RWBY: In Flight
Day One
As Yang Xiao Long, the name of the yellow-haired girl, had said, the flight from Forever Fall to Beacon Academy was rather cramped. The bullhead was a relatively small, practical vehicle with a minimum amount of care for the comfort of its passengers. The main passenger area had two rows of folding-down plastic seats along the inner walls, six on each side, a narrow walkway that led to the cockpit, and room for cargo beneath the floor and in opening compartments above the seating area.
With only twelve seats available, squeezing all fifteen of us into the vehicle ended up being something of a challenge. Professor Goodwitch ended up inviting Weiss––who apparently had some experience with piloting––to sit with her in the cockpit, but that still left thirteen people and twelve seats.
Fortunately Zatanna cheerfully provided a solution before any sort of conflict could break out by claiming a seat on my lap. Thus I ended up in the middle of the left row, sitting in what had once been Weiss’s seat with Zatanna’s wiggling butt pressed against my crotch and the white-haired girl’s teammates sandwiching me on either side.
It was a rather tight fit. The seats were about as small as they reasonably could be while still allowing a person to sit there and all three of the girls around me were…generously gifted in the rear department. Yang sat on my right while the fourth member of the team––Blake, the black-haired girl with the bow in her hair––was on my left.
Zatanna seemed to be rather delighted by her position, taking every opportunity to shift and adjust her seating, rubbing her butt up and down my rather obvious erection and leaning back against my chest to rest her head on my shoulder. I wasn’t sure whether to be glad she was there because her presence hid the tent in my pants or frustrated by her teasing which had resulted in that tent in the first place.
The flight was about three hours long and Zatanna quickly struck up a conversation with Yang and Ruby, who was sitting on Yang’s right. The two girls were apparently sisters, with Yang two years older than Ruby, but the younger girl had been given special permission to join Beacon early and was actually the leader of the four-person team.
Yang tried to drag Blake into the conversation, but the other girl had immediately pulled out a book once the bullhead had taken off and was clearly engrossed in her reading. The book had a plain black cover with no title or author printed on it and Blake kept the book angled towards the wall on her left, but with my supersensory charm still active I was able to catch a glimpse of what she was reading.
I quickly regretted doing so when I realized that Blake’s book was some sort of rather raunchy romance. I only read about two pages before I tore my eyes away, but the scene Blake had been reading involved the protagonist tied up and dangling upside down from a tree branch while servicing her master with her mouth as some form of ‘ninja training’.
Normally I would have ignored it, but with Zatanna slowly grinding her butt against my lap, my mind instantly pictured my beautiful girlfriend in just that scenario, something that did nothing to cool the passion slowly stirring in my loins. I could almost see it; Zatanna, her dark hair hanging down until it almost brushed the floor, her breasts bouncing as she struggled against the ropes holding her arms behind her back and her eyes clouded with lust…
My hand on Zatanna’s belly pressed her down against me, momentarily stopping her wiggling as I focused on my occlumency. Not the time, Hydrys. Not the time. I was in a tiny metal box hurtling through the sky surrounded by potentially hostile teenagers with dangerous weapons and some form of enchanted armor or magical shields.
Despite some minor discomforts however, the flight proved to be rather informative. I mostly stayed silent, listening in to the handful of conversations going on around me and only occasionally adding my two knut to Zatanna’s chatter with the two sisters. Still, even without really needing to ask any specific questions, I managed to learn a lot about both Beacon and this world in general.
Beacon was a school that trained Huntsmen, some manner of magically-empowered warriors that fought against Grimm, a category of dangerous and numerous magical creatures that posed a constant threat to all the people of this world. Huntsmen used Aura and Semblances to empower themselves and fight Grimm that were able to easily kill any mundane person.
Most people on this Plane lived in one of four major Kingdoms that were protected from the Grimm by walls, armies, and the ceaseless effort of Huntsmen, though smaller settlements did exist in geographically favorable locations. Grimm were apparently in some way attracted to people and Huntsmen in particular and poorly defended villages, towns, and homesteads didn’t tend to last long.
I also found out about several other types of Grimm that I absolutely wanted to collect Blueprints from before I left. Nevermore were giant Grimm birds, smaller than the Sphinx had been but larger than any non-magical avian. Then there were Beowolves, King Taijitu, Death Stalkers, and many other creatures that none of the students mentioned by name but I would probably be able to find more information about them somewhere.
Even with the odd restriction that limited me to four of any non-legendary summon, if I managed to gain templates for all the different Creatures of Grimm, I could potentially assemble an enormous army of dangerous magical creatures with enough time. They weren’t dragons, nundus, or lethifolds, but even a skilled and powerful wizard could be overwhelmed by an army of lesser magical creatures and the idea of dropping four sphinxes and a handful of other massive Grimm on an unsuspecting opponent was…deeply appealing. Plus it sounded like these were just the most common species, and there were many more out there that were rarely seen by those who lived to tell the tale.
As the trip progressed, I considered what I wanted to do next. Goodwitch had offered to send me to Vale with the next flight between the city and the Academy, but I was starting to think that maybe I should try to hang around Beacon for a few days. It sounded like most students and teachers lived on the premises like they did at Hogwarts, meaning that it was more than likely that there were a few free bedrooms somewhere. Perhaps I’d be able to swing a few nights at the Academy to rest? Hopefully stepping in to help Jaune and Cardin had earned me at least that much goodwill.
Overheard conversations about schoolwork suggested that the Academy, for all that it specialized in combat training, did have a library. Vale probably did as well, but it was anyone’s guess if I’d be able to both find and access such an important building in any reasonable amount of time.
Furthermore, the Academy’s library would almost certainly include information on all the topics I was interested in learning about, while a more general library would probably have far more limited resources. Knowing about different types of Grimm and where they could be found was almost certainly important for a Huntsman, and I also wanted to learn more about Aura and Semblances. They sounded like some kind of magic, but the specifics eluded me. It was simply too common knowledge for any of the students to discuss amongst themselves and I didn’t want to ask questions that would further showcase my ignorance.
It was something of a relief when we finally made it to Beacon. My legs had gone numb an hour into the trip and it was uncomfortably warm in the cramped metal box. The bullhead shook and lurched as we came in for a landing and I grit my teeth and counted my breaths, my wand clutched tightly in my hand and a shield spell on the tip of my tongue. Jaune looked rather queasy, though Pyrrha’s whispered reassurances seemed to help him settle his nerves.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
Professor Goodwitch and Weiss led the way as everyone collected their things and filed out of the bullhead. I emerged to find us standing on a landing field, a half-dozen other bullheads arrayed around us on the dark gray tarmac. In the distance I could see the very top of a tall tower, but everything else was hidden behind a wall of tall, normal-colored trees that surrounded the field.
Once everyone had disembarked, the Professor turned to address her students. “Excellent work today, everyone. I’d say this was overall a rather successful trip. I’m sure Professor Peach will be pleased with all the sap we’ve collected today. Please have your reports on today’s field trip ready for me no later than the end of this week.”
There was a series of groans and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. The Plane and school changed, but students were the same no matter where I went. No one wanted to be saddled with more written homework. “I know it's boring work, but Huntsmen and civilians alike live and die by the information Huntsmen bring back after hunts and it's important to start building good habits as students. We may have only encountered a single ursa during the trip, but knowing where Grimm aren’t can be just as important as knowing where they are.”
She paused, fixing each student in term with a penetrating stare. Then she nodded sharply, seeming to like what she was seeing. “Very good. Class dismissed. Mr. Black, Ms. Zatara, please stay behind.” Most of the students didn’t need to hear anything else and quickly dispersed, hurrying away towards the road leading into the trees.
Professor Goodwitch waited for them to leave, then walked over to where Zatanna and I had been standing off to one side. “I’m afraid we just missed the last flight to Vale and the next one won’t be till tomorrow morning.”
“That’s alright, Professor. We’re in no rush. You’ve already saved us a lot of wandering around.”
She smiled tightly. “Indeed. Forever Fall is close enough to Vale that frequent hunts are sent to purge the local Grimm population, but it is still a dangerous region. You seem like you can take care of yourselves, but even the greatest Huntsmen can be overwhelmed if they are not careful.”
“Quantity has a quality all its own,” I quoted.
She hummed thoughtfully. “Well said. I’ll have to remember that one. In any case, I believe there may be some rooms where you can stay for the night, and the cafeteria should have more than enough food for two extra people. First however, we should go speak with Headmaster Ozpin. I’m sure he’ll want to thank you personally for assisting some of our students.”
“Of course, we’d be honored to.” I wasn’t sure if being the Headmaster of a Huntsmen school was as lofty a title as if this had been a school of wizardry, but it did sound comparable. Beacon was apparently the only school for training Huntsmen in all of Vale, making it sort of like the Auror academy, but even more important since it sounded like Vale needed a lot more Huntsmen than Britain needed Aurors. This Ozpin was probably a very busy and influential man, and the opportunity to meet him was not something I was going to pass up.
Professor Goodwitch nodded, then led us towards where the other students had disappeared. At Zatanna’s prompting, she began to tell us a bit about Beacon and its history training Huntsmen. She seemed very proud of the Academy and her position here. I also asked about potentially visiting the library to learn a bit more about Vale and its surroundings and she complimented my studiousness and told me that such a thing could probably be arranged.
After a short trek through a copse of trees, we finally got our first sight of Beacon, and it was certainly an impressive building. The great castle of white stone was surrounded by expansive, well-cared-for gardens and plazas. Fountains burbled, flags waved in the breeze, and the pale stone shone in the light of the slowly setting sun.
It reminded me somewhat of Hogwarts, though the two castles were built in completely different architectural styles. Hogwarts was awe inspiring, but built from dull gray stone with practical walls and towers. This place was sleek and shiny, with swooping curves and pointed, decorative towers. I was slightly biased towards my alma mater, but I could admit that Beacon had a beautiful campus. It may not be a school of wizardry, but it was still a wondrous sight.
We followed the Professor down a cobblestone path and into the main building. There weren’t many students around, but I did see one girl with rabbit ears sticking out of her head and another boy with curly horns emerging just above his hairline and wrapping around his head like a helmet. No one seemed to give either of them a second glance, leaving me to wonder what was going on with the two of them and why no one else seemed the least bit surprised to see them.
Zatanna and I got a few glances, but Professor Goodwitch’s presence warded off any questions or concerns. Our guide received a number of greetings, polite nods, and people quickly moved out of her way. She seemed like a highly-respected teacher, more a head-of-house than someone teaching an unpopular elective. That did make sense since she was the combat teacher at a school where combat was probably an integral part of the curriculum.
After several twists and turns, we arrived at an elevator and the Professor turned to look at us. “Headmaster Ozpin’s office is on the top floor. He may be busy when we arrive, so I’ll go in and see if he’s available while you wait in––”
The elevator dinged and slid open, revealing a middle-aged man with tousled silver hair and dark spectacles perched on his nose. He was wearing a black suit jacket over a green shirt and dark green vest that matched his long pants. In one hand he held a cane with an elaborate silver handle reminiscent of a sword hilt, while the other was white-knuckled around a half-empty mug of something dark and steaming.
There was a slightly manic look on his face as he stepped forward. “Glynda. Glynda! I didn’t realize you were back, but you’re just the person I wanted to see. I need you to get the Group together. I think the Brothers, they’re––” he paused as he noticed Zatanna and I and tilted his head to the side, light flashing off the lenses of his glasses. I felt a shift in the air, like the pressure that came just before a storm. “You…don’t look like one of theirs,” he said slowly, his eyes boring into Zatanna. He licked his lips and planted his cane. “But you feel like one. Who are you!” he demanded sharply.
My wand was in my hand in a flash and Zatanna took a step back, standing beside me close enough that I could easily shield both of us with a single spell. Glynda looked somewhere between confused, worried, and shocked. Still, she answered the man’s question before either of us could muster a response. “These are the two people I mentioned in my report, Headmaster. Mr. Hydrys Black and Ms. Zatanna Zatara. They’re travelers that we ran into in Forever Fall.”
“Travelers, you say…” the man said slowly, “Travelers from where, exactly did you say?”
I suddenly had a strong suspicion what it was this man, the Headmaster apparently, had noticed. I smiled tightly. “From a very distant land. We…walked quite a distance to get here.”
“Did you, now,” he asked rhetorically. “Curious. There are few places on Remnant I would describe in such a fashion.”
Professor Goodwitch looked between me, Zatanna, and the headmaster. “Ozpin?” she asked, her riding crop held loosely at her side.
The man jolted, seemingly suddenly realizing that she was there. “Ah, yes. My apologies, Glynda. Don’t worry about what I said before.” His eyes flicked over to Zatanna and I. “Perhaps we should continue this conversation in my office.”
I bit my lower lip and did something I maybe should have done earlier. I focused intently and a thin film of gold appeared over my eyes, barely visible except for where it caught the light. There was a shimmer of Color deep inside of the man in front of me. Black and White with just a hint of others. Nothing like what I saw when I looked at myself with the spell, but far more than I’d seen in anyone or anything else before.
I swallowed heavily and glanced over towards Zatanna. Professor Goodwitch looked much as she had before, but as I had both feared and suspected, there was a similar shimmer permeating Zatanna’s entire body, different from Ozpin but clearly related in some way. I glanced around briefly and my eyes caught another glimmer, a point of light somewhere far below the ground.
“That…sounds like a good idea,” I said slowly, my grip on my wand tightening. Well, this certainly wasn’t what I had been expecting. I felt for my connections to my lands and was pleased to see that they had all recharged since I’d used them to summon Zatanna. I really hoped I wasn’t going to need them, but I felt much better having them available.