Tira Cage. Human

Born to wealthy parents Tira's early years were spent having anything she could want, the best clothes, toys, dolls anything, but no matter what her parents got her she rarely touched or used them. Tira always felt bored like there was no fun to be had, with her mother the CEO of a shipping company and her father a professional huntsman her parents were rarely around to give their daughter the attention she needed. Raised mostly by the staff at their mansion people Tira liked, but they were always too busy to play with her. Thanks to their house staff Tira's parents realized their daughter was lonely and decided to adopt a child, a sister for Tira to spend time her with.

Happy beyond words Tira joyfully hugged her new sister and expressed her desire to always be together. Emmara Ace, a girl who lost her parents, was a year younger, but she took a quick liking to her new big sister and followed her everywhere. Finally having someone to play with Tira began going outside playing in the garden which led to hide and seek, then climbing trees which eventually resulted in climbing the side of the house. One day when she was ten Tira climbed to the roof of her family mansion and wasn't able to see a safe way to climb down, leaving Emmara to tell their parents who helped her down, but Tira never forgot the feeling she had when she was climbing.

Being that high up, a sense of danger, it excited her. It wasn't long before she tried it again and again before moving on to something else. She moved to free running and then skateboarding followed by other activities. It was through Tira's insistence that Emmara grabbed a camera and started filming her sister's activities, Tira felt amazing during the rush of adrenaline that hit her, especially when mixed with potential danger. Whenever their family would go on vacation Tira would try something new, skiing or snowboarding, bodysurfing and parasailing, her thirst for excitement was insatiable.

All the while, Emmara was there filming her loving to see her sister and best friend in action. Of course, Tira suffered more than a few injuries over the years, but she never backed down or faltered she would get right back up and try again, becoming an inspiration to her little sister. Tira loved hearing Emmara cheer her name if there was one thing she loved more than the rush of adrenaline it was hearing her sister chanting her name when she did something awesome.

Tira loved her sister, she was the friend she wanted as a child and now the most important person in her life, and she could not imagine life without her. If Emmara ever found herself in trouble Tira would not be far away, and she would be there to save her. Two girls who had only known each other for ten years and they had become inseparable, still sharing a bedroom as teenagers they wanted to stay as close as possible.

It was during a ski vacation that Tira finally decided what she wanted to do with her life. A group of Grimm had attacked the Ski resort they were at while she was getting ready for a junior snowboarding competition, after seeing her father in action for the first time, against such dangerous monsters she saw it as the ultimate thrill. Add to it the chance to help people and be a hero in the eyes of her sister she made up her mind immediately, and when their family returned home, she announced her plans to go to Signal Academy and eventually Beacon to become a huntress with Emmara, as always following her.

Emmara Ace. Human.

Emmara was raised in an orphanage in Vale since she was a baby. Young as she was she proved to be smart beyond her age. She didn't play with the other kids much preferring to read alone in the corner. She avoided making friends not because she didn't want to, but because she was too scared to talk to them. Most of them were so energetic the young girl mistook their energy for something else and was afraid to approach them.

Her time at the orphanage though it was her entire life so far, was short lived. One day, not long after she turned four a couple had arrived at the shelter wishing to adopt a child so their daughter could have someone to play with. Emmara had noticed the headmistress enter the room with the couple and had assumed the reason they were there, but quickly returned her attention to her book. She was surprised to see the headmistress standing over her a couple of minutes later asking to speak with her in the other room at first Emmara thought she had done something wrong, but when she saw that visiting couple waiting for them, she put two and two together.

For some reason the two were interested in her, they had told her she was the quietest child in the entire place, just like their daughter was. They then told her that their daughter was feeling lonely because she had no one to play with. That's when they asked her if she would like to come with them, to a home where she could have fun too. Emmara was unsure at first, too shy to answer, but it at the headmistress's reassurance that she decided to go with the couple. Saying goodbye to the headmistress who so far had been her only friend she wrapped her arms as tightly as she could around the aged woman's neck before leaving.

On the ride to her new home, the couple had introduced themselves as Sean and Miranda. They explained that their jobs kept them busy, and they would not always be around, but their house staff would take care of her and her new sister in their absence. Sensing Emmara's final bit of hesitance, they told her that her new sister would be overjoyed to meet her and knew they would become friends. They had no idea how right they were when Emmara was finally introduced to her new sister Tira she was shy, but Tira quickly jumped forward and hugged her and for some reason, the last of her hesitance and fear faded.

Emmara did become friends with Tira, closer than either of their parents could have hoped, within weeks the two were inseparable. Emmara would follow Tira everywhere, even on one of her athletic ventures which usually led to an injury or two, but watching her sister get right back up and try again only to become even better filled Emmara with joy. As the two grew up, they became even closer though Emmara lacked the stamina to keep up with her sister she came to see Tira as an inspiration because she never gave up no matter how hard something seemed, and she knew Tira loved to hear Emmara cheer her name. Tira would return that love to her number one fan, whenever Emmara became too tired from trying to keep up with her Tira would slow down and stop to stay with Emmara while she rested.

From rock climbing to snowboarding and skiing, from body surfing to skydiving Emmara happily watched her sister, and it was Tira's joy to know her sister was watching and recording her. It was a joke at first, but Tira had declared that Emmara would be her personal cameraman something Emmara was happy to do with a little insistence. Though they were true to their words and Emmara rarely saw much of her parents, she was more than happy to just be with Tira.

They shared a bed until she had turned ten always falling asleep in Tira's arms. Even after they stopped sharing a bed, they continued to share the same room. In a home with at least three other rooms that could have had to herself, Emmara wanted to stay in the same room as her sister, forever together and the day Tira decided she wanted to become a Huntress, Emmara as always was right behind her.

Alexia Amethyst Adel. Half human, half wolf Faunus.

Born to a Faunus mother and human father, Alexia's childhood was less than desirable. She had wondered for most of her childhood why her parents insisted on keeping such a close eye on her when she went out to play. They lived in a cabin at the edge of the woods almost an hour outside of the nearest town. Her father worked as a blacksmith while her mother was a tailor, always making many kinds of beautiful clothes while her father had forged strong metal works. Whatever reason they always told her it was dangerous to be out alone she was happy to be close to them.

When she was nine they finally told her the reason they always wanted her to stay close; it was because of the discrimination against the Faunus, the kind of people her mother was like, and the people she was like. They explained that many humans disliked the Faunus and treated them as if they were actual animals instead of people, but not her father, he fought alongside the Faunus for their rights, that's how they met and fell in love with each other. It was because of his love for the Faunus that many humans also disliked Alexia's father.

They were sure to tell Alexia that she had done nothing wrong, and it was not her fault that most humans would not like her for a long time if ever at all, but they wanted her to understand that not all humans were like that. Some like her father were kind and honorable. There were also some bad Faunus in the world some that wanted to treat humans the same way they were treated, but just like with humans there were bad people and good people. They told their daughter that hate only brings more hate. It took a while, but Alexia finally understood everything her parents had told her, and why they wanted her to stay so close to them, because she was half Faunus she would be subjected to discrimination and hate from both sides, and it was important to distinguish between the good people and bad.

Despite everything they wanted her to take pride in her heritage, her mother called Alexia's triangular pointed ears that were visible through her gray hair adorable. They would teach her to defend herself just in case something ever happened. Sadly, something did happen. Alexia was still nine when her life changed forever, only half a year after her parents told her about the Faunus rights movements and some human's attacked their home. It was early in the morning when her mother and father rushed into her room and scooped her out of bed, waking her from her slumber.

Their home was on fire and falling apart around them. Alexia terrified clung tightly to her mother's nightgown, and she could feel the heat of the flames, reaching out and licking at her as her parents rushed her out of the house. Once outside they could hear yelling from the people that had set their home ablaze, they were calling them freaks and animals and a few other words Alexia didn't know. The people began running toward them with weapons in their hands, and Alexia's mother turned away covering her daughter's face as gunshots echoed around them. Her face buried in her mother's chest Alexia couldn't see, but she heard her mother call out her father's name only to be overwhelmed by more angry yells and another gunshot.

Alexia was scared of what was going on and even more terrified to look, all she knew was her mother was still holding her close as she ran. She didn't even know if her father was still with them. Eventually her mother slowed down but did not stop moving continuing to carry Alexia as far away from their destroyed home as possible. Hearing only her mother's footsteps, Alexia asked where her father was only for her mother to tell her not to worry and rest before she began coughing. Alexia, shaken and exhausted from the ordeal fell back asleep in her mother's arms awakening an unknown time later in an unfamiliar place.

She was in a bed with a glass pitcher filled with water on the nightstand next to her; she could hear the rain outside pattering against the windows. Looking around the room there was no sign of her mother, ignoring the water she got up she was still wearing her nightgown though it was covered in mud and burn marks. Leaving the room, she called out for her mom only to have a voice she didn't recognize call back to her from the adjacent room. Entering the room she saw a man with bushy tail sitting next to a bed that her mother was lying in. Her mother seemed weak, but she managed to smile at her daughter as she approached, she introduced the bushy tail man as Blaine her brother and Alexia's uncle.

Her mother apologized to her and said she would be going away for a while to get better and she couldn't take Alexia with her. As expected Alexia began pleading with her mother not to leave her, but her mother told her not to worry and that her father was already waiting for her. She grabbed her daughter's hand and pulled her closer telling her that her uncle would take care of her until she came back before coughing weakly. She told Alexia she was getting tired and needed to rest a little more before leaving, she gently grabbed the back of her daughter's head and pulled her closer kissing her forehead and telling her that she loved her before her eyes began to close.

Somewhere, deep down Alexia knew that her mother wasn't going anywhere. She knew that she had died, and so had her father, but the trauma, the fear that gripped her was too powerful in her mind for her to realize what was going on. Instead, she only followed her uncle out of the room so her mother could rest and for the next few years Blaine took care of her and taught her what her parents had meant to, self-defense. He taught her to fight to defend herself and others should the need arise. For the next six years her uncle trained her and over those years Alexia had come to terms with what happened and remembered what they had told her, there are bad people and good people, just because humans killed her parents doesn't mean all humans were evil.

But hate and fear still found their way into her heart, and it would be years before she could vanquish those feelings. Try as she might she did blame humans for killing her parents, not just the ones that did it, but all humans because someone had to teach them how to do what they did and someone had to show the ones that showed the killers. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it was a cycle that had no end that hate would always be there, and the Faunus were no different especially the ones that called themselves the White Fang, just as violent as the humans that killed her parents.

Alexia realized that if the world were ever to become a better place for both races, then the evil and hate in both sides would have to be cleansed.

Cassandra Lynch. Human.

Growing up in Atlas and the oldest of three Cassandra had a tumultuous childhood, her little twin siblings a brother and sister always running around screaming and playing and the occasional yell from one or both of her parents exhausted from work to keep it to a dull roar. Despite the noise, Cassandra loved her family even when her younger siblings would annoy her to wit's end, and she would always be the last one asleep to make sure the room was clear of any monsters lurking in the closet or under the bed. Her mother and father were both members of the Atlesian military and were strict in raising their kids making sure they went to bed at a decent hour so they would not be late or too tired for school the next day. She was two years older than her twin siblings, but she took care of them when their parents were too busy.

Her parents while thankful were surprised to see how responsible Cassandra was with her little brother and sister, considering that she was even more rambunctious than they were when she was their age. She had changed when they were born, little Alice and Eddie. At school, she would sit away from her class to be closer to her family and after school would stay with them if they had bully problems. At home, she would help them with homework if they were having trouble and at curfew, she would tell them made up stories to help them sleep. Her parents encouraged her desire to take care of her siblings, of course, it taught her both responsibility and discipline, something she would have learned eventually anyway, but the earlier, the better.

All of these, however, are distant memories. It was early in the morning their parents had woken them up for breakfast. When they stepped outside to leave for school, a symphony of howls echoed around them. A pack of Beowolves, a type of Grimm must have entered the area during the night, their house was just at the edge of town, but there should have been patrols to keep the city safe. Cassandra's father herded his family back inside and smashed open his weapon locker before yelling for his wife to take the kids back inside and alert the nearby military post.

Telling the kids to go and hide he stepped back outside the doorway and shot an emergency flare into the air before firing at the monsters. Cassandra rushed her brother and sister back to their room heard the cries of the Grimm as they no doubt began to attack their father, there had to be dozens of them from the sound of it. She could hear her mother yelling as well before a second set of gunshots sounded she had joined her husband in defense of their home. Cassandra yelled for her brother and sister to hide in the closet, but before they could their bedroom window was smashed open as a giant serpent's head rammed into their house.

The snake's black head lunged at them, and Cassandra jerked her siblings back before pushing them behind her and turned to run back downstairs. The screams of their children distracted Cassandra's parents just long enough for the Grimm to pounce on them. Their weapons knocked from their hands and pinned to the floor they could only yell for their children to run before the claws and teeth of the Grimm tore into them. Cassandra, Alice, and Eddie had just reached the top of the stairs when their father screamed for them to run before a Beowolf's teeth sank into his shoulder. Cassandra wanted to cover their eyes, shield them from seeing the horror in front of them, but they needed to find a way out.

The storm cellar was their only option, downstairs at the back of the pantry, but they would have to run past the Grimm to make it. Cassandra went first with Alice and Eddie close behind her, but Eddie slipped and tumbled down the stairs knocking Cassandra and Alice down. Alice rolled and stopped right in front of one of the Beowolves which raised its head setting its sights on its new prey, Cassandra with a speed she didn't know she had moved in front of her sister and pulled her back as the Grimm's claws came down at an angle. Cassandra screamed as she felt the sharp nails raking across her face, she swung her arm back hitting the Beowolf before jumping to her feet and yanking Alice up with her, and along with Eddie, they ran through the living room and into the kitchen. They made it to the kitchen, but the wall collapsed inward as another Grimm rammed through, another serpent this one white, its red eyes set on them as it flicked its tongue.

The pantry was blocked now leaving only the backdoor, Cassandra yelled for Eddie and Alice to make a break for it pushing them toward the door as the serpent head lunged for them tackling Cassandra down before looming over her with its mouth open. The blood running from the cuts on her faces obstructed her vision; it was by luck alone she managed to roll out of the way as the Grimm lunged at her. Scrambling back to her feet she ran toward the back door with her sibling and outside, half blinded by the blood in her eyes she tripped and as she fell pushed Eddie down. Trying to get up Cassandra screamed again as something sharp stabbed into her thigh and began dragging her backward. She turned onto her back she raised her leg and kicked at the Beowolf trying to pull her away, a second kick forced the monster to release her, and she turned to get up and run only for another Grimm to ram into her.

Cassandra could hear Eddie scream for only a second before seeing him surrounded by monsters and his screams quickly silenced. Cassandra forced herself back up and reached for Alice who stood frozen in terror at her surroundings, but one of the smaller bipedal Grimm surrounding Eddie lunged at her and bit the knife edge of her hand. The Grimm dragged her to the ground just as the Beowolf behind her attacked her again, this time biting into her calf. Both Grimm pulled her to the ground and began jerking their heads side to side, Cassandra kicked and flailed managing to catch the Beowolf in the eye again causing it to let go, but she felt the fingers on her hand being torn off in the Creep's mouth. The monster jerked its head to the side tearing off the ring and little finger from Cassandra's right hand.

Clenching her wounded hand against her chest, Cassandra got up to one knee and called to Alice as she reached for her only to hear a shriek from the skies just before a large avian Grimm swooped down and snatched Alice up in its talons before carrying her off. Cassandra cried her sister's name jumping up and running after the flying Grimm that she could barely see in the early morning sky. Reaching out to the sky she called Alice's name again and again before one of the Grimm lunged at her swiping its claws across her back and knocking her face-first into the ground and sinking its teeth into her calf.

The pain and blood loss finally overcame her and Cassandra's vision faded with a final whimper.

She eventually awoke in a hospital, military troops had arrived and managed to save her, but her family was long gone. The doctors told her she had been unconscious for five months barely clinging to life. Honestly, they were surprised she held on as long as she did and even more surprised that survived, a professional huntsman would be dead from injuries like this, but somehow an eight-year-old girl survived. The next month was spent monitoring her physical and more importantly mental and emotional conditions, and understandably the little girl that survived the impossible was completely shattered. Her entire family killed and eaten before her eyes and multiple scars across her body; they doubted she would ever live a normal life after her ordeal.