he had to quickly describe her in one word right at this moment, he'd probably choose to go with 'tiny'. Galen himself was about six feet and two inches tall, which isn't anything too impressive, but he was still easily a foot taller than this girl. Alright, so maybe she isn't exactly 'tiny', but she's definitely no bigger than Ruby.

The girl pushed a few loose strands of light brown hair behind her ear before speaking. "I'm Rina" she introduced, extending her hand in Galen's direction. "Rina Ashborne".

Galen reached out his own hand to shake hers. "Galen. It's nice to meet you Rina" he sent another half-smile her way as he returned her 'd already gone through this 'meeting new people' thing once today, and it didn't turn out too badly. Now I hope she either wanders off, or somehow keeps this going like that Nic guy did. He had to admit, the guy must know how to deal with people pretty well. It was as if he'd known Galen his whole life and was just picking up where they'd left off. Meanwhile Galen had only just told this girl – Rina – his name, and had no idea where to take it from here. The thoughts running through his head about what to say next ranged from 'is that the only yellow top you own?' all the way to 'how many sugars do you take in your coffee?'. If he's being honest, he doesn't even know how he can think of those things, but not anything that's even remotely useful. For all I know, she could take her coffee without anything at all.

Galen turned his attention away from the liquid heaven that is coffee and brought it back to the girl still standing in front of him. Hopefully by now she'd have either thought of something to say, or had started to take her leave.

Oh my Grimm she's just standing there.

Sure enough, Rina was shifting side to side, her eyes flicking between Galen and practically anything else in the room that wasn't another person. This. This is what he hated. At this point, if he were to just walk away from her, it would cement the awkwardness between them and they'd never really get anywhere. Unfortunately, his only other option was to pick something from the Rolodex of terrible conversation topics that he called his brain. That's it, we're going with the coffee thing.

Luckily for Galen, and arguably for Rina as well, the room was suddenly filled with a loud, high pitched feedback. Both students turned their attention towards the front of the hall, where they saw Headmaster Ozpin looking over the large number of eager new faces. Maybe he'll tell us how he plans to form the teams this year Galen thought to himself. He was never a fan of Ozpin's secrecy, with it being present even in the most seemingly simple situations. Sometimes it was as if the Headmaster had trust issues on a very concerning level, yet he'd pull a complete one-eighty at the most unexpected times and come across as laid back, and maybe even a little too trusting.

Galen was pulled from his thoughts once again as he noticed Ozpin lean towards the microphone. He'd better give us a good amount of info about this initiation. I'm not looking forward to being suddenly thrown off of a cliff or something with only a brief explanation of what I'm doing.

"I'll...keep this brief."

Damn.

The amount of information the new students received from the speech given by the Headmaster was basically comparable to if he had never said anything at all. Currently, half the students that were present in the hall had already cleared out, and the rest were making their way to follow. Galen, however, was stuck in thought again, which he really wished was a rarer occurrence than it actually was. It's well known among those he interacts with, even just on occasion, that he's liable to zone out at practically any time. He didn't like it, but at the same time, he just couldn't help it. Galen hated being in the dark, no matter the situation. He needed to feel like he could prepare and plan for anything. It made him feel like he could be in control, and that made him feel comfortable. Ozpin, however, rarely ever gave him that feeling. It was always almost always the opposite. Why he still has hope for anything different from the man is a complete mystery to him.

"Um, Galen?" came a small voice from his right side.

Galen slightly jumped at the suddenness of the sound, scattering his thoughts away as he was brought back to reality.

Rina, being startled by the sudden jerking motion Galen made, also slightly jumped. It was a comical sight to see for anyone who happened to be glancing their way, even though the two teens involved felt extremely awkward because of it.

Rina managed to recover quickly enough to continue what she was saying. "Sorry" she squeaked out, before lifting her head again to gaze up at the boy. "Um, are you alright? You were kind of staring into nothing for a long time there" she asked, slightly narrowing her eyes as she looked over his face.

Galen chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced down at the girl. "Yeah, I'm fine thanks. I just tend to zone out every now and then when I start thinking too hard."

"Are you worried about tomorrow? I thought we'd get a better explanation about what we're supposed to be doing for initiation, but now I'm feeling really nervous."

"Yeah. That's actually exactly it. I don't like getting into things without knowing anything about it" Galen replied, settling his eyes on the Headmaster, who was still on the stage speaking to Glynda. To be honest, hearing that Rina was having the same issue as he was made him feel better. He still had no idea what to expect from tomorrow's initiation, but having confirmation that the other students are probably feeling the same way was a small comfort to him.

"Anyway," he started, turning his focus back to the small girl. "We should probably go pick out sleeping spots for tonight. They're putting everyone on the floor in a big room down that hallway over there. I don't want to be both tired and unpleasantly surprised in the morning."

Ozpin stood at the edge of the cliff, looking over the forest below. This was his best initiation idea yet, he was sure of it. Although he was also sure of one other thing, and it was that Galen would not be impressed in the slightest. Honestly, he was hoping that the boy would have made a few more acquaintances yesterday than he actually had. The Headmaster had witnessed Galen speaking with a blonde boy for a short time, though said boy had been dragged off by a rather unhappy-looking Weiss Schnee. Then he had seen him talking with a fairly small girl a while later in the auditorium, but when he checked on their progress after finishing his speech he saw that Galen had spaced out yet again. Not that I find it surprising, however. The boy seems to have some sort of attention deficit...issue.

The Headmaster turned around from the edge of the cliff as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He was met with the sight of Glynda Goodwitch leading the group of new first years to where he was standing. Well, potential first years. They may have been accepted to come to the school, but they needed to pass his initiation test in order to stay.

He silently watched as Glynda instructed the teens to stand on metal squares, which had been lined up on the ground across the length of the cliff. He made sure to pay close attention to each student as they took their places in the lineup. Some were exuding confidence, and seemed completely unworried and fearless about whatever was to come next. Some were the polar opposite, and were almost visibly shaking as their eyes darted every which way, searching for some kind of answer as to what was going on. Yet the most interesting of the bunch, at least in Ozpin's eyes, were the ones who stood with stoic expressions. There was the girl with the bow, standing as though she could be attacked at any given moment. There was the boy in green, patiently waiting for the unexpected to strike, as if he knew he could catch up with ease. The girl with the dark red hair, who stood as though the forest she looked down upon had wronged her in some way. And then there was the boy in all black, who looked as though the unpredictability of Ozpin's initiation had seriously pissed him off.

You sure can tell a lot about someone if you choose to look close enough, Ozpin smiled. So what things have you all seen so early in life?

As he gave his explanation of how the process would work this time around, he continued to observe the students. He tried to pay extra attention to the four students that had stuck out to him earlier, though it proved more difficult than it should have with the scared witless blonde boy interrupting him with every point he stated.

Soon after he had started his explanation, he and Goodwitch were standing alone on the cliff, watching the teens soar towards the forest after the pads had launched them into the sky. As the scream from who he hoped was a female faded into the distance, he turned to Glynda with a small smirk on his face.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you were concerned about, these launch pads were a fantastic idea. We'll have to have Qrow assist with the initiation in the future as well".

He could have sworn he could actually hear her eyes roll.