Macabre, Hollow, and Grimm [Rae & Pentagon]

[Pentagon]

"Implying 'beloved'. I'm not sure what to make of him honestly: I suppose I'll give him a chance to make a better first impression than that speech, but I'm not hopeful. Now, about that Professor Goodwitch..." Whit trailed off suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows in a clandestine manner at Sam, a conspiratorial smirk on his face. "Ah! Speaking of Petra." said Whit as the short girl fell into step with them, coffee still in hand and sword on her hip. She walked next to Rae, and turned to her, asking "You were speaking of me? Should I be worried?"


Whit was quick to answer "Nothing much Pet: they were just wondering where you were. I guess you're ready?" A nod from Petra confirmed this, and Whit dashed off to grab his own weapons, the archaic greatsword resting on his shoulders and the long rifle slung low on his back, folded up for convenience, making his way back after a few seconds. While he was gone, Petra spoke while walking to the prescribed testing area "I heard a pair talking about our trial. Apparently we're going to get dropped into a Forest, alone.".

 

[Raerae]

"Is that so?" Came Rae's voice, crystal and calm, though if someone were to put their finger to her pulse, they'd know the collected aura only went skin deep. It agitated the brunette further, this unease that only seemed to grow as they pursued their destination; she was more than capable, and genuinely excited to be here. It was... the unexpected. She'd become more tolerable of it after years of sculpting herself throughout training, but just because she understood it was inevitable, didn't mean she welcomed it anymore than the twelve year old gazing at Signal magazines in a dust shop.


"A forest, huh? 'Bout time I'm in a setting I'm used to," He murmured, referring to the mountainous region of Mistral, which had forests, woodland areas and coastlines as far as the eye could see, patches left untainted by industrialization. He wasn't expecting this setting to be quite so void of humanity.


Was he in for a surprise or what?


---


Anticipation was thick enough in the atmosphere to be tangible.


Solid, squared platforms with the Beacon signal engraved on the surface were evenly spaced apart and lined up along the peak of a precipitous, grassy hill, centered beneath a clear, baby blue sky, over looking a forested landscape that rolled, and on, and on... seemingly endless, with woodland, ombre hues that added to the depth of the destination of several students


Both the Professor and Miss Goodwitch stood with their backs facing the stunning scenery, stoic, calm, with an air of authority even the recalcitrant quieted down in the presence of. With two, soft steps, Glynda absorbed everyone's attention, her cape swaying behind her as a light breeze engulfed the individuals.


"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion... teams will not be formed today. This is, as the name implies, an initiation, a test, a show of strength, capability, and reason to allow permanent residence within the academy."


Ozpin didn't budge an inch. He took a lengthy sip from his mug, observing behind his glasses the group presented before him.


"For years you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest. Your objective is to reach the temple on the other side of this forest, retrieve an item of your choosing from the pedestals, guard your item and return it soundly to the Beacon cliffs. You will face opposition along the way, Our instructors will be watching, but will not intervene."


"Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die. ”


"Any questions?" He asked half heartedly.


"Uhm, sir? H-how will we be... arriving?" Asked a rather timid Faunus girl from farther away.


"You will be landing."


"Like, a drop off?"


"No, you will be using your own unique landing style."


It seemed as if the girl didn't quite understand, but before she could say more, the male behind her was launched off of his pad, gliding with easy through he air and yelling "WHOOOOOO!" on his way to the forest grounds.


She squeaked, and braced herself for the sudden launch, squealing as she flew through the air like the male before her.


Ozpin sipped from his mug again, eyeing Mr. Aerosol, who seemed all to ready for the coming projection. He winked at the brunette and redhead at his side playfully, before slipping on a pair of aviators the Professor assumed would fall off up on impact, and exclaiming something he hadn't caught with enthusiasm that didn't quite match his character as the pad flung upwards, and his body bolted into the sky, only to disappear from sight mid ascension.


"Most peculiar..." He murmured, and then looked to the brunette, who seemed to be attempting to calm herself with a sort of meditation. She took her stance with the confidence he'd expected in her, and without warning she, too, was projected forwards, enveloped in a most intriguing, indigo glow upon becoming airborne.


His gaze fell to Petra and Whit, two individuals he had taking quite a liking to. It was their turn to launch, and he awaited with a hidden excitement their reaction.

 

[Pentagon]

Whit was the next to be fired, glad he chose to stand next to Petra. He would have no problem landing, his semblance being absolutely perfect for this kind of thing. He spoke quickly to Petra, his launch only seconds away. "I'll come to you, be safe, we then find othe-". Whit was caught off guard by being hurled from the ground by the platform. Petra prepared herself to be launched.


Whit soared through the air and activated his aura. The launch was high, so he had plenty of time to prepare himself mentally for the fall. Whit learned early in his career that one tended to fall much quicker than you would expect, the human mind not used to figuring things in terms of constant acceleration. Fortunately, using his semblance did not require a great deal of thought anymore. The canopy of light green trees rushed up to him, and as he got close he made the connection between his own momentum and the stationary tree near him. He used his semblance as fast as he could, coming to an almost complete stop twenty or so feet above the forest floor. He could theoretically levitate here, but his semblance was tiring based on how long he used it, not how much energy he transferred, confusingly, so he simply turned off his semblance and grabbed a tree branch, crawling up to the top to look for Petra. He knew vaguely where Sam and Rae had been dropped, and would make his way there after grabbing his partner. Upon seeing her break the canopy, he sped off as fast as he could manage to where he thought she landed, hoping to reach her before any Grimm showed up.


Petra was considerably less well equipped than Whit, and was not looking forwards to her landing. She approached the canopy and activated her semblance, time slowing down considerably. Last time she checked it had been about one-sixth speed, but that number seemed to change from day to day. Her descent slowed down, and she took in the situation, planning out a series of swings and quick handholds that she could perform to try and not waste half her aura crashing into the ground. She found a fairly straightforwards path, and she clumsily swung from one branch to another constantly correcting her actions as time crawled forwards, before impacting the ground and rolling forward a dozen feet before stopping. She caught her breath and drew her sword, ready to combat any Grimm that had been attracted by her landing


 
Whit's quick sprint to Petra was interrupted uncomfortably quickly: his landing had caused a great deal of noise, and in retrospect it should have been obvious that the Grimm would be attracted to noise, and there may very well be a large pack of Beowulfs less than a minute away from him, but in the adrenaline high of combat after such a long reprieve he had not thought about it. He noted mentally to not make the same mistake twice, but he would have more time to worry about his faults after he had finished fighting for his life.


The way it started was a Beowulf howling rather close, followed by one essentially rugby tackling him, leaping from a nearby hedge. Whit tore himself out of the grip of the monster, using their shared momentum to hurl the Beowulf up while pushing himself towards the ground against the monster's chest, grinding his back into the dirt but getting free. He used what was left of his momentum to stand as his feet and prepare Doppel, taking a wide stance, holding the blade forward towards the emerging pack of monsters, all Beowulfs, aware of the wolf to his right, the one who tackled him, not standing back up and growling. He counted twelve altogether, but there very well be more coming. All he had time to think was "oh fuck me" before, on a seemingly invisible signal, the pack charged him.


One pounced forwards, claws extended, and Whit hopped up and spun his whole body behind Doppel, slicing the beast's arms off and throwing him into a spin. He transferred what angular momentum remained after slicing through the beast's arms into the neck of another beast winding up to rake him with claws. The beast mewled for a second before crumpling to the ground. Twisting to get his sword touching the ground, he pushed himself off with all his strength, landing a few feet away from the pack of wolves minus two. The one that tackled him pounced again, and this time Whit was ready. From a neutral stance, Whit sliced his sword forwards and down, drawing energy from the beast and using it to push the blade of his sword down, bisecting the wolf down to it's hind legs. Unfortunately, with his attention turned to the flanking beast, two more rushed forwards and raked him with an uppercut. The pain was incredible, even through his aura, and he was sent flying while he cried out at the four new lines of pain on his upper body and head. Fighting through the agony, he dropped his sword, trusting it to fall near him, and unslung his rifle, firing while in the air, disabling a pair of Beowulfs before impacting the ground, rolling backwards and reclaiming his dropped blade. The benefits of two weapons were apparent: the high caliber of his rifle would not be feasible in a combined weapon, and he thought that the lack of convenience was worth it when he saw what the two cartridges did to what remained of the wolves. 'Seven more'.


The next wave of attack came again, the wolves moving faster than Whit thought possible. He wanted to avoid using more of his semblance, feeling more tired than he would like. The lead wolf telegraphed its wide swing, and Whit caught it on the blade, using the fact the the beast's long claws were on either side of the blade to twirl his weapon clockwise and destroy the bones in the beast's forearm. Whit had caught the blow with his pommel facing the dense canopy, and after half a full turn, the point was poised perfectly to cut into the beast's throat, which Whit did without hesitation. Unfortunately, once again, due to his preoccupation, he was flanked by a pair of beasts and attacked in tandem before he could extricate his sword from the neck of the now-dead first attacker. Pulling the blade out slightly, he caught one on the quillons, but the wolf directly behind him crashed its clawed hand directly into his back, throwing him forward into the creature he had just blocked, pinning his sword between his body and the beast, who now had him in a death grip and was making to bite his head off. Managing to not vomit at the foul stench of the monster's breath, he realized he needed to use his semblance again. 'I sure wish Petra were here'. He heard the beast behind him throw another swipe, and thanked providence for the other wolf running towards him, fangs bared. Pulling momentum from the new entrant to the scuffle, he pushed the claw of the Beowulf behind him upwards, having his swinging claws decapitate the wolf holding him. A quick turn managed to dispatch both the creature he pulled the energy from and the one behind him, twirling his sword in one fluid motion to rid himself of both.


Suitable pleased with himself for a moment, he prepared to face the three more wolves with confidence, until he heard another howl, this time behind him and away from where the group of twelve had appeared, blocking his path to Petra. 'Shit'. Not one to waste a short break in the fighting, Whit began to race away perpendicular to his original path to Petra, hoping beyond hope he would find someone willing to help him. He tossed a burn grenade behind him, trying to buy a head start, and began screaming for help at the top of his lungs, mixed with improptu massive amounts of expletives.

 

[Raerae]

Rae's ascension had been quite a blur, and she had to admit, her disdain for the momentary lack of control was undeniable, even with her hyper active aura activated for security's sake, which she hadn't entirely intended to do, but it'd happened out of pure anxiety. Emitting a radiant indigo coat, with Equinox and Solace in both hands respectively, she concentrated on a platform forming before her, and upon descending and redirecting her aim to the rapidly changing scenery beneath her, one appeared, temporarily giving her a solid, stable landing to which she gracefully leapt from, speedily spotting the atmosphere below her with spaced out, vivid, detailed spherical platforms, one by one, until she was at ground level. She assumed others would have taken advantage of the trees to reach ground level, instead of wasting energy manifesting, but Rae's obvious lack of body strength would inevitably leave her stuck on the very first branch she'd ignorantly attempt to hang from, and then she'd slip and plummet to her death when her delicate arms grew tired...


Yeah, no monkey bars for me. I'll take the easy route, cause, why not?


She stepped off the final manifested foundation and exhaled sharply, quick to flip her hair, comb it out with her fingers, and then readjust her former ponytail; the blood that gone to her head finally spreading back down through her body, to her finger tips and toes, and leaving her cheeks their usually rosy hue.


She curled her thin fingers around the curves of each Sai's blade, adjusting her grip, feeling the coolness of combined metals within the welded hilt.


Do I waste time searching for the others? They couldn't be far.





With the fluent steps of a ballerina, the brunette proceeded, contemplative as each step took her forwards.


Though, my objective is to acquire whatever the hell's at the 'temple', and head back. What if I find Sam and he's like, I wanna work solo, cause I'm a maaan. Or Whit and Petra, but I end up an awkward third wheel? That would suck.





---


It was too easy.


Activating his Semblance mid ascension enabled Sam to manipulate the density of his own body, thus, he was technically one with the air, leading him to walk, drift, descend and fall at his whim, free to gaze and admire the luscious, intricate landscape beneath him, as if he were standing on flooring made of glass. Back in Mistral, in his spare time, he'd climb the highest trees, and the peaks of cliffs, only to walk, jump or fling himself off the peer, and exercise, develop and curtail his ability to its max potential. Of course, he'd never pushed the limits quite as high as the projectile he'd been flung from, but from the way things were going, he'd say he was more than capable of challenging greater heights. Air walking, was one name for it, an application of vapor manipulation, one of many, that confirmed just how advantageous Sam's semblance could be.


He'd perched himself upon the highest tree within a sensible proximity, allowing his semblance to lax whilst he landed with a light thud up on the highest protruding branch, thick and overlooking a sea of trees that reached out for more miles than Sam wanted to walk. A moment after peering out over his surroundings and coming to affirm no notable distinctions, he effortlessly used his upper body strength to swing from branch to branch, occasionally hanging there to scope out the view, before abruptly flinging himself forward, embedding the curved blades of his dual axes into the bark of the next grand evergreen, and sliding all the way down, leaving narrow gashes in the hardwood before he finally dropped to his feet. With a simple tug he removed them both from the timber, smirking with a smugness, proud of his 'landing technique' as Ozpin had called it. He'd not been ignorant of the noises he'd made, however, and flexed his muscles in correspondence with gripping the hilts of both Behemoth and Leviathan till his knuckles turned a lighter shade.


The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up as he hadn't expected such a sudden array of distant, distressed shouts for help, instead of anticipated howls or roars of territorial Grimm. He flinched as, following the unexpected voice, was a resonating explosion, followed by what he'd originally listened for, numerous, devilish howls of the dreaded Beowolf. Too many for a loner first year to handle. But there were so many students, including himself, at risk out here. Was he really going to procrastinate on the objective to aid every one?


Our instructors will be watching, but will not intervene.





Sam winced at the recollection, and thought about the more familiar faces to him. Whit, Petra, and... Rae.


You will face opposition, do not hesitate to destroy anything in your way...





Already, he'd gone into a sprint, wondering if, by some stroke of irony, he was hesitating on coming to the aid of Whit, who he discerned the strained voice to be familiar to.


...Or you will die.





"Hold on!" Sam suddenly shouted back, though, from his perspective he was just shouting to the trees. He sliced topiary out of his way, sucking in quick, sharp breaths to maintain stamina as he bolted forwards, foliage whizzing past him before he skidded to a hault in a sudden breaking in the trees, coming to a clearing, and locking his gaze with the very man he'd dreaded to see in any kind of agony, and hearing Grimm closing in from not too far off.


"Fuck, Whit, " He breathed, and after sheathing his weaponry within their binding on his shoulder blades, he was instantly before Whit. He held out his hands, gently bracing his friend whilst wincing dramatically. "Hey, hey... What's your status? Are you bleeding out?"

 

[Pentagon]

Whit would have shouted in joy, but he was out of breath. He had never been happier to see another person in his life. He was unsure how many Beowulfs were behind him, but he was sure his shouts had drawn more than had started the chase. Doppel was in his hand, and the last two burn grenades were in his other. He had been more liberal with them than he perhaps should have been, and the trail of fire he left behind him was evidence to that effect, but he doubted the forest would be damaged too dearly. Grimm forests were renowned for being nigh-impossible to set aflame. He tore the pins from both of them and threw the grenades behind him as he finally stopped in front of Sam.


"Hey. No bleeding, my aura's fine. Got like.... a billion wolves behind me, they're pissed. You good to fight?"

 

[Raerae]

"Ready as I'll ever be," Sam responded, and with a subtle, swift notion he unsheathed his dual axes, one hilt ebony, the other cobalt, though they were both welded silver, and honed to a sharpness that'd slice through a femur with ease.


Howls ripped through the air, and before their eyes the 'billions' Whit had calculated were confirmed to haven't been too far fetched of a description. Sam exhaled sharply, blue eyes narrowed as he analyzed the scene before them. Though strategy was always a valiant attempt, it didn't seem like these dogs would allow them much time for though out tactics; one bolted left, the other straight forward, and he summized that, best, as an attempt to flank.


He spared a glance towards his companion, and then readied his weaponry, taking a firm and bold lunge toward the Beowolf that lashed out instantaneously with its protruding, fanged muzzle. Upon near collision, the atmosphere around him shimmered in a way the naked eye couldn't catch with ease; in multiple spots where other wolves darted into the clearing, ghostly copies of Sam appeared, a team of look alikes that, although weren't capable of inflicting damage, were distracting enough to give him the time he needed.


Its the fangs crunched down on something invisible, yet physically there and shielding Sam, and the wolf snarled, shaking what it held in its grip viciously, only to sound a guttural growl as an unexpected slash from Sam's left axe tore its belly right through the flesh, and following that was a deep laceration to the throat, which caused it to inevitably release its clamped jaw and stumble backwards.


Sam exhaled, holding up one axe angled behind his back, and with a measured, adrenaline fueled throw he chuckled Leviathan towards one Beowolf, nailing it in the skull, though just as he'd gone to Chuck Behemoth, he was abruptly rammed in the side, exhaling sharply as the wind was promptly knocked out of him, he heard a slight crack in his rib, and he was knocked to the ground, shielding himself though the following claws that slashed at him damaged his aura by some.


"Bastard," He met the animals glare with one of his own, bending his leg and landing a kick to its chin, before he rolled out of harms way and managed to get to his feet. He looked around for his axe, dodge rolling, missing another swipe by mere inches and dashing like mad towards a distant Oak that held his axe captive.

 

[Pentagon]

Just as Whit resumed fighting, trying to help his new friend, Petra sat on a high tree branch. She didn't much like sitting around, to be honest, and had already grown bored of staring at the trees in front of her. She had tried to entertain herself for a time by listening to the distant sounds of combat, but as they grew more frenzied and numerous her ears were simply not up to the task, and that distraction left her too. She pull Lepida from its sheathe, its three inch blade tapering from the barrel in the center to the sharp edges. She ensured everything was in working order, and took a second to use a whetstone to needlessly sharpen a small part of the weapon. Whit was taking too long: he had probably encountered Grimm. She couldn't help him, not having the faintest clue where the fight would have taken him, and if she left her approximate position without informing him, it might be even worse for him. The inability to act frustrated her. She began scanning the area for anything interesting: she spotted a rock formation that looked remarkably like a cow's head, and a few squirrels fighting over acorns in a tree nearby. She doubted either of those things would help, but continued looking. She spotted a woman eventually, a familiar woman with a pair of blades to hand. 'Rae'. Petra began to make her and Whit's signal, a short series of whistles, but realized Rae wouldn't know anything about that, and figuring there was no particular danger, called out to her instead.


"Rae! Rae, up here!"

 

[Raerae]

"Rae! Rae, up here!"


"Oh! I know that voice, Petra!" Rae tilted her head up, searching the foliage a bit, a blur of browns and greens, before finding the woman perched upon a tree branch way, way over head. She was surprised to see her without Whit, but wouldn't assume they were together all the time; a small part of the young woman hoped Sam would be with one of them, but perhaps he'd just gone off on his own. That'd be a bummer, though it's not like she could expect him to come looking for her, now could she?


Regardless, she was relieved at the sight of a familiar face, the brunette called out with a light laugh, "How long have you been up there?"


Her eyes cast back down to their surroundings, her guard lightening considerably now that she wasn't entirely alone. Of course, she'd be fine seeking out their assigned destination solo, but considering what she hadn't encountered that likely lied within the forest, and the fact she genuinely enjoyed the company of another person or two, someone seasoned, amiable and intellectual like Petra would be a wonderful partner. Finding a stranger amidst these grounds would have been awkward and, with Rae's luck, she'd run into that grizzly fellow, to whom her ego still wanted to fling off of one of these cliffs.