The Monster Multiverse

Drack: Airships fly overhead as you pass down the crowded streets of Vale. Class is going to start in a week, and you will begin your final steps toward becoming a true huntsman. As you Make your way down the residential streets towards Beacon for orientation you pass by Several humans, and Faunus. You have learned in your four years here about the apparent division between human, and Faunus. Vale however has made strides toward equality that is surpassed only by Vacuo. This fact does little to settle the unrest caused by the White Fang. As you pass by a small coffee shop you can see Vale News Network is talking about another attack by the White Fang. Soon you make it to the gate of Beacon. There are several first year students getting there about the same time. Many of these are from the first group of air ships, as well as others coming through the gate the same time as you. A young man with Shaggy brown hair squeezes past you with a large rifle strapped to his back.
"Excuse me." The young man says as he passes. He manages to dodge another young man successfully before running smack into a young lady who was just passing the man. "Sorry about that." He says to the girl. The man he managed to dodge was a Faunus with Black hair, Wolf ears, and a tail. The girl he ran into was wearing a Deer skin hood.
The girl hits the ground with relatively little noise. The man helps her up before she finally says anything. "That hurt." She says in a slow soft voice after she was fully up, though she is so quiet you barely made out her words at all.
"Sorry again." The man with brown hair says. He only receives a slight nod from her in response.
The Faunus man laughs in response. "She forgives you." He said. He extends his hand. "I'm Jack, and this is Tina. Sorry for the impromptu introduction, but saying one's own name is taboo in her culture."
The girl he called Tina cut him off, and walked over to Simon. She points to her deer head mask, then to your bear hood. "Your kill?" She asks though she is addressing you directly her voice is no easier to make out.

(The main bulk of the conversation will take place in PMs then will be posted in the next update. Feel free to post your response to everything up until this point I will then PM you with the next part of the conversation.)

Simon walks through the streets of Vale excited over how soon class was going start; beginning his next step to becoming a huntsman, which caused him to mull over how much things for him has changed in the last four years, Vale has been a big difference from the small cottage he lived in during his youth, and the last years have been quite the adjustment. So far he's had a hard time understanding the division between Humans and Faunus mainly due to his isolation and not having much contact with the outside world, and thus can't really understand the White Fang, except the little information he has gathered from the news about the organization.

Eventually, Simon makes his way to Beacon's gate where several students have gathered, and when a young man with shaggy brown hair pushes past Simon, he goes to step out of the boy's way giving him a nod as he excuses himself. However, Simon keeps his distance as the man bumps into a young lady seeing him quickly assist her along with an apparent Faunus friend coming to her side. Simon hangs back watching this play out until the girl approaches him as asks Simon about his Bear skin hood. "Yes, I hunted him alone as a final test from my farther in my youth...I keep him with me to remind me of father's lessons" He pauses a moment and points to her deer head mask "How about yours?" Simon smiles as he says this, in truth he was happy to find someone with similar interests, he found it hard to really bond with anyone from Vale.

Simon:
The guy with the brown hair at first seems put off by Tina walking off, but Jack intersects. They seem to continue their conversation.
Tina nods. "I would like to have worn my wolf mask, but it makes Jack uncomfortable."
Simon chuckles "Ha, yes I can imagine...So, are you and Jack from the same place?"
She shakes her head, and takes a few seconds to respond verbally. "Only a month every year." She says quietly. "My people are..." She pauses seeming to look for the word. "Nomadic?" The inflection of the last word made it clear that is exactly what the issue was. She looks at you as if unsure if she used the right word.
Simon nods understanding her "I see, that actually sounds pleasant, personally ever since I moved to
Vale I've felt restless."
Tina nods, and the man she called Jack walked up. "You're a regular social butterfly today aren't you?" He asks her jokingly to which she just responds with a shrug, and retreating back behind him. "Okay... guess that's over." He says with a sigh. "Sorry about that. She isn't much for stepping out of her comfort zone. You could probably tell, but this isn't her native tongue." He stops to check the time on his scroll. "We should be heading to the main auditorium. I'm Jack by the way." He says as he starts back on his way to the school.
"I'm Thomas, but everyone calls me Tommy." Says the man with the brown hair now joining his new friend on his way to the auditorium.

Simon remains quiet as the one called Jack approaches the two of them and talks to Tina, however when Jack turns his attention to Simon he responds "It's alright, it was nice to talk to someone with similar interests..." He then goes with the group and as Tommy introduces himself Simon does the same "By the way I'm Simon nice to meet all of you."

Drack:
"Did I make friend?" Tina asks Jack.
Jack nods. "Looks like it all by yourself too." She responds in what you assume to be her native language.
She then retrieves something from her pocket, and holds it out to you. You recognize it as a Buckeye, but it seems the lighter part in the center was hollowed out. "Fire starter. Gift for new friend."
Simon walks alongside the others keeping pace as he listens to Tina and Jack. Once she hands him a gift Simon recognizes it as a Buckeye, but Tina quickly points out the purpose of the tool as a fire starter as he examines it. Simon gladly nods as he takes the gift "Thank you, I'll have to return the favor and find a gift for you as well."
"How do you start a fire with that?" Tommy asks confused receiving a confused look from Tina.
"It's not obvious?" Tina asks.
"Not everyone is use to this Tina." Jack intersects. "First off it's not the whole thing, just one of the more difficult parts to get on the fly. You need a bow, a pointed stick, and tender. This part is mostly to prevent friction burn in your hand when you apply pressure." Jack explains to Tommy, and you suspect in part to you so you don't have to ask her.
Tina then turns to you. "You knew right?"
Simon nods along as Jack explains how to use the Buckeye, recognizing it as part of a bow drill. Once Tina asks if I knew how ti use it I give her a smile. "Yes, I was taught at an early age how to make it on my own in the wilderness...I typically use what most people call the "Fire Plough" method, but now with this I can start my own bow drill kit."
Jack seems to breathe a sigh of relief that you knew what the tool was for, and Tina from what you could see of her face beneath the skin beamed with pride. "Good gift!" She exclaimed happily.
Once in the hall you see an iguana faunus, and rabbit faunus arguing about something. They part ways, and the rabbit faunus sees you, and your impromptu group. She makes her way over to you. "It warms my heart to see humans, and Faunus being friends! This is what we use to work toward before the White Fang changed." This comment seemed to put Jack, and Tommy on edge for a moment before her warm smile put them at ease. Tina however missed anything disquieting altogether. "She ignores their discomfort, and continues to introduce herself. "I'm Eveline by the way. Nice to meet you all."

"Yeah, it is a good gift." Simon says happily as he walks with the group. Once we arrive in the entrance hall, Simon spots two girls arguing before they part. At that point the remaining girl approaches the group talking about Faunus and Humans being friends as well as the White Fang, Simon can clearly see that this has made Jack and Tommy uncomfortable, but she introduces herself as Eveline, so he decides to take this opportunity to try and change the subject. "Nice to meet you Eveline, so what do you think they have planned for us at our first day at Beacon?"

Eveline turns to you in response to your question. "Oh, well if it's like the previous years it today will be mostly just people gathering. Tomorrow is where things vary a bit. Sometimes you get to pick your team, sometimes they're assigned. Usually except in rare cases it's your team for the rest of your time here."
"Are your ears soft like a normal rabbit?" Tina asks.
"Do you want to feel them?" She responds to Tina's question.
Tina reaches up to pet her ears when Jack stops her, and says something you can't understand. Presumably something in Tina's native language. "I promise." She says as she reaches up, and feels Eveline's ears. "They are!" She exclaims the loudest you've ever heard her, but still hardly loud enough to draw attention.
Simon crosses his arms as Eveline explains how the first day usually goes, a little disappointed that there likely won't be any kind of battle test today, but a chance to mingle and potentially meet his future team members was a plus. At that point he noticed Tina petting Eveline ears, which catches him a bit off guard...so he decides to remain silent.
With that Eveline says her goodbyes, and takes off to meet more people. You, and the new students you have just met make your way into what looks like a massive auditorium All the seats have been cleared out, and several people have set up sleeping bags, and already picked out where they're going to sleep. There are also booths where students who didn't bring their own sleeping bags could borrow some for the night. There is also several tables set up on the far end of the room with a variety of different foods. You see the Iguana Faunus once again. She is loading up on salad, and fruits at the makeshift buffet. Tina looks around at all the other students rather uncomfortably. "Hey Tina, and I are going to find a place to set up camp. She's not use to this many people in one spot." With that Jack, and Tina head off. Tommy heads toward the line to acquire a sleeping bag, leaving you by yourself. Looking around you see Eveline seems to have mad her way in here as well, as she is chatting with other students.

Simon gives Eveline a nod as she departs, then following the group as they make their way into what appears to be a large auditorium. Once inside Simon surveys the area as Jack then announces that he and Tina are going off to camp. Simon gives them a nod as they leave and then Tommy leaves as well to the sleeping bag line. Now alone Simon decides to go to the buffet to get some food before picking a spot to settle down.

Drack:As you approach the buffet you grab a plate, and begin to gather food the Faunus woman speaks to without so much as glancing at you. "I saw you talking to the hare. I saw you unfazed when the others were in a state of shock. So I must ask Are you a White Fang sympathizer?" She says quiet enough so only you hear her, as she moves around you still filling up her plate with more fruits, and vegetables. Even if someone were looking it would be hard to tell that she was saying anything other than excusing herself as she works around you.
As Simon begins to gather up food on his plate the Faunus woman speaks softly asking if Simon was a White Fang sympathizer. At that point he just shrugs he speaks softer than usual, but not really whispering. "To be honest, I don't really know much about them, I haven't spent much time among civilization until recently. I do know that that the topic bothers people, so I should probably take some time to learn."
Now she looks toward you fully. "Very well then, would you like to eat with me? I simply couldn't risk people thinking I was associating with a white fang sympathizer I've worked too hard to distance myself from them. Being a faunus from menagerie people like to assume."
Simon continues making his plate as the Faunus woman speaks asking if he would like to eat with her. Simon nods as he finishes preparing his plate "Sure, everyone I was here with earlier has already gone on to do their own things, so some new company would be alright."
The woman leads you to a table. "I want to start off by saying I've nothing against Eveline per se. She is just heavily associated with the White Fang. She herself seems sweet, but I think she clings to ideas long dead." She lets out a sigh, clearly frustrated with the situation. "Sorry it's rude not to introduce myself, I'm Leanna. I'll give you a quick rundown of the White Fang since you have clearly lived under a rock until recently." She says in a voice that contains a hint of disbelief that anyone could not know about the White Fang. "They started off peaceful. A movement to promote equality between faunus, and humans. The progress they were making was, shall we say, too slow for some faunus. Soon peaceful protests were replaced with riots. Sit ins were replaced with assassinations. Picket lines were replaced with acts of terror. The group that so many of us held in the highest regards, and viewed to be our greatest stride toward true peace, equality, and understanding rotted away in front of our very eyes." She seemed to be visibly upset at this point. "In days the turn the White Fang took undid years of work. My family once supported them, but now distance ourselves from them. I'm not like Eveline, I..." She ponders her next words for a few seconds before speaking. "I'm not a cute fluffy bunny. I'm to most humans s creepy lizard. I'm scary at best. If they think I'm White Fang I become worse than scary, I become a monster." She stops talking, and takes a bite of her salad. You can notice small scales along the bottom of her jaw line ending in two large circular scales on either side of her jaw line where it curves up toward her ears. Despite her best efforts to hide it you can see her face blushing slightly as she takes eats a whole strawberry stem included to avoid from embarrassing herself further.

Simon follows her to the table and listens to her as she introduces herself and explains the White Fang to him. "Thank you for the explanation, I should introduce myself as well...my name is Simon, and I now see now why everyone acts so nervous at the mention of the White Fang...an idea that was supposed to bring peace was turned into a movement that now spreads fear and terror." Simon thinks on this for a moment as Leanna exclaims that if people thought she was with the White Fang she would be thought of as a monster. "Well, I don't think your scary...sure you've helped me out just now by telling me about the White Fang, but even when I first walk in and seen you talking to Eveline I didn't find you scary at all...though I suppose my thoughts don't mean much, after all I have been living under a rock." Simon says the last part in a joking tone to try and cheer Leanna up.

When you make your joke she smirks in response. "Would I still not be scary if you knew my tail whip could break almost any bone in your body, or possibly even disembowel you if you didn't have your aura up?" She then takes a bite of a celery stick, and awaits your response.
Simon nervously laughs as she mentions that she could use her tail to break his bones or worse. "Ha, hopefully I won't have to worry about that if I stay on your good side."
When she sees she actually did make you nervous her eyes widen. "N-no it was only a joke! I just said I could I would never!" Her head droops down "I'm sorry..." She trails off as her voice cracks. "sorry" she says once more softly.
When Simon realizes he has made Leanna feel bad he lowers his head "No, I'm sorry I don't have the best grasp on social skills yet...so I have a hard time understanding most situations that normal people would laugh off, but form the little time I've talked with you I should of known you were only joking."
She looks up at you slightly red in the face. "So... I still don't scare you?"
Simon looks up and smiles faintly "No, you don't scare me now...just caught me a bit off guard."
Her face turns a deep red, and she quickly buries her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry I overreacted like that. I feel so silly. C-can we just pretend that never happened?"
Simon gives a nod as he pauses from eating "Sure, it never happened."
Her face still red she gives a embarrassed smile "Thanks." She says. Then she goes back to eating some of her food.
Then a young man sporting an eye patch, and long, black braided hair walks up to your table. As he gets near you can smell the ocean from him. "Oi, nice to me yea. Mi names Rodger, and I gotsta ask what ya coulda said to get sucha purdy girl, sucha purdy shade of pink." He says addressing you, but never taking his eyes off of her. Leanna eyes narrow as she tries to read if hes mocking her or not. "He extends his hand in response, she hesitantly shakes it. "I come from Vacuo. Faunus, and human live side by side there. Gotsta respect anyone out there tough, or foolish nuff to survive out there no matter how the look. I had many faunus friends on ma ship afore she went missin' but ain't one look nearly as cute as you. That bein' said they were all big smelly men, so that ain't really no comparison."
After a second she seems satisfied that he is in fact friendly. She then looks at you, and gives you a smile before looking back at him. "Well, I'm better looking than a bunch of big sweaty, smelly men hm?" She says in a joking tone. "Simon how will you ever compete with a compliment of that caliber?" She asks with mock wonder.
Rodger steps back looking at you with faint hints of envy on his face, and mutters "I dinna say sweaty." Under his breath.

Simon enjoys a quiet moment with Leanna as they eat before they are approached by a young man who introduces himself as Rodger, though the entire time it seemed as his attention was focused on Leanna. Once he finishes speaking Leanna turns to Simon poking fun a Rodger as far as Simon could tell. "I don't know, I'll have to get back to you on that one..." He says to Leanna in a shared joking tone "Butt I've never been on a ship before...how did you lose yours?" Simon says more seriously.

Leanna perks up a little more seeming to be curious as well. "Oh, well wannt actually me ship twas capn's ship but it was like a nudder home. I was visitin me ma fer a bit, an they set sail without me. They jus dinna come back. My guess is grimm... or hostile navel forces. Strictly speakin we was pirates if ya wan be all technical like, but we never actually hurt no body."
Simon crosses his arms listening to Rodger's story "That is quite tragic...I'm sorry for the loss of your comrades."
Rodger nodded, and leanna speaks up. "Are we just ignoring the fact that he's an admited pirate" She asks.
"I never said pirate." He responds
"Of course." Leanna says with a sigh.
Simon frowns for a moment "Pirates, that's like a sea bandit right? Well, your here now, so I guess your past isn't as important as what you do now." He says optimistically
Rodger smiles. "Thanks, also I didn't say pirate. Who's the pirate, now?" He said electing a chuckle from Leanna
"I didn't hear anything about a pirate." She said the same teasing tone she used when she mentioned his compliment.
The rest of the meal was filled with forgettable, pointless small talk mostly between Rodger, and Leanna with polite pauses to give you a chance to enter your opinion when you felt like speaking up.
Shorty after you all finish eating you all go your separate ways, and Tina, and Jack come up to you. "Tina wants us all to camptogether." he says. "Would you mind? She's pretty excited to have a new friend."

Simon enjoys the rest of the time he spends with Rodger and Leanna, however once everyone is done eating they all part ways with Simon spotting Jack and Tina. Jack then asks if Simon would like to camp with them "Sure, I would be happy to go camping." Simon says happily.

Jake rubs the bridge of his nose with his thumb, and pointer finger as Tina says "Camping." in a soft, but enthusiastic voice.
"It's not lateral camping, as well be inside here, but it's the closest she has in her language to this. Really I'd almost call it a lock in?" He says in an uncertain voice.
A middle aged woman walks up on stage. Her deep burgundy hair up in a tight bun, held in place by a silver ornament. She is wearing a very professional looking white blouse, and black skirt. Silver buttons on both match her hair ornament, and she is wearing black high heal shoes. on her left hip is a very ornate sword, or at least the handle, and sheath are. Being largely copper, and black. Next to her is a rather large faunus male. He's likely only in his twenties, but he towers over her. His brown hair, and beard look unruly even almost concealing his large cat like ears. However one thing that isn't concealed is his long tail, which is mostly covered in short blond fur except the last inch or so, which has long brown hair matching his hair. The woman picks up a microphone. "Attention students." She says in a calm measured voice to no avail as many students go on talking, and celebrating. "I said attention students." She says in a more stern voice. This warning seems to have gotten more students attention, but not even half have stopped, and some even go back to talking.
With this the young man steps forward, rejecting the mic offered to him. "Silence!" he roars over the crowd. Even with out something to amplify his voice it was so loud it was almost painful, and with this everyone was facing the stage.
"Attention students." She repeats undaunted. "I'm glad that you were able to make it today. I have hand picked each, and every one of you. You are some of the best this great world has to offer, but the selection process is not yet over. Yet more of you will undoubtedly file in over the course of the night. As you may have surmised there simply isn't enough room for all of you. That is because only the best of you will remain!" There are mummers beginning at this point. "Roughly one third of you will make it through to be students here at this illustrious school, but fret not. Those who do not make it will not simply be sent home. No, there are countless smaller schools with equally capable teachers to teach you. We will provide transportation for those who are unlucky enough to not make it. That being said should a friend not make it, and you choose to follow them to another school you may. That will then open up your spot for another student." The murmuring grows louder, and one student raises their arm. She gently motions for them to put their hands down. "I know there are many who may be upset with this, but it is a hallowed tradition, that even I myself went through. We keep it a secret from all students coming in, and thus ask that you do not let anyone know what is involved. Any students that would like to leave for another school now may. We will assure all of you are placed in a good school, and the pickings will be better now than they will after the final selection process. That being said if you don't like how things work here, or don't think you have what it takes now is the best time to leave." With that she waits, and almost half of the students walk out the doors lead by teachers. Some fuming, some in tears, and some calmly. Once it looks like everyone that intended to leave has left she walks back up to the mic. "Thank you all who stayed. You will be assigned rooms, and teams in the morning. I welcome you all as students of Beacon Academy." With that the murmuring returned, and another student raised their hand, or possibly the same one it was hard to tell. She motioned them to put their hand down once more. "First you must understand. I told two lies, and I gave reasons for that. First is that all students have already arrived, my saying more were on the way was to build up the conditions of my second. The second lie was that there would be further culling of the students. That was to test your convictions. You are the best, and those who stayed are sure of their skills. Combat can be taught, confidence can not. The other students who left will be taken to smaller academies, but you will all be students of this one." With that she left, and the man followed shortly behind.
Once he arrived at the door he turned around before he left roaring out over the crowd once more. "Sleep well students! Tomorrow you will have trials. Through those trials your teams will be formed, and your skills will be tested. You will form bonds to over come challenges that you will not be able to overcome yourself." With that he turned, and left.

Simon gives Jack a smirk and a nod of understanding as he explains the 'camping' situation, however before he can fully respond a woman and a man approach the stage causing Simon to turn his attention to them. Simon remains quiet as the woman asks for everyone's attention slightly annoyed that most of the other students wait until the man shouts to the crowd to quiet themselves, as this catches Simon off guard and causes him to wince slightly from the uproar. Now silent the woman now gives her speech remarking on how most of the students would not make the cut, and most of the students depart apparently not pleased with this turn of events, however Simon remains unfazed by this and stands his ground. Once most of the others have left the woman returns to the stage to remark on how that was a test and no one else was going to be culled which made Simon happy. Finally the duo depart with the large Faunus man booming of the trials set for tomorrow.

Once the duo are fully gone Simon lets out a sigh of relief "Well, that was interesting." He mutters to no one in particular...

(sry meant to do this new years day, but got busy.)
"There is a decent chance Tina may have left if I didn't have difficulty translating that." Jake said looking slightly nervous.
Tina simply unrolled fur and lay down on top of it, taking her mask off. Allowing you to fully see her face for the first time. Her skin is a light redish, brown color. Her hair is black with a bluish luster, and her eyes are hazel with a thing, but noticeable blue ring around her iris. "Mean." Is all she said as she folded the hide over her using it as a blanket. Almost immediately her breathing picked up a slow even pattern as she swiftly fell asleep.
"Thus the greatest boon of being nomadic. She can sleep anywhere." Jake said in a slightly envious tone. "She can sleep through most noises too. Unless they are high, deep enough to feel, or just exceedingly loud."
Simon takes note of Tina as Jack explains of her ability to sleep anywhere causes a slight chuckle from him "Well, it's mostly the opposite for me, I still have trouble sleeping with the constant sound of...civilization." He says the last part flatly as he kneels down and begins to rummage through his bag to get out his sleeping bag. "But, if everyone quiets down enough I should be just fine."
"Well my village is something of a tourist destination so I can deal with noise for the most part." Jack says unrolling his own sleeping bag. "I don't think you'll have too much noise to worry about. Looks like everyone is turning in." Sure enough anyone not already laying down were preparing their bedding.
Simon finally gets out his sleeping bag and looks around after spreading it out and shrugs "Yeah, I suppose so...well guess we should do the same." He says then begins to climb into his sleeping bag.
Sure enough everyone goes quiet, and after a short time you find yourself asleep.

The next morning: You awake to a loud trumpet playing Reveille and everyone gets up with varying degrees of complaints. Some it seems also were already up including Tina who was sitting up on the skins she used as a blanket, fiddling with with her bow. Leanna is also up silently working out where she was sleeping. She is currently in the middle of a set of crunches. Everyone else you have gotten to know still are struggling to their feet. "Grub's on!" A voice booms over everyone. There is only one table set up this time as the variety is much smaller. Biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, and fruits.
The students who were already up were the first to arrive at the table, while the students who were just waking up are shambling over like zombies. Tina loaded a mountain of eggs, potatoes, bacon, and sausage onto a plate then drowned it in gravy. Leanna however just grabbed a few apples, and bananas then retreated to a quiet corner to eat. Tina made her way back to where you, and Jack were waiting. "Yummy volcano." she says as she gets ready to eat.
"Do you think you got enough?" Jack asks teasing her.
"None for you." She says defensively misinterpreting his jab as a request for food, causing him to chuckle.
"Shall we get our own food then?" Jack says inviting you to join him. "I fear if we wait for the line to die down we may not get any."

Simon wakes up early the next morning putting his sleeping bag up as breakfast is announced, causing most of the students to swarm the buffet table. Simon stands back with Jack as Tina returns with a mountain of food which she defends from Jack not knowing he was joking causing Simon to chuckle a little. "Yeah, we should go. I would hate to miss out on a good breakfast."

You make your way to the table with Jack, gets almost exclusively meats. Once you load up your plate you turn back to where Tina you see Leanna has made her way over to Tina, and was sitting with her. The two seemed to be having a conversation. "Well, that's surprising. Didn't expect anyone could get through Tina's defenses without someone to introduce them." Jack said seemingly pleased with this turn of events. The two ladies seem to be talking in a language you don't understand once you're close enough to hear. "Okay, now that's REALLYsurprising." Jack in a quiet voice. "I didn't think anyone would be here that could speak Tina's language. much less more fluently than me." He said with a slight twinge of envy in his voice.
"Oh, well part of my training is studying other languages. Since there aren't many that aren't completely extinct, the odds of hers being one of the ones I learned were fairly high. In fact it was actually used as a code language for a bit because the native speakers were exclusively in Vale. So with that knowledge you could even say it was a priority language to learn." She says with a smile. "That aside now that you're back perhaps you two could introduce us to one another, to follow her people's customs of course."

Simon makes his way to the buffet table and makes his plate getting just some biscuits and gravy, as he figured a small meal would be best to stay sharp for today's adventures. Making his way back he was a bit shocked to see Leanna chatting with Tina, in what appeared to be Tina's native language and Jack seemed to be quite taken aback as well. Once Leanna explained her experience with Tina's language Simon nodded sitting down alongside Leanna "Of course, Tina this is my friend Leanna."