#spoiler alert: he still didn't get the marble out | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ask-ivory · 5 years

Text

Chapter one: Welcome to Shade

Those hunk muffins earned it! I don't care what they thought. If they were so worried about their little dust company, then I would have sided with the Schnees.

"I'm done with dust." I told my stepfather, as we parted ways, "I want to be a huntress; a hero. And nothing is going to stop me!"

Those days were far behind me. Weeks of prepping and training were way in the past. I had passed the entrance exam, my real parents filled out the paperwork, my documents were handed in and I was on an airship bound for Shade Academy, in Vacuo.

My bags were packed the previous night (courtesy of my sand servents). I had barely slept last night, because questions like "what is Shade gonna be like?", "Who will be on my team?", "How many friends will I make?", And many more floated in my head. Now I was actually going there, flying at a hundred miles an hour towards my dream come true.

I wasn't the only one here on this airship. A hundred people, at least my age or older, were here on this airship with me. The Vacuo news was on the screen systems near the windows, (probably to keep the passengers from getting bored, because if so, things tend to get pretty ugly). The news was announcing the latest robberies from the technical laboratories in Vacuo. Normally the news doesn't really interest me, but now that I'm training, I'm beginning to wonder if a huntress fought more then just the Creatures of Grimm. If so, then I would also stop crime.

"Focus on the task at hand," I told myself, "Train and prepare to be a huntress first, fight evil Grimm and other junk like that later."

I gazed out the window, thinking about my brother Basin. He was already at the academy, starting on his third year. He told me about how great Shade Academy is, and sent me pictures of the school.

He also sent me pictures of his team, Team BLCK (Pronounced Black), and told me about each teammate. On his team, he had a pair of fox faunus twins, whose names were Larry and Kerry Steel (get it? Steal? Steel? I just got that). He also had a another guy named Cade Blackstone. All of them were the same age and followed in Basin's leadership (well, most of the time anyway).

He even snuck some pictures of his classes that he had attended in his first and second years (spoiler alert, he got into detention for that, but with a semblance like his, that rarely happened).

Anyway, before the day came to move here, I looked at the pictures over and over again, memorizing the school grounds, my brother's teammates (just in case they decided to kill me with pranks), and teachers' mad faces when they caught Basin taking illegal pictures in class (heh heh).

I thought about pulling my scroll out again to look at the pictures again, but then the news shut off on the screens and a holographic image of a woman appeared. She was tall with long black hair. Her bare arms were adorn with golden bracelets and she wore a sleeveless dress that faded with purple to blue at the waist, all the way down to green at the bottom. In her hair was a golden headset, decorated with peacock feathers. She had a pair of, what looked like fans, strapped to her golden belt. She had golden high heels that were so ridiculously high that she looked like she had ballerina slippers on. Her face was beautiful but in a harsh mother-knows-best-now-don't-cross-my-path-or-i-will-have-to-step-on-you, kind of way. She wore blue eyeshadow, which matched her eyes.

"Welcome back all returning students and greetings to our new first year students." Her voice sounded stern, like she had spent her free time yelling at bad puppies. "I am Professor Hera Peacock, your combat trainer for this year. You are all very privileged to be attending this excellent institution. The world of Remnant is moving at an incredible length of pace, maintaining it's peace and prosperity. As future hunters, your training here will be vital to your future career. I wish you the best of luck"(I don't think she meant this part)" and welcome again to Shade Academy." The hologram turned off after finishing the welcome speech.

I looked out the window to find that the airship was just yards away from the landing docks. I ran to get my bags, but I bumped into someone.

"Ow!" I exclaimed.

"Ohff!" My accident responded. We both fell backwards.

"Sorry." I apologized, getting up, "I'm soo-" then my voice left me speechless. The girl I bumped into stood up.

The girl wore a sleeveless dress that started at gold and faded to orange and ended with blue. The dress itself was short at the knees. Her hair matched her dress, but only matched to the fading orange part. She wore a black belt, with pouches for dust on the side, and a pair of golden swords, that appeared to be folded in half, were attached to the back. She wore dark blue shoes with star patterns on them. Her eyes were a light crystal blue. But her wings were the thing that unnerved me.

On her back was a blinding white pair of wings. She was definitely a faunus, but she was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. In the few months that I lived in Vacuo, I had seen faunus of all types and traits: everything from ram's horns to lizard's tails. I had only heard of faunus with wings from the stories my father told me, the tales of the Great War. One of the things he said was that after the Siege of Vacuo, the winged faunus who fought with Vacuo just left and never returned. I heard people say that the chances of a faunus born with wings were pretty rare.

But here I was. And here she was.

"You can stop starring now." the girl said. "Just please, don't make any jokes."

"Oh no!" I protested "I wasn't planning on making jokes about your wings. It's just, I've never seen anything like this before. Their beautiful."

The girl seemed to brighten up at this comment, "You really think so?"

"Of course! I heard that having wings is a really rare trait. I've never seen it in person before."

"Yeah..." the girl muttered "That's what everyone thinks. Their not exactly right though...."

"Wait. What?"

"Nothing." the girl held out her hand. "I'm Lyra by the way. Lyra Phoebus."

"And I'm Aliar Ivory." We shoke hands.

"Oh!" Lyra exclaimed,"you are a first year student, are you?"

"Of course." I responded. "I'm so excited to start the year. But..." I hesitated "I'm also kinda nervous too. Even though my brother told me what Shade Academy's like, I still don't know what to expect."

"Is your brother a huntsman?"

"No, he's a third year. His name is Basin Obsidian, and he's the leader of team BLCK." I pulled my scroll out of my purse. "I've got pictures of him and his team. And..." I added with a smile, "He managed to sneak some pictures of the classes we'll be attending. Wanna see?"

She was about to respond when the speakers overhead turned on, "Attention students, we are about to land. Please bring all personal belongings with you as you leave the airship. Another reminder to reclaim your baggage and suitcases before you enter the school. For returning students, please meet up with your team leaders and move your things to your assigned dorms. For first years, once you have retrieved your items, please drop them off at the Great Hall. All students will meet in the auditorium for the ordination speech in eighty minutes. Welcome to Shade Academy."

People started flocking towards the exit. I could feel the ship landing slowly under my feet.

"Come on!" Lyra grabbed my wrist and started pulling me towards the door,"The pictures can wait. We're about to see the real thing!"

She dragged me out the door into the golden sun. The cool atmosphere of the airship turned to scorching desert heat in a heartbeat. Momentarily, I was binded by the shinning rays of the sun. When I adjusted to the light, I couldn't find the words to describe what I saw, or how I felt.

In front of me was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life. Shade Academy was a huge palace-like building, maby eighty years old, it was several stories high, surrounded by a tropical court yard. It looked really good which is saying alot because nowadays, it's hard to find beauty in Vacuo. Now I'm not saying that it was perfect, because it wasn't. Some of the sandstone benches were broken, and the marble memorial wall was well worn. Not to mention the entire courtyard had a decent layer of sand covering it, but this was Vacuo, so there wasn't much they could do about that, (but that kind of thing doesn't really bother me very much.) Despite all it's flaws, I loved it. It was even grander then Atlas.

"This place is great!" Lyra exclaimed.

"And packed." I added, "come on. Let's get our things."

One thing I learned the hard way about Vacuo: all sence of order and organization is tossed out the window.

There was no line or anything. Just a crowd of people trying to get to there things before any of it got stolen. We squeezed through the crowd and barely managed to get our stuff (not-so-cool fact: it took us at least twenty minutes, which is generous because it probably took longer.) The airship wasn't too tightly packed, but other airships were coming in, some had even more people than our airship. All of the luggage was delivered in a big package mess of chaos, so we had to shuffle through hundreds if not thousands of bags and hope we didn't grab the wrong luggage. It was so crowded that at one point, Lyra said that she needed air. So she climbed on a random guy's back while he was leaning over to grab a suitcase, and leaped into the air,(yes, dear readers, we somehow managed to stay together the whole time, though, I'm still not entirely sure how.)

Much later, we finally stumbled out of the crowd. I was sweating so hard, I wondered how I didn't faint. We collapsed on one of the stone benches. Small groups of students (probably teammates, probably friends) were walking around the courtyard talking about their vacation time, or maybe some of them were new students becoming friends. Most of the students were trying desperately not to trip and fall as they hauled their things indoors. A few managed, but others had no such luck. One poor guy accidentally opened his suitcase while he was pulling it out of a sand dune, and all of his things fell out. Another guy, maybe a friend or family member, dropped his things too help his buddy out. It made me glad to see that, even though it was a rough start for everyone, the school and the students still kept the same respect that Vacuo had for it's people.

Well... almost everyone.

"Hey! Your in my seat!"

Startled, I turned to see a tall blonde girl barely managing to stand straight and tall in her fancy clothes. And when I say fancy, I mean something a casual Atlisian citizen would wear: a sleeveless pink dress with a faint flower print towards the bottom. She wore a pair of hot pink high heels that were so ridiculously high, that I thought she was going for the floating princess look. Her face was covered in a super heavy layer of makeup. Her blonde hair was streaked with pink all over the place, and she was oviously wearing hair extensions, because there was no way that her hair was long enough to touch her butt.

"I'm sorry," I said as I looked at her sideways, "you must have the wrong bench."

"And the wrong school." Lyra added.

The blonde gave Lyra a distasteful look. "No one asked for your opinion, weirdo. By the way, are those pillows on your back? Or are you supposed to be some kind of 'rare' species or something?"

Lyra's face burned with hate "They're wings. And before you ask, yes, they are real."

"Well," the blonde sneered "I don't know what kind of trash is going through the headmistress' mind, recruiting freaks like you into one of the most famous combat schools in the world. You're definitely not worthy of even being here."

I was so mad that I got to my feet in an instant. "Well at least this is the most friendly kingdom in Remnant. In Atlas, they don't give a dime about anyone unless your rich. They definitely don't like faunus. And because of that, I think that Atlas is a crappy kingdom. I bet that you come from a rich, spoiled, ignorant, family who only cares about themselves. I wonder what would've made them hate you so much for them to send you to place that's to low for your standards."

She was so mad, that I thought she was going to blow a fuse. "What?! How dare you just assume..."

"I'm not assuming!" I snarled. "I was raised in Atlas. And I know first hand how awful the people are."

"You traitor!" She shrieked. "How dare you betray your home kingdom like..."

"Like what?" A taller girl walked up. She had deep red eyes, which shone behind a pair of circular spectacles. Her long brown hair was tied back in twin braids, and her bangs with red streaks were parted. She mainly wore dark red and brown colors, with gold as an accent. The only thing I could say was different about her, besides her clothes and her neat appearance, was her accent. I wouldn't say she sounded atlesian. Maybe she was half and half? I don't know. I couldn't tell how she felt because she looked pretty emotionless, but my guts told me she was far from pleased. I could tell because her position was rather tense and her tone was rather stiff.

"This little brat is talking trash about her home kingdom! She needs to be put in her place!" The blonde shook her head, flouncing her overdyed hair. The other girl rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. She used her other hand to push her spectacles in place.

"Sounds more like you need to be put in your place. If you wanted people who looked, walked and talked like you as friends, then you should have gone to Atlas. You made a poor choice in Academy chosing. Your physic doesn't even look huntress worthy. It's a surprise you even passed the Shade academy entrance exam." The girl bluntly stated, causing the blonde to glare daggers right through her newfound enemy.

"I-it's not my fault I was sent to this garbage kingdom! I was forced to! By my parents!" The blonde protested.

"Huh, how fun. It's a shame really. If this is an Atlesian tradition, then it must suck like crazy. What forced your parents to send you here, when you could have been at home, spoiled rotten to the core?" The girl grinned wryly. Boy, there was no end to the shame this girl could endow upon that blonde.

"And besides," I added, "Technically, I was born in Vacuo. So that gives you no valid excuse to call me racist."

"And I've visited Atlas in the past." Lyra said in a sour tone. "Do you want to know what I think of Atlas? It's an illusion. An illusion to all the people outside and in. People look at Atlas and think it's the best and most advanced kingdom of the present. But like any illusion, it can shatter in an instant. If you think Atlas is a great kingdom, then you can believe that if you want to. Nothing lasts forever."

"I've been born and raised in Atlas, and I will say that my lifestyle sucked, which is why I left to live in Vale. My only friend was a faunus, who was beaten and discriminated because of her faunus traits and family status. I agree with the standard that Atlas is nothing more then a mere fantasy. You can enjoy your beliefs, but watch where it will lead you, because it may lead you straight to your doom." The dark girl joined in. She wasn't even fazed by the Barbie girl's reaction. She just glared laser eyes through her plastic frame.

The blonde girl was looking at all of us with a murderous glare, "Well, I can't stand for any of this trash. I'm heading inside to find more sensible people to talk to. I think you all are a bunch of a..."

Her cuss word ( I'll let you guess which one,) was cut off by a squeal of joy that was so loud, that I almost had to cover my ears. It came from all the way across the courtyard, where the students were being dropped off from the airships. I couldn't see who exactly screamed, but she was definitely loud enough to silence the whole courtyard.

"Wow." I said in a small voice, "Someone's definitely excited."

"I bet even the people inside heard that, too." Lyra added. The dark girl nodded in agreement.

After a moment of silence, the blonde said, "Let this be a warning to you. If I see you ever again, then I will beat the stuffing out of you."

She gathered her four hot pink colored bags, and started struggling to get her things to the academy.

"What a jerk," the dark girl said, "I hope I'm never on a team with that girl."

"Um..." I looked more closely at the stranger and instantly realized something: the only luggage she had was a leather backpack. "Hey. Where are your bags?" I asked.

"I dropped them off at the Grand Hall." She said casually, "I kept my backpack on me just in case."

"Huh." Lyra nodded, "ok, who are you?"

"I'm Dracella. Dracella von Burgundy."

"Hi, there." I said "I'm Aliar Ivory." I helt out my hand. Dracella took my hand, and we shook.

"And I'm Lyra Phoebus. " Lyra shook hands with the new girl.

"Are you an Ivory?" asked Dracella.

"I am." I responded, "but I'm not into business, I'm a fighter."

"Interesting." Dracella said. "My uncle told me about the Ivory family. My parents don't like you guys."

"Um... Does this make us enemies?"

"No. In order for us to be enemies, we have to hate each other. I don't hate you."

Lyra let out her breath like she was relieved, "Thank goodness. Cause I thought you were gonna..."

"Take a selfie!!!" A squeaky voice behind me exclaimed.

I almost jumped out of my shoes. Behind us was the girl with the exact same voice that echoed throughout the courtyard. Except, she wasn't a girl, she was a faunus. She was wearing a vertically stripped skirt patterned with black and white. She wore a magenta colored shirt with short puffy sleeves, and a darker purple button-up vest on top of that. She had a pair of dark purple high heeled boots on. Also, she was wearing a tie across her neck. I usually thought that ties were worn by business workers, but she wore it like a practical joke. Her crazy, purple colored hair and matching colored cat ears only made her look more unprofessional, but in a good way. Maybe it was her black gloves that gave off the message that she wasn't here to mess around. With a folding fan on her belt, a scoll in her hand, and a look of pure craziness on her face, she looked like she was ready to fight an army of Grimm, then take a bunch of selfies of herself right next to the decaying corpses. Then, she'd probably take selfies with her scroll on every inch of the campus.

All in all, she looked like someone from the lower classes of Atlas, or maybe someone from Minstral.

"How did you get here?" Asked Lyra.

"I took the scenic route." She sounded like a girl who was living the life of a party. "Oh! And my name is Catness Magenta."

We all exchanged names. Then Dracella said that she had to go text her cousin before the welcoming ceremony, and she ran into the school.

"So," Catness asked, "Why aren't you two inside the building?"

I face palmed myself. "Right!" Then I turned to Lyra, "We should get our bags to the Grand Hall."

"Well if you wanna talk later, then I'm always available." Catness offered. Then she smiled, flashing two rows of shiny white teeth, and disappeared.

For a minute we didn't say anything. Lyra piped up first. "Huh. That was a thing."

"We should probably go drop our stuff off." I suggested. I picked up my black duffle bag and slung it over my shoulder. Then I grabbed my two white suit cases by the handles and got to my feet. Lyra grabbed a golden suitcase and a blue duffle bag.

"Yeah," she agreed, "We don't want to be late."

I amplified my Aura and the sand beneath my feet solidified, creating a solid ground for me to walk on.

"Lyra," I told her, "I may have just met you and I think you're a good person. I hope maybe we can be on a team together. Or at least be friends."

Lyra smiled. "Well we can be friends. And I think I could definitely live with you on the same team as me. But..." Her smile faded, "I don't know how they pick the teams. Let's just hope the system's friendly enough to at least let us make a choice."

"One can only hope." I muttered. "Wanna meet me at the auditorium after we drop our stuff off?"

"Sounds fun to me." Then she took off, flying over the scorching sand, with her suitcase dangling in the air.

"Oh yeah." I smiled as I walked towards the Grand Hall. "This may be a tough first year, but it's gonna be fun."

@saiyoyuutsume, @cinnamon-pineforest, @taiyang-too-long, @doctoroobleck, @fallentitan98, @ask-stjerne-a-fallende, @ask-dracella-von-burgundy, @ask-professor-goodwitch

7 notes · View notes