falling fates [a rwby fanfic]

trailer iii

The day presented itself as a beautiful fall morning, birds chirping and the wind only a slight breeze that rustled through the trees. From across Atlas you could hear the school bell of every academy chime, signaling the end of the week for all of its students. The crowd of excited children spread quickly throughout the schools' courtyard, some leaving to walk home, others running up to parents, and others taking a moment to enjoy the weather sitting in the grass with their friends. Nothing could possibly ruin a child's day while the atmosphere was so pleasantly pleasing like so.

Amid the group of students walking home along the sidewalk was a young girl, clutching her books to her chest as she skipped through the crowd, her dark buns atop her head bouncing as she maneuvered her way through. She only dropped a book once, which was better than the usual fare- her History of Remnant book that her history teacher had so passionately assigned reading from for the weekend. She would be reading about the beginnings, the appearance of mankind along with the Grimm, and also the appearance of the faunus. She had already taken it upon herself to educate herself on the history of the faunus and the faunus' rights movement, as she was in fact an avid reader of history books already. She was glad she wasn't a faunus, as she already had to deal with hiding other things people didn't like.

She continued down the street, finally getting ahead of the crowd, the shouts and chatters of voices behind her gradually decreasing to a slight vibrate in her ears. Eventually her small feet came to a stop outside her house, petite and humble in its nature and unnoticeable by most. However, the girl's face curled into a smile as she saw the old car parked in the driveway, early in its arrival. She ran enthusiastically up to the front door, careful not to drop her books again as she raised her fist to tap lightly against the wood entrance. She didn't have to wait long for a reply.

"Who is iiiiit?" a thin, sing-song voice replied from inside.

The girl tapped her feet excitedly on the wooden porch as she responded, "It's me, grandma!"

The door opened to reveal an old woman, maybe in her mid eighties, with a heart-warming grin, as the little girl crashed into her, giving her a long hug. The old woman was taken aback for a moment before she contently sighed and patted the girl's head.

"You're home early!" the girl said, laughing as she looked up at her grandma.

"Yes I am," the woman replied happily, shutting the front door as the two parted. "I figured I should have to celebrate my little girl's birthday!"

The girl cheered and dumped her books and bag on the floor next to the shoe rack, much to the old woman's distaste. She then shed her outerwear and pulled on her warm winter slippers, making sure to pull them on all the way as to avoid tripping clumsily like she did last time. Even though it wasn't quite winter yet, and even though the sun was out, Atlas still proved to be quite cold, and especially in this old house where everything wasn't quite sealed, slippers weren't uncommon in the pre-winter months.

Without leaving her grandma a time to breath, the girl ran up to her fireplace, where the woman had already coaxed a bit of flame to awaken. She threw herself on the love seat, her favorite place, and made herself comfortable, hugging the seat's pillow close to her chest and tucking her feet underneath her. The weekend meant she didn't have to do homework right away, and, like her grandma had said- it was her birthday.

And it proved to be a special occasion, because when her grandma revealed herself again, she was carrying a wrapped object about the size of a car door.

"I have a surprise for you," the girl's grandma teased, holding out the present almost as big as the girl herself to her. The little girl oohed and aahed as she tried to lift it, but to no avail could she even get it more than a few inches off the ground. Her fragile arms couldn't handle the weight.