"And you'll still talk to us?" River asked her daughter, her face etched with worry. Standing beside her was her husband, Jay, and even though he was maintaining his usual stoic look, concern was clear in his eyes.

Sagara grinned at her parents. "Of course I will!" she exclaimed. "Beacon's gonna keep me busy, but I'm sure we'll have time." She laughed. "Besides, you two are the only ones who can put up with my long stories!"

"What about me?" A silver-haired girl walked out, giving Sagara a look of mock offense. She wore a silver circlet, with a blue teardrop gem set in the middle. However, this seemed to be the most formal part of her outfit, as she had thrown on a simple blue shirt moments before.

Sagara reached out a hand to ruffle her sister's hair, careful not to knock off the circlet. "Now, how could I forget about you?" she said as Rain pushed her hand away and attempted to fix her previously-straight hair.

"And I can't ruin all the surprises for you." Sagara smiled. "After all, you'll have stories of your own in three years!"

Rain gasped. "You really think I'll make it in?"

"Of course!" Sagara said. "You survived that Grimm attack too, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but you were the one who held them off..." Rain muttered, but a small blush still appeared on her face.

River walked up to Sagara, handing over her bags. "Be careful out there, Sagara." She whispered, pulling her into a hug that Jay was soon to join.

"I will be." Sagara looked at her parents, trying to give them her most assuring smile.

With that, she turned around, giving her family one final wave as she walked towards the airship docks. Her duffel bag was slung around her right shoulder, and her left hand pulled another bag behind her.

Suddenly, she was stopped by a mass of silver and blue running towards her. Pausing, she saw Rain standing in front of her, her breath slightly uneven from the sudden sprint.

"Yes?" Sagara asked, looking down at her sister.

Rain grinned a bit, her gaze dropping to the ground. "I...I wanted to give you this before you left." She said, carefully pulling off her circlet and placing it on Sagara's head. "That way, it's like taking a little bit of me to Beacon with you! Plus, it looks really good on you."

Sagara wrapped her arms around Rain, a smile on her face once again. "I'll miss you, Rain."

"I'll miss you too." Rain replied. "But that's okay, because according to you, I'll get to be there with you in three more years!"

Sagara laughed. "I never can get anything past you, can I?"

"Nope!" Rain gave Sagara an innocent grin.

Giving her sister one last hug, Sagara once again started to walk to the docks where the airship was waiting.

As she stood at the door, she waved, seeing the distant figures of her parents and sister wave back (and jump, in Rain's case). Turning around, she stepped onto the ship, the only sound being the soft clunk of the wheels on the metal as she rolled her suitcase on board.

***

The sound of clashing metal cut through the air, as two figures dressed in purple twisted around each other, moving swiftly in the empty room. To the average onlooker, it appeared to be a simple spar, but anyone who took a closer look could see that they were familiar with their partner's style.

Amarinthine ran at Lavender, a slight smirk on his face. Pulling out a chakram infused with gravity Dust, he threw it at his feet, propelling himself upward. As he was in the air, he threw a small sphere at Lavender, purple smoke erupting from it the moment it hit the ground.

Landing, he used the smoke cover to run in, throwing a roundhouse kick at Lavender. Blocking it, Lavender quickly swing her tonfa at Amarinthine.

Ducking, Amarinthine swept a leg under her feet, knocking her down. "You missed." He smirked. Rolling her eyes, Lavender was quick to respond, setting a forcefield up to push him back, taking it down a few moments later.

Flipping, Amarinthine threw another chakram. However, as Lavender moved to avoid it, the chakram split, one half finding its way to her.

Letting the momentum from the hit spin her, Lavender shifted one tonfa into its pistol form, shooting at Amarinthine. As he ran away, he threw an ice chakram at the ground, and a wall of ice rose up.

Jumping from behind the wall, Amarinthine pulled out another gravity chakram, using this one to propel himself towards his sister. Punching her in the face, he rolled forward, throwing another ice chakram as he stood up.

Lavender blocked it with a forcefield, turning her other tonfa into a pistol. Shooting, Amarinthine stepped back, grinning at the sound of the bullets hitting the wall instead of him. "Come on, is that the best you can do?" He said, another smug grin splitting his face. Throwing chakram at the opposite wall, it split into three, forming steps for him to run up.

Jumping off, he threw another kick at Lavender, who hadn't said anything in response to his earlier comment (much to Amarinthine's disappointment).. Recovering fast, Lavender swing one of her tonfas, which was now back to its regular form, unable to suppress a small smile as it hit its target.

However, Amarinthine recovered just as fast, catching Lavender's arm as she tried to punch him and flipping her, quickly putting her in an armbar.

However, the creak of the door made them both pause, weapons dropping. Turning, Amarinthine and Lavender saw their foster parents standing at the door.

"I hate to interrupt you two, but the airship arrives in five minutes." Agni, their mother, smiled.

"Don't worry, we already finished packing!" Lavender said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Right, Amarinthine?"

Amarinthine only glared at her as he rushed back inside to stuff a few more things in his bag, leaving a laughing Lavender behind.

A few moments later, he was back out, and the four began their walk to the docks.

"Excited?" Ciro asked, grinning at the two that he had taken in four years ago. So much about them had changed, but the same determined light still remained in their eyes. But after all, after all they had gone through, he couldn't really blame them.

"Definitely!" Amarinthine exclaimed, and Lavender nodded. "Being there, with so many other hunters and huntresses, being on a team..."

His words trailed off as they reached their destination, the airship just arriving.

"Don't get into too much trouble, you two." Agni said, wrapping her arms around the siblings.

"I won't! Not sure that I can say the same for Amarinthine, though." Lavender laughed, earning herself a light smack from her brother.

Saying a few last goodbyes, the two stepped on, the doors closing behind them.

***

The moon shone brightly as Rosemary ran through the grass, smiling at the glowing stars above her. The grass tickled her bare feet, and a feeling of freedom swept through her as her laugh faded away into the breeze. It was times like these when she could almost-

"Roseeee-mary!" The voice of her best friend and adoptive sister snapped Rosemary out of her dream. Groaning, she rolled over, sliding out of her bed as Livana hummed happily in the background.

"Come on, Livana, I was having a really great dream..." Rosemary mumbled.

Livana paused. "Don't you remember what today is?"

"It's too early to think, Vana." Rosemary blinked a few times. Livana had been waking her up like this for nearly ten years now, how was she not used to it at this point?

"We leave for Beacon today, remember?" Livana gave Rosemary a smile that seemed too big for this early in the morning.

Rosemary froze. "That...that's today?"

"Yep!" Livana grinned again. "Why else did you think we stayed up late last night packing?"

"I didn't think we left until next week!" All signs of fatigue had left Rosemary's face, and were now replaced with fear. "We're going to be thrown on that airship with hundreds of other people, and fly to a school with even more people, and I'll be on a team with other people, and what if I don't get you as a partner? What if we aren't put on the same team?" By now she had stood up, and Rosemary paced back and forth, her breath getting shallower and faster with each second.

"Breathe, Rosemary." Livana said gently, placing a hand on Rosemary's shoulder. "It's going to be okay. I'll stay with you for as long as I can, and even if we aren't partners, I'll call you as often as possible."

Rosemary's panic melted into a relieved smile. "Livana, where would I be without you?"

Livana shrugged. "Freaking out with another family?"

"Oh, but it's much more fun freaking out with you!" Rosemary let a small laugh escape her, earning another smile from Livana.

"You ready?" She asked, dark blue eyes shining with excitement.

Rosemary walked back over to her bed, picking up a small, worn stuffed bird and putting it in her front pocket, to Livana's amusement. However, she dared not speak a word, knowing that it was the only thing Rosemary had left of her parents and her old home.

Carrying their bags downstairs, the two were met by the smiling face of Livana's mother.

"I'm so proud of you!" Nisha wrapped her children in a tight embrace, which they wholeheartedly returned.

"Thank you so much." Rosemary whispered. "For everything."

Nisha simply nodded in response, but her eyes were full of pride, happiness, and even a hint of sadness. She may have trained Rosemary the same as she did Livana, but she still remembered the day when she took a scared, broken Rosemary in ten years ago.

Rosemary sunk into the embrace, taking the moment in. Beside her, she felt Livana do the same, and for a moment, time seemed to still.

Livana was the first to break the silence. "Should...should we head out?" She asked, her voice quieter than usual.

Reluctantly, Rosemary nodded, and with a final wave from Nisha, the two were off.

***

Valmai stood at the window of the airship, staring at the sights below her. She felt somewhat uneasy, not used to flying without the use of her wings.

Without thinking, she stretched them out, closing her eyes and trying to imagine that she was in the open air instead of this confined space. However, when she saw the strange looks the passengers were giving her, she folded them back against her.

Suddenly, she heard a voice call out from behind her. "Wings? Is that you?"

Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with a thin boy with dark orange hair. "Carrot!" She happily called, tackling him to the ground in a hug.

Laughing, Rust pushed himself back up. Watching Valmai do the same, he noticed that she now stood a few inches taller than him.

"I can't call you the short one anymore, can I?" Rust gave her a look of mock disappointment.

"Nope!" Valmai grinned. "You know, I didn't think I'd be seeing you again."

Rust smirked. "What, you didn't think I was good enough to get into Beacon?"

Valmai's face flushed a color that rivaled her magenta hair. "No, no, it's not that, I just thought...with our lives, and all..."

"Don't worry about it, Wings." Rust said. "In all honesty, I was thinking the same thing."

The two smiled at each other again. Though they had both grown up on the streets, they had met up a few years back, and somehow managed to meet up a couple times after that as well.

Valmai sighed happily, wings twitching again as she looked back out of the window. "I just never thought I'd be ending up here."

"You seem pretty open with your wings, considering." Rust suddenly quipped.

Valmai tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Rust shrugged. "I mean, with all the White Fang stuff, all the Faunus hate? Thought you'd want to keep them hidden"

"Hey, I'm proud of my wings!" Valmai bristled. "It's their loss if they don't realize that not all of us are killers."

"Sensitive topic. Got it." Rust looked somewhat startled by the anger in her voice, but didn't say anything else about it.

Valmai sighed. "I'm sorry...I guess I just get kinda defensive."

Rust grinned. "Don't worry about it, Wings." Suddenly, he paused. "You know, I don't think I ever got your name. Like, your actual name."

"What, is 'Wings' not good enough?" Valmai laughed. "I'm Valmai."

"Rust." Rust replied. "And for the record, I think I like 'Wings' better."

"Suit yourself, Carrot!" Valmai grinned, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

Rust shook his head, smiling and sitting down. Beside him, he saw Valmai do the same, and the two sat in silence, watching the sights pass below them.