RWBY 1. Chapter 1

Cinereus was sitting on a park bench, hunched over with his hands on his head. His ash grey hair cascaded over his fingers. His uncle had been pestering him about getting it cut, but he never bothered to do so. The boy had too much on his mind at the moment.

After returning to town, the first thing Cinereus did was return to his uncle's home. Saying that the old man was angry with the boy would have been an understatement. But luckily for Cinereus, the old man was also glad to see that his nephew was all right. They spent many days clearing up the disappearance with the law, and Cinereus was forced to do some community service for the trouble he cause to both the police and his uncle.

A few weeks passed, and Cinereus told his uncle that he wanted to return to school to try and finish his education as a Huntsman. At first, the old man was reluctant, seeing as Cinereus ran away last time he was pulled out of school, but eventually he agreed.

Both Cinereus and his uncle tried to get their hands on the paperwork that was required for a student to enroll into school, but his admission was sadly denied. The teachers were less than happy to welcome the boy who had caused them a lot of trouble a couple of years ago.

So there he was, the 17 year old Cinereus, sitting on a bench in the park and feeling miserable. He still wore his armor, but his weapons were in his room at his uncle's house. After sitting there for a few more minutes, Cinereus stood up and began walking back home. He was trying to figure out how to get accepted again at Signal Academy. He quickly realized, however, that nothing he could do would help.

_I need to find a way to get noticed by either a Huntsman or a Huntress._ He thought. The only problem with that thought was that he had no way to know when and where one such individual would be on a mission. He let out a depressed sigh, and decided to take a detour.

Cinereus had been given a bit of money earlier that day by his Uncle. It had been a long time since the boy had actually bought food rather than stolen it, so he figured that he would start behaving like a good citizen once again.

He quickly found himself inside of a grocery store, and bought himself a small energy bar. The cashier was very quiet and uninterested in his customers. Before Cinereus could leave, a hologram of a news report flickered on one of the store's larger windows, playing a report.

The reporter described a small pack of Beowolves that had managed to enter one of the least inhabited parts of the city. It advised people to remain in their homes and to wait until the law enforcement personnel dealt with the creatures. Cinereus stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the report.

No doubt, this was his chance to get noticed. That being said, he could get arrested for vigilante justice if he did chose to show himself and possibly get in the way of professionals. Cinereus groaned and brought his hand to his face. Before rubbing his temples, he notices that the hand was still sealed inside of an armoured gauntlet, and pulled it back.

_Decisions, decisions... Screw it, I'm going!_ Cinereus decided. He figured this if he was going to get arrested, he would at least let the world know that he was a capable monster slayer. Quickly, he sprinted out of the store and made his way home. He barely acknowledged his Uncle, who seemed worried about the recent report.

Cinereus quickly climbed to his room, and his uncle realized what the boy was doing. Before Cinereus could leave his room with his Zweihander and Revolver, the old man stood in the doorway, blocking his path.

"You are not going to fight monsters. I don't know what you think you're doing, but I seriously doubt that you'd be more qualified than a cop," He said. Cinereus walked up to the old man. He placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Monster slaying is what I want to do. If I go then the guys at Signal or Beacon won't have a choice but to at least notice me," said the boy. His uncle shook his head.

"You're more likely to get arrested than accepted into school," He said. Cinereus shrugged, he didn't care about his Uncle's opinion. Even after returning, Cinereus was not happy about the overprotective nature of the old man.

"Either way I'll be preforming a public service. Don't worry, it's not like this will be my first time slaying monsters," Said the boy. He pushed his way past his uncle and made his way to the front door. The old man followed him, pleading for the boy to stay.

"You can't keep me grounded here forever, uncle. I'm going," said the boy. He opened the front door and stepped outside. His Uncle just stared at the back of the door, and sighed.

"Jeez, he's such a handful sometimes!" said the old man before returning to the living room. He knew that he would be unable to stop the boy. The old man made his way to the living room, and sat down in front of the tv. He figured that he might as well keep an eye on the report and make sure that Cinereus would be alright.

...

Cinereus managed to reach the afflicted district in about an hour. He figured that by this point the cops have probably almost repelled the monster attack, but he still kept going. Cinereus got his armor to assemble his helmet when he saw a closed road. There was a pair of cruisers that were parked perpendicular to the road, blocking all access. A news chopper was flying overhead, and a reporter was speaking to the officers. The boy was surprised when the officers that were standing guard looked at him and called him over.

"That was fast, they told us that the Huntsman would show up in at least 50 minutes," Said the officer. Cinereus realized that if he was going to get inside, he could do so by posing as the Hunter. He also noted that the call for a huntsman or huntress must have been very recent. He didn't have much time to clear the area of monsters.

The reporter tried to get Cinereus' attention and asked him how long it would take for him to clear the district; the boy just ignored the question.

"Just point the way and make sure no one else get in," Cinereus said to the officers. The helmet over his face muffled his voice, making him sound a little older than he actually was. The boy stepped past the officers after being told that the Beowolves had sealed themselves inside of the bank.

After getting out of eyesight, Cinereus began sprinting for the bank, he drew his weapons and made sure that his revolver was loaded. As he ran, the point of his heavy sword dragged on the ground, creating a shower of sparks.

The bank came into his view, and he saw a large group of officers that were dressed in full body armor and taking aim at the building with assault rifles. Many of the windows had been shattered by gunfire, but no one was pulling their triggers anymore because their targets were no longer sitting near the windows. Cinereus leaped over their heads, and rushed the front door of the building.

"Is he insane?" An officer asked. Cinereus could not help but smile as he heard this. He was no longer thinking straight, all of his thoughts were focused on the teachers from Signal and Beacon watching him via the news feed.

_You'll have to try hard to not notice me!_ Cinereus thought cockily. He burst through the glass doors, and after a short trip to the back of the lobby, he was greeted by a series of surprised growls and howls.

As quick as lighting, Cinereus scanned his surroundings, and counted four large Beowolves crouched among the still fresh corpses of smaller ones. The living ones were probably the leaders of the former pack.

Cinereus took aim with his revolver, and fired three shots into the bunch. One of the 'wolves fell when a pair of bullets smashed through its skull. The other three scattered, retreating deeper into the building hallways.

Cinereus sprinted after the slowest one, and when he was close enough, he brought his sword in an overhead strike, intending to crush the large creature's spine with the blade's weight. What he did not realize, was that the ceiling in this hallway was lower than the one in the lobby. His sword stopped moving when it buried itself into the ceiling.

"Crap!" Cinereus exclaimed. The 'wolf turned around with a smile on its face. Cinereus let go of the sword, and leaped backwards as the monster jumped at him. Before landing on his back, Cinereus fired the last three 2 round shots of his revolver into his advancing foe. The Beowolf landed on top of him, dead.

Cinereus was breathing heavily. He cursed himself for making such a stupid mistake. He quickly pushed the corpse away, and retrieved his hanging sword from the ceiling. Another set of heavy paws could be heard, and they were getting closer.

The boy turned around, and saw the third Beowolf running at him. Quickly, the boy put away the now empty revolver, and held out the point of his sword. The tight quarters of the hall would ensure that the beast either stopped its advance, or impaled itself on the sword.

The Beowolf chose to stop charging the boy, but Cinereus did not allow it to come to a full stop. He sprinted at full speed towards the monster, one hand on the sword's handle, the other gripping the secondary grip on the blade. The sword was being handled like a spear. With a solid thrust, Cinereus stabbed the creature, but before the point could pierce through its skull, the 'wolf had managed to move to the right. Instead of killing the creature, the sword's point buried itself into its shoulder.

A loud and painful howl emanated from the creature's mouth. Cinereus drove the sword deeper into the shoulder, and forced the monster to turn its back to the wall. The serrated edge of the weapon made things more painful for the creature. With another solid push, the sword stabbed through the shoulder and into the wall. The secondary hand guard of the blade acted as a brace, keeping the creature pinned against the wall.

Cinereus chose this moment to begin reloading the revolver. He quickly grabbed it and ejected the spent casings out of their chambers. Before he could load in the new rounds, something barrelled into his side.

It was the fourth 'wolf. Cinereus struggled to escape its grip. The wolf reared back and swiped at the boy with a clawed hand. When the creature reared, Cinereus managed to get his gun hand free, and used the revolver to block the strike.

The Beowolf brought back its hand, and Cinereus chose that moment to flick his wrist, putting the empty revolver back together. The 'wolf swung at him with its other hand and Cinereus stabbed forwards with the firearm's bayonet. The 'wolf impaled its own hand onto the blade, and howled in pain.

Cinereus chose that moment to push the creature off of him, and stood over the writhing monster. With a quick series of kicks, the claws of his boots opened up the vital veins and arteries on the monster's body, and soon it was too weak to struggle. The monster had lost too much blood and had no strength left.

Cinereus turned to face the last monster, which was still pinned on the wall. It was gripping at the sword, but the serrated edges made it almost impossible for it to pull out the weapon.

Cinereus opened up the revolver again and loaded it with a fresh set of 12 rounds. Before he could close it up again, the creature was silenced by a loud _bang_. Cinereus did not see what happened, and looked up from his weapon.

At the end of a hall, there was a woman with a wand in her hand. The tip was still crackling with energy. Cinereus realized that this was the Huntress that the police had originally called. He almost dropped his gun when he realized that he probably was going to get arrested.

The boy retrieved his Zweihander and slowly made his way in front of the woman. He put away his weapons, and bowed his head. Judging by the look on her face, she didn't seem impressed with him.

"Please don't arrest me," Was all he said before she forcefully grabbed his collar and dragged him out of the bank.

…

"Do you know how much trouble you're in young man?" The woman asked.

Cinereus had been dragged to an interrogation room by the woman and was now sitting down in front of a small grey table. The dark room was light by a single hanging light, making the whole situation more intimidating that it already was.

Cinereus' head was hanging low. He could not look up from his hands which were now resting on the table. He felt bad, really bad. He was certain that he had just destroyed every chance he had at getting back into school. Not wanting to waste the time of the Huntress, he decided to answer.

"You're going to have me arrested for interfering with a Huntress' affairs," He mumbled. He had the urge to wipe his eyes, which were starting to get a bit misty. He didn't because he was afraid of accidentally rotating his glass eye, which was located inside of his right socket, in an awkward direction.

_Man up! Don't cry you big baby._ He thought.

"You put yourself and others in great danger. Not only that, but you lied to law enforcement officers. What were you thinking?" She asked. The woman stopped pacing around the table and placed her hands on her hips. Cinereus swallowed some saliva, and decided to be honest.

"I was recently rejected for returning to Signal Academy. I figured if I took care of some monsters, that I could prove to them that I was a capable monster hunter and that they would allow me to return," He explained. He saw the woman bring a hand to her forehead, and rubbed her temples. A few moments later, she looked him in the eye.

"Well lucky for you, someone did notice you. He would like to speak to you personally," She said. Cinereus was a little confused. Did his plan actually work?

"Really?" He asked. The woman nodded.

"Yes, he should be here any moment," She answered. As if on cue, the door to the interrogation room opened.

The huntress walked to the right side of the room, and a man walked in. Cinereus dumbly stared at him. The man wore a pair of glasses, had silver hair, and wore an expensive looking uniform.

"Cinereus Caelum, am I right?" He asked. Cinereus nodded, not noticing that his visitor was holding out a hand. After a few moments, the man coughed, bringing the boy's attention to his outstretched hand.

"Uhh, yes sir," Cinereus quickly said. He took the hand and shook it a little too vigorously.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Asked the visitor. Cinereus shook his head.

"Where did you disappear to when you ran away?"

The question was an odd one. Cinereus looked at him with a confused expression.

"I've read your record, I know all about what happened to your right eye and how your uncle pulled you out of Signal Academy. I want to know where you were during the time you ran away,"

"I went home, sir. I-" Cinereus could not continue. The man waved a hand, signalling the boy to continue.

"I… uhh… I went to my old home and killed the creatures that had taken up residence there," Answered the boy. The man expressionlessly nodded, and looked at his huntress for a second.

"I assume that you really want to become a huntsman, right?" asked the white haired man. Cinereus did not know how to respond. After a few moments, he noiselessly nodded.

"Final question, do you know who I am?" asked the man. Cinereus found himself stuck.

The uniform that the man wore was definitely that of a teacher at Beacon Academy. Of that Cinereus was certain. As to the man's identity, Cinereus was not so sure.

"I'm… uhh, guessing you're from Beacon Academy?" Asked the boy, The man smiled.

"It's ok to be nervous," He said. Cinereus looked at the kind expression on the man's face, and finally recognized it. He had seen it on the new before when he was younger.

"You're the headmaster at Beacon!" Cinereus almost shouted. Joy was bubbling in his chest, and threatening to explode out of his mouth. He was going to go to Beacon! He was skipping Signal and going straight to monster slaying!

The headmaster smiled, but also cringed when he heard the shout. He studied Cinereus' features for a moment, and spoke.

"I guess it's safe to say that you want to come to my school?" He asked. Cinereus nodded vigorously, afraid that if he spoke he would start shouting.

The headmaster looked at the Huntress, who muttered something like "Not another one," With a nod, the headmaster turned back to the boy.

"Welcome to Beacon," He smiled.

…

Cinereus was at the airport waiting for the ship to arrive and ferry the new students to the famed school. His Uncle was waiting with him, and making sure that the boy had everything he needed.

"Did you bring your sleeping bag?"

"Yes,"

"Did you pack your toothbrush and tooth paste?"

"Yes" Cinereus' voice sounded a bit annoyed.

"Remember to be polite to everyone there and to-" The boy's uncle started.

"Yes! Uncle we've been through the list three times already!" Cinereus exclaimed. He wasn't mad at the old man for being concerned; it was in his nature after all.

"I'm just making sure you didn't forget anything. I can't believe that your plan actually worked," The old man replied. Cinereus chuckled.

"I can't either," Replied the boy.

"I don't want to get any calls from school saying that you injured a classmate during a sparring session,"

"I know," Cinereus replied.

"And make sure you don't lose another eye,"

"Are you doing this on purpose?" The boy asked. One look at his Uncle's face confirmed the boy's suspicions.

The ship landed a few moments later. Before Cinereus climbed on board, He looked at his uncle again, and decided to hug him for the first time in his life. He didn't say anything, and didn't let the old man say anything before he walked away and climbed on the ship.

Once inside, Cinereus made his way to the nearest window, and waved at his Uncle. He saw that the old man was overwhelmed by the boy's sudden action, and he could not help but tear up a bit himself.

"I'm going to miss you old man," Cinereus whispered to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

The trip to Beacon was long. Longer than it should have been, or so Cinereus thought. The boy ended up sitting at a small table on the air ship and actually managed to fall asleep for a few minutes. When he woke up, he was greeted by a few strange stairs from the other new students in the ship.

Apparently, the vast majority of the new students were also 17. Cinereus was glad that he managed to get into school at the appropriate age for a first year. It would have been strange to show up older than everyone else who was starting.

The others made the boy a little nervous. After getting a few stares from a minority of the others, Cinereus became a little self-conscious about his appearance. At one point during the trip, the boy retreated to a washroom and looked at himself in a mirror.

The first thing that caught his eye, naturally, was the ugly scar that stretched from his eyebrow to his cheek. The blade that had taken his right eye during his early years at Signal had managed to cut very deep, and had split his eyelids in two. That said, the doctors that treated his wound had done their best to make sure the skin was even on both sides of the white and rough flesh.

The glass eye that was residing in the eye socket was the next thing that he looked at. It rotated around as much as his left eye did, but the pupil never contracted or dilated. The craftsmanship and level of detail on the false organ was impressive, but it was easily recognized as a fake.

Cinereus knew that he would not be able to do anything about those two things. What bothered him the most about his appearance, wasn't the ugly scar and fake eye, it was his hair. It looked more like the end of a mop rather than human hair. He silently wondered why he had forgotten to get it cut before getting on the air ship. After all, he did have a few days to prepare for the trip.

"Well, I won't be attracting any girls any time soon," He told himself as he left the washroom. Cinereus had never interacted much with members of the opposite sex in his life, but that didn't mean he wasn't attracted to a few specimens that he had seen in the past. He knew, however, that he had yet to find anyone that would be able to ignore the scar on his face.

Once the ship landed, Cinereus hurried himself to the exit and managed to be the first off the ship. He did need to elbow his way ahead of the crowd, but he was too excited to care about how others would react to his behaviour.

He was standing one of the cobblestone paths that lead to the front entrance of the Academy. Cinereus had to stop walking, and stare at the large complex that stood proudly in front of him.

It was more of a castle than an Academy. The school had many towers and a wall-like structure surrounded the exterior. The boy could not help but let his gaze fall on the tallest tower, which was located in the center of the castle. It was a massive spire that easily made the other impressive towers look like dwarfs in comparison.

Cinereus' sightseeing was rudely interrupted by another boy who shoved Cinereus out of his way. The grey haired teenager stumbled to the right side of the path, trying to stay standing. Once he regained his balance, he saw a group of three guys walking down the path, snickering.

"Hey! What was that for?" Cinereus called out to the boys. The trio stopped walking and turned around. Judging by the way they were dressed, they all looked like upper middle class gentlemen. One had a curved sword strapped to his belt. The weapon had a spike as a pommel, and Cinereus wondered what kind of weapon it was.

The second boy had a pair of handguns strapped to each hip. Both guns had a blade on them, and from the looks of it, it seemed as if the firearms fired those blades rather than bullets. He was the shortest and weakest looking of the three. The expression on his face was not like the one on the other two. He seemed really bored rather than annoyed or angry.

The leader of the group, a very large and muscular boy, had a halberd on his back. Cinereus thought that he saw an ammunition clip sticking out of the weapon before the boy turned around. The weapon was also segmented. Cinereus assumed that it was a very flexible.

The three boys looked at Cinereus, and the middle one stepped forwards. He was much taller than Cinereus, but the grey haired boy was not intimidated. He had seen scarier things earlier in life.

"You were in our way. And you did the exact same thing to us a few minutes ago. I thought that it would be nice to repay the favor," The boy answered.

"Sorry, I was just really excited," Cinereus explained. The boy sneered at him and pushed him. Cinereus did not expect the shove, and fell down on the ground.

"Don't get in our way again, scar-face," The tall boy said. He turned around and began walking back towards the school with his two other friends. Cinereus sat there for a few moments, trying to understand what happened.

"Good job, you already made one enemy on your first day at school! Keep it up boy, you're doing great!" Cinereus told himself out loud as he got back up. He began walking down the path again, sticking to the side and out of everyone else's way.

There were other students walking around the grounds. Not just first years or new arrivals. Cinereus saw a couple sitting on a bench, reading out of a textbook. There were also a few groups of girls here and there walking around talking about some gossip or bragging about missions that they had returned from.

The boy felt a bit jealous of these people. He understood that he would need to meet new people when he showed up at Beacon, but now that he was here, he realized that talking to people was a little scary. What he wanted right now was at least one friend to talk to.

While he was thinking, Cinereus ended up wandering a little too far from the main path to the school. He quickly found himself standing at the edge of an artificial pond. This place was a bit more quiet than the other school grounds that he had walked through. A few guys were walking along the water's edge holding hands with girls, and another student was reading a book as she walked.

As he walked, Cinereus kept his eyes trained on the ground. His clawed boots clicked against the stone tiles of the path with every step. When the boy looked up, he saw a girl quickly look away. The expression on her face was one of fright.

It took the boy a few moments to realize that he had seen this girl before, back when he had two eyes. She had green hair, and was about one head and a half shorter than him. She wore a fairly conservative suit, it didn't look extremely expensive but Cinereus knew that her family was well off.

He remembered the last time he saw her. It was a long time, back when he was still attending Signal academy. The weapon that was strapped to her hip was the same one that took his right eye. Smara Clara was her name.

Cinereus remembered her as a timid and shy girl, but also as a very talented fighter. He remembered the fateful sparring match with mixed feelings. On one hand, he was angry at her for injuring him, despite it being an accident. On the other hand, he was very impressed by her performance on that day.

She had attempted to walk away while Cinereus was distracted by his thoughts, but the boy started to walk faster until he was standing next to her.

"Hey," The boy greeted. A small squeak escaped her mouth as she jumped in surprise. She quickly glanced at the boy, and almost immediately began talking… very quickly.

"Oh, Cinereus! I'm so sorry about your eye! I really am! I never got to apologize properly for it, and I felt really bad after you left school-" She started. Cinereus hushed her by interrupting.

"It's ok, I got a new one. And that was, what, three or four years ago?" He said. Smara took a few deep breaths, and tried to calm down.

"I'm just… really surprised to see you here. You never returned to Signal," She said. Cinereus chuckled.

"My Uncle thought that I was getting too violent because of that place, so he kept me from returning. The teachers also didn't want me going back when I tried to return," He said. Smara seemed a bit surprised.

"You tried to return? Even after I-" She was unable to finnish. Cinereus gave her arm a light punch.

"Monster hunting is my passion. I'd be a shame if I let an _accident_ stop me," He said, emphasizing the word to let her know that he really wasn't mad at her.

Smara was a feeling a little overwhelmed by the whole meeting. For a very long time, she feared meeting with the boy again. When they were attending Signal, Cinereus was a very strange child. He kept on talking about fighting techniques, weapons and monsters. She always feared sparring with him because of what she saw him do to the other students that got in the rink with him.

Usually the fights ended with Cinereus bruising up his opponents pretty badly, or spraining their limbs. The teachers kept pushing to get the boy out of the rink, but he would continue to find ways to keep sparring. When Smara was finally forced to face him, she panicked and forgot that the fight was merely a training exercise. Cinereus made a mistake when he got too aggressive, and she ended up hacking at his face in a panic.

Naturally, both Cinereus and Smara got in trouble. Cinereus ended up leaving the school because of his Uncle, and Smara was suspended. Her punishment was not as bad as it could have been, because the teacher who was supervising on that day understood that the wound she inflicted on the boy was accidental.

Desperate to get the boy's mind away from the past, she decided to talk about something more recent.

"I saw you get arrested on the news the other day," She said. Cinereus stopped walking next to her, and coughed nervously.

"Uhh, yeah. That was my response for not getting accepted into Signal again," He said. Smara was still a little confused.

"So how did you end up here if you were arrested?" She asked.

"I wasn't really arrested. I was brought to the headmaster and he seemed impressed with the job I did. He asked me if I wanted to come to Beacon," He answered. Smara was a bit surprised by this information.

"Professor Ozpin spoke to you?" She asked.

"Yes,"

"Personally?"

"Yes, he was pretty intimidating," Cinereus answered. Smara was a bit embarrassed when she giggled. The memory of a similar story made its way into her head.

"Sorry, I heard of something similar happening last year." She replied. The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Last year there was a student from Signal that pretty much stopped a Dust robbery. She was then accepted into Beacon two years early," Smara explained. Cinereus nodded, not bothering to ask for more information.

They walked back to the main building, making their way to the lobby. The headmaster was going to be holding a speech for the new students. On their way there, Smara could not help but wonder about Cinereus' new personality. It was almost as if whatever was bugging him, or for a lack of better words, making him strange while she was a Signal was gone. He seemed surprisingly normal now.

They entered the building, and started to look for a spot to stand in while waiting for the speech to begin. There was still a bit of time before the headmaster showed up, so Cinereus tried to break the silence that had settled between them.

"If they have a sparring rink here, would you like to have a re-match?" He asked. He quickly regretted asking when she turned to him, her face a few shades paler than it was moments ago.

"What did you just ask?" She squeaked.

"Don't worry! I won't scare you this time!" Cinereus exclaimed. She did not seem to relax, but luckily for them, a loud voice cleared its throat.

"I'm not a big believer in long winded speeches, so I'll keep this brief," Headmaster Ozpin said. He was standing on a podium near the center of the room. The huntress that had arrested Cinereus was standing next to the headmaster.

"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge…" Ozpin began.

…

All of the new first year students had gathered in the ball room for the night. Many sleeping bags had been laid out for them, and Cinereus decided to try and find a quiet spot to sleep in. Smara was no longer accompanying him. She had left to go and find her friends from Signal.

Tomorrow, the initiation would begin. Cinereus didn't understand why anyone of these students would need to undergo an initiation test, but figured that the school had good reasons for it. Another problem that he had was that both the guys and girls were all sleeping in the same room.

It isn't because he didn't like the idea of sleeping in the same room as a lot of women, on the contrary, the idea seemed quite pleasant. What was off putting about it was that the experience was very alien to him. He saw many muscular guys, including the ones that had pushed him earlier, showing off their mass to the girls in the hopes of impressing a few.

Cinereus on the other hand felt a bit awkward. He had changed into his pyjamas, which were a very baggy pair of pants and a muscle shirt. He didn't get many looks from anyone because of the scar on his face.

Once he found an empty sleeping bag, Cinereus threw his luggage next to the makeshift bed and crawled inside. It wasn't particularly warm, but after spending a long time living on the streets, he knew that this was a lot better than sleeping in a cardboard box. The boy stayed there on his back, staring at the ceiling and thinking about his day.

He couldn't really say that he made any friends. Although he did want to start hanging out with Smara, he knew that she had her own friends from Signal. He was also unable to say that he made enemies. The boys that had pushed him did seem like pricks, but again, they claimed that he had pushed them. One could argue that they were just repeating what he did to them when he got off the ship.

Shaking his head softly, Cinereus thought that he would wait a few more days or weeks before making a judgment about any of the students. He waited for the sounds of conversation to die down a bit, before finally letting his head fall on his pillow and closing his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

It was 2 am when he was nudged awake. Cinereus tried to ignore whatever it was that was poking him in the ribs, but eventually he had no choice but to get up. A man was standing over him, holding a walking stick. It was too dark to make out his face.

"Please take your bag with you and follow me," Said the man. Cinereus was a little confused. Was he already in trouble?

"What's wrong?" Cinereus asked. He began rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"You're not allowed to carry that bag here with you. It needs to go inside of a locker. Please follow me," Said the man. Cinereus grumbled. Why didn't anyone tell him about this yesterday? He lazily got up, and did not notice that his glass eye was staring off somewhere to the left, giving him a cross eyed look.

He grabbed his bag and carefully began to tip toe around the mass of sleeping students, quietly following the man out of the room.

They walked through various hallways, most were incredibly wide and very clean. Cinereus found it hard to stay awake and almost tripped a few times during his walk. He was lead to a locker room, and was told to put his stuff inside of an open locker. After struggling to get the Zweihander to fit, Cinereus was lead back to the ball room, and was left alone to find his sleeping bag.

The boy quietly walked between the sleeping students, hoping not to step on anyone. After a few minutes of searching, he found his empty sleeping bag and quietly entered it. He laid his head down on the pillow, and closed his eyes.

Sleep did not return to him. He stayed there all night, opening his eyes, looking out the window, and trying to will himself back to sleep. All of his efforts were in vain, as he seemed to be getting more and more awake, rather than tired.

"Great…" He muttered under his breath. It was going to be a long day.

…

Cinereus groaned when he realized that, not only were the sleeping quarters shared, but that this was also the case for the bathrooms. Worse, there was no segregation between genders. Girls and boys went to the same bathrooms to brush their teeth and get cleaned up. The only saving grace was that the showers were in stalls, meaning you could wash yourself and get dressed in a slightly private area.

Cinereus had to wait in line to get to the showers. Of course, because he had a lot of trouble sleeping that night, he was slightly cranky that morning. To make matters worse, the girl that got in before him took a very long time before she left the stall. Grumbling, the boy entered, took off his pyjamas, and turned on the water.

It was freezing cold, even though Cinereus had set it to warm water. The girl had probably kept the setting on cold for her entire shower. With a yelp, he pressed himself against the wall, waiting for the water to warm up.

His routine kicked in when he washed himself. It was a quick five minute job in the shower. Once that was done, he got dressed and left the stall for the next person in line. He walked up to the sinks, and took out his toothbrush and tooth paste. He quietly brushed his teeth. Both sinks on either side were occupied by loud guys that kept on talking about forming teams.

Cinereus didn't understand what they meant by "teams". He just assumed that it was a rumour. After finishing with his teeth, he reached for his right eye socket, and pulled out the glass eye. His neighbours fell silent when he did this. Paying no attention to his new audience, Cinereus washed the eye under the sink before putting it back in. he looked at himself in the mirror, and straightened out the fake organ. After rotating his eyes a few times to make sure that they were going in the same directions, Cinereus began packing his things.

"Dude, that was cool!" One of the two guys said. Cinereus looked at him. The guy looked a bit older than Cinereus, but only because he had a small beard growing on his chin. He was looking at the boy's right eye in amazement.

"Thanks?" Cinereus asked. The boy let out a laugh and patted the grey haired teenager on the back.

"I've never seen anyone with a fake eye before! How did that happen to you?" He asked. Cinereus sighed, not wanting to talk to this guy. However, he decided to answer anyway.

"It happened when I was still in Signal," He said. He explained that it was because of a sparring accident.

"Did it hurt?" Asked the other boy. This guy was shorter than Cinereus, and had a high pitched voice.

"Not at first. I was in shock for quite a while so I didn't feel anything until after I became aware of what happened," Cinereus replied.

"So… Did it hurt after you became aware of what happened?" Asked the guy. Cinereus smiled, not knowing why.

"I fainted," He simply said. He grabbed his supplies and left the bathroom. On his way out, the three guys that had pushed him the other day entered. Cinereus kept out of their way, and the leader nodded in approval.

After his short adventure in the bathrooms, Cinereus made his way to the locker that he was taken to last night. He tried to open the box, but it jammed itself when it was halfway open. Cursing, Cinereus began pulling at the door with all of his strength, but it only moved a millimeter.

"Need help?" someone asked. Cinereus turned around, and saw a blonde haired boy standing behind him. Reluctantly, Cinereus nodded.

"I had this locker the first time I came here. Not only did I forget where it was, but I also had a lot of trouble getting it open," Said the boy. He grabbed on the edge of the door, and planted his foot against the wall. He gave a solid tug, but the door did not budge. After trying a few more tries, Cinereus decided to help.

With two solid pulls, both boys managed to get the door open. Cinereus looked at the other boy, and figured that this guy was in second year because he did not look much older than the first years.

"Thanks…uhmmm," Cinereus said. He realized that he did not know the boy's name.

"Oh! My name is Jaune, Jaune Arc. I'm a second year student here at Beacon," Said the boy, holding out a hand. Cinereus took it.

"Cinereus Caelum. Nice to meet you Jaune" Cinereus replied. They let go of each other's hands, and Jaune took a look at the gear inside of the boy's locker.

"That's one mean looking sword," He observed. Cinereus could not help but grin.

"Thanks! It belonged to my grandfather. I took it and serrated the blade when I was at Signal," Cinereus said. He grabbed the Zweihander, and struggled to pull it out of the locker. Jaune offered to help, but Cinereus managed on his own.

Cinereus proceeded to pull out his armor and revolver. With every item, Jaune's facial expression kept changing. Cinereus noticed, and raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked. Jaune sighed, pulling out his sword and shield.

"These are my grandfather's weapons. I'm just a bit jealous, yours seem so much more effective than mine," He said. Cinereus looked at the sword and shield, and shook his head.

"No, you have a lot more defensive options than I do. Plus, the short sword allows you to swing it in tight areas," Cinereus said. Jaune nodded.

"I know that, but still," He said. Cinereus started putting on his armor over his clothes and put the sword on his back. The revolver went to his hip. Jaune's eyes widened when he seemed to recognize the boy.

"Oh! You're that guy from the news!" Jaune exclaimed.

"Who?" Cinereus asked. He was confused.

"The guy who got arrested after slaying the Beowolves," Jaune answered. Cinereus realized what he was talking about and laughed.

"I wasn't arrested. I was brought here," He replied. Jaune froze for a few seconds, processing what he just heard.

"That sounds very familiar," The blond said. Cinereus remembered when he told Smara about how he got accepted, and recalled her saying something similar.

Jaune yelped when he looked at the clock. He quickly ran to his locker and grabbed a few things, then told Cinereus that he was late for class. Cinereus waved and let the boy sprint away. The grey haired youth left the locker room and followed a small group of first years outside of the building. They made their way to the edge of a cliff, and were instructed by the Huntsman that was waiting for them to stand on some square panels.

"Today, you will all begin your initiation test. You have all spent a long time studying how to become a warrior, but not you will actually need to put your skills to the test," Said the huntsman. Cinereus looked down at the other students that were with him. There was Smara, the three guys that pushed him, the smaller kid from the bathroom, and a few other people that he had never seen before.

"Now, I know that many of you have heard rumours about being assigned to teams. I will tell you right now that today each of you will be given team mates. These team mates will remain with you for the rest of your time here at beacon," Explained the Huntsman. He spoke robotically, as if he was reciting from a script.

"Because of this, it is best that you pair up with someone that you can work well with. Sadly, your first team mate will be the first person you make eye contact with as soon as you land," The Huntsman said. Cinereus was a bit confused. How was he supposed to choose someone he could work well with if he had to go with the first person he made eye contact with?

"After pairing up, I want you all to make your way to the northern end of the forest,"

Cinereus almost laughed. This sounded way too easy. The Huntsman's gaze fell on the boy, and the next words seemed to be directed at him.

"This task may sound simple, but please note that there will be opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy anything that gets in your way. If you do, you may very well end up dead," He said. Cinereus held back his laughter. Ok so they expected him to fight monsters.

"You will all be graded throughout the duration of your initiation, and the instructors will not intervene," The Huntsman continued. He proceeded to tell them that they would find a temple in the north, and that it contained a variety of relics. He then said that each pair of students much chose one relic and bring it back to the top of the cliff. Their grade would be based on the amount of time that was spent retrieving the relic, and on the relic itself.

_Sounds like a real pain_ Cinereus thought. Just as he finished, the Huntsman told them to take their positions. Cinereus looked to his right and left, and saw everyone brace themselves against their pads.

Cinereus wondered how they were all going to get down to the forest. He decided to ask.

"Uhmm, professor? How are we going to get down?" He asked. He heard a silent laugh from a boy that was standing next to him.

"You will fall," The Huntsman answered. Cinereus looked out at the forest, and swallowed. It was a long way down.

With a solid _Twack! _The pad that was next to Cinereus' lifted up, and launched the student that was standing on it. Cinereus braced himself on his pad, and was soon launched into the air. He rose high in the air and sailed towards the forest.

_Please don't die! Please don't die!_ Cinereus kept repeating to himself. He almost felt like screaming as he accelerated towards the forest, but he kept his mouth shut. He quickly oriented himself so that his clawed boots would hit anything that would most likely block his path between himself and the forest floor.

The trees were almost upon him, and Cinereus could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He crashed through tree branches, trying to get his clawed feet to latch onto the side of a tree in order to stop his fall. He tumbled and felt many large branches break as he smashed into them. Finally, Cinereus pulled out his Zweihander and stabbed it towards the trunk of the nearest tree. The blade planted itself into the wood and Cinereus' fall was halted. He spun around the handle and landed with his feet on the sword's serrated edge.

"Phew! Well that wasn't so bad!" Cinereus exclaimed. He figured that the worst part of the test was behind him, and that it would be smooth sailing from that point forward.

Cinereus heard something else crash through the branches behind him. Quickly, he turned around and saw a person falling through the canopy of the forest. Reaching out, Cinereus caught the person and stopped their fall.

The guy struggled a bit before he realized that he had been saved by another student. The stranger breathed loudly and tried to turn around in Cinereus' grip. Cinereus pulled him up and let the guy sit on the sword's handle.

"Thanks man-" The guy said. He stopped talking when they made eye contact. Cinereus felt like slapping himself when he saw who he had rescued. The boy also had the same feeling when he saw Cinereus' face.

It was one of the three boys that had pushed him the other day. Specifically, it was the bored looking one. Cinereus then realized that because of his actions, he was doomed to be partnered with this guy for the next four years.

_Can this day get any worse!?_ Cinereus thought to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

_**I apologize for delaying this chapter. The episode that came out last week didn't really give me a lot to go one, and the one that came out last Thursday introduced the idea of auras. I decided to do something a little special to Cinereus in this chapter to differentiate him from most other characters in the RWBY universe without empowering him. Hope you like what I did.**_

_**The chapter was barely reviewed and corrected, so don't go in expecting what you have been reading up to this point. I might go over it later, but I just posted it because I figured that a few readers wanted me to get it out asap.**_

"I'm pretty sure we've been walking around in circles for the last half hour," Said Cinereus' new companion. The boy's name, as it turned out, was Arthur. Ever since they had gotten down the tree, they had kept conversation to a minimum.

"I'm telling you, we're going the right way!" Cinereus almost shouted. He was in a particularly bad mood. First he was awoken at a very early hour in the morning, and second, he was paired up with someone that he was certain would not work well with him.

"I'm telling you, I've got a pretty sharp sense of direction, we're not going the right way," Arthur continued. Cinereus let out an audible sigh and turned to his companion.

"If you want to lead, then by all means, lead," Cinereus said, bowing sarcastically to his companion.

Arthur took the lead and rolled his eyes. He was just trying to finish the initiation as quickly as possible, and having Cinereus behaving like this would be a problem. He chose to ignore it, however, because his grade was also shared with Cinereus'. He only hoped that the grey haired teenager could look past their differences and work with him.

They walked for a good long while, Cinereus noticed that Arthur had almost turned them around, but didn't say anything. He was determined to laugh at his companion once he lead them in the wrong direction.

They came up to a mass of small trees and branches. Arthur took out his weapons. Cinereus got a better look at the handgun –like devices, and was impressed with what he saw.

The guns barrels were blades. Just like before, Cinereus assumed that the weapons fired the blades. What he had not seen before, was the hinge that separated the handle from the barrel. Arthur pressed a button on the side of the handle, and the barrel rotated, pointing up. Now, instead of holding two pistol shaped weapons, he was holding two short machetes.

Arthur began hacking at the vegetation, clearing a path for the two boys. He worked silently, and ignored Cinereus when he quickly tapped Arthur's shoulder. The tap came back again, more desperate.

"Arthur! Turn around!" Cinereus said. Arthur didn't listen, still concentrating on the vegetation.

"Arthur!" Cinereus shouted. He grabbed his companion's shoulders and spun him around. Arthur realized why Cinereus was trying to get his attention.

Standing behind them, was a large group of black spiders. They had white bony mask like faces, indicating that they were grim creatures. The monsters had managed to quietly sneak up on the boys, and were drooling with anticipation.

"I count 6," Cinereus said. Arthur quickly scanned the group of monsters, and shook his head.

"You dummy, there are 7. Look up there," He said, pointing at the top branches of a tree. Almost immediately, Cinereu pulled out his revolver, and fired at the creature. It didn't even manage to let out a squeal as it was blown off the branch.

"I count 6," Cinereus repeated. Arthur could not help but chuckle.

The creatures had been stunned by the loud sound of gunfire. They were all stunned, allowing Arthur to spring into action. He quickly pressed the button on the side of his handles, putting his weapons back into pistol form. He then pulled both triggers, and both blades were sent flying into two of the creatures. They were impaled by the sharp objects, and began to struggle, trying to tear themselves loose from the blades.

Cinereus saw that the blades were tied to the handles by a chain like razor wire. With a solid tug, Arthur pulled the two spiders towards him, and pulled his triggers again. The blades began retracting towards the handles faster than the spiders could follow. They left the two bodies and slammed back into place on their respective handles.

Cinereus pulled out his sword right before Arthur jumped into a spinning kick. Arthur's foot connected with both monsters, sending them flying towards Cinereus. Cinereus prepared his Zweihander, and struck at the spiders with the flat of his blade. The swing was the same kind of swing a professional baseball player would do. The two spiders were sent flying back towards their companions, and each collided with another creature.

"Nice," Arthur said. Cinereus cracked a smile, all hostility between the two of them gone in that instant.

Cinereus charged at the creatures. The last two spiders jumped in the air, one of them firing a string of webs. The boy stepped to the side, but his hand was struck by the webbing, trapping it against the handle of his sword. The other one bounced itself off of a tree and flew straight for the grey haired teenager's face. Cinereus quickly aimed with his revolver and fired another shot. The spider was torn to pieces by the large rounds.

When Cinereus was distracted, the other monster crept up towards him and slashed at him with one of its fore legs. Cinereus barely managed to react, as he quickly hopped into a side flip to avoid the slash. The creature's leg barely connected with his leg, scratching it at most.

Cinereus landed, and spun around. His great sword trailed behind him into a devastating arc. The heavy blade smashed into the spider, both crushing and cutting it. With that, the short fight was over.

A slow clap could be heard. Cinereus turned around, and saw Arthur. The boy didn't look very impressed.

"That was lame. You take out four Beowolves in town without suffering a single scratch, but then when you get attacked by two little spiders you take two hits!" Arthur said. Cinereus was still a little bewildered whenever anyone mentioned what he did in town. He kept forgetting that it was broadcasted over the news.

"I only got a bit of webbing on my hand! That's one hit!" Cinereus exclaimed. Arthur pointed at his leg, and Cinereus realized that he had been scratched.

"You didn't think about calling out your aura to prevent that?" Arthur asked.

"My what?"

Arthur burst out laughing. Cinereus got a little annoyed, but decided to wait until his partner stopped laughing and explained himself. After a good solid ten seconds, Arthur calmed down and spoke.

"Your aura is a projection of your soul. It can protect you from physical harm if its strong enough, kind of like a force field," He said. Cinereus cocked his head to the side. If that was something that was meant to be learned about in Signal Academy, he was probably pulled out of school before it was taught.

"I never learned about Auras," Cinereus said. Arthur sighed, and walked up to Cinereus.

"So I take it you don't know how to call it out?" He asked. Cinereus shook his head in response. Arthur leaned back and put his right hand on his chin.

"I think I can use mine to call out yours," He said. Cinereus didn't know what to say.

Arthur placed both of his hands on Cinereus' shoulders, and began saying a few things. Cinereus tried to follow what his companion was saying, but decided that ultimately, doing so would be impossible. Arthur suddenly stopped, and began laughing hysterically. He ended up falling on the ground, holding his sides. Tears began streaming down the sides of his face.

Cinereus was very confused. He was also angry at Arthur for laughing at him yet again. With a solid kick (hitting with the side of his foot so that the claws on the boot didn't cut), he silenced Arthur's laughter. Arthur stood up, whipping the tears from his eye.

"Oh man, you have got to have the weakest Aura I have ever seen!" Arthur said. Cinereus raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"It means that you might as well not have one at all! Your Aura is so weak it can't even do you any good!" Arthur said.

"Explain?"

"I summoned your aura, but as I said, it's pretty weak," Arthur said. To explain, he gave Cinereus a solid punch to the face. Cinereus was about to ask what that was for, but Arthur explained before the words left the grey haired teenager's mouth.

"A weak aura could have blocked that punch. The problem with yours is that it barely manifests. It can't block anything," Arthur said. Cinereus understood what he was saying and shrugged.

"I got this far without a fancy force field protecting me, why should I care about whether or not its strong?"

"It doesn't just protect you! You can use it to power your weapons and enhance your strength as well!" Arthur exclaimed. Cinereus was finally beginning to truly understand what Arthur was saying.

Cinereus always wondered how a Huntsman or Huntress were as strong as they were. He always thought that their amazing strength came from physical training, and so he dedicated himself to training his body during his younger years. Today, however, he learned that this was not the case. He learned that it was through the use of their Auras that a Huntsman and Huntress gained invincibility against monsters. Through the use of their auras, A Huntsman could stop a Beowolf's strike with a single finger, and could wrestle a Boa into submission.

Because of this revelation, Cinereus felt something that he did not feel in a long time. It was a feeling that he was afraid of. For the first time in a very long time, Cinereus felt weak.


End file.

RWBY, Adventure