"Leave me alone!" A young faunus with salt and pepper hair, white head feathers with gold accents, sapphire blue eyes, and large white wings with golden tips. He glared at the ruthless teenage passengers. The boy shifted uncomfortably, folded his wings tighter behind his back, and stared out the train window. The scenery flew by, and he wanted nothing more than to be at Vale.

"Did you hear something, boys?" the ringleader of the four bullies taunted, smirking at his friends. The four humans crowded the winged faunus, all laughing and throwing taunts at him. "Derek Crocus, are you even listening to me?"

Derek slowly turned to look at the leader. "Please, just leave me alone." He shuddered and seemed to curl in on himself. "I didn't do anything. I didn't take anything. Please, just go." His feathers tensed up.

"Or what?" one of the thugs laughed. "You can't do anything to us, birdie. You're just a freak of nature." The others joined in laughing. One reached and yankedo n one of his feathers, making me yelp in pain. "Awe, he's sensitive," the girl cruelly laughed, tugging again.

"Please, just leave me alone," Derek whispered, blinking back tears of pain. He pressed himself back against the window, praying to Oum that they would leave him alone.

"I don't think so, birdbrain," the ringleader smirked, trapping Derek against the seat and window. "What gives you the right to be here? You could have flown, right?" He brushed his hand against the soft feathers. Derek flinched back. "Scum like you don't deserve to be in the same room as us. We are the superior creatures. You all are just worthless animals lucky to be born."

"That's enough," a rough voice growled. A hand grabbed the ringleader's shoulder and harshly pulled him back. "Leave the kid alone, or I'll have you arrested for harassment." The bullies' eyes all widened and they scrambled away. "Is't he a Huntsman?" Derek heard one of them whisper.

"You okay, kid?" Derek's blue eyes met crimson red ones. "These bastards didn't hurt you did they?"

"N-no, Sir," Derek shook his head, his eyes wide. He slowly moved forward and brought his wing around to soothe the feathers. "Thank you."

"No problem, kid," the huntsman shrugged, pulling out a flask. He wore a gray shirt with a red and black cape, with black pants and shoes. On his back was strapped with a broadsword. "Do ya mind if me and my friend here sit with you?"

"No, it's okay," Derek nodded, adjusting so his wings wouldn't take up too much space. "You're a huntsman right?"

"Yeah, he is." A young redheaded adult smiled sweetly at him, tall orange tabby cat ears spoke up from her head. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she wore a blue and white plaid shirt with jeans. "I'm Flannery, and this idiot is Qrow Branwen. Are you heading to Vale? Lemme guess, Beacon?"

"Yep," Derek sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I was accepted and am taking this train to the academy. I just hope I'm not late. The ride had already been delayed an hour."

"You'll make it in time. I have a business in Vale with apples and other fruits. My family runs a fruit business along with a bakery." She sat across from Derek, with Qrow sitting next to her. "What about your family?"

Derek tensed and looked down, biting his lip. "My mother died when I was young, and my father is gone." Gone, he said, not dead. "So, I'm here alone. But I don't mind! It's safer that way."

"Safer? kid, that sounds even more dangerous." Qrow raised an eyebrow and took another sip from his flask. He and Flannery shared a concerned look.

"Nope," Derek shook his head. "If I stay on the down low and not bring any attention to myself, it's safer for me. But, that doesn't matter. Once I get to vale, things will be much easier."

"Okay, kid. Whatever you say," Qrow scoffed, leaning back. Flannery studied Derek with empathy and sympathy. As a fellow Faunus, she knew what it was like to be treated as less than and attacked for being different.

"What's your name?" Flannery asked softly, not wanting to trigger the other, clearly upset Faunus.

"Derek Crocus." Flannery's eyes widened temporarily, but she composed herself. "It's nice to meet you, Derek."

Derek nodded his head and leaned against the window, his eyes falling shut.

"NO!" Smoke filled the air as he stepped back, eyes wide with horror. What had he done? Grim surrounded him and another woman, who glared daggers at him, but her eyes also held regret and betrayal. "What have you done?"

"He made the right choice," a sickenly sweet voice crooned, and a cold hand petted his head. Bile filled his mouth. "You underestimated him. You truly don't know people as well as you think you do."

"You are nothing but a traitorous snake!" she snarled, lunging toward him with her spear, but the Grim surrounded her and advanced. "You were family! The last of us,and you joined her!" she spat, stabbing a beowolf and slashing through another grim.

He couldn't look as the woman was mauled and her body disappeared under the Grim frenzy. He ran before a silver glint of a weapon made his vision go red.

"AHH!" He screamed, bolting up in a cold sweat. His heart raced and his thoughts were all over the place. His wings puffed out, and he frantically looked around.

"Hey, it's okay," Flannery's soothing voice said. She gently rubbed his wrist. "You're okay. We are just about to get to Vale. You had a nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?"

Derek numbly shook his head and gathered his backpack which held his school supplies and clothing. Despite not having much, it was enough for him. "I'm okay," he promised. "I don't really remember what it was about anyway," he smoothly lied.

The train pulled to a stop and the occupants began to get off. Flannery and Qrow along with Derek made their way to Vale. Flannery stopped outside of her family's business, waved goodbye to the two, and went back to work. Qrow pointed to where Derek had to go and left for the bar.

Alone once more, Derek took to the skies and flew to the docking bays. He could see the airships and what looked like Beacon students boarding them. He picked up the speed and dove toward the ground, skidding as he landed. Yet, he didn't trip. As small as he was, Derek easily slipped through the crowd and onto one of the ships.

The avian set up away from the main group and patiently waited for the ship to leave for Beacon academy. "Hey, is it okay if I stay with you?" A rabbit faunus in a brown and tan suit approached him. "I'm Velvet."

"Derek." He shook her hand and offered the spot next to him. "It's nice to see another Faunus here," he smiled at her.

"Yeah, it is." She beamed. "Maybe we will be on the same team. Us Faunus have to stick together."

"We do," Derek nodded, watching the other students board. He saw a set of twins, a girl with immaculate fashion choices, a redheaded male with darker skin, a mean looking girl, and a boy with black hair and the same red eyes Qrow had.

"We really do," he echoed, fear creeping in.

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Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Comments and votes are appreciated! I love hearing from you all!

Have a wonderful day!

~Kat