A New Day

The few weeks that Adam was in the city flew by.

As the days passed, he had spent every moment of his waking hour wandering through the city. Searching through the alleyways and the slums for any lead, he found the same answers to his questions everywhere.

Ain't seen anyone like that.

No one had seen Blake. Every time he heard those same words, he felt a bit of his resolve vanish. There was still hope clinging on. He couldn't let it go. She had to be somewhere, he had to keep searching.

Even when the day turned to night and the holographic street lights lit up the empty streets, Adam kept skulking around, getting what little information he could. A few leads came up, only to be nothing or a wrong target, and he would find himself back on the streets looking again. He kept at it. Even when exhaustion left him unable to move his limbs, he kept at it.

Finally, the day came when the students would move into the Academy and start their school year.

Sunlight shone through the half-covered windows. Bright light burning into his eyes, Adam scrunched his face up in pain and turned around, burying his face into the thick duvet while a low grumble escaped his lips. His head pounded, his arms and legs ached, and his horns caught the fabric of the pillowcase every time he turned over. The last one wasn't so bad if it didn't keep him awake as he tried to unhook it every time.

He wouldn't lie, the thought of staying in bed was too tempting to pass up. Eyes fluttering shut, he felt himself slowly slip back into a deep sleep, at least, until a loud banging on his door jolted him awake.

Before he could shout at whoever disturbed him, a voice called out. "Adam, Adam, Adam, Adam!"

Not again.

Stumbling out of bed, Adam made a beeline straight for his door. Grogginess and anger bubbled inside him, he could barely think a clear thought as he wrenched the door open, finding none other than Eirian standing behind it.

Hand in the air, as if she was going to knock again, she had that grin on her face again as she happily pointed out. "Oh, you're awake!"

"This is the third time you've done this." Adam snapped, gripping tightly on the doorknob. "What part of 'leave me alone' do you not understand?"

"I know you like your alone time, but I just wanted to tell you that the ships are starting to ferry students up to the Academy. We gotta hurry or we'll be late!"

"Late? For what?"

Eirian shot him a shocked look, her hands held up in the air as she gasped. "For wh- The opening speech! Professor Ozpin always starts the school year with a speech to the first years!"

Adam said nothing at that. Glaring at her, his gaze turned even more heated when she grabbed his hand. "Come on, if we don't get there on time, we'll miss the speech and a chance to meet new people!"

"Why don't you go, then?" He shot back, snatching his hand away. "I'm not interested in a speech."

"But if you miss it, you'll miss the chance to hear from the Headmaster himself!"

Adam could barely get a word in as she continued babbling. "If we don't hear what he has to say, then we could be missing out on something that'll make us the best Huntsmen we can be, and then we won't pass, and then we'll have to go home ashamed and make a living outta selling fish and coconuts!"

"You have a lot riding on this."

"Yes, so we have to go now!" She was hopping in place.

Watching her jumping in excitement annoyed Adam further. He was tired, sore, and wanted to do anything but go to a school full of people and listen to someone drone on about how good and righteous Huntsmen were.

With a blank look, he closed the door with a sharp. "No thanks."

He thought Eirian would've continued knocking on his door. He braced for it, but rather than loud knocking and her voice vibrating through the entire hostel, all he could hear was her muffled voice call out weakly.

"Right, I'll… I'll save you a seat when you get there." Don't bother.

Left alone, Adam glanced over at the bed that was left unmade. The duvet crumpled up from where he flung it off himself, he sighed tiredly and wandered over to make it.

It wasn't a strenuous task. Once it was done and the pillow flipped over to hide the tears from his horns, Adam got to packing his things to get ready to leave. Few clothes he had were packed away, hiding the mask that he had hidden right at the bottom of his bag, barely visible underneath all his other possessions.

Over a couple of weeks, he had spent in the city, Adam didn't dare to take it out once. He had wanted to. The familiar feeling and comfort it brought to him were difficult to ignore, but he had to be careful.

Zipping up his bag, he turned his attention to getting ready for the day. The clothes he had been wearing for weeks were laid on the back of a chair, completely dried after he washed them in the shared laundry room of the hostel. Grateful that they were no longer smelling of sweat, blood and dirt, he hurriedly got dressed.

It was a bit of a hassle with the one-sleeved kimono shirt and the overcoat tunic, but as he fastened the belt around his waist, he was nearly ready to go. As he stared at the dusty mirror that was hanging off the wall, he slipped on the one long glove onto his right hand, fiddling with the ring that sat snugly on his ring finger. It was hard to look at his reflection sometimes.

Well, if her fashion is anything like yours, I'm guessing Northern Mistral.

Why did he base what he wore off her? What good would it have done after she left him all alone?

Why did he miss her?

Shaking his head free of those thoughts, he turned away from the mirror and picked his bag up from the ground. With it slung over his shoulder, he opened the curtain and took one last look at the cleaned up room around him. Everything looked unlived in.

Nothing else left to do, he took his belongings and left the room quickly. Out in the hall, he could see a few of the students that were living on his floor leaving, and thankfully, Eirian was nowhere in sight. At least he didn't have to deal with her ramblings after so little sleep. Honestly, Adam didn't think he'd have the strength to cope.

Those that were packing their things up and getting them out of their rooms ignored Adam as he wandered past. Paying them no attention, he got to the steep staircase, moving to walk down them when he felt something bump into him from behind. His foot slipped, and all he could see was the ground coming straight for him as he tried to brace himself.

The impact never came. Opening his eyes, Adam found himself suspended in the air with a tight grip on the back of his tunic. Quickly, he glanced around with a snarl. "Watch where you're going!"

There, he saw those same slit pupils staring at him.

A nervous grin on Zanthus' face, he pulled Adam up to the top of the stairs and laughed. "Sorry 'bout that. You're unlucky, huh?"

"You were the one who ran into me this time."

"Heh… you're not wrong." He rubbed the back of his head, ears slightly folded backwards. "I was just about to head out for the ship. Need someone to walk with?"

"I prefer to walk alone." Adam shot back, walking down the stairs with a hand holding tightly onto his bag strap.

Quickly, he found himself with a companion again as Zanthus appeared beside him. "By the way, glad to see you passed the exam too. I saw you around the hostel these past few weeks, but honestly, you looked like you wanted to be alone."

"I did."

"Well, that's a shame." Zanthus shrugged. "It's great to have some personal time, but being alone all the time isn't good for you. Makes people go mad."

"I'll keep that in mind." Every response from Adam was practically dripping in sarcasm. What was it with everyone here and wanting to glue themselves to him? Did he look like he was on the market for a new best friend?

When they reached the desk on the ground floor, Zanthus turned his attention to the old lady sitting behind it. "Thanks for the stay. Here's your room key."

"Oh, thank you." She smiled, taking the keys. "I hope you enjoyed your stays?"

"Definitely. The room was pretty nice." Zanthus complimented, flashing a toothy smile. "Thank you for the hospitality and allowing us to stay here."

"Anything for what Beacon and Professor Ozpin are doing." Adjusting her glasses, the old lady added softly. "Such a good boy. You remind me of the cat I had when I was a child. My little Snowflake was always a troublemaker."

Ears folding back slightly, Zanthus could only chuckle nervously. "Right…"

Even with the old lady happy to reminisce, the comparison between Zanthus and her pet cat had Adam more than a little heated. Frown deepening into a scowl, he snapped. "He's not your cat."

"Oh, I know that. He just reminds me so much of Snowflake. Especially the ears."

Zanthus' ears were so flat now that they were practically hidden in his thick hair.

"He ain't your pet. Faunus aren't the same as the animals you keep in your house." Adam's tone was harsher than before. "Do you even know how insensitive your comment is?"

"I-I, well…" The old lady stammered.

From beside him, Zanthus piped up with another nervous laugh. "It's okay."

"It's not. I'm sick of this." Tossing his key on the desk, Adam spun around on his heel and stormed out of the hostel.

He didn't even hear Zanthus called for him. Anger made his blood boil, his thoughts focusing on the comment and the human who said it. So many times, he had heard their kind ridicule his people, those jokes about who they were thrown at him for as long as he could remember. Cruel jabs that made him feel ashamed and hide his growing horns away.

The children were cruel, but the adults were monsters.

Get him! We're gonna teach this little calf a lesson in respecting his owners!

He gritted his teeth as those words echoed in the back of his mind.

Ignoring the people that passed him in the streets, he made a straight line for where the ships were docked, ready to take the students up the sheer cliff edge. As he passed around a corner, he heard a voice call out for him and a hand grab hold of his shoulder.

"Stop, man!"

Adam looked over his shoulder with a deathly glare, seeing Zanthus behind him with an annoyed look on his face.

"You didn't have to do that." He scolded, turning Adam around so that the latter was facing him. "The hell's wrong with you? Yelling at an old woman like that?"

"What's wrong with me? She compared you to her pet cat, why doesn't that upset you?!" Adam snapped back.

Shaking hands bundled into fists, he stood there practically shaking with rage, staring at Zanthus as the other boy looked down at the ground. Ears swivelling around anxiously, he barely noticed the tail behind the feline Faunus swishing around.

"It did. Kinda." He scratched a spot under his chin nervously. "Either way, putting her on the spot like that didn't help matters. She didn't mean it horribly."

"That doesn't make it better."

"And your response did? You didn't exactly tell her why she was wrong besides making her feel horrible and leave."

Adam's glare turned darker at that. "It's not exactly my responsibility to teach humans not to compare us to animals."

"It's not, but you can't hate people for making mistakes." Looking off into the distance, Zanthus frowned deeply and sighed. "I don't want to argue about this. Let's just go."

That was something Adam could agree with.

Silent, the two of them walked the streets of the capital towards the ship docking station. Every once in a while, Adam snuck a glance at his companion, spotting that fur tipped tail swishing with each step he took, hidden away by the long red cape that swayed in the breeze. Even with the neutral expression on his face, Adam noticed the slight furrow of the other boy's eyebrow.

Even when they reached the ship dock, the argument was still fresh in their minds. Zanthus never said anything. Rather, he turned his attention to the giant cliff that the Academy was situated on top of.

"I wouldn't want to scale that thing before ships existed." He pointed out, rubbing the back of his head with a nervous chuckle.

Adam nodded in agreement. "This was where the castle of King Aueulius sat."

"You read that from a book?" Zanthus joked, a wavy smirk on his face.

"Not quite."

He left it at that. That small snippet of information came out of nowhere, but he could hear it repeated back to him in that familiar, annoying voice.

Shaking his head free of those thoughts, he instead looked ahead at the students that were funnelling into the grounded ships. The building itself gave some protection from dreary weather, the grey clouds circling above their heads warning of incoming rain. Many students had already piled themselves onto the ships, chattering and laughing with the carefree energies carrying over to Zanthus.

With a bright smile on his face, he turned to Adam and asked. "Does this feel like a dream to you, too? Like, this is it. We're here."

"I wouldn't start jumping for joy yet," Adam replied flatly, pointing to the ships. "We gotta board one before they get packed up."

"Right, right." He laughed at that, playing with one of his ears.

It was almost cute. The thought passed quickly through Adam's mind, but he paid it no attention when Zanthus continued. "I know you said you'd rather be alone, but you sure you don't wanna walk to school with me?"

"...Sure." Even though Adam rolled his one visible eye at the dopey way Zanthus asked him, he still accepted the offer. Maybe walking with another Faunus wouldn't be so bad.

Pleased, the two quickly made their way over to the nearest ship.

It wasn't as packed as Adam thought. Students stood around in the interior, staring out of the windows while having small talk with their friends. It was certainly less hectic than the first trip Adam took up to the Academy. It seemed that those who were there knew better than to approach him, but he still noticed the glances and whispers as he and Zanthus passed them by.

Anger and embarrassment went hand in hand as they swirled in his stomach. Uncomfortable twisting that had his teeth gritting together and his fingernails digging into the skin of his palms. He had the urge to turn around and demand to know what they were talking about, to see what had them so interested in the two Faunus, but a nudge in his side turned Adam's attention away from the humans.

"That girl over there," Zanthus muttered, pointing over at a girl standing in the corner of the ship. "Wonder why she's on her own."

Adam paused. Staring at the girl too, he raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I've seen her before."

"Really? You know her?"

"Well, our first meeting wasn't exactly the friendliest." Adam quickly confessed, adding when Zanthus looked at him in confusion. "Back in the hostel, she flipped this human onto her back while we were trying to find our rooms."

"Ouch."

"Stupid girl wasn't looking where she was going."

Wandering towards the window, Adam stared out of it, half expecting to see Eirian among the crowds of humans and Faunus. When he couldn't find that dark face or those red eyes anywhere, he turned his attention back to Zanthus, who had made himself comfortable on the floor right next to him.

"You alright down there?" He asked quietly.

Holding his knees up to his chest, Zanthus' once tanned skin turned a sickly grey. He seemed almost dead, if not for his ears pressed flat against his head, and his tail wrapped around his feet.

"I, uh…" He gulped. "I'm not the biggest fan of flying."

"Do… Do you need something to help?" Adam didn't even have anything that could help.

"Just tell me when we're there." With that, he buried his face in between his legs.

Thankfully, Adam didn't have to deal with anything like that. He was honestly pretty lucky as he stared down at Zanthus. Poor guy was not having a good time, and he could only pitifully moan when the ship finally took off.

Low humming echoed through the ship. People kept their voices low, being mindful of others that were trying to deal with the sickening motion of the ship, and others who just wanted some quiet time before facing the daunting school for the first time. Glancing around at a few other people, Adam couldn't help but notice a lot of the Faunus students sticking together. A few humans could be seen in the groups, but it was impossible to ignore the coincidence.

It was something that didn't surprise him, Adam ignoring the groups as he silently stared out of the window. Even high in the air, the city looked impossibly big, stretching for miles and miles in every direction from the cliff.

From beside him, he heard footsteps coming towards him, though with Zanthus on his left side, he couldn't see anything until he fully turned his head

Standing right by the sick lion, the same girl they noticed before stared down at him silently. There was nothing in those purple eyes. Focused, sharp, he couldn't even figure out what she was thinking or feeling from her blank expression.

Without a word, she dug into her purse and pulled out a small packet. What was it?

While Adam watched in confusion, she placed a hand on Zanthus' shoulder, trying to get his attention without saying anything. Ears pricked up at the touch, with squinted eyes glancing up at the girl.

"Oh. Do you want something?" He asked weakly, trying desperately not to vomit.

She didn't reply, instead of taking Zanthus' gloved hand and slipping something into it. As he pulled away and looked down, his ears twitched, and all he could come up with was. "Is… Is this mint?"

The girl nodded.

Looking back down at it, Zanthus popped it into his mouth and chewed slowly. He seemed unsure.

"Have you never had gum before?" Adam asked from beside him.

"Uh… Not really." Ears folded back slightly, he quickly changed the subject back to the girl. "Thanks. I'm Zanthus, by the way, and this is Adam."

He gestured back to the taller teen. With those eyes right on him, Adam couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. They were just staring, and with nothing being spoken on her part, he didn't even know what to add to the conversation.

Thankfully, Zanthus seemed to pull his weight in the conversation department. "So, you wanna tell us your name?"

She seemed slightly taken aback by the question. Glancing off to the side for a moment, Zanthus and Adam exchanged looks with the former still chewing on his mint gum, shrugging his shoulders in silent response.

Before she could respond, however, a familiar voice called out from behind them. "Welcome, new students.

Glancing over, Adam saw the same hologram of Glynda that welcomed the applicants weeks before. She seemed even more strict than before, if that was even possible, as she continued instructing the students standing around her.

"As the newest additions to our Academy, I must welcome all and lay down the rules before your initiation tomorrow." With a pause, she pushed her spectacles further up her nose. "You all have been given the privilege to study here. Many before you had applied to our Academy and were rejected. As such, I expect every one of you to hold yourself up with the honour and grace that is befitting for Beacon."

That was certainly one way to tell a bunch of seventeen-year-olds to behave themselves.

"So, when the ship lands, you all will make your way to the Main Hall where you had applied for previously. Professor Ozpin shall be waiting there to give you a speech and further instructions."

From within the crowd, Adam overheard someone pipe up. "It's just a hologram. She can't see what we're doing."

"On the contrary," she stared right at the boy who made the mistake of talking. "I, and our Headmaster, know plenty that goes on within our walls. I suggest you behave yourself, as we will be keeping an especially close eye on you."

Face flushed red with embarrassment, the boy slinked back into his group of friends as they snickered at him.

Smirking at the amusing display, Adam watched as the hologram fizzled out. All around him went back to talking to their friends. Eager about the incoming landing, many started to move towards the windows, practically pressing their faces into the glass to try and get a glimpse of their new home for the next four years.

Zanthus wasn't one of them. The poor boy was practically green, he went back to his previous position with his head buried between his legs, comforted by the girl's gentle pats on his back. Adam only gave them a few glances before the ship started to descend. He wouldn't lie, the hitting realisation that he was there felt like butterflies in his stomach.

So much uncertainty, he was fearful about what he would face as soon as he stepped down from the ship.

Finally, the ship landed on the edge of the cliff. Everyone was silent. Breath held, they eagerly moved forward as soon as the doors opened and fresh air flowed inside the Bullhead. Before Adam could even take a step, he was pushed out of the way by a frantic Zanthus, his hand clamped over his mouth as he rushed outside.

Behind him, the girl followed gracefully. Adam watched her go, intrigued by the mysterious aura she gave off, but she had already vanished by the time he unboarded the Bullhead.

He wasn't alone for long. Looking off to the right, he found Zanthus chucking up his guts into a nearby trash can. Not an image one would think of when they thought of a Huntsman in training.

Approaching him, the Bull Faunus placed a hand on the other's back. "You doing alright, there?"

"I. Hate. Flying." Each word was punctuated with a retch.

"Could've been worse." Adam shrugged. "You coulda climbed it."

"Shut up."

A low chuckle was Adam's only response. He waited patiently until Zanthus was well enough to pull himself away from the trash can. Once he got a good look at the other teen, Adam was surprised to see how much of an effect the short flight had on Zanthus.

"I take it the mint didn't help much, huh?" Zanthus shook his head. "Can't have everything. Let's get to the Main Hall, otherwise, I fear we might have to deal with Professor Goodwitch's wrath."

That was certainly something he could do without, and by the look on Zanthus' face, it was something he wanted to avoid too.

So, they headed towards the building together. Everyone else had already made their way there, rushing together in tightly-knit groups of friends, but a few stragglers were still outside as they took in the Academy around them. The architecture wasn't something on Adam's list of priorities. If he had seen something once, that was all that was needed. Seeing the same thing again and again was just tedious.

Before they could reach the Main Hall, however, someone skidded into Adam's view. A few feet away from him, he couldn't hide the displeasure on his face when that voice called out again. "You made it!"

Eirian blocked his way into the building. With that same grin on her face, she rushed towards the duo while Zanthus could only stand there in confusion.

"Uh…" he started, leaning closer to Adam. "You know her?"

"Unfortunately."

"I was beginning to worry that you'd miss the speech!" Eirian confessed as she stopped right in front of the teenage boys. "Honestly, you seemed pretty tired before, so I was ready to take notes for you to read later in case you couldn't make it."

"That's pretty sweet." Zanthus smiled.

Eyes glancing over at him, Eirian rubbed the back of her head while laughing nervously. "Oh, I didn't know you brought a friend."

Adam didn't know if friends were certainly the word to describe it. Silent, he only scowled while Eirian held her hand out to Zanthus with a smile. "I'm Eirian, by the way."

"Zanthus." He replied, shaking Eirian's hand with a chuckle. "You're pretty excited for this speech, huh? I just thought it'd be a little welcoming thing for the new students."

"You could say that. Honestly, I've been excited to meet Professor Ozpin ever since I left home." Eirian confessed. "My dad didn't go to Beacon, but he always told me how amazing the Headmaster of Beacon was. I can't wait to hear what he has to teach us!"

"Does Professor Ozpin even teach any of the classes?" Zanthus asked.

Eirian paused, her jumping about stopped while she pursed her lips in thought. "Now that you mentioned it, Headmasters don't exactly teach classes."

All that preppy energy vanished in an instant. Instead, Eirian was practically folded over, as if standing was too much energy for her now. Even the bright Aura she gave off was dull and grey like a small storm cloud had formed above only her.

"I wanted to learn so much from him…"

"Don't worry about it." Zanthus comforted, placing a hand on her shoulder. "There's still plenty of capable professors here to teach us."

Suddenly, Eirian shot back up, that bright smile back as she nodded. "Right, right! I hope it's Professor Goodwitch!"

"Weren't you scared of her last time?" Adam piped up.

"Shhhhhhh!" Eirian hushed, a finger on her lips as she added. "Not so loud. This is enemy territory."

Adam's eyes glanced up at the tower in the background, returning his gaze at Eirian as he countered dryly. "It's a school."

"Okay, you have a point." She backed off again, glancing over her shoulder at the open doors leading into the Main Hall.

Adam barely saw her move until she was holding onto his arm, practically wrenching him forward while babbling again. "Come on, let's go and find a seat before we end up at the back!"

"Will you stop grabbing me?!" Adam snapped, pulling his arm free of Eirian's grip.

The harsh motion had Eirian stunned, standing there with wide eyes while Adam continued to rip into her. "Don't you get it?! I'm not your friend, I don't want your notes, I don't want you near me!"

"Adam…" Zanthus tried to interject.

"No, I'm not going to stand here and buy into her disillusion about being her friend!" Turning his attention completely on Eirian, he added with a bitter tone. "Leave me alone, human. Or next time I won't be so nice."

The devastation on her face was nothing like the other times Adam shouted or ripped into her. While he expected such a delicate person to start crying, Eirian simply lowered her hands with a saddened gaze, though in there he could see familiarity in it. Was she used to it before him?

Unable to look him in the eyes, Eirian scratched at the skin of her thumb and mumbled. "Sorry."

With that, she turned around and wandered into the hall by herself. Adam's anger was too much. Bubbling over the edge, he couldn't feel anything else at that moment, but he quickly found that he was not the only one angry at the situation.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Zanthus snapped.

"What? You saw what she was like with me, she's been bothering me for weeks!" Adam shot back, pointing in the direction that Eirian walked off in. "She wouldn't leave me alone even after I told her!"

"I'm not talking about that. Was bringing up the fact that she's a human really necessary?"

"What should I call her, then? And why do you even care about what I call her? You're a Faunus, anyway." That last comment made Zanthus frown deeply.

"I am, but at least I'm not going around insulting every human who walks by me." He shot back, ears pulled completely back as he added. "I've seen how you look at the other students. What have they done that makes you hate them so much?"

At that moment, the pain from his hidden scar became ever so present. It was impossible to ignore. All he could do was focus on his anger instead, finding it pushing that pain and shame to the back of his mind.

"They've done enough." He spat venomously.

Standing there in front of him, Zanthus looked like he was seeing a completely different person. Pupils glancing over Adam, he shook his head and turned around, walking away from Adam while sighing. "Whatever. I'm going inside."

There, Adam stood alone. Overflowing with anger and confusion, he couldn't get his thoughts straight, unable to understand why Zanthus was acting the way he was. He did nothing wrong. He wanted Eirian to leave him alone and he did, it wasn't his fault she couldn't handle it. After everything that happened, he owed nothing to a human's feelings. They weren't his priorities.

He couldn't stand there steaming forever. With an angered huff, he followed after the rest of the students that were piling into the hall.

Without all the desks and holographic secretaries sitting behind computers to take in applications, the hall certainly looked bigger. Still, despite its size, the whole space was packed with students. Groups of chattering teenagers waiting patiently for their Headmaster to appear, Adam glanced up at the elevated stage to see no one standing there.

Wandering through the crowds, he spotted Zanthus in the sea of faces. For a moment, he thought of joining him, wondering if the argument from before had messed up whatever friendship they were starting to build. A part of him didn't want to care, but it was still difficult. No one liked being truly alone.

Any attempt to approach the lion Faunus stopped when he saw Eirian sitting next to him. Silent, Adam watched as the two talked to each other, laughing and joking while Eirian looked like she was telling some elaborate tale.

Any disappointment was washed away with anger and bitterness. Adam looked away, trying to justify his feelings in any way he could. Zanthus made his choice. If he wanted to be some human's pet, that had nothing to do with Adam. He didn't care. He tried not to care.

Thankfully, the whole crowd went silent when someone appeared on the stage. Looking back at it, Adam saw Ozpin making his way to the standing microphone.

With some feedback as soon as he spoke into it, Ozpin adjusted his glasses and started. "As I'm sure you are all very eager to settle down into our Academy, I will keep this brief."

No one dared to speak when he did. Even with just one man, he radiated this energy that made others want to listen. A true leader and Adam had met plenty with that type of aura to know.

"You all know of the four Academies such as this one. Four sanctuaries that teach our people to fight against the Grimm, but fighting is not the only thing I wish to teach you during your time here." He paused, moving his head in a sweeping motion to see all of the students in the hall. "As I look upon you all today, I see young minds full of hope and dreams. That hope will be one of your driving forces here, but you must also be realistic, as hope itself can only carry you half of the way."

Adam glanced over at Eirian and Zanthus, finding them listening closely to every word the Headmaster was saying.

"The true path to success is through hard work, faith, and a little bit of luck. Some of you may fail, but failure isn't the end, and you don't need to treat your failure as something that will haunt you for the rest of your days."

This wasn't exactly uplifting.

Even Ozpin's voice turned sombre at that. Thankfully, the speech turned more uplifting as he continued. "Still, that is a lesson you all need time to learn. For now, take a moment to rest and prepare yourselves, as the real challenges will begin tomorrow."

With that, he backed away from the microphone, allowing Glynda to take over the conversation as she replaced him in the spot at the forefront.

"Now," she started. "All new students will be housed in the Residential Halls until after the Initiation tomorrow. There, you and three others in your team will be given a dorm room for your first two years here in Beacon."

Her hand, holding a long, slender crop that was wrapped in black leather, pointed towards the doors. On her silent command, every student there got up to their feet and moved towards the exit, forming a giant crowd that Adam couldn't help but get swept up in.

The walk to the Residential Halls was a slow and lonely one. No one around him paid Adam any attention, too caught up in talking about Ozpin's speech and what their new life in Beacon would be like. Walking amongst them, Adam too found himself fixated on what the Headmaster meant by his speech.

Even with the uplifting end, some of his speech sounded… tired. A familiar experience that guided his words, especially with the topic of failure coming up. There was something there. Hidden away from everyone's sight.

It was something to focus on.

When they finally reached the giant building that they were guided towards, Adam kept to himself as he thought through his suspicions. There was no way he'd figure it all out right there and then. On top of that, he had other worries to give his attention to, including the growingly impossible search for Blake.

On top of lessons and training, the time that he could give to the search was cut drastically. It was a bitter truth that he found difficulty in swallowing.

Most of the day was spent with people wandering around their new school, meeting their new professors and getting a layout of the school itself. Adam didn't bother with any of that. While everyone was out and about, he found a comfortable and quiet spot in one of the rooms that were given to the new students and set up his temporary sleeping spot for the incoming night.

With a sleeping mat that the Academy had issued, he sat far away from the rest of the beds, hiding in one of the room's corners with a book in hand.

It wasn't his. A romance novel detailing a warrior and his target revelling in their forbidden love, Adam wondered how Blake could ever enjoy such trashy novels. It was one of the only ones he had, and pretending to be reading did wonder in telling people to leave him in peace.

As the light vanished from the giant windows and night slowly settled in, people began funnelling into the rooms after their day of familiarizing themselves with their school. Adam ignored their inane chatter and tried to focus on his book. He didn't even know what was going on, and honestly?

He wasn't a fan.

Sadly, even with others trying to keep quiet for those who were trying to get an early night, Adam could hear a feminine voice sigh loudly. "Man, this school's massive!"

His one uncovered eye peered over the top of his book. Much to his annoyance, Eirian entered the room with Zanthus in tow.

Neither of them was in their day clothes anymore. While Zanthus forgoed the fur-trimmed cape and his chest piece, Eirian was in a completely different outfit. Her white tank top was instead swapped for a white shirt that hung off one shoulder and stretched past her hips, barely showing the black shorts she was wearing underneath.

Toothbrush in hand, she was waving it absentmindedly while babbling on at her friend. Though Adam couldn't quite make it out with Eirian's voice lowering, Zanthus didn't seem as annoyed or bothered as he was. He seemed pretty at ease with her.

Whatever. It was none of Adam's business.

Trying to go back to his book, he heard some shuffling from beside him. Annoyance made him sigh out loud, looking over to snap at whoever was coming over to him. However, his words stopped before he could even say them, with the person beside him being none other than that girl from the ship.

"Uh…" Adam started, watching as she settled down on her sleeping mat just a foot or so from him. "Why're you coming over here?"

She wasn't even looking at him, rather smoothing out her blanket until it was to her liking. An eyebrow raised, Adam poked the girl in the back and repeated himself. "Hello?"

She jerked at the touch. Head spinning around, she frowned deeply at him, saying nothing as he tried to ask again. "There's plenty of space everywhere else. Go over there."

His demands fell on deaf ears as she sat down on her feet, looking down at the book in Adam's hands. Following her gaze, he looked down at his book before looking back up, noticing her pointing at another book that she was holding. Slowly, he took the book from her and gave it a closer inspection.

It was certainly a similar genre to the one he had. The cover was impeccably clean, with clear sellotape covering every inch of the cover and the back. She certainly didn't want it to get dirty. On the front, the title Warrior's Love I was engraved into it, matching his one.

Inspecting his own only then did Adam noticed the title itself. Warrior's Love II.

That might've been why he had no idea what was going on.

"You wanna borrow this one?" He asked, holding up his own while the girl sat there.

She nodded, a small smile on her face. It wasn't something Adam particularly wanted to do. Even if he hated it and didn't get the story, it was Blake's. It was one of the few things he had left that was hers.

Still, seeing how well taken care of the other book was, he could perhaps borrow it from her. Seeing her sitting there patiently, he sighed quietly and handed it over. "Here. Only for tonight, and I want it back the same way I gave it to you."

The girl bowed her head and took the book with both hands. While she settled down on her sleeping mat, Adam picked up the one that she gave him, looking over it before flicking through the pages. On the very front page, he saw handwriting in the corner of the page.

Property of Ruri Kashima.

"Ruri? Is that your name?" He asked, turning to the girl to find her watching him intently.

Eyes fixated on his face, she nodded at his question. Without missing a beat, Adam added in an amused tone. "You don't talk, do you?"

A shake of her head.

With a deep chuckle, Adam returned to his book. "The perfect reading buddy, then."

Neither of them moved from their spots as they read silently. Everyone around them kept to themselves, talking in hushed voices while others slept soundly around them. Now and then, Adam could hear Eirian or Zanthus chatting to each other, keeping quiet so as not to disturb anyone.

Sometimes, he found himself looking over at them, curious about what they were doing. Every time he looked away, scolding himself while focusing on the book in front of him. He still didn't get what was going on. Maybe romance just wasn't his genre.

As the hours passed by, more and more of the students around him fell asleep. Even he could feel the heavyweight of tiredness sit on his shoulders. Eyes half-open, he closed the book with a sigh and looked around the room, finding himself to be one of the few left awake. Even Eirian and Zanthus had long fallen asleep.

Neither attempted to come over at all that night. Maybe what Adam did before finally got it into Eirian's head to leave him alone, but knowing that Zanthus would rather be friends with a human had Adam bristling with anger. He tried to control himself. Late at night, it was no time to be boiling with rage, especially when he too had to get some sleep.

From beside him, he saw Ruri curled up on her mat, a hand under her pillow and a hand on top of her borrowed book protectively.

Slowly, Adam swapped the books around, returning Ruri's book while taking back his own. He didn't plan on reading it. Rather, he put it back into his bag that was sitting right next to his map, fishing out the letters that he found back at the White Fang camp.

Crumpled from being in his bag for weeks on end, he smoothed out them all and spent some more of his night reading through every one of them. Knowing that Blake was like this and he had no idea, it stung terribly. Yet there was a thought in the back of his mind, a part of himself that blamed him for all that went wrong. If he had been more attentive, if he had been a better brother, if he was stronger, smarter, wiser, none of this would've happened.

He blamed himself and blamed everyone else with the same breath. His actions on the train stuck with him, unable to be washed away no matter how hard he tried.

Piling all the letters together, he left them in his bag and settled down on the sleeping mat. Amongst so many people, he still felt so lonely, staring off into the darkness with snores echoing through the room.

He couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts, doubts, niggling feelings dug into him. So many distractions that he couldn't even think straight. He just had to close his eyes and try. As soon as he felt himself slip away, explosions and screaming rang in his ears, the sharp pain in his face burned and the hate-filled words spat at him echoed in the still air.

Still, he had to try and ignore them.

He prayed he didn't have to see those horrifying eyes again in his dreams.