Fandom Grimm Hunter Part 2: Twin Tendency

[Emperor Of Embers]

"I do not wish to be number one. I simply want to do what's right, and be known for that, not because I can kill monsters with style." Tristan said as he adjusted his glasses. Hero work seemed to put him off, since he saw Hunting as that, Hunting. Instead of a hero, he saw him and his brother as predators. And their prey is the monsters that threaten any and all sentient life, The Grimm. Though he had a vast respect for the many wyverns and monsters, Tristan still had to hunt them as part of the job. "We are gonna kick so much butt together! I am glad you guys are here. Especially you, gorgeous." Noctis said as he leaned on Tristan, looking at Sini.

"As if I did not have enough diabetes already.... But yeah, this will be fun. I will give you that. And besides, we already have good standing with each other, so don't fix what isn't broken." Sonora said with a proud smile. A team with her sister, and the Russets. This was a dream come true for the faunus girl, but she will still play guardian over Cherry, despite them Training to be huntresses. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

That's Tristan alright. When it comes to taking the situation seriously, I can't really think of anyone else but him. It's a real wonder that he's able to keep such a strong bond with his brother who's, well... Anything but that. He's even got the nerve to go straight to my sister with a cheap flirt like that. Most brothers would be mad but not me. I've known Sini long enough that I simply don't worry for her anymore on little things like that. She answers with a snicker and the words:
"That's cute, but we're better off sticking to our siblings." A bit harsh, but I can't really blame her since it can't be easy leading 3 boys on her own like this.
I glance away in search for something to change the subject before it gets any worse and who'd knew? Our friends from the other team have come by for us.
"So, what did you guys get? We had to fight off a Brachydios. I would've gotten turned into slime ashes if it weren't for these guys." I say, glancing the the Mccloud brothers.

Cherry

"You got it, sis." Cherry told Sonora. She considered every smile from her cranky sister a victory on her book. She followed Verde up to the the other group just in time to see Noctis getting shut down by Sini. She gasped and held Noctis in her arms, sticking out her tongue at Sini and saying: "You meanie! Did you have to say it like that?" Sini covered her mouth with her hand, but she didn't seem distressed; She knew very well that Cherry did that for Noctis, not for her.
"We-" Midori started before Verde jumped in:
"We got so many grimm! I didn't even think we could make it out alive, but everyone gave their all and it worked out in the end. Right Midori?"
"...Yes." The other Russet agreed with a nod.
"Anyway, I'm glad we all got together like this." Verde continued to anyone who cared to listen. "I can't wait to tell all that happened today to our parents, they'll be blown away."

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

Noctis' heart sunk, and shattered upon hearing her harsh words, but tried to play it off like it did not affect him, making it even more obvious. He slips out of Cherry's grip. "It's cool, I think I'm gonna go eat. That fight really worked up an appetite." Tristan sighed, knowing full well what is brother was doing. "Noctis, it isn't even lunch yet... Why are you..?" Noctis was gone before he could finish. "Of course.... His poor, shattered ego. If I may ask, Why?" Tristan asked, keeping a serious look on his face. He was not angry, in fact, he was curious. Noctis had never been rejected, in fact, it was him doing the rejecting, since none of the girls who flocked to him were the strong, independent type like Sini was.

"Sini, you know being sassy is my thing, right?" Sonora asked with her arms crossed, then sighed. "A lot of grimm, and a very angry Beringel. Poor Harambe did not live long after Midori and Verde utterly erased him." She then looked at Cherry, who tried to defend Noctis, who played it off, and retreated in utter humility and defeat. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

Maybe your average spectator will get an anxiety attack from all this scramble that's going on right now, but that's just how we've always done things, having grown together and all. I've gotten fond of this chaos, actually, and at times like these I catch myself smiling just for being in good company. It's supposed to be one of those moments were you'll remember anything as being perfect later on. Or at least it seemed so, until I saw one tiny spark flying out of Sini. Even the others probably didn't notice it and, if they did, they wouldn't know what it means. But I do.
I get flashbacks of last year; Sini is in my arms, passed out and dirty with dry tears. She's shocking everything around her, especially me, as I make a run to mom and dad and I have to use every ouce of my strenght to get her into safety before she scars herself. In the end it all turned alright for her and no one who wasn't in the family knew about it so she kept on with her perfect record, but the memory remained. So trust me when I say that spark is a lot more than just a misshap; it's a crack. But she remains smiling and laughing it off because, when it comes to not worrying others, she's just like me. I should probably ask her about it when I get the chance. I turn to the others and say:
"Well, we can't leave Noctis alone, can we? Guess we're having an early lunch today."

Sini

"A thing I'd never try to take from you." Sini told Sonora, ignoring the spark she let off. "I wish we had run into a Beringel, it would've been quite the challenge! But I guess we'll have to leave it to the next time. You go on ahead after Noctis, I shouldn't be eating off my schedule." Sini nodded and went off on her own. She managed to get away from their view before Aslan got himself to go after her, thankfully, so she got a few minutes to settle down. Saying no to Noctis like that... Who'd knew it would be so hard? Especially after she saw how it left him, it just came off as wrong and bad. If she had the slightest hope of the two of them working she would have given a completely different re-
crackle
Her train of thought got interrupted when an arc of lightning flew from her to the wall, shocking them both. She began massaging her hand and drove off any thoughts on Noctis right away before they caused any trouble. She should probably go review next week's subjects again, that ought to get her mind back on track again.

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"No, we can't leave him alone. A blow like that really does a number on him." Tristan said nonchalantly as they headed to the mess hall, where Noctis sat alone on a bench, his head drooped down and his hands joined together. "Noctis....? Are you alright?" "just peachy..." Noctis said sarcastically. Tristan knew Noctis was upset, since he rarely said anything in a sarcastic manner. Then again, he was rarely sad or upset at all. "Noctis, Just tell me. Spare us both the games." Tristan sat down next to noctis, and then put a hand on his shoulder. "I thought I found the one..... The one girl that was right for me. But all I get is humiliation.... Is this what the other girls felt like when I said no....?" Tristan sighed, and looked at his brother. "Give it time, brother. It did feel a bit forced when you tried to flirt with her." "Yeah? Well maybe I should give up then." This shocked tristan, since Noctis was the most stubborn of the two. "are you insane?! Give up?! Just one girl shooting you down, and you want to quit?!" Noctis looked back at Tristan, with a fire in his eyes. "You don't understand. I like girls who can take care of themselves, like Sini. I am not one to fit the Hero bill. But the one girl who is strong enough to catch my eye..... Just shot me down. Maybe I should say yes to a whiney little brat next time."

Sonora stood with the group, not seeing The boys go to the lunch area, but saw Sini leave. "Well.... That got tense.... Should we eat?" Sonora asked as she scratched her head. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

Just like that, the atmosphere that seemed so light an healthy began to fall apart pretty quickly. Noctis wouldn't stop talking about Sini... Since when did he like her that much? Was I really being that blind this whole time? And I thought it was just a joke at first... I've got to tell him something but without telling him about Sini's secret. She'd never forgive me if I told him about that, even if it is over this. All I manage to say is:
"Tristan's right, you know. It's too soon to give up yet, man! Let me talk to my sister. Maybe she just wasn't ready for it, that's all." All a bunch of filthy lies, I know, but it's not the time to be brutally honest. I'll figure out what to do... Eventually.

- A few days later -

Verde

Giving their all at the first day training certainly paid off; both SANT and CVSM were top of their class, enough so to warrant them an early shot at shadowing hunstman in missions. Verde was crazy proud of her team as well as a bit jealous of SANT for being slightly ahead of them, so she was striking her best attentive pose as she explained the situation; meanwhile, something happening inside team SANT was leaving everyone who wasn't called Sini a bit under the weather. Maybe even Sini herself was feeling too; it was really hard to tell for Verde what was going on inside miss perfect's mind.
"For this mission, you'll be visiting a village inhabited by the Qal Quai tribe." Glynda was the one explaining them the mission. "They've been sending us some rather concerning smoke signals lately, and I'd like you to go dig deeper into the issue."
"We'll do our best to help." Sini said.
"Yes, i second our friend here..." Verde added. "But I must ask... What huntsmen are we shadowing for this mission? I must say I wish we could have picked a hunstman to ensure ourselves the best learning experience." Before Glynda could answer, though, a familiar voice came from behind her.
"I see that you're as haughty as ever, girl. That's no way to talk to your principal, don't ya think?" Verde turned around and saw none other than uncle Damian, alongside Sonora sr. and mr. and ms. Sterling. Damian had but a second after finishing his line before a flying Cherry knocked him down and strangled him with a bear hug.
"Dad!" Cherry yelled. "You're taking us on the mission? I'm so happy!"
"Mom, dad..." Sini walked up to them and nodded happily. "I couldn't hope for a better teacher." Aslan was surprised, but said nothing.
"Don't make that face, Aslan." Cassie told him. "I didn't expect to be here either. But now that we're here... Let's the make the best of it!"

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"Dad? But if your here... Then that means...." "Hello Huntsman and Huntresses!" Sonora Sr. Walked through the door, and the Jr. Ran up to her, and hugged her. "I can't believe you are going with us! This is awesome!" "Guess we gotta show you kids a thing or two, Right babe?" Sonora Sr. Said jokingly as she looked at her Husband, who was being "strangled" by cherry. "Cherry pie, please loosen your grip, you can choke your father to death." Sonora Sr. Said as clifford walked up. "Well kids, you can't get better than all of us. Now, let's go! We're burning daylight!" Clifford said as Glynda smiled. "I see you have grown up a bit, young man. You even have a sense of urgency." Glynda chuckled as Clifford nodded. "Y'know mom... I have. Ever since Cass and I made our family, I've changed."

Tristan and Noctis could not believe that the Sterlings and Rojas were joining them on their mission. They wanted Gamora to come, but she is rather busy with their farm/zoo, and hunting as of late. "Glad to see you guys here!" Tristan said as Noctis sighed in a depressed tone. "Yeah... Nice to see you guys and all...." CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

Don't get me wrong here, I love having mom and dad around most of the time, I really do. It's just that things have been more than smooth lately and I don't feel like having them around is going to be very good for that. To explain my thought, I probably should get back to the day before yesterday, when I actually managed to get some time alone with my sister. We were on the bedroom and the brothers were out training. Sini was studying while I pretended to the same by her side. Like I could focus on the subject with all the stuff going on through my head. Anyway, somewhere during this time, I simply said without keeping my eyes on the book:
"You know Sini... I saw it, the other day. The spark." I didn't get a response at first. I was worried she was so into the book she wouldn't answer until she actually said something:
"What about it?"
"It was right after you shut down Noctis."
"And?" Sini kept studying as she said this, trying her best to make the subject seem uninportant. "You're just overthinking it. It was a hiccup, that's all." I held onto her hand, which actually made her look at me.
"Yeah, I'm not convinced, Sini." I tell her. "I know it's hard, but... You can't just swallow all your problems forever. It's not going to do you any good." I finally got her to look at me. I could swear that I caught a glimpse of a call for help in there. But it was just for a split second; after that, her eyes became dead and cold and she returned to her studies.
"What do you know. I'm not like you, As. I can never be. So focus on improving yourself. I can handle my own problems."
As you must have guessed, I haven't talked to Sini since then. It's not like I have a grudge on her for what she said, it's just that... What I'm going to talk to her about when we got unfinished business like this? And it's going to be even harder to get this solved with all the adults nearby so, for now, i decide to toss the problems aside and pretend everything's alright.
"You're right, mom! Let's get in to this mission."

Midori

Even Midori, who couldn't possibly be more distant from the clear issue going around team SANT, still saw the very clear tension in the air that Aslan barely tried to cover up with a cheerful quip. Thankfully, none of the parents seem to notice the situation; Midori could only conclude that they took it as nervousness for their first mission. After Cherry let her father loose from her grip, the entire group bids goodbye to Glynda and sets out for their mission. Verde seemed to agree with Aslan's strategy, since she turned to Sonora and said:
"Mrs. Roja, do you know anything about this tribe? I hadn't even heard of their name until just now."
It was a noble attempt, Midori thought, so she walked in by Verde and awaited for a response, pretending nothing was going on.

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"No sweetheart, I have not. To be honest, I have been busy with concerts and guest appearances on shows, I can barely keep up with the news anymore." Sonora sr. Said to Verde as she walked next to Sonora Jr, Cherry, and Damian.
Clifford could feel the tension between Team SANT, And knew something was off. However, now was not the right time to bring it up. Maybe when they got to the village, he could pull Sini and Aslan to the side, and maybe try to help them.

Sonora jr. could not help but feel the same as her uncle, she wanted to help Noctis out, but she did not know much about the situation before the day before.

About 5 hours of walking later

The group makes it to the village, and 2 men stand guard at the gate, and opened it. When inside, a man, standing 8 feet tall, with the ears of a bear, stood with a human woman, and a smaller one, with dark skin and lucious brown hair. "Greetings, visitors. I am Chief Little Ox, and this is my wife Songbird, and my daughter, Keezheekoni." The large man said in a gentle tone as Keezheekoni waved at the group, and songbird smiled at them. "You saw smoke signals, yes? You come to help us against the children of Darkness?" Sonora and Clifford nodded. "Yeah, we'll help you defeat the Grimm. And this is such a nice villate you have here. But.... Why are they attacking you?" Clifford asked as the chief sighed. "We do not know, but every day they take our men, women, and children one by one. I do not know how to stop them.... Neither do Ancestors...." The chief looked at the group, and forced a smile."We show you around. Get a feel for village." CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

So this is the village. It's bigger than I expected, I must say. Always nice to see faunus and humans living together like this for sure. We're brought straight to the village chief, his wife, and cute girl that's the daughter of them. The Grimm are clearly giving them trouble from what they say. I can't even imagine how these people live here, outside of walls and huntsmen protection. To have their lives terrorized by Grimm like that every day... We absolutely can't let it stay like this! But first a little tour around the village, I suppose. Not that I can pay too much attention to that; dad's got his eyes on me. He knows something is up now. Maybe if I look busy enough he won't talk to me, so I say to the village chief:
"Please do. If you could tell us where and when the attacks happened, it would help us a lot."

Verde

"Took the words right out of my mouth, Aslan!" Verde said. "Nice to meet you chief. I am Verde Russet and this is team CVSM. We promise to solve your little 'Darkness' issue, no matter how long it takes."
"Midori Russet." Midori presented herself. "There shouldn't be anything of high threat level this close to Beacon, so I believe this will be over soon."
"Village tour!" Cherry agreed happily. "I can't wait to meet everyone and tell them Cherry Roja is here to help."
"Yes, you shouldn't worry anymore." Cassie said. "Whatever it is that's causing it, I'm sure we can handle it."
"Greetings, chief." Sini said, taking the lead. Despite it all, Verde couldn't see the smallest dent in her mood. "We're the Sterling family and we're happy to help you out however we can. I hope we're not causing any trouble with this tour." She gave a slight pull on Aslan's jacket and he said:
"Oh, I forgot! Aslan Sterling at your service." Verde giggled. Even then, Sini never stopped watching over her brother. And while they were busy with that, Verde and her team would get the job done before they even noticed it! Then they could see who's the better team after all.

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"Pleasure to meet you all. We go now." Little ox muttered as he led the group through the village, and showed them the locations of the Weaponsmith, the Medicine man (doctor), and the trading store. There were a few craftsmen who ardorned the group with necklaces made of bones and teeth along the way, all while Keezheekoni stood at Aslan's side. Once the tour was done, he looked at the group, and sighed.
" That is the end of that. Now, to business. We fear that the Darkness is going to return any time now, and our weapon maker said you all were nearby. We need allies to crush them, and bring light back into our home. They come from woods, just outside the village. Whoever the take, never come back." Little ox looked at Keezheekoni, and then at the group. "I fear they take her next..... Help us... And we are in your debt."

"We'll stay as long as we need to. This should be a piece of cake." Clifford said as he looked at Aslan, giving him a look of "We need to talk".
"We will help you, Chief! That is for sure! Afterall, I have always wanted to hear tribal music!" Sonora Sr. Said as she put her hands to her hips. "Or village thanks you, kind visitors. We shall celebrate our freedom of the Darkness tonight!" Songbird exclaimed with a smile as Sonora Jr's ears perked up. "Celebrate? Alright... I guess..." Tristan was stoked to see a party, Qal Quai style, while Noctis was still getting over Sini shooting him down. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

The tour that follows is good and all, but I have so much in my head I can barely pay attention on what's going on. One thing I do notice is that the chief's daughter is walking right beside me the whole time without saying a word. What's this supposed to mean now? It doesn't feel right to just let her stand there in silence, so I try talking to her:
"You're Keezheekoni, right? It must have been hard going through all this. But we'll get to the bottom of this, I promise."
Before long, however, I realize that I can't delay the talk with dad anymore. I excuse myself from Koni and follow dad up to a quieter corner. I still need to figure out what to tell him so, at first, I merely buy myself some time:
"Hey dad... You wanted to talk?" Who knows? Maybe he doesn't even want to talk about Sini. Maybe I'm overthinking this, so it's better to make sure this is it first.

Cherry

Out of all the people there, the one who enjoyed the tour the most surely was Cherry. She happily talked to everyone on their way, making sure to know their name and complimenting their beautfiul village. She saw Clifford taking Aslan to the side, but she wasn't sure what to do about it; instead, she focused on the celebration:
"I can't wait! You guys are the best."
"That's great, but..." Cassie said. "You remember why you're here, right? Let's keep our focus on the problem. After the problem's done we can celebrate all you want. Now, what do you think is the procedure in this case, kids?"
"We surely can't risk the lives of any more villagers." Verde replied. "We have to go into the forest and take them out!"
"Traps and walls." Midori suggested. "To make sure our next visit here is just for sightseeing."
"That's what I like to hear!" Cassie agreed. "It seems like a plan. Chief Ox, just point us in the general direction and we'll go get them for you."
"Hang on." Damian asked. "This isn't really everything to it. Who knows what I'm talking about?"
"This sudden increase is unusual, to say the least." Sini argued. "There must be some cause in it for here." She didn't put it word for word, but every huntsman there knew what she was talking about; some sort of negative sentiment must have been attracting the Grimm without the village knowing and they had to solve whatever issue they had carefully if the grimm attacks were to stop.
"Correct." Damian agreed. "You and team SANT stay with me and Clifford and we'll work on that while the girls go fight off the grimm. Are we set?"

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"I am. And I personally thank you all for helping us in our time of need." Keezheekoni said as he was pulled to the side by Clifford. "Aslan, I need you to be honest with me, and do not lie to me. What is going on between you, Sini, and your team mates? I feel a lot of tension between you all." Clifford said as he looked at him in a serious, but calm tone.

"I believe that is a good plan. All set, Girls?" Sonora Sr. Asked team CVSM as Sonora Jr. Nodded. "Yes mom..... Be safe guys." She said as she got ready to leave with her team, with Sonora Sr. And Cassie with them.

"If I may ask, chief, when did these attacks start?" Tristan asked as he walked up to the giant man. "It started 7 moons ago. We heard that the Darkness consumed the enemy tribes, and my people started to fear that we were next. I tried my best to calm them, assure them that they are safe.... But It could not be done...." Little Ox answered as he sighed, his wife rubbing his muscular forearm. "Which is why we need you all to help us. Help us assure our people that they are safe from the Darkness.... So we may have peace again." Tristan took this into account, and then nodded. "Will do. Thank you for your help in our investigation." Tristan walked up to Sini, planning about bringing up Shooting down noctis after giving her the newly acquired info. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

Well, so much for escaping this conversation. There's no way I'll lie to dad and get away with it, too, so I decide to just tell him the situation:
"It's Sini, dad. She's been sparking again." I take a moment to let information sink in. After all, last time it happened we almost didn't make it out alive. "I went to talk to her since I I think I know what's causing it, but... You know her. She won't talk about it, not even with me." Well, it's said. All I can hope for is that dad doesn't overreact.

Sini

With everyone going their own way, Sini quickly found herself alone with Noctis again, standing in awkward silence as they awaited for something to do. She had nothing to say to him and she wouldn't like to force him to say anything to her, so she decided to reach for her uncle Damian for a talk... Only to realize he had disappeared. Knowing her uncle, she knew he'd done that out of his own volition, but... What for? Before she could figure out the answer to that, she saw Tristan coming towards her. At least she could count on him to keep his focus on the mission.
"I saw you talking to the village chief just now." She told him. "Did you find anything?"

Verde

Verde and her team followed Cassie and Sonora as they made their way into the forest. It was dense and dark from the tree tops' cover, which made navigation especially difficult. Their best referrence was a tall rock formation that ended in a peak, so they headed there first.
"Ok, team." Cassie told them. "Let's split up and..."
"Wait, aunt Cassie!" Verde stepped in. "That won't be necessary. If I may..." She then turned back to her team, hands on her hips, and yelled: "Alright guys, start operation Sonar!"
The impact on team CVSM was instant; They had heard about this team strategy so many times the last few days that Verde's voice came up on their head instantly:
"Alright guys, let's go through this again. Operation Sonar is to seek and pinpoint bogeys across large areas.
First step is Sonora. You clear up an area at a tall place so we can start the operations.
Verde looked at Sonora and then nodded towards the rock. "There should do it." Verde said. "Just a bit off the top, please."

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"What do you think is causing the sparking?" Clifford asked calmly as he looked at Aslan. He knew Sini very well, but he wanted to help her. "Maybe I can help her...."
"Apparently the Grimm took out the enemy tribes in the area, and that was what started the panic. The chief tried to calm them down, but it was too much, even for him. Which is why he needs us. He needs us to assure his people that they are safe from the Grimm." Tristan stopped, and looked at Sini dead in the eye, and cleared his throat. "On another note. I have been meaning to ask you something." He then took a deep breath, and looked as serious as possible. "Why did you push him away? This is a serious question, and I expect a serious answer. No evading, no sugarcoating, no lying. I am asking this as a friend, a teammate, and a brother. Noctis is hurt..... Badly. And that is rare for him to be this upset....." Tristan crossed his arms, and awaited Sini's answer. Meanwhile, Noctis walked off as Tristan spoke with Sini. He just wanted to be alone, and away from everyone at the moment. It wasn't until then that a child put a flower on his ear, where it sat in between his head and ear. The little girl smiled, which caused Noctis to smile as well.

Sonora focused her Aura, and changed her weapon to sword mode. She climbed to where was going to cut, and stabbed her sword into it, and ran along the circumference of the rock, making a clean cut. She then made a angled cut to allow the piece to fall to the ground, in the direction away from the village. "Will that do? Cuz this takes a lot of focus to get just right, you know?" She said as she put her weapon into gun mode, and put it away. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

Dad's straight to the point, he's not even fazed one bit by my reveal. That's just how serious he is about all this. Now comes the part that I didn't want to say. How will he react to this? Can he really understand what it means for us? I know he was our age once, but adults rarely get it.
"It was Noctis. He was trying to flirt with her. She shot him down, of course, but when she saw how much it hurt him, I think it hurt her too. But dad, whatever you do... Please be careful. You know she doesn't like other people knowing about her semblance." Is all that I manage to say.

Sini

"If that's the case, then we might be dealing with an infestation much more powerful than we imagine. We should..."
Sini's voice died out when she noticed the look Tristan was giving her. She knew what he was going to say even before he opened his mouth, but she listened to all of it patiently anyway. When he was done, Sini realized there was nowhere for her to go. She'd fought countless terrifying Grimm without breaking a sweat, but nothing came close to Tristan with his arms crossed and a serious inquiring look on his eyes. But she had to power through this, just like everything else. All she had to do is think calmly and logically to avoid getting overflowed with emotions.
"If that's what you want, then I'll do it." Her eyes were dead serious, but also colder than a glacier. "The truth is... You and Noctis think that you know me well, but you don't. I am not as stable as I look and, if I enter a relationship with Noctis right now, I guarantee you that I will hurt us both, severely, sooner or later. I..." Another spark flew at that point, but she took a deep breath and it went away. "I regret the way I said it to Noctis and that it hurt him so badly. I want to apologize to him, but I also don't want him to get the wrong idea."

Verde

"That will do just fine." Verde told Sonora as she walked up to the newly created plateau. "Moving on, team!"
From atop the carved mountain Verde had a perfect look of all the forest. The nemy was hidden somewhere inside that sea of treetops and she would find them whenever they were. The memory of Verde's repeated explanation kept going on everyone's heads:
Step 2 Is for Cherry. She'll use her Semblance to agitate the bogeys while Midori detects the points of interest and marks them up for investigation.
Cherry walked up to the tip top of the rock, took a deep breath and screamed with all she had to the forest while Midori sat with a pair of binoculars and took notes of any treetops rustling too much in reaction to the shout. about half a dozen spots popped up in the end, which left to the last part of the plan.
Step 3 Is mine and Midori's. We send Hoppes to each point of interest and confirm where the grimm are.
Verde was busy summoning her Hoppe as they spotted the points so that, when the time came, they were all completely formed and well instructed on what to do. She nodded to Midori and she started her part, creating portals to send the Hoppe directly to where they should be. The Hoppes showed up shortly after; the Hoppe number 4 pointed with his fiingers to his location and let out an alarmed howl, confirming the Infestation's position within 10 minutes of its beggining.
"This is impressive!" Cassie said, looking at the circled spot in Midori's scrapbook. "Great job, kids! Let's go meet these guys."

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"You are so closed off, we felt like we barely knew you at all. So if you thought we knew you well, you are wrong. I understand you have an issue with your semblance now. But that is no reason to push him away as harshly as you did. If anything, he was trying to get to know you in his own way. He wants you, over anyone else. He rejects other girls because he prefers girls that are their own people, and could care less of what others think." Tristan uncrossed his arms, and sighed. "Then let him in. Let him help the best he can. If you explain to him why you did it, You may be surprised on how understanding he really is. So do what you think is right. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to meet with some of the locals. And I want the both of you on good terms again, understood? We cannot afford to be divided. Not right now." Tristan said as he walked off into the trading hut, leaving Sini to her own devices.

"Noctis? Never knew the boy had an eye for her. And I can understand why she did it. Lemme try to talk to her. Why don't you talk to your new friend? Y'know, get to know her a bit." Clifford said with a pat on Aslan's back, and walked off to Sini, who had just finished her talk with Tristan. "You ok, kiddo? I hope Tristan didn't give you too much trouble. You know how much of a Serious Sam he is." Clifford put his hand on her shoulder, and smiled.

Sonora Jr. changed her bullets to Electric Dust bullets, so she can stun multiple monsters in a small group. "Let's kick some butt!" She said as she primed her gun. Sonora Sr. Smiled at her daughter, and readied her hunting horn. "You ready, Cass? 'Caus we are in for a wild ride." she said as she played her self improvement songs. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

So he's going to talk to her... Well, that's better than talking to Noctis or another adult, at least. I nod and add an "ok" as he says that. Just after that, he comes in with all that 'new friend' talk of his, no doubt since he saw me talking to the chief's daugher. Just as the usual, nothing ever escapes his eyes. The pat on the back is a little suspicious but I still think he's telling to do that for the sake of the mission so I follow his advice without a care in the world. The girl doesn't seem to have talked to anyone else, even after I went to talk with dad. What was her name again? I can't believe I forgot it alread! All I know is it's something that ends with Koni.
"So... Koni. Mind if I call you Koni?" The words 'kill me now' are repeating in my mind as I talk to her. "I would like to know what you remember from this incident. Were the people who were taken related in any way? Were they walking around alone at night? Any sort of information like that helps."

Sini

Sini gasped a bit when Tristan told her he knew about her semblance, since she thought she hadn't been so obvious about it; she kept still and silent, doing her absolute best to not break down as he spoke to her. He understood a lot about her issue, yet, at the same time, didn't seem to get the most important part of it, which was the dangers of opening up to someone. She kept her silence all the way through, simply nodding as he left. When her father showed she was already at her very limit. Thankfully for her, he didn't seem inquisite at all; it was much the opposite, actually. She took a couple seconds to breathe before answering him:
"I was worried for bit, but I'm not anymore." Her voice was slow and methodical, almost forced. "He knows. He wants Noctis to know about it, too... But I'm going to end up shocking him if I do it now. Could you... Calm Noctis down a bit? Please?" She asked him, staring at him with blank eyes. She was looking, but not seeing, her attention retreated into the depths of her own mind in a last ditch attempt to keep her aura in check. "Tell him I'm sorry and that I'll explain things better later." She turned away from her father and started walking in a straight line to nowhere in particular, mumbling: "Right now I've got to... Focus on the mission..."

Midori

Midori followed the location on her scrapbook all the way to the grimm infestation point; there were several Beowulves, Boarbatusks and a single King Taiju who had just become aware to their presence. To think a group like that could terrorize a whole village if left unchecked only made Midori realize just how important their job was. She watched as Cassie got a good look at the Grimm, then sighed and sat at a trunk.
"Ms. Sterling, what are you doing?" Verde asked. "The Grimm are just over there!"
"I know." She said. "And they're clearly a bunch of pushovers, at least for Sonora and me. That's why I wanna see you handle them on your own."
At this point, a Boarbatusk got its sights on Cassie and proceeded to charge at her. Midori held her breath in anticipation as she realized Cassie wasn't moving a muscle to stop it; however, just as he got near the Sterling, the Grimm was engulfed in flames and vaporized within a second.
"Well?" Cassie insisted impatiently. "Go get them!" Midori gulped and readied her Heather for battle.

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"I am not going to do it for you, You are going to yourself. You, aslan, and the McClouds are all a team. And you all need to act as such, and I am not going to force you to do anything. But I am going to tell you to do what is right, But it will be up to you to listen or not. Now, focus on the mission if you want, but right now there needs to be some foundation work here for your team." Clifford said with a firm and gentle tone. "Besides, I think he is calm enough to talk to now. He's playing with the Village kids over there." Clifford pointed to Noctis, who was acting as a scary monster, chasing a group of children who were screaming and laughing. Clifford then sighed as he took a seat. "You don't need to hide yourself.... Just ask for help, and I am sure your team can help in any way they can. But like I said, it is up to you, to listen to my advice, or make the decision on your own." Clifford did not know if he was helping or not, but he wanted to try to get her to make a decision for herself, and her team.

"I don't mind. Not a lot of people can say my name..." Keezheekoni looked at Aslan with intent in her eye. "our taken people are one of us. Not in blood, but in bond. Some gather at night, some do hunting for food, some even sing to the Spirits of Nature, to please them so we can have a bountiful harvest. But when our enemies fell to the Darkness.... That was when fear loomed over us, like a fluffy blanket." Keezheekoni said, her heart racing as her face turns red.

Sonora Jr. Smiled. "C'mon ladies!! Let's go kill some grimm!!!" She shouted excitedly as she charged into the fray, spraying bullets everywhere as the bullets hit a couple of Beowulves. "My! I have never seen her so excited to fight in my life!" Sonora Sr. Exclaimed out of worry as she looked at cassie, then at Cherry. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

Why is she being so... Intense?
I thought this would be just a simple talk, but this girl is looking into my soul as she tells them about her tribe members and what happened to them. She's so passionate about it I almost tore up just from listening and she's blushing bright red at the end. The life here is all these people have, and having their peace threatened like clearly is their worst nightmare turned reality. What should I even do now? I should probably just be honest. I reach out a shy hand for her shoulder and say:
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Koni. There's nothing worse than feeling scared in your own home like this. So listen." I look deep into her eyes; for some reason, doing that makes me more nervous that it should. "There is a way you can help, but I'll need you to be real brave. Do you want to hear it?"

Sini

After listening to both Tristan and her dad Sini gave a walk around the village, looking for clues and patterns in the grimm attacks. She wasn't even sure if it would help at that point, but it wasn't her goal at the moment. Bit by bit, everything that was told to her was processed and condensed into a singing, reigning statement that she could work with: Get the team together again. She had spent enough time moping around and escaping the problem and it was just becoming a huge problem with everybody, which was something unacceptable for her. She made her way to Noctis, her mind clear as day as she said:
"Hey." Once she got his attention, Sini sat by his side and said: "I owe you a big apology for the other day." It was a simple starter to make sure the coast was clear before moving on to deeper subjects.

Cherry

Cherry happily skipped around the battlefield as the Russet sisters and Sonora Jr. struggled to fight the Grimm. Some of the mosnters did target her, but she was so nimble they hardly had a chance at getting a hit in. Verde was not pleased with this behavior and, between swings of her shield, shouted at her:
"Cherry, what are you doing? We've got to fight the Grimm!"
"But I don't wanna fight!" She shouted back. "I think I found a clue out there in the back, I'll go investigate instead."
"Cherry, no!" Shouted Verde. She had a horrible feeling about what was about to happen, but she couldn't do anything from where she was. "Don't go there!"
But Cherry simply kept on her way towards her goal. She only stopped when she noticed a horrible smell coming from the clue she was after.

"Aw man! What happened here?" With the finger over her nose, she walked in and it suddenly it all made sense. That's when she finally realized that the people who went missing in the village were never, ever coming back. She could feel a heinous feeling forming up in her stomatch and building up into her chest as the grimm all turned towards her. They were the ones to blame. They had turned beautiful, loveing and innoccent villagers into... Whatever was this pile she was looking at. And she couldn't let that slide. She let out her anger in an ear-piercing scream that dropped all the Grimm to the ground. She then leaped at the nearest downed Beowulf and begun tearing it apart with her hatchets. She keepy on swinging long after it stopped moving, all the while screaming with a coarse voice from overusing her semblance:
"Why would you do this to them? They did nothing to you!!! Why!? Tell me!!!"
"Oh no..." Midori commented.
"Quit staring!" Verde said. "Let's stop her before she does something stupid!"

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"Alright then.... Let's hear it." Koni said, trying to hold back her attraction towards Aslan, a person she had just met. "I am not as scared as my people.... And the ones who are related to me by blood.... But... If I may ask, Aslan, Is there a... Significant other... In your life?" Her face turned beet red, since she has developed feelings for the newcomer.

"Sini.... You don't have to apologize.... I never had a shot with you to begin with.... Maybe next time I should start dating the "Damsels in Distress".... If anything, I should be apologizing to you. So.... I'm sorry." Noctis tried to be calm about this, but he could not hide the frustration and pain behind his words. "Let's just.... Forget it even happened and move on with the assignment."

Sonora Jr. Grew worried as soon as she heard Cherry's scream of fury. "Oh no.... Guys! We need to calm her down! NOW!!" She ran past the grimm, her sister in her sights "CHERRY!!!! STOP BEFORE YOU HURT YOURSELF!!" She shouted as she tripped on a root, and then a Beowulf was on top of her, about to take a bite, but its mouth was filled bu electric rounds, and soon after, Beowulves surrounded her. "Help me! I'm surrounded!" Sonora activated her semblance, and immediately ripped into her foes. CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

"You see, those creatures of Darknes, the Grimm, they feed on your fear and they are attracted to it." I begin explaining to Koni. "We will get rid of the current infestation for you, but the best way to prevent it from happening in the future is by teaching your peers to not fear these monsters..." I have to stop, though, as I spot some... Unexpected reaction from her. Still oblivious to what's going on, I ask: "Koni? Is everything alright?" And then...
Boom.
I'm choking my heart out right now and I can only hope she isn't noticing. This was supposed to be a simple task, how could I screw it up so bad? What did she even see in me? Maybe she isn't asking for herself - no way, her face is like a stop sign right now. Ok, As, one step at a time. She asked you a question, it would be nice of you to answer. I know I already said she's cute, but looking her up close like that, her beauty is even more apparent. But I shouldn't everstay my welcome. Instead, I just say:
"Well, I'm not with anyone right now, but there's a girl back in the city that I like... Though I'm sure she'd never go out with me." That seems like a reasonable excuse, right? Now let's just hope she doesn't press too much into the matter.

Sini

"Oh no, that won't do." Sini said. "The Noctis that I know wouldn't settle for just that." She added, risking a timid smirk for moment before turning serious again. "I guess it's about time you know... The only reason I pushed you away is that I don't trust myself to be with anyone. My aura is not like most..." Sini lifted her thumb and index finger and made her aura form an arc between them. "It's more like a death trap than anything else. If I take my mind out of it for a single second, it'll run wild and shock everything, including you and me. Last time I tried to trust someone with my feelings... That person died, Noctis." Her eyes were staring unwavering at Noctis. Her resolve on the matter was so strong that her aura stood completely still, giving off a soft glow out of her silhouette. "You're a great person, Noctis, but it would be sellfish of me to put you in danger just to get to know you better. That's all there is to it." Sini had to admit she was a bit impressed of herself for not letting a single spark out through the ordeal. As it turned out, speaking her mind wasn't so dangerous if she didn't have any doubts about it.

Verde

"Sonora! Hang on!" Verde ran and charged into the grimm with her Sunflower to open up an escape route for Sonora. She extended a hand to pull her out, but didn't realize that the most powerful Gimm in the area had set her eyes for her. The King Taiju flung its tail into Verde's back and she was sent flying, landing at a tree nearby with such force she spent her whole aura just to avoid being taken out by the blow. Flustered and worried over the safety of her team, she got up and yelled: "Midori, takes us out of here right now! Tactical retreat!"
As soon as she heard the order, Midori entered in a frantic effort to pick up the team members one by one and yank them through a portal to a spot about 30 feet from the Grimm. By the time she was done, the girl collapsed with the others, completely exhausted. Sitting at her place, Verde could only watch the bright flames and battle horn themes from afar with an awful bitter taste in her mouth. In the meantime, Cherry was punching the ground and crying profusely while whining:
"They're all dead... And I couldn't do a thing! How could they? How..."
"Oh, shut up." Verde said, already growing tired of Cherry. "We're only here because you broke the formation, Cherry. You could have gotten us all killed with your tantrum, you know that?" But the Roja girl wasn't listening to her anymore, resorting to sobbing quietly. Verde looked at Midori, cracked a tired smirk and said: "At least I got you to save our hides, Sis."
"You're being a horrible leader and a horrible person, Verde." Midori said as she walked over to Cherry and hugged her. "Don't talk to me."
"Hmpf, whatever." Verde ended, looking to the side with an annoyed expression. If one cared to look closely, they would realize she was actually sniffling a bit.

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

"how about you lay off of her, alright?! Y'know, instead of trying to order us around, maybe work with us a bit! Like, I dunno, not being a cold hearted witch like you were just now! Not everyone will follow a plan to the tiniest detail like you do, so how about instead of trying to make us into a military platoon, how about trying to be open minded!?" Sonora jr. Said as she hugged Cherry, who was genuinely crying. "I will never understand why Glynda made YOU leader of this team, verde. But acting the way you did to the sweetest person we know WILL NOT fly with me. Understood?" Her ears were drooped down, and her teeth were bared out of anger. It is one thing to be harsh towards her, but towards her sister, that is another story entirely.

"Then I challenge you in combat! I want to see what you can do, so you can impress this woman from your home!" Keezheekoni said with a slight disappoinment on her face. But, if he was not into her, she mind as well help him. "We start tonight. So be ready for it. If you fail, then we train, and try again when you feel you are ready." Keezhzeekoni said as she then smiled, and walked off into her teepee, where she meditated, and cleared her mind.

"I'm at a point where I don't care anymore.... If you weren't into me, you should have said so...." Noctis puts his hands in his pockets, and sighed as he saw an Arc come out of Sini's thumb and finger. He then listened to Sini some more, and then understood. "I'm not as great as you think I am.... Not as great as Tristan anyway. He is so good that the girls swarm to him, while I get the ones who are way too obsessive of me, and constantly act like a baby....." He stopped, and looked up.

"I'll be back... I need to ask tristan something." Noctis then ran off, and found tristan, who was watching a craftsman make a pot of clay. "Tristan, you got that Thunder Resistance charm that mom gave you?" without a question, Tristan held it out, which noctis grabbed. "Thanks!" Noctis then ran back to Sini, and held it out to her. "Put this around your neck. I want to see if this works for you." CapRock

 

[CapRock]

Aslan

That's... Not exactly the reaction I expected. I can see the pain in her eyes as she promise to help me... Why did I have to lie like that? I'm too scared to tell her the truth or to refuse her in any way, so I just nodded and said: "Thanks" Before she went her own way. What a girl she is; she left me completely lost in just a couple minutes of conversation. I'm left with nothing to do, so I decide to check on Sini and see if she has any ideas.

Sini

"Well, that's what you get for acting like a baby yourself." Sini said. "Man up and stop pulling the drama to yourself, will you?" Sini couldn't tell what it meant when Noctis got up and went somewhere. When he came back he offered her an unusual necklace, which she accepted and put it around her neck. "Thank you, but... What's this for?"

Midori

"Well excuse me for trying to make you work together!" Verde replied with tears rolling down her face. "What do you think the formation is for? What do you think this piece of junk is for, huh?" She looked at her shield and kicked it away in anger. "Nothing, I guess."
As Verde said that Midori remembered of something from their past.
--
It was a few years ago, when then had to build their first weapon, and of course their father was helping them choose. He was going through every single item in his catalogue and pointing out good and bad points for each:
"And this is the halberd. I guess that's all of them. Any one caught your attention?" He asked them both. Verde was the first to answer, as always:
"This one, dad!'
"Just a shield?" Peter asked and Verde nodded energetically. "Why would you pick that one, darling?"
"Because, when I grow up to be huntress, I want to protect all my teammates!" Verde explained. "And I want to help them do their best! There's nothing better for that than a shield, right dad?"
--
Regardless of what happened, seeing Verde kick her shield like that worried Midori.
"Guys!" Cherry exclaimed: "I'm sorry i screwed up! Could you stop fighting now? Please?"
"You do whatever you want." Verde said, getting up. "I guess I'm not your leader anymore anyways." She mumbled, getting up and walking towards the village on her own.

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

Sonora Jr. Realized real quick what her mistake was, and sighed as she knew what she had to do. She picked up Verde's shield, and walked quickly towards Verde. She then stopped in front of Verde, and then looked Verde in the eyes. "I'm sorry for what I said.... I shouldn't have said such harsh things to you. But seeing cherry getting yelled at really ticked me off. I wasn't thinking of anything else other than being there for my sister." A tear rolled down her face, showing genuine emotion towards her leader. "Would you do the same for Midori? Would you defend her if she was attacked by anyone? Would you comfort her when she is angry or sad, jusy because you want to see her happy? Yeah, Cherry messed up, but that was no reason to start yelling.... And not everything has to be perfect... Because if everything were, there would be no Grimm. No violence if any kind. And no hatred against the Faunus. When you want to be our leader again, let us know." Sonora laid the shield on the ground, and then walked to the village on her own, trying to hold back the tears.

"Sini, just Trust me when I say that this will help." Noctis said, her last comment causing him to think. "Pulling drama to myself? What makes her say that? And if only she knew what I really felt.... Before this, she would probably sing a different tune." He hoped the Charm would work, and that she could open up a little more safely. CapRock