An Aura of Hope: A RWBY Fan Fiction

Chapter Fifteen

I waited up in the tree above Vi that Riker put me in. She swung her broadsword in wide, messy arcs that showed she didn't really know what she was doing. The Beowolves dodged her effortlessly and repeatedly landed blows on her. I held Viartannie Ijs at the ready, waiting for Riker's signal. I spotted Avery across the field, watching the battle with a nervous ferocity that said she was worried for Vi and that she wanted to get in the battle right now.

Suddenly, a dagger lodged itself into a Beowolf that almost landed a fatal blow on Vi, and I jumped from the tree to finish it off as Avery ran with her quick pace right into the Beowolf closest to her. Riker emerged from the forest behind a dazed Vi, grabbed his dagger from the corpse, and used both to decapitate another wolf. Avery was pulling her knives out of a body when I flung my boomerang at the last one. It froze and shattered when I retrieved the boomerang.

"Vi! Are you okay?" said Avery as she plowed Vi and lifted her into a monster bear hug.

"Well," she gasped, "I was. And then I got attacked by a teenage girl."

Avery put her down. "S-sorry." She looked at Vi again. "Oh my gosh, Violet, you are not okay! Look at these wounds!" She undid her bow and attempted to tie it around a deep gash in Vi's arm.

Vi pulled away and snapped, "I'll be fine, okay?! I don't need anyone to look out for me!" She stormed away back toward the school. Avery made to go after her, but Riker grabbed her shoulder and shook his head.

We made our way back to the school without anymore incidents. Avery hung her head and didn't seem to be in the mood for talking, and all Riker wanted to talk about was how we could have better handled the Beowolf situation, but I didn't really want to talk battle strategy. That bored me too much. So we walked in silence, following Vi.

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"Teams of four have been decided at Beacon every year by the Beacon Academy Initiation Test, or B.A.I.T." Professor Arc was saying. "These teams remain with you for all of your four years here. This year was decided by the pairing of relics not by identical relics, but by pairing of Grimm bodies with their markings. I will now turn the time to Professor Rose for the team listing."

Professor Rose took the podium as Arc stepped down. My heart shot into my throat when the first name was read. "Valerie Smith, Allen Cart, Lee Ren, and Alexander Willow. The four of you completed the Nevermore piece. From now on you shall be known as team VARA. Your leader will be Valerie Smith." Cheering followed as the four students walked onto the stage and stood together. "Angie Coral, Noah Rooney, Kyle Blank, and Robert Skelton. The four of you completed the Arctic Ursa piece. From now on you shall be known as team ANKR led by Angie Coral." At some point team VARA had gotten off and team ANKR took there place. This continued for a while, the rest of the names passing without recognition.

I silently dreaded the coming of mine and Avery's names and who we would be paired with. What if I ended up as leader? I didn't want to be a leader! I couldn't do anything like that! What if Avery was the leader? Would she be good at it? What if-

"Riker Turner, Avery Eisenhower, Violet Copernica, and James Louis. The four of you completed the Beowolf piece. From now on you shall be team RAVJ led by Riker Turner." I felt a huge weight lift off my chest. Not only were we with people we knew, but I wasn't the leader. I walked with them up onto the stage. Apparently we were the last ones. "Welcome to Beacon, freshmen!" More cheering. "Now, I would like all teams starting with A-M to go with Professor Winchester back there to receive your assigned dorm rooms." A red haired man who looked to be around Yang's age waved his hand. He was a very tall and muscular person, but the intimidation factor was offset by a warm smile and tailored suit. "Teams starting with N-Z will go with Professor Port to my left here." A plump man with white hair and huge handlebar mustache waved his meaty hand. "Have an amazing first year!"

We walked down off the stage towards Professor Port and our future.