Throughout the night, Aracel tossed and turned in the bed whimpering in pain. Her lavender irises snapped opened, when the pain became too much to bear. Despite the windows being boarded up and covered up with a curtain, it was like as if she could still feel the moonlight. Grabbing a blanket and a pillow, she trudged over to the closet opening the door she threw her things in before laying on the floor. For anybody else it would have been a tight fight, but for the five foot girl, it was quite roomy and hopefully from within the closet she would be able to hide from the moon's harsh light.

As the sun rose hours later, the pinkette awakened to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She called out for them to wait a minute, before fixing everything and opening the door for them. What she didn't expect was to see Weiss Schnee on the other side of the threshold.

"What are you doing here?" Aracel asks, defensively crossing her arms.

Weiss looked the girl up and down to see that was still in her pajamas. "Perhaps I should have sent out a formal letter before I came. I didn't mean to intrude-"

"Cut the crap, what do you want?"

"If you insist, I was wondering if we could put our families old feud behind us in the name of forming a team together." Weiss says

"Why would you want to team up with me out of all people? You hate me." Aracel says, raising a brow suspiciously.

"Did you not hear the part where I said to put our families feud behind us?" Weiss asks through gritted teeth.

"I'm not stupid Weiss, I've been in this game for far too long. I know how it works. One's longtime enemy doesn't just come up wanting to propose a truce unless they're planning to stab you in the back or if they want something."

"Fine. I believe that if we were to team up, that we could form a strong and sufficient team. We'd be an unstoppable force together and with us being in the same team, we'd be legendary. I believe that we could even be apart of the best team to ever graduate Beacon." Weiss says

"You really want me on your team that badly?" Aracel asks

Weiss nods. "Of course and I already have another teammate in mind."

Aracel narrows her eyes, knowing that joining forces with the heiress could only end horribly wrong.

In the locker room, Lie Ren was loading his weapon, Storm Flower, as Nora Valkyrie was still endlessly talking since the morning had started. A blonde with grey eyes passes them by, adjusting her blade Apollo to get the golden sword ready for battle. Her eyes scan the locker room, from student to student she wonders who among them she would end up teaming up with. Having lost focus for a moment, she doesn't realize that she's bumped into someone until they made contact with each other. Lilly feels a jolt and her grey eyes widen in shock. The orange haired tiger faunus, turns and scowls at the blonde.

"Watch where you're going human." Layla sneers

"It was an accident." Lilly clarifies

"Oh, sure it was."

With that said, the tiger faunus simply walks off, not wanting to waste her time with a human. Lilly watched her leave the locker room, she had really wanted to avoid any unnecessary confrontation but she wasn't expecting to encounter such a hateful faunus. She would have understood her anger if it was out of mistrust, but she flat out hated the fact that she was human. Which is somewhat fair considering all they had done to the faunus, but not all humans were bad and she was one of the good ones. But even then it seemed like she couldn't see that.

"Tough break." Yang comments, having witnessed the whole ordeal go down.

"Yeah..." Lilly mumbles

"Wonder what she was so worked up about?" Ruby quietly asks

"I have a few ideas, I just hope that I won't run into her again." Lilly says

Ruby nodded. After all she understood what she was going through, since she went through the same thing with Weiss and Aracel. Though she did wish to make it up to them, she related to Lilly about never wanting to see them again. Ruby opens her mouth to say something to Lilly, but the blonde was already walking away from the sisters. She closed her mouth and mentally blamed herself for taking so long in talking.

"At least there will be no more awkward small talk or "getting-to-know-you" stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." Ruby says stroking Crescent Rose as she sighs happily.

"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."

She sighs. "You sound like Dad!" Ruby stops to shove her weapon into the locker. "Okay, first of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"

"But what about when we form teams?" Yang asks

Ruby suddenly grows nervous. "Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or something..."

"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?" Yang suggests, stroking her hair.

"My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"

"What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!" Yang says

"What the-?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely-"

"Ridiculous!" Jaune exclaims

He walks in between the sisters, interrupting their conversation while holding a map and looking lost.

"There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today?"

Jaune passes Weiss, Aracel, and Pyrrha Nikos as they ready themselves at their own lockers. The pinkette was still hesitant in trusting Weiss, despite knowing about her other ill and selfish intentions. But she couldn't help feel more at ease with the possibility of Pyrrha joining their team. But even such a renowned fighter like Pyrrha Nikos would not be able to protect the others from her.

"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!" Weiss says, trying to appeal to the emerald eyed amazon.

"Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." Pyrrha says

"Well... I was thinking maybe the three of us could be on a team together." Weiss suggests

"Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha smiles, then she turns her attention to Aracel. "I've heard plenty about you and it's truly quite the hon-"

"Great!" Weiss cheers, cutting her off as Aracel sends Pyrrha an apologetic look.

"This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class and the most powerful girl in class! Together we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now!" Weiss schemes in her mind.

"You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you." Jaune says, interrupting Weiss' scheming.

"You again?" Weiss asks

"Nice to meet you, Jaune!" Pyrrha says

"Yeah, yeah. He pushes Pyrrha aside and moves towards Weiss, posing slightly. "So, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Weiss scowls

"Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed! So, been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! What do you say?" Jaune asks

"Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-"

"You don't say. Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team." Jaune says, trying to appear smooth.

Aracel pinches the bridge of her nose, cringing at Jaune as Weiss is shoving Pyrrha and Jaune apart.

"Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Weiss asks

"Not in the slightest, snow angel."

"This is Pyrrha." Weiss gestures at her.

"Hello again!" She waves

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!"

"Never heard of it." Jaune admits

Weiss scoffs. "She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!"

"The what?"

"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" Weiss exclaims, frantically waving her arms.

Jaune gasps. "That's you?! But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you." Pyrrha says

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Weiss asks

"In other words, you're not worthy." Aracel says, catching Jaune's attention.

He looks down at her hips, to see her sword strapped to her side. Realizing who she was and who he was now talking to, he hangs his head. He really wasn't worthy to be in a team with none of the three girls before him.

"I guess not... Sorry..."

"Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!" Pyrrha sincerely says

"D'oh, stop it!" Jaune mumbles, brightening back up.

"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!"

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for the both of you. What do you say?" Jaune asks, looking at both Atlesians.

"I'll take the Amazon and only her."

"All right, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help, please?!"

Jaune looks back just in time to see Miló strike him, sending the would-be leader flying off across the locker room.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha calls out

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately." Glynda says, speaking through the intercom.

Weiss and Aracel pass Jaune by as he hangs from the wall of a locker on their way out. Pyrrha follows them, grabbing her spear and dropping Jaune to the ground.

"It was nice meeting you!"

"Likewise..." He mumbles

"Having some trouble there, lady-killer?" Yang asks, approaching Jaune with Ruby.

"I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?" Jaune asks, accepting Ruby's help in getting him back up.

"'Snow Angel' probably wasn't the best start." Yang mocks

"Come on, Jaune, let's go."

Ruby leads Jaune out of the locker room by supporting him and his damaged self-esteem. The locker empties out, all except one, the faunus exits from their hiding place and sighs. So far he was able to keep hiding, but he wasn't sure for how much longer he would be able to keep the act up. Somebody was just bound to figure out how odd he was and the excessive attention is what he hoped to avoid. He prepares his own weapons and heads off, continuing to hide in the shadows.

At Beacon Cliff, overlooking a forest, where several students — some old, some new, and some unseen — are standing on silver tiles in front of a mug-holding Professor Ozpin, Glynda with her tablet, and Aracel with her hands clasped in front of her. She had been informed that she wouldn't be able to choose her team by Ozpin, which was unfortunate because she began to warm up to the idea of fighting alongside Pyrrha. The only good thing that came out of it was that she wouldn't have to deal or room with Weiss.

"I'm free of you, thank the gods." Aracel says, passing by Weiss.

When Aracel passes Pyrrha she simply smiles at her, then stops in front of Blake. She winks at her and begins walking once more, ready to judge everyone else. She says nothing, nor looks at Ren and Nora as she walks past them.

"Hate your hair." Then Cardin Winchester.

"Not likely." Aracel says, passing by Lilly.

"Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed." Aracel mockingly jokes causing Layla to growl at her.

"Yikes."

"Yikes."

"Yikes."

Aracel says passing by Yang, Ruby, and Jaune. The blonde turned to glare at her, while the other two looked a bit hurt.

"And let me guess, you have a great personality?" Aracel asks Klaus, while taking her place on the tile besides his.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin begins

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today." Glynda says

"What?" Ruby's eyes widen in shock.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"Whaaaat?!" Then and there it felt as if Ruby's world had shattered.

"See? I told you-!" Nora says, turning to face Ren.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die." Ozpin explains bluntly

Jaune laughs nervously and then gulps loudly.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin asks

Jaune timidly raises his hand. "Yeah, um, sir?"

"Good! Now, take your positions."

Everyone strikes a pose on their tile. Nora crouches low, Ren wields his weapons, Yang raises her fists, Ruby readies her body, and Jaune is still raising his hand.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question."

The tile under Weiss rising up into a springboard, rocketing into the air and over the forest, as the platforms activate down the line.

"So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?" Jaune nervously asks

"No. You will be falling."

"Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"

"No. You will be using your own 'landing strategy.'" Ozpin responds

Nora and Ren get launched, then Lilly and after her Layla is launched off into the forest.

"Uh-huh... Yeah."

At her turn, Yang winks at her younger sister, puts on a pair of aviators, and flies off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" a second before Ruby joins her.

"So, what exactly is a landing strategy?!"

He asks this part just when he finally has to get hurled. Klaus is the next to get launched off with the cloud of students now making their way down into the forest below under the eyes of the teachers. Ozpin, for his part, simply takes a sip of his drink while Aracel merely shakes her head and applies her own shades then soon like the rest she too is launched off.

A black bird is flying slowly and magnificently, right up to the moment it gives a final shriek and Ruby crashes through it in a burst of feathers as she plummets downward.

"Birdie, no!"

Ruby fires off a few rounds from Crescent Rose to slow her down, then turns the weapon into its scythe form to catch the branch of a tree in her blade and fall downward at a slower pace. Weiss, armed with Myrtenaster, summons a white snowflake sigil under her and leaps off of it to the forest below. Ren descends and spins in the air, eventually using Storm Flower's blades to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and hit the ground, brushing off his clothes before looking up. Yang, soars right over the treetops, using her gauntlets and its fiery force to push her through the air further and further north, spinning and laughing with each blast, even when she crashes through the leaves of a tree and leaps off two trunks to tumble to the ground.

"Nailed it!" The blonde says, running off.

Pyrrha, her weapon in sword form and armed with a shield, crashes through several trees and rolls on a branch, immediately shifting her blade into a rifle and looking through the scope at Jaune as he continues to scream and fall helplessly. Pyrrha coolly transforms her weapon again to its spear form, takes a moment to evaluate her throw, and rockets the javelin deep into the forest until a "THUNK!" is heard.

"Thank you!" Jaune yells from the distance.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha yells back.

A blur zaps through the sky at lightning speed, the electric current keeping Layla on her feet. She lands on a tree and over looks the forest, noticing a few students already landing. She sighs and her hair glows as she descends the tree in a flurry of sparks. The flames around Aracel's lavender eyes came to life under the shades, as she created pillars of ice for her to jump on. Miraculously even with heels on, she was able to make each jump. Stopping at the last pillar, a slide of ice is created allowing Aracel to make it safely onto the ground. Absorbing the sun's light, Lilly is able to create small flames in her hands, which she used to propel herself and glide at her own pace. She stays up in the sky for a bit longer than intended, enjoying the breeze through her hair. A lonesome bat flies past her then it suddenly shifts into a wolf right before her eyes. Lilly is shocked to see such such transformation. She continues to watch the wolf jump from it's own projectiles as the blonde uses her flames to land on the ground efficiently. Her flames diminish and she grabs ahold of Apollo just in case she needs to use force. She felt a spark, but it was unlike the one that she had received in the morning. It was a strange feeling that she began to feel more towards one direction rather than any other. Deciding to follow that strange calling, Lilly turns towards it, all while trying to prioritize finding a teammate and staying alive.

Meanwhile with Ruby, she lands in a crouch, then darts off with a single mantra in her mind.

'Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find...'

"Yang! Yang!" She shouts, desperately trying to find her sister.

'Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny! ...I don't think he's very good in a fight, though. Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm... Plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her... There's also Aracel! Though she doesn't like me or my family then again I feel like she thinks I'm too unsophisticated for her. Ugh! Okay... Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, Aracel, and...'

Time seems to slow down as Ruby skids to a halt in front of Weiss as she is turning to face her. She stops just in time for their eyes to meet and a pregnant pause follows. This ends when Weiss turns on her heel and walks the other way.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Ruby stops and kicks the ground dejectedly. "We're supposed to be teammates..."

Weiss is struggles walking through the forest, giving an occasional grunt or as she pushes plants out of her way. She brushes herself off and sighs in relief when she hears a voice above her.

"Come on, come on! Stupid...!" Jaune mumbles, trying to free himself.

Weiss sees Jaune hanging a few feet in the air by the spear embedded in his hood and the tree behind him. As he gives up trying to pull it out, he looks down and sees Weiss, giving an embarrassed wave. Weiss simply heads back in the direction she came from and Jaune groans in dejection.

Weiss, defeated, passes by Ruby and pulls on her hood. "By no means does this make us friends."

"You came back!" Ruby cheers overjoyed.

"Wait! Come back! Who's going to get me down from here?!"

"Jaune?"

The blonde boy looks down at his savior as she looks up at him shyly.

"Do you... have any spots left on your team?" Pyrrha asks

Jaune crosses his arms. "Very funny...

He eventually looks down at her and gives a smile, which she returns.

With Weiss she trudges through the forest, with Ruby back a ways behind her.

"What's the hurry?" She asks

"I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow! I swear, if I get a bad grade because of your—" She pauses, a smiling Ruby suddenly appears next to her. "What the...?"

"I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!" Ruby says

Weiss looks back, slightly amazed. "When did...?"

"Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters!

Ruby stops to wrap an arm around a skeptical Weiss' shoulders.

"You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss, and after it's all over, you're going to be like, "Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool... and I wanna be her friend!"

Ruby disappears in a shower of rose petals, which Weiss waves away from her face just as she hears crackling and rustling in the bushes around her.

You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time! Ruby?"

The forest darkens, forcing Weiss to lean in to try and find her new partner as a pair of red eyes are seen glaring behind her.

"Ruby...?"

Multiple pairs of red eyes stare at her from the bushes and a deep growl is heard. She turns around until she spots a large, jagged Beowolf emerging from a bush and approaching her.

"Ruby!" Weiss shouts

The Beowolf roars, itching closer to the heiress. From the distance, shades long gone Aracel hears shouting, but she shrugs and walks off. Opposed to some of the other students, she wasn't exactly too thrilled about finding a teammate. It was just required of her to do so whether or not she wanted to or not. She'd rather stay alone, thinking that it would be for the best. If she were alone, she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone. It would just be her and-

Lilly emerges through a couple of bushes. Hearing the rustle, she reluctantly looks up only to be meet with a pair of grey eyes. The pinkette immediately looks away and clutches her head.

"Ugh! We talked about this! We weren't supposed to team up with anyone! Now my life is ruined!" Aracel cries out, slumping down.

"Umm... I understand that you're feeling umm... distressed, but having a teammate isn't such a bad thing."

Lilly reaches out towards her now partner, but as soon as she makes contact, she feels another shock. Aracel looks up at her, the ends of her hair, standing up due to the static.

"Did you just shock me?!"

"I didn't mean to, I don't even know how it happened-"

"How could this have happened to me?!" Aracel asks, letting herself fall back on the ground.

Lilly sighs and grabs the girl from her underarms, pulling her up against her. When she makes no sign to move, she begins to drag her away with her.

"You're not going to make this easy for me are you?" Lilly asks

"I didn't ask for this." Aracel mumbles

"That makes two of us..."

Lilly looked down, only to be met with the top of Aracel's head. She wondered why she was lead over to her, surely it had to be for something more than just dragging her across the emerald forest. She hoped that the rest of her team would be easier to manage than this one girl, but that was already asking for too much.

《☆☆☆》