Fandom RWBY (RP, closed)

[FROSTBITE4395]

Name: Frost
Location: Emerald Forest
Tags: ToothlessEnt

'fascinating but I don't care, I'm going to do my best' he thinks as he's launched in the air, he then looks at the Forest to see if there is any place to land when his site locks onto a tree, but he didn't have anything to help him land with so if he couldn't slow his fall then nothing better to do then speed it up, when he lands he falls on the ground only to see a girl in a pink maid outfit, 'huh why is a girl in a pink maid outfit here of all places,' he thinks as they lock eyes 'well shoot now I have a weird maid girl on my team, and she's creepy,' he thinks

 

[PixelSymphony]

~Sumire Yamashita~
-- Beacon Academy Initiate --

Starting Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Location: Beacon Academy, Beacon Cliff

---

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Through darkened circles Sumire gazed listlessly at the professors, her attention wavering as she struggled to keep herself mentally together. Despite her best efforts, her sleep had been fitful at best, her concerns about the nature of the initiation preying havoc upon her already anxious mind.

"Each of you will be given teammates... today."

Breakfast had been two pieces of toast: about the most she felt confident would stay down in her current state. Indeed, as she stood at the cliff edge that bright and shining morning, looking out over the endless forest that would serve as their testing grounds, her stomach threatened to do somersaults at the slightest provocation.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon."

She toed uneasily at the platform she had been instructed to stand upon. Something about it bothered her; for a metal plate that was just sitting on the ground, why was it so thick and so detailed?

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Metal wasn't easy to work; her family hadn't made its fortune in various manufacturing sectors by the fact that anybody could do it. Indeed, she'd learned the hard way just how much of a pain it was when she'd tried to add engraving details to Kofude: she slaved over adding a single small personal stamp of her name to the receiver before giving up and adopting a "less is more" tack to her weapon's aesthetics.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest."

So what purpose would warrant commissioning these plaques with both deep relief and fine details upon their faces, only to have them sit unnoticed out here on some-wait... what did Ozpin say?

"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics"

Crap! I got so inside my own brain I haven't done any actual planning for this! She whipped her eyes back up to the foreboding treeline, looking desperately for where exactly they needed to go.

"Are there any questions?"

As some blond boy down the line raised his hand Sumi breathed a sigh of relief; while the professor answered his question she could-

"Good! Now, take your positions."

Sumire stared blankly at Ozpin as she repeated in her head what he'd just said. Positions? For wh- Her thoughts were cut short as a metallic clanking creaked through the air, and the platform under the student all the way to the left of the line catapulted upwards, launching her classmate into thin air in the blink of an eye. W-w-what??? That's how we're getting into the forest?!? This was bad, she was going to have to work fast with the few pieces of information their headmaster had given them. She reached down to her utility belt and snatched her scroll out of its pouch, flicking it on and to its camera mode in a well-practiced motion. As she brought the scroll up to eye level, carefully beginning to frame the Emerald Forest and the surrounding countryside in its entirety, she could hear a second platform wind up and fire; as she clicked the shutter button, she captured not only the verdant landscape, but also an errant student whirling through the air.

Then came the hard part. As the sounds of more platforms arming and firing rang through the air, Sumire flicked out a stylus from the back of her scroll, now rapidly scribbling on the screen. Ozpin had said to head toward the northern end of the forest, and mentioned the relics were at the end of the path: from what she could make out in her current vantage point, and judging from the depth of the forest combined with the level of the horizon, that would put them about... somewhere in this area, she concluded, drawing a squat oval at the far edge of the picture, but how far is that from... wait, maybe if I can get a second vantage point I can-

The platform beneath her shuddered beneath her feet, and she could hear the firing mechanism winding up. Her time was up. Without another moment, she was flung into the air and into her destiny.

~~~

Soaring through the air under no other power than momentum sounds amazing at first thought, but eventually elevation of mood and position are both canceled out by the ever present force of gravity. As Sumire hurtled through the air in a less than elegant fashion, scroll and stylus clutched in white-knuckle death grips, one thing was for certain; if she needed a second point of view to be able to determine the location of their goal, the window for capturing such was rapidly closing. With wind buffeting her from all angles, she shoved the scroll stylus in a jacket pocket and struggled to stretch the camera out towards the terrain. Her finger reached out for for the shutter button, slamming into it desperately moments before a sudden crosswind knocked it from her grasp and sent it flying away from her. A scream of disbelief was all she could bring to muster as she watched it disappear into the trees below, and with it, her chances of being able to get to the objective in anything approaching a timely manner.

As bad of a situation as having lost her scroll in mid-air was, the rapidly approaching treeline presented a far worse and much more rapidly approaching problem; if Sumi didn't work out what her landing strategy was soon, her career as a huntress trainee was going to end in a very artistic but incredibly painful crimson smear. Shoving her frustration aside for the moment, she reached to her belt for Kofude, activating it in rifle mode. The weapon unfolded with a positive kaCHUNK as the barrel and forestock flipped out and snapped into position, the grip and stock unfolding and telescoping into their proper forms soon after. As she brought the now deployed firearm to her shoulder, she began to concentrate, and like an additional layer being added to her artwork, lines began to form in her vision from every angle. Thick arrows seemingly bending under their weight being flung from her body and from the other airborne students forms, conveying their paths through the air as they flew through the early morning sky. Thinner, almost transparent arrows showing wind currents and warm air risers, including the very one that had disarmed her earlier. And among all the remaining lines of action, she saw most importantly a corkscrew of trajectory lancing out from the barrel of Kofude, waiting for her to summon forth the projectiles it would guide.

With rapid aim, Sumi fired three times, her right hand flying up to work the bolt after each shot, shells ejecting to be flung far and wide. The trio of dust-propelled bullets flew through the air one after another, smashing into the upper portion of a tree that she herself collided with just seconds later, the impact hard enough to bend the tree over backwards and drive every last bit of wind out of her. She was left with little alternative than to hold on for dear life as she watched her trajectory line flip back around, the tensed tree now threatening to fling her headlong whence she had come. "Please work please work please work," she prayed aloud as the bough arrested its forward movement, her potential return flight now stretching clear over the entrance to the forest like some kind of demented tennis game.

Just as she was beginning to lose hope in her plan, Sumi heard the first cracks of the treetop finally giving out, structurally weakened by the three very precisely located holes she had perforated it with like a sheet of paper. The first crack coincided with her projected velocity being cut in half, the second with it fluctuating wildly, and the third and final crack of the tree resulted in her trajectory transforming into a sweeping plunge downwards. Moments later, the trunk finally gave out, and she began to plummet down from the treeline in a massive jungle vine-like swing to the forest floor. As the ground rushed up at entirely too quickly a rate, the weapon in her hands quickly snapped into its blade form. She swung Kofude in wide arcs, clearing her path as she fell, awaiting just the right moment to enact the final step of her landing. The instant she could sense she had reached the nadir of the wild ride, she released her grip and dropped the remaining ten feet, tucking and rolling as finally touched down on terra firma.

"By the myriad gods, I'm alive," Sumire murmured as she crawled to her feet, knocking the dirt she'd kicked up upon landing from her jacket. A quick equipment check revealed all her gear was still present, bar her scroll. "Eugh... if I don't get that scroll back, passing this assignment is going to be the least of my worries..." She popped open the loading door of her rifle's internal magazine, slipping three rounds in before she returned Kofude to her side, the weapon collapsing back down to its transport form. Then with a deep breath, she took off through the forest, leaves and branches rustling as she hurried towards where she'd last seen the device.

---

Ending Status

Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Missing: Scroll
Location: Emerald Forest, South

 

[Aleph Null]

<Cronan Dracula>
Starting Location: Kingdom of Beacon, Emerald Forest
Interactions: Puppernickel

Cronan carefully observed the intriguing character that stood before him, taking full note of how he seemed to go from flustered to cool and composed in mere seconds, not even seeming to be phased by being covered head to toe in tree bark, and felt a slight pang of envy. I wish it was that easy for me he thought as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. So he and sable were going to be partners from now on, from what Cronan could tell he seemed like an alright guy, though that was only going off of the short exchange they had just moments ago.


"Cr-Cronan Dracula and yes, you did sound a bit crazy back there," He responded hesitantly "So I guess from here on out the two of us will be partners? Cool weapon by the way, want to see mine?" Cronan learned that a good way to get to know someone can be through their choice of weapon as you usually could get a very good idea of what that person is like based on it. He removed his jacket, revealing a small metal contraption strap to his back along with a small quiver of arrows and took it from its hostler. He held in on hand and with the push of a button, it unfolded into a large black compound bow. "I call her Artemis Piercer, I assume Jasmine and Silvia are the names of your weapons?"
Ending location: Emerald Forest

 

[Ozilla]

Kingdom of Vale – Vale city – In the sky above the Emerald Forest – many, many students and a dead birdie


Oceanos flew through the air above the Emerald Forest. It felt intoxicating, and he had to suppress the urge to laugh but could not help the huge grin on his face. In the distance, he saw some other students speeding across the sky and preparing in various ways to land safely – except for one, who seemed to just uncontrolledly flail his arms and scream at the top of his lungs. The boy from earlier who had asked about the landing strategy, maybe? Oceanos thought whether he should help him somehow, but in the next moment a weapon, possibly a throwing spear or something, firmly attached the guy to a tree. Whatever…
As Oceanos felt that he had reached the zenith of the arch his flight was describing, he threw his chakrams in front of him, using his semblance to lock them midair in a horizontal position to create stepping stones of sorts. Channeling aura into his legs, the boy leapt from chakram to chakram in wide jumps, alternating Scylla and Charybdis as platforms and sinking slowly below the tree line.

When he reached the ground, he stowed both chakrams at their usual place on his back. He thought that he had covered quite a distance; hopefully he had avoided some unnecessary fighting. While sleeping through the past afternoon, evening and night had certainly helped him to recover somewhat from the exertions of the recent weeks, Oceanos still felt an exhaustion that had managed to completely soak into his core. He just hoped that he would quickly find some capable partner, locate a relic and get back to the cliff…
Suddenly, he noticed something glinting in the few rays of sun that made it through the trees. Oceanos picked it up. A scroll? He looked up but could not see anybody in the treetops above him. Did one of the other students take out their scroll before launching off? Why would anybody do that?

He considered the object. When keeping in mind that he had no idea how to use it, it was probably best to just stow it away and hope to find the owner when everyone had gathered after initiation. The scroll was open and showed…grass? Oh, right, these things had cameras, didn’t they?
Who would take pictures while standing on a rocket plate?
Well, whatever…It seemed that the thing had survived the drop, cushioned by the grass. After carefully fumbling a bit with it, Oceanos managed to collapse it – at least he thought he had collapsed, not broken, it – and put it into his pocket. Then, he continued northwards.


Kingdom of Vale – Vale city – Emerald Forest – Oceanos

 

[PixelSymphony]

~Sumire Yamashita~
-- Beacon Academy Initiate --

Starting Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Missing: Scroll
Location: Emerald Forest, South

---

The wilds of the Emerald Forest seemed endless as Sumire pushed her way through bough, branch, and leaf, each step hopefully bringing her closer to finding her dearly departed electronic device. Or one step further, she fretted, tendrils of doubt having already crept into her outlook. She had gotten a fairly good lock on her own position and bearing as she'd landed thanks to her semblance, but as to where her wayward scroll had ended up after it was so cruelly ripped from her grasp, that was closer to a rough estimate. After all, once it had cleared the forest canopy and shrouded itself from her sight, who knew what fate had befallen it? For all she knew, it could have ended up in a lake, or high up in a tree, or worse, in some Grimm's gaping maw, to become its morning meal. "It'd be more substantial than what I had," the purple-haired girl quietly groused, continuing to advance.

Still, she needed that scroll back! Nevermind the pictures she had taken; the scroll itself was a publicly unreleased Funihara Electronics model, intended for government and military use only, but which she was almost certain her father had pulled a few strings to supply his household with. Far from being any form of charity, this act was almost undoubtedly intended to be yet another demonstration of the sheer power the head of the family held, both within the walls of the Yamashita estate as well as externally. She distinctly remembered that at the same party she had met Sable, her father had just happened to flash the questionably-sourced device in front of a number of potential business partners, and soon was showing off its features in what could only be an effort to expand his sphere of influence. Truth be told, Sumire hadn't even fully figured out all of the capabilities of the clearly special purpose scroll; all she knew was that it had signal anywhere she had tried to use it, the camera had very nice dynamic range and resolution (and could even take pictures in the dark!), and, most pertinent to the situation she was in, the housing for the unit may as well have been indestructible (indeed, she semi-fondly remembered her own description of it to the faunus boy as feeling like a "tank with a touchpad").

It was this last fact that Sumire clung to in hopes that she might be able to salvage something from the fate she had been handed. Breathing heavily now as she sprinted the last couple of feet towards where she'd seen the scroll clear the treeline, she shoved a final set of branches aside and... ran headlong into Oceanos, rebounding off the much larger student like a rubber ball thrown at a wall. She hit the ground with a small thud and simply lay there in a complete heap of violet and black, the wind having been quickly taken from her metaphorical sails in the collision. Then with a groan, she slowly arose to confront whoever she'd run into. "You!" she uttered in disbelief, a gloved finger stretching out towards him as her eyes widened to the size of saucer plates, "You're the student who was unconscious in the middle of Beacon!" She whipped her arms about to gesture at the foreboding environment, the growls of Grimm clearly evident somewhere off in the distance. "What are you doing here?!?"

--

Ending Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Missing: Scroll
Location: Emerald Forest, South

Interaction: Ozilla
Mention: Puppernickel

 

[Ozilla]

Kingdom of Vale – Vale city – Emerald Forest – Oceanos


Oceanos did have to say that the Emerald Forest was a very beautiful place. Professor Ozpin had warned the students of the dangers – presumably Grimm – on their way to the relics, but the boy could not help but soak in the peace and quiet of the forest, the silence only enhanced by the sounds of birds singing and leaves rustling in the wind, now that the noise of explosions, gunshots, humming semblances and splintering wood from the various students had stopped. He wondered if he could come here to learn. Surely the students were not forbidden to go into the forest later during their time at Beacon, when they actually had to enter it for their initiation before even starting their studies?

Suddenly, more rustling sounded from the nearby brush. Oceanos took up a more stable stance and summoned his chakrams into his hands, even though his aura had not warned him of any danger. Still, it was better to be prepared…
The next moment, someone burst from the bush next to him, ran into him and dropped to the floor.
Oceanos blinked, then put his chakrams back and offered the person a hand. He already had a strong suspicion who the person was, and got confirmed a moment later. Standing in front of him was no other than the violet-haired petite girl whom he first had met after collapsing in front of Beacon at his arrival.

“You! You’re the student who was unconscious in the middle of Beacon!”, she said, pointing at him with a finger. Internally, he groaned.
Gosh, is this what I am going to be known as for the rest of time? Coma boy? The unconscious one? Please not.
“What are you doing here?!?”, the girl finished her speech with a very surprised expression.

“Well, same as you, I guess. Initiation? Finding team partners?”, he said, first looking at the almost accusingly raised finger, then at her.
“Oh, that probably means we will be on the same team for our time at Beacon”, he added when he remembered the eye-contact thing that Ozpin had mentioned during his short explanation.
“I am Oceanos. Umm…nice to meet you the…second? Sorry by the way for just running off yesterday; I kind of was really in a hurry to talk to Professor Ozpin", he said, scratching the back of his neck. His mother would have been very disappointed with his lacking display of manners...
"Also, do you happen to miss your scroll? I will probably have to ask every first-year student that I see”, Oceanos finished, frowning.


Kingdom of Vale – Vale city – Emerald Forest – Sumire, Oceanos

 

[PixelSymphony]

~Sumire Yamashita~
-- Beacon Academy Initiate --

Starting Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Missing: Scroll
Location: Emerald Forest, South

---

“Well, same as you, I guess. Initiation? Finding team partners?”

Sumire blinked at the boy's response. "W-What? No, not that part! I mean what are you doing out here in your... condition..." Her words slowed and petered off as she now had a chance to look him over; in stark contrast to how he'd come across yesterday, today Oceanos looked hale and hearty, with the veritable rags he'd been wearing previously replaced with a clearly used, but in far better condition set of proper clothing. Most notably, the, ah, scent that had surrounding him was now altogether gone, which, though she'd held back from saying anything out of politeness, came as a welcome relief. In summary, despite prior evidence to the contrary, there really was little that at the moment seemed to speak against his complete combat capability. She sighed and shook her head. "Nevermind."

Graciously accepting the lift up to her feet (which Sumire wondered whether the boy had to exert himself even slightly for), she dusted herself off again as Oceanos continued. “Oh, that probably means we will be on the same team for our time at Beacon”, he added when he remembered the eye-contact thing that Ozpin had mentioned during his short explanation. “I am Oceanos. Umm…nice to meet you the…second? Sorry by the way for just running off yesterday; I kind of was really in a hurry to talk to Professor Ozpin", he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh, um, that's okay I-" Sumi replied absentmindedly, before realization at what he'd just said set in, drawing her eyes wide. Oh GODS I hadn't even been thinking about partners. "I... y-yes, I suppose that would be true," she finally forced out, still clearly somewhat in shock at the magnitude of the decision that had just been cemented by sheer happenstance. "I-I apologize," she stammered, holding up a hand to signify her intent, "I just... hadn't really thought about what all Professor Ozpin's words would entail, and I mean... literally just eye-contact and wham, four years and... I mean I barely even know you and..." Again she looked him over, all pretense abandoned as she now peered intently at him the way a sculptor might survey a block of marble. Well... he's certainly pretty big and... probably pretty strong. That's not the worst combination to have in a partner, given your own stature... And he seems to be polite! That's not a bad thing! And uh...

"Also, do you happen to miss your scroll? I will probably have to ask every first-year student that I see”, Oceanos finished, frowning.

AND HE FINDS SCROLLS HE'S THE BEST PARTNER EVER. "YES!" she nearly screamed, drawing close and bringing her hands together. "Yes I VERY much did lose my scroll, oh gods please if you have my scroll I will be eternally grateful, the whole reason I reason I ran into you was because it flew out of my hands when I was trying to take a picture in midair, and then when I landed I wasn't sure where it had ended up so I sprinted towards here as fast as I could oh please please please PLEASE tell me you have my scroll my father will kill me if I don't get it back," she pleaded to him, begging for him to reveal some good news in her life for once.

---

Ending Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Missing: Scroll
Location: Emerald Forest, South

Interaction: Ozilla

 

[Tessa Heronstairs]

Starting location: A cliff on the edge of Emerald Forest

Clementine was thrilled at the prospect to finally find out who among this mass of students would be her new team partners. A few sentences from Glynda and Ozpin later, she silently scolded herself for thinking that anything in this life truly came easy. As if on cue, the word "landing strategy" sent everyone's thoughts into motion as the initiation rite moved away from being a vaguely anticipated practice to a source of impending doom for anyone who had not come prepared for flying. Clementine watched with growing discomfort as people got ready to be launched off a cliff into a forest full of deadly Grimm. It didn't help that some of them were actually grinning as if they were about to have the time of their lives while she herself shared the desire to silently write her will in her head, morning that her school life at Beacon was ending before it had truly begun. Even worse, both forms of ecstasy and dread filled her up until her fingers tingled with excitement and shook with horror. She felt her legs become weak and give in - not that they could keep her from falling to the ground as she was hurled off with the rest of the students a moment later.
Clementine might have enjoyed the sensation of soaring through the sky. After all, her heart was racing with anticipation when she just walked up to that cliff in her hometown, that familiar spot from where she would dive head first in into the sea. For a moment, she closed her eyes out of habit and enjoyed the sensation of wind streaming over her body - until it carried those screams of terror and pleasure into her ears and reminded her that she was not just falling those 5 meter into the sea, but rather 30 straight onto rock-hard ground. For a moment, she mused whether her aura would be enough to tank the blow and almost immediately decided that she did not want to find out if the negative result was that deadly. Instead she looked down, trying to find something that could help her among all these spots of brown and green that rushed by below her, blurring into a camouflage painting.
Finally, when she was close enough that she had to brace herself from the first branches that would have scraped her skin had it not been for her aura, she noticed a shimmer of blue, wide enough to be a small lake. Seeing that it was her only chance not to end on a list for casualties of unprepared huntsmen in training, she grabbed her weapon and extended it into a spear that was as long as her body. Looking for a branch that seemed thick enough to survive the impact, she smashed her spear into it to slow her fall down considerably.
That part worked splendidly for her body came to a sudden hold as if someone had stepped on the breaks on the highway. What she hadn't considered was that the blow reverberated through her weapon, down her arms into her body like she had hit an electric fence. It was an effort to hold onto her weapon and she let out a high-pitched scream, but she managed long enough until she dropped down considerably slower than before and landed into the water.
Cementine was still amazed that it had worked out so well as her body sank deeper, the water cushioning the fall considerably. Still, her body hurt enough to tell her that she would be sore in the morning. Out of habit, she had taken a deep breath before diving in, but as soon as her head had broken through the surface, she accustomed rather quickly to the new surrounding. Most of the time, her faunus trait was an inconvenience to say the least, but in those moments she was glad for her heritage. She didn't know how it worked, exactly, but the gills around her head provided her with enough oxygen that she could spent about half an hour comfortably under water without the feeling of suffocation. From there on, she would slowly become dizzy and slightly disoriented as the oxygen level in her blood slowly decreased, but that shouldn't be of any concern at this moment. As much as she loved being under water, diving in a forest that was known for its deadly population was nothing she considered a pleasant free time activity. With some quick, precise movements, she swam to the edge of the lake and hurled herself out of the water and onto the ground. There, she wrung as much water as she could out of her T-shirt and skirt. Since it was a sunny day, it would probably be dry within an hour or so - not that she had an alternative. Perhaps she could use some of the fire dust she carried around to light a fire or dry them faster with its heat, but chances were that she would only attract Grimm or set herself on fire accidently. Well, nothing was foolish enough to attack a human torch. As much as Clementine liked this idea of evading Grimm attacks, she knew that she would not last so long all by herself and hurried up to find her partner who would better the odds of her survival considerably.

Ending location: Hopelessly lost somewhere near a lake in Emerald Forest

 

[Ozilla]

Kingdom of Vale – Vale city – Emerald Forest – Sumire, Oceanos


“W-What? No, not that part! I mean what are you doing out here in your... condition...”, the girl stammered, before she fell silent and looked him up and down. Oceanos did not exactly know how to respond to getting so overtly scrutinized, but after a moment, she shook her head, sighing. “Nevermind.”
Oookay…
When he had introduced himself and apologized for the previous day, she just answered, “Oh, um, that’s okay!”, not really seeming like she was paying too much attention to his words. An eye blink later, it appeared as if she actually realized what he had said.
“Oh GODS! I hadn’t even been thinking about partners! I…y-yes, I suppose that would be true”, she said uncertainly. She explained that she had not given much thought to Professor Ozpin’s words, before immediately resuming her visual examination of the boy, who now raised his eyebrows upon this.

When he found it to be a bit too uncomfortable, he broke the silence – and her intensely staring at him – by mentioning the scroll.
“YES! Yes I VERY much did lose my scroll, oh gods please if you have my scroll I will be eternally grateful, the whole reason I reason I ran into you was because it flew out of my hands when I was trying to take a picture in midair, and then when I landed I wasn't sure where it had ended up so I sprinted towards here as fast as I could oh please please please PLEASE tell me you have my scroll my father will kill me if I don't get it back”, her reaction came immediately, making him grin about her enthusiasm.
“Umm, well, here it is”, he said, pulling the scroll out of his pocket and handing it to her. A thought occurred upon him just as she extended her hand, and he withdrew the scroll.

“You can have it back if you tell me your name. I still don’t know what to call you”, he smiled and handed the scroll to her again.
“Also, I suggest we get going”, he said, gesturing towards the trees north of them. He certainly hoped that there were enough relics for the first-year students, but did not want to take any risks.


Kingdom of Vale – Vale city – Emerald Forest – Sumire, Oceanos

 

[Soviet Panda]

Isern soared through the air, his axe clutched tightly to his chest. When he had woken up, he had thought the hardest part was packing everything back up. But that was not the case, far from it. Certainly getting catapulted into an unknown forest to find some mysterious relics was going to be the hardest part of the day. Having said that, however, he had a sinking feeling that things would only get harder from here on out. Not that he was a stranger to adversity, it had taken him two tries to get into Beacon after all, but he had over come them to get where he was at right now. That place being plummeting towards the canopy.

Unlike what some students could do, Isern could not simply whack his axe into a tree and stop his fall, Cwellere would simply have been ripped from his hands. Nor could he use his Semblance to slow it, not unless he was on Blue or White. So his landing strategy was decided for him. And so once he reached the peak of his flight, he began the quick decent down. Lucky for him, he was aimed for a pond. Unlucky for him, his approach angle and speed meant he skipped across the surface twice before clearing the other side and slamming into a tree. His aura flashed black as it absorbed the impact, but held.

Laying in his crater, the tree he had impacted noticeably leaning from the force of his impact but still standing, Isern was motionless. Though his Aura had taken the brunt of the impact, it still hurt. Everything hurt, from his head to his toes everything ached, like his whole body was just going to turn into one big bruise. But he discovered that he could still move, and so wrestled himself into standing. His muscles screamed at him to stop moving, but Isern found that moving seemed to make everything feel better. Not much, mind you, but a little.

"Okay, I'm alive. Now to go get a partner and find one of these relics," he said to himself as he stretched, his back loudly popping as he did so. Looking around, he spotted his potential partner. "Speak of the devil," he muttered to himself before waving his arms over his head and shouting to get the other person's attention. "Hey! You wanna partner up? I don't think we made eye contact yet, but we can at least stick together for a bit."

Tessa Heronstairs

 

[Puppernickel]

~Sable Marigold~
Current location: Emerald Forest, Trees



"Ah, yes, ahem." Sable blushed slightly as he lifted a hand to brush off some of the bark chips from himself. "I might get, carried away sometimes with my, ah, enthusiasm." Sable was debating ways he could mitigate the possible blackmail that could now be used against him, when Cronan said the two magic words.

Cool, and weapons.

Immediately Sable's calm and collected demeanor was abandoned for what could only be described as intense fangirl enthusiasm as he was suddenly right up next to Cronan, observing the compound bow with keen interest. "Yesssss, I would love to see your weapon! Ooooo, haven't seen a bow set up in a long time. Tell me, does it split into a pair of swords, shift into a rifle, or simply remain a bow at all times? Oh, what's it's maximum distance and draw strength? I'm sure I could increase the range a bit if you'd like, a simple tuning along the draw string here and here should give it a foot or two more at least and if I alter this bit here I think I could-"

Sable stopped, suddenly realizing that not only had he missed whatever question Cronan had just asked him, he'd also gone off on a tangent about his new teammate's weapon. First impressions people, they mean everything, and Sable was doing oh so wonderfully with his. "I... sound like I belong in a psych ward, dont I?" Sable groaned in embarrassment, a bright blush making it's way across his entire face, even going so far as to taint the fur of his single cat ear. "I am so, soooooo sorry about that, I just have a... thing for weapons, ok? Please dont be offended." Sable begged aloud, although he was silently, desperately chanting in the back of his mind. Please dont call it a fetish, please dont call it a fetish, please dont call it a fetish....



Ending location: Emerald Forest, More Trees

Direct: Aleph Null

 

[PixelSymphony]

~Sumire Yamashita~
-- Beacon Academy Initiate --

Starting Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Missing: Scroll
Location: Emerald Forest, South

---

“Umm, well, here it is,” Oceanus said, pulling the scroll out of his pocket and holding it out. Sumi began to reach for it, her face brightening as she was soon to be reunited with her dear possession, only for shock to shoot across her face as her partner suddenly elevated it up and out of her reach. She stood lamely, unmoving as she slowly looked back to Oceanus, silently wondering why? “You can have it back if you tell me your name," the boy declared, "I still don’t know what to call you.”

"Ah... o-okay," she began, adrenaline no longer surging words from her mouth. "Um. My name is Sumire," she said quietly, before giving a small, nervous bow. "Sumire... Yamashita, if it matters," Her eyes flitted almost unconsciously towards Oceanos to witness whatever reaction he would have at her family name. "Um. Some people call me Sumi if they can't pronounce it. I'm... not from around here, but you probably figured that out already on account of... things." She touched her fingers together as she fought to finish the conversation, her eyes glancing aside in avoidance of direct eye contact with the boy. "I guess that's about it. I'm... not particularly interesting admittedly, sorry."

A few moments passed in relative silence before Sumi piped up again. "Um, is it okay to have my scroll back now? I'm still kind of worried about it..." As Oceanus smiled and held the the scroll back out to her, her eyes squinted slightly as she tested his intent with her semblance; this time at least, it didn't look he was going to pull it away again. One transferred scroll and several minutes of poking and prodding at it later, she gave a sigh of relief. It appeared the infamously tough scrollcase had indeed prevented any noticble damage after all, and her picutres and drawings resided safe and sound inside. "Thank the myriad gods again," she praised, sliding the stylus back into its holder before slipping the whole assembly into its designated pouch.

“Also, I suggest we get going,” Oceanus said, gesturing towards the trees north of them.

Sumi glanced towards the direction he pointed and nodded. "Ok. Um. Do you mind leading? I want to be able to look at the pictures I took, I think I might be able to pinpoint where exactly in the forest the temple is."

---

Ending Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Location: Emerald Forest, South

Interaction: Ozilla

 

[Yakov011001]

Kingdom of Vale - Vale City - Emerald Forest

Damn these trees, all lookin' the same and shit. Spinel hopped from branch to branch in a straight line, attempting to make his way through the forest and find some kind of clearing. See, while he knew that this Aue fellow was going to be his partner for sure, he kind of forgot which direction he was supposed to be going to find the lad. Of course, he'd find him anyway, but Spinel didn't take well to not knowing what the fuck was going on. Of course, he currently didn't have the means to see far enough to figure out what to do either. What he did see was some unknown object clotheslining him out of the air. Having seen it, he took action to avoid it; as opposed to bounding off the next branch like he had been, he did a kong vault. His feet having extended out, he pushed himself to the ground and avoided the attack.

Now that he was on the ground, Spinel checked his surroundings for potential threats. Right, five--six Beowulfs? Five fronting, one behind. Fortunately for him, that was easy. Extending an arm out, he pushed his aura through him and to his palms; the air warping and distorting, only to collapse entirely as reality cracked and he summoned his chakram to his side. Following swiftly with his left side. Now armed with Temporal Edge and Sun Dial, he took his fighting stance. Like this, perhaps he'd draw the attention of someone that come to his aid. Of course he didn't need help defeating these lowly ones, but he did still need a partner.

"Right, I never did get my warm-up this morning." He smirked to himself.

Three of the Beowulfs in front of Spinel lounged simultaneously. It'd've been a problem if they hadn't kept so close together. Forcing his aura out into the centre of the three, it burst wide; catching all three of them in a distortion sphere. They were now in slow-motion, suspended in the air in front of him. Now the one behind him mad its advance. He answered by sliding quickly under his distortion sphere--that he casted particularly high to allow enough room--tossing his Sun Dial behind him as it tore into that Beowulf's torso. As he stood up on the other side, he was met with opposition from the two Beowulfs that kept behind the first three. The first one came in for a chomp out of his torso, but he quickly jumped over; rolling over its backside with Temporal Edge ravaging its spinal chord. It was left paralyzed from the chest down on the ground. The next came in for an over head swipe with its left arm. Meeting the strike with Temporal Edge, he swiped the attack to the side leaving the Beowulf off balance. Summoning Sun Dial to his left hand once more, went in for a left-hand uppercut. The XII pin on the chakram piercing the Beowulf's skull. Spinel shifted it into SMG mode, the individual tines of the pin forcibly separating the snout from the rest of the head. The Beowulf dropped dead immediately. One dead. Now the rest were still easy, but because of that-- Oh, yeah. Time to style on these fools.

With Sun Dial still in SMG form, and the three trapped Beowulfs about to break free--having been six seconds since he activated the field--Spinel lined his gun up with each of their skull and fired into the field one after another. The individual violet, crystalline beams coming to a halt at the edge of the field. Now, to take care of the one I'd left behind. Spinel ran up to the field, and used the paralyzed Beowulf as a springboard; hopping up onto the top of the field where he did a wide gainer of the top. Of the jump, he shifted Sun Dial back to its original form. Now he was over top the Beowulf, who had only just notice him. Seems he got the jump on him! Spinel landed on top of the Beowulf, slamming his chakrams into its throat decapitating it immediately. And, now! On cue, he spun quickly just in time to see his field disperse. The beams he had fired before now free to move forward, immediately pierced through the skulls of each of their respective Beowulfs and they evaporated into the air in that single second. Their physical bodies gone, now nothing impeded Spinel from delivering the final blow on the paralyzed Beowulf in front of him. Goodnight, pal. He used the momentum of the twist he had preformed just milliseconds before, and forced all of that power into sinking that chakram into the Beowulf's head. Letting go of Sun Dial, it cleaved the skull in two and was left halfway into the dirt.

"Man, what a bunch of jokers!" He exclaimed.

Again left to his own devices, Spinel decided he should move once more. If Aue hadn't found him in all that commotion, it was most likely due to him having moved ahead already. Just in case however, he left Sun Dial in the dirt as a signal to which direction he had proceeded should someone stumble upon it. If he needed it later, he could always just recall it.

Kingdom of Vale - Vale City - Emerald Forest

 

[Ozilla]

Kingdom of Vale – Vale city – Emerald Forest – Sumire, Oceanos


The girl introduced herself as Sumire Yamashita, bowing nervously.
“Um. Some people call me Sumi if they can't pronounce it. I'm... not from around here, but you probably figured that out already on account of... things. I guess that's about it. I'm... not particularly interesting admittedly, sorry”, she added, fidgeting, her eyes moving around. Was she nervous because of the sounds of Grimm in the distance?
“I’m Oceanos Zapher. Nice to meet you! Also, that would be one thing we share. I am also not from here. Originally from a village outside of the kingdom. Where are you from, actually?”, he responded.

When he offered her the scroll a second time, she squinted at it, giving the appearance of a mistrustful small animal, and Oceanos had to suppress a smile. She took the scroll and, after having examined it’s general condition, started to furiously swipe across the screen. Then –
"Thank the myriad gods again!"
This time, Oceanos could not stop himself from grinning.
“That important, huh? Well, I guess these things are expensive…”
He pulled a face. He did admittedly not have a precise estimation about the price of scrolls, but was already worrying how much it was going to cost him to get one. Or could he manage his time at Beacon without one? It was not as if he would ever be in the situation to call home…His face darkened.
Then the boy shook himself out of these thoughts.

When he suggested continuing their way towards the temple, Sumi nodded.
“Ok. Um. Do you mind leading? I want to be able to look at the pictures I took, I think I might be able to pinpoint where exactly in the forest the temple is.”
Oceanos raised his eyebrows.
“Wait, you took pictures of the forest while getting launched? I was already wondering how the scroll ended up here…I was just going to head north and hope to find the temple once I was close enough. Also, careful, root”, he added, pointing at a rather thick root that had broken through the earth and was creating a tripping hazard. After Sumi had been reunited with her apparently dearly missed scroll, it would certainly be a mean joke if she broke the thing a minute later.

The two could not have been walking more than ten minutes when Oceanos’ aura did warn him. Just when they were crossing a glade in the forest, a shiver ran down his spine. He had experienced the sensation often enough to know that it had a meaning.
“Wait”, he said, extending his arm in front of Sumi.
A moment later, a strange hissing sound could be heard, together with the breaking of twigs. Then, a King Taijitu slithered through the undergrowth opposite of them. At the same time, several Ursai appeared to their right.

Oceanos sighed and took his chakrams from his back.
“Great. And here I thought we might actually make it to the relics without any incidents…Which ones would you like to take?”


Kingdom of Vale – Vale city – Emerald Forest – Sumire, Oceanos

 

[Aleph Null]

<Cronan Dracula>
Starting Location: Kingdom of Beacon, Emerald Forest
Interactions: Puppernickel Puppernickel

Cronan stood there flabbergasted for a moment at the speed at which Sable pounced on with a myriad of questions, screaming internally all the while he did so. He wanted to speak up and tell the faunus boy that he needed some space but it seemed as if his voice found itself suck in his throat and so he could do nothing but wait and hope that sable's onslaught of questions would soon end.

He breathed a sigh of relief as Sable finally stopped, clutching his rapidly beating heart and trying his best to calm down. He listened on as his newly made teammate apologized and went on to say that he just had a thing for weapons. "A thing for weapons? You could have honestly phrased that in a far better way," He joked after building up enough courage to do so "Now about my bow, it can split into a pair of swords and a small but powerful handgun, while my effective range is about 70 yards its maximum distance is fairly over 1000 feet, and it requires about 89 pounds of force to draw it... though if you could actually increase its effective range I'd be more than grateful" He finished.

While it may have looked like such a bow would be too much for someone of his stature to handle but he made sure to train his body hard enough to properly draw, aim, and fire the bow with relative ease.

Ending location: Emerald Forest

 

[Puppernickel]

~Sable Marigold~
Current location: Emerald Forest, More Trees



Sable blushed slightly as Cronan joked about his infatuation with weapons, embaressment clear in his expression. Although at least he hadn't used the thrice accused word, so there was that. However, his embarrassment was quickly forgotten when Cronan began explaining the specifics of his weapon, his eyes glittering brightly as he listened intently.

"Effective range of 70 yard you say? Hmmm." Sable leaned forward a bit, carefully observing the bow from a more respectful distince then before. "The fact it splits into two swords hinders any upgrades of that nature, although it isn't impossible. Frankly I'm somewhat surprised you managed 70 yards with such a handicap, but there are ways to work around such mechashift that retain the integrity of the original design." Sable nodded slowly, his ear twitching as he contemplated the weapon. "I think I could upgrade the draw force a bit with some time, but I'd need to get my hands on it for a few hours to be sure of it."

Sable glanced up, giving his companion a once over before humming thoughtfully. Cronan didn't look like he could actually use this bow, but it was clear by how he held Artemis that Cronan was proficient with it. So that would mean- No, no, suspicions later. Right now, you need to find a relic and leave this forest.

After forcefully clearing his head, Sable grinned widely at his new partner. "But first things first Cronan - I can refer to you by first name, yes? - we have a relic to find! So, shall we be off on a wonderful adventure, sure to be full of pain and frustration in plenty?" Sable asked Cronan cheerfully.



Ending location: Emerald Forest, Even More Trees

Direct: Aleph Null

 

[PixelSymphony]

~Sumire Yamashita~
-- Photography Enthusiast --

Starting Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Location: Emerald Forest, South

---

“I’m Oceanos Zapher. Nice to meet you! Also, that would be one thing we share. I am also not from here. Originally from a village outside of the kingdom. Where are you from, actually?”

A small tinge of blush spread across Sumire’s cheeks as her anxiety flared. “Um... M-Mistral. I’m from Mistral. From one of the large cities there.” She left it at that, worried she might potentially saying too much in this situation.

“Wait, you took pictures of the forest while getting launched? I was already wondering how the scroll ended up here…I was just going to head north and hope to find the temple once I was close enough. Also, careful, root,” Oceanos added, pointing at a rather thick root that had broken through the earth and was creating a tripping hazard.

The warning was timely, as Sumi’s next step was indeed on a collision course with the errant tendril, and even with the advance notice, her extant motion was enough to send her stumbling a few steps forward before she regained her full balance. “O-oh, thanks... I guess it’s a bit rougher on the path than I expected.” She glared backwards at the root as if now concerned it would make a second attempt on her, but eventually dragged her attention away from it to respond to Oceanos’s question about the scroll. “O-oh yes, I did, actually! Here, take a look,” she said, jogging up to match pace beside her newly-minted partner.

“So right before we we just launched into this place,” she began, a wry look on her face as she mentally recounted her entrance to the forest, “I took this picture. I actually really like its composition and lighting, and the implication of action from this student in mid-air-” Ease up on the art critique, Sumi “-but uh, more to the point, from how Professor Ozpin described everything, it sounded like those relics would be somewhere around here,” she said, gesturing in a wide loop at the circled area in her picture. “The problem is, at such a low elevation it’s tough to judge distance so... I got a new vantage point.”

A small self-satisfied smile crept across her face as she swiped across the scroll’s screen, bringing up the picture of the treetops she’d taken from the air. “It’s blurry, it’s overexposed, and I’m not even convinced it’s even what I was actually intending to capture, but-” As she zoomed in a specific spot that until just looked like a smudge, numerous details suddenly snapped into focus, revealing that the picture had been taken at a FAR higher resolution than initially displayed. “There!” Sumi pointed, showing a suspiciously circular absence of trees. “Look! Trees don’t just avoid a spot of land just because... or at least, I know for sure I’d have been yelled at for painting something as artificial looking as that in a landscape without a good reason. That’s gotta be where the temple is, righ-”

A sudden look of concern on Oceanos’s face cut off her conclusion and drove her to silence. “Wait,” he said, extending his arm in front of Sumi. A moment later, a strange hissing sound could be heard, together with the breaking of twigs. Then, a King Taijitu slithered through the undergrowth opposite of them. At the same time, several Ursai appeared to their right. Oceanos sighed and took his chakrams from his back. “Great. And here I thought we might actually make it to the relics without any incidents…Which ones would you like to take?”

The crack of a rifle and the impact of a dust-propelled round into an Ursa’s eye socket was the immediate response Sumire gave, the gout of black smoke spraying from the back of its head as it dropped contrasting with the immediate apology she issued afterwards. “S-sorry! I just had a good line of fire to it, and I was afraid if I said anything I’d... well anyway, good luck with the King Taijutsu!” As the remaining Ursae roared and charged, their paths now clearly coinciding with her position even without the use of her Semblance, she cycled her bolt and fired again, the snap shot merely lodging itself into the front leg of one of the oncoming Grimm and slowing its advance as the others overtook it. A third shot went into its other front leg, disabling it for the moment. Three more, and they’re not stopping... this is bad!

The lines of travel were far too short now for a fourth shot, so with a flick of her wrist Sumi switched Kofude over to its blade form and narrowly deflected the initial attack from the leading Ursae, leaping clear to her left to avoid the following claws from the other two. Her small form tucked into a roll and came back up with her blade held out in defense as she mentally braced herself for what was ahead. Here we go... In the blink of an eye, she dashed forward, lines of motion now completely crisscrossing as the melee began.

---

Finishing Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Wielding: MABB Kofude
Carrying: Utility Belt
Location: Emerald Forest, South

Interactions: Ozilla

 

[HerculePyro]

Raine Olympia​

With a belated sigh, Raine pulled the tip of her spear from the evaporating body of the Beowolf. She gave her weapon a casual twirl and rested it on her shoulder, her shield arm hanging at her side. She had landed and been quickly assaulted by three beowolves but the simple creatures posed little threat. She was bored, and she shouldn’t have raised her hopes that the introductory class at the school would be a real challenge.

In her brief scuffle, she also hadn’t come across any other students, so she was still lacking a partner. “This is what I get for using my semblance to propel me forward into the forest, I figured anyone worth their salt would have done the same. Guess not…” she admitted.

Sighing again she flicked her wrist and Stytrix extended up to the tree; rain pulled herself up, soaring into the tree. The canopy was dense, but she would still have the best chance at finding the relics if she could get a better vantage point. Raine hopped her way across the narrow branches, seeking out a taller tree. She could hear the clash of steel and the sound of gunfire in the distance but paid it no mind. A pulse of aura coated the branch she was on, stretching out from her foot. The branch unnaturally bent itself, lowering into a bridge to the next tree.

Raine continued forwards like this, the tree branches moving to form a steady path for her to tread, or the bark bending itself into easy handholds. She didn’t bother to waste time in returning the bent trees to their proper shape, after 10 minutes either they would spring back to normal or splinter and crack as the effect wore off. If someone was pursuing her, they’d have an easy job of following her tracks but Raine welcomed some company.

As she traversed the treetops, she grew increasingly frustrated at the lack of any grimm, perhaps other students were fighting for their lives; their strong negative emotions drawing the monsters to them. Raine cursed herself at her own lack of allure. Raines treetop venture came to an end as she reached a rather large chasm splitting the forest. Her intuition told her that the relic would be somewhere on the other side. Planting the tip of her spear into the wood she lowered herself back to the forest floor and looked out down the length of the fissure. There weren’t any visible bridges.

Shrugging, Raine laid her hand on the tree beside her and the pulse of aura coated its base; visibly straining Raine slowly lowered the tree down, making a bridge. She had to be cautious, her semblance could only cover so much of the tree and while the section she was bending was safe, the rest of the tree could easily break. Slowly the trunk lowered until it had safely rested on the other side of the fissure.

Raine wiped the sweat off her brow and hopped up onto the tree trunk. She made it halfway across when she stopped, a smile returning. A gruff breath and a huffing squeal signalled the boarbatusk waiting for her on the other side of her bridge. The tusked grim emerged from the dense canopy leaves on the other side of the bridge and hopped up onto the tree trunk opposite her. Raine raised her shield and pointed her spear forward, taking the hoplite stance.

“Well well. Come here, piggy piggy. Mama’s gonna make herself some bacon” Raine taunted.

With a loud squeal, the big charged at her, its hoofs clattering loudly on the wood. The armoured snout knocked away the head of her spear and the impact smashed against her shield. Raine winced as she was shoved back by the force.

“You’re a tough one, aren’t you piggy” Raine snarled.
Replanting her feet she shoved back against the creature. The boarbatusk responded by retreating a few steps and charging forward again. Raine grunted as she received the impact on her shield once more. Her spear extended out into its whip form, and Raine readied her strike. But before she could do so several caws sounded from beside her. An onslaught of beaks and feathers, a swarm of small nevermores crashed into her from her side.

Raine felt her footing slip as she was pushed off the makeshift bridge. The boarbatusk stomped it’s hoof in triumph as Raine quickly fell away from it. Snarling, Raine pivoted herself in mid-air and the tip of her whip shot forward skewering into the soft underside of the pig. It squealed in pain but remained standing. Raine counted on that, her anchor secure, the whip grew taught and Raines fall came to an abrupt halt as the centrifugal force caused her to swing upward.

Swinging up and around the log, Raine slammed her shield into the boarbatusk’s side and the squealing grimm was sent tumbling down into the dark below. Raine landed on the tree with a low crouch as the Nevermores cried and shot towards her.

Raines cackled in glee, her blood pumping, as she activated a switch on the grip of Stytrix. Several glowing blades of multicoloured dust shot out of the hanging whip. With a flick of her wrist, Stytrix shot upwards screening Raine from the approaching nevermore. An explosion of fire, ice, wind and electricity consumed the hoard of nevermores as the dust blades detonated. If Raine hadn’t prematurely lowered her centre of gravity with her landing she likely would have been blown off the log again by the blast.

Raines smile persisted, still high on the adrenaline rush. She coiled stytrix up and returned it to her belt as she gleefully danced across to the other side of the canyon.

 

[Ozilla]

Kingdom of Vale – Vale city – Emerald Forest – Sumire, Oceanos


Sumire offered Mistral as her origin, adding that she was from one of the large cities there. For some reason, she seemed to be embarrassed. Oceanos suppressed a frown. Had it been impolite to ask about where she came from?
After regaining her balance – apparently his warning had been a bit too late –, she jogged up to him and took out her scroll again.
“O-oh yes, I did, actually! Here, take a look! So right before we we just launched into this place, I took this picture. I actually really like its composition and lighting, and the implication of action from this student in mid-air-”, she immediately rattled off with surprising enthusiasm, before catching herself, “-but uh, more to the point, from how Professor Ozpin described everything, it sounded like those relics would be somewhere around here.” At this, Sumi indicated a part of the picture she was showing Oceanos. “The problem is, at such a low elevation it’s tough to judge distance so... I got a new vantage point.”

Sumi started swiping across the screen, causing the scroll to show a succession of pictures. Oceanos made a mental note about scroll-handling.
“It’s blurry, it’s overexposed, and I’m not even convinced it’s even what I was actually intending to capture, but-”, at this, Oceanos bit his lips to keep from grinning at her self-criticism, “There! Look! Trees don’t just avoid a spot of land just because... or at least, I know for sure I’d have been yelled at for painting something as artificial looking as that in a landscape without a good reason.”
Now, Oceanos did grin. Maybe she would be a bit more comfortable talking about herself if he asked about her obvious passion for drawing and photography?

Of course, at precisely this moment, the stupid Grimm horde had to appear.
Instead of answering his question with a sentence, the girl grabbed her weapon, and a moment later, an Ursa fell to the ground, its head penetrated by a bullet.
“S-sorry! I just had a good line of fire to it, and I was afraid if I said anything I’d... well anyway, good luck with the King Taijutsu!”, Sumire immediately apologized. Oceanos raised his eyebrows.
“Umm…not at all! Nice reaction”, he said, laughing a bit.
Then Sumi resumed her firing at the Ursai, while he focused on the King Taijutsu. A plan began to take shape inside his head.

Throwing first Scylla, then Charybdis, he guided each of his chakrams to hit one of its two heads. Both weapons bounced of the scales, but Oceanos now had the attention of the oversized snake. He continued to attack it with a succession of throws, causing it to change direction and head towards him.
As the Grimm was about to strike, Oceanos performed an aura-enhanced jump straight into the air above it. Scylla flew to the zenith of his jump, and he used the chakram as a platform to launch himself downwards again, putting all of his momentum into a mighty fist punch that hit the creature right onto its white head. Immediately, Oceanos jumped off the head and landed behind the Grimm, which was now hissing furiously.

After the boy had dished out some more hits with his chakrams – none of which penetrated the scales, but certainly managed to infuriate the King Taijutsu further –, all was prepared. The snake had started to blindly thrust its heads towards him, missing every time because he kept jumping around, making a good use of his chakrams as stepping stones.
He threw Scylla right into the face of the white head while using Charybdis to jump between the two heads and around the black one. The white head tried to follow him, the black one did the same, going the other direction, and a moment later, a mighty thump shook the ground as both heads fell to the ground – the King Taijutsu had managed to knot its two heads together.
Perfect. Just as planned.
In a fury, the black head striked at Oceanos again, and the boy sent both chakrams directly into its wide-open maw. When the snake head reflexively shut its mouth and tried to swallow, Oceanos caused his chakrams to rotate. They cut through the roof of the mouth, and the black half of the King Taijutsu went limp.

The white half was still alive, but now even more hindered in its movement. Oceanos jumped and landed a solid kick on the head, stunning it. He positioned his chakrams directly behind the head like some two-part guillotine, then made them spin up. When they were rotating at full speed, he slowly lowered them. At this angle and speed, the scales offered about as much resistance as a block of butter. When he called his chakrams back and turned to see how Sumi’s fight was going, the Grimm had already started to smoke.


Kingdom of Vale – Vale city – Emerald Forest – Sumire, Oceanos

 

[Aleph Null]

<Cronan Dracula>
Starting Location: Kingdom of Beacon, Emerald Forest
Interactions: Puppernickel

"Oh right the relics, I almost forgot about that, and sure you can," Cronan responded, scratching the back of his head awkwardly before folding up his bow and putting back on his jacket. "You know, I was honestly expecting to be surrounded by grim the second my feet touched the ground" he mused as he began walking north. He was actually grateful that wasn't the case but he knew it was only inevitable until they ran into some, in the meantime, Cronan thought it would be best to get to know Sable better.

"Say, Could I ask you a question? That wasn't the question I wanted to ask you by way" He spoke up while also making sure to leave no room for overly witty remarks. He wanted to ask Sable for the reason why he wanted to become a hunter, Cronan's reason was simple, he wanted to become a hunter so that he'd be strong enough to defend the frequent grim attacks that have plagued his village, other than that he was also somewhat interested in exploring the world but that would have to come after he ensured the safety of his home.

"I wanted to ask you...what your reason for wanting to become a hunter was," he said as he took a quick glance at his surroundings, as to not potentially be caught off guard by anyone or anything.


Ending location: Emerald Forest

 

[Tessa Heronstairs]

Clementine
Current Location: Emerald Forest

Clementine had barely taken a step forward when something crashed next to her. At first she thought of thunder cracking the sky, loud enough to shake her awake even though she slept through most of the sea storms at home. However, there had been no significant humidity in the air or anything that spoke of a downpour. She couldn't even spot a cloud on the light blue sky above.

Grimm was her next bet, and the odds were terrible. She was already stepping towards the bushed to make a run for it and hope that the beast would be enormous enough to get stuck somewhere between the trees or bushed, when she spotted the very much human like creature. With his muscular buuilt, he might rival a Grimm - after all, she had just ruled out that neither a storm nor a Grimm had split that sturdy trunk right down to the ground. She looked at his massive axt and pondered whether she could lift it, but didn't entertain that thought very far. There was no use in contemplating such an absurd idea.

He was thinking out loud, something about partners and relicts, which reminded Clementine that there was more to do here than surviving despite the deadly wildlife. Slowly, her brain, still shocked by the cracking sound, made sense of the words. Her mood immediatly lighted up as she understood that he was just as alone as her, ready to team up with someone to better the odds of survival. She couldn't exactly tell what it was that he supposed to gain from her ompanionship, but she was not wasting any time coming up with an explaination. "Oh, thank the Gods," she said, making her way over to him. Only now as her cloathes still stuck to her body, she became aware of hw much like a mess she must look. At the beach at home, she wouldn't have cared, but here it probably wasn't the best first impression she could make. Regardless, there was nothing to be done about it, so instead she held her head up high and walked over to him, looking for eye contact as quickly as possible. In no way she would let him wander off without him having to take her along with him (silently hoping that he wouldn't notice that leaving her behind could clear the slot in his team again in a matter of hours).

"Oh, I'd loke to become your partner," Clementine said, going up to him and extending a hand as a way of greating. "My name's Clementine and I can't wait to be out of this forest."

OOC: Cant' believe it's been 13 days already... Sorry, procrastination's a b- a bit of a troublemaker lately. Sorry for the delay, Soviet Panda ^^°

 

[Heterological]

Name: Chrom
Location: Emerald Forest
Tags: HerculePyro

Feeling sorry about showering the guy below with wood, Chrom looked around for any sign of anyone else. A crackle came from a point a few miles away, and he saw the telltale sign of a dust explosion; lightning and fire bloomed outward before subsiding, and he guessed that there were probably more elements involved. He stowed away his weapon onto his back. Running towards the edge of the branch he was one, Chrom leaped forward as it flexed, springing him up slightly and letting him reach a nearby tree with ease. This tree was packed with more leaves and twigs, but he liquified to pass right through them, solidifying once he was in the air and on the way to the next.

This process continued, and he made rapid progress towards the source of the dust explosion. His aura drained little by little, and he began to conserve it.

Chrom finally reached the area, and he could still feel the heat of the electricity and the fire. A chasm nearby had a tree laid across it, most likely as a makeshift bridge. Glancing around, he saw that the tree wasn't cut from the ground; instead, it was bent. The person who had gone across had probably done it.

Dropping down, he took out Season's Greetings again and held it ready, walking carefully across the chasm until he had reached the other side. With the person possibly close by, Chrom said, "Are you there?" loudly into the forest.

 

[Puppernickel]

~Sable Marigold~
Current location: Emerald Forest, More Trees



Sable nodded in response to Cronan, frowning at the surrounding brush. "Hmm, yes, the lack of Grimm is rather... annoying." He said, frustration clear in his voice. He'd been looking forward to some stress relief, and to find it being denied him! Well, not like he actually needed it of course, but- well, okay, maybe a tiny bit of actual stress. Just a tad. "Oh well, I'm sure we'll find some later." Sable shrugged, fully expecting - and hoping - that his frustration would attract some Grimm to their location. It wasn't much, so they shouldn't attract anything too big, but that was for the best. Probably.

Sable as so lost in thought and keeping an eye on his surroundings that he almost missed the fact that Cronan was speaking to him. Snapping back to reality Sable shook his head, clearing his mind as he glanced at Cronan from the corner of his eye. "Hmm? Oh, sure, yes, ask away." He hummed, nodding to his new teammate.

"I wanted to ask you...what your reason for wanting to become a hunter was."

Those words stopped Sable short. For a moment, all of Sable's poise and primness disappeared in a flood of emotions, the primary one on display being regret. He recalled the three precise reasons he had become a hunter at all, and continued to do so. The first, to spite his father; the second, to prove to his family he could; and the third, newest, and most important reason.... Sable reached up towards his single cat ear, his hand hovering over it as he recalled the event that lost him the other ear.

He was about to give Cronan an answer of some sort when a low growl registered in Sable's hearing. Sable spun around, noticing a pair of Beowolfs baring down on the two, their red eyes gleaming with bloodlust. Sable returned the look with one of his own, immediately activating his Semblance and Shattering right in front of one of the two Grimm. The first Beowolf was left without any time to react as Sable quickly stabbed one of his blades into its eye socket, killing it instantly. The other Grimm growled loudly and made to swipe at Sable, but he simply Shattered again, appearing behind the Grimm. Dashing up it's back, Sable stabbed both blades into the second Beowulf's skull, sending it crashing down to the ground in a heap.

It had all happened in a few seconds, but that was the way a real fight went: quick, fast, and to the point. The Grimm dispatched, Sable turned back to look at Cronan, a sheepish smile on his face as he chuckled. "Ah, sorry, brought up some bad memories. Must have attracted them. More are probably coming, so unless you want to stay and fight...." He left the sentence hanging, not feeling the need to finish it as he got up and started walking forward. As if it was an after thought, Sable then added. "Oh, and I had several reasons. One of them was to spite my father. Make of that what you will."



Ending location: Emerald Forest, Even More Trees

Direct: Aleph Null

 

[Aleph Null]

<Cronan Dracula>
Starting Location: Kingdom of Beacon, Emerald Forest
Interactions: Puppernickel
Cronan instantly caught on to the change in body language and regretted bringing up the question and moved to apologize when Sable suddenly spun around. He turned his gaze towards the direction that Sable was facing before spotting the two beowolves and reacted instantly by throwing off his jacket he reaching for his bow when suddenly, Sable shattered into pieces, the unexpected action causing Cronan to stop completely in his tracks.

Was that his semblance? He thought just before Sable reappeared plunging his blade right into the eye socket of the first grim. He quickly resumed his motion and in one swift move unfolded his bow, loaded an arrow, and took aim at the next one but Sable had already shattered again before appearing behind the grim and stabbing through the back of its skull with both of his blades. That was surprisingly fast Cronan thought as he placed the arrow back in his quiver.

"Well that was ...interesting," He was almost at a loss for words but "Ah but I should be the one apologizing for asking such a personal question. I rather not deal with any grim if I can help it- that doesn't mean I'll leave you to do all the work or anything though if we run into more of them" He said as picked his jacket off the ground, neatly folded it and placed it in his orange backpack before he followed behind Sable with his bow still held in hand.



Ending location: Emerald Forest

 

[PixelSymphony]

~Sumire Yamashita~
-- Violetlocks and the Three Bears --

Starting Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Location: Emerald Forest, South

---

Beads of sweat began to drip from Sumire's brow as she deflected blow after blow from the trio of Ursae. Her initial charge, while successful in landing a telling blow, did little to stymie the onslaught from the Grimm, and if something didn't change, she was quickly going to be overwhelmed. I need to get a new angle on this scene! she thought as a powerful downward swipe came in at her, the young girl just barely able to maintain her footing as she was driven backwards. She gave a final, broad swing to distance herself, and turned to hastily retreat into the surrounding forest, heading straight for a nearby thicket. As expected, the trio of Ursae quickly took chase, crashing through branches and undergrowth in their furor, but soon slowed as they realized they had lost track of the girl in the mass of green, stopping in place with confused growls as they began to look around.

It was in that instant that Sumi counterattacked, swooping down from the trees above as she plunged her blade square into the top of the closest beast's skull. Before its companions could react, she dove off the back of the slain Ursa in a streak of violet, throwing herself at the next closest target. She watched her target commit to an attack, sweeping arcs emanating from its claws as it swung them through the air, before dropping low into a slide that just barely slipped beneath the reach of the bony protrusions. A small sense of shock rippled through the girl as she felt more than a few strands of hair being forcibly separated from her head, and she realized in that moment just how close she had come to being scalped. But as she cleared the underside of the beast and her forward motion finally ran out, she snapped back to focus, leaping to her feet and stabbing backwards as hard as possible. Without even having to look, the anguished roar and subsequent thud on the forest floor certified she had struck true.

But she was still far from being out of the woods in any sense of the phrase; as she turned to confirm her handiwork, the remaining Ursa began to barrel straight for her. As the beast closed, she brought Kofude to her left, blade extended straight out as if to meet the beast head on. She held fast as the creature of shadow cleared the last few feet, opening its mouth in a thunderous roar as it reared back to strike. Instantly her finger tensed on the trigger, and as if in response to the Grimm, Kofude roared back, loosing a round at point blank straight into the gaping maw in front of it. The result was a smoking hole and a very, very dead Ursa, which unfortunately still proceeded to plow into straight into Sumi out of sheer momentum, knocking Kofude out of her hands and pinning her to the ground. For a moment, she panicked, thinking herself trapped by the massive carcass, but eventually she was able to twist one arm, then the other out from underneath, eventually dragging herself to freedom. She took a few moments to let her heart stop pounding, doubled over with her hands on her knees as she fought to regain her breath, before retrieving her errant weapon and beginning her journey back to where she'd left her partner.

"Ocenanos!" Sumi cried out, pushing her way back into the clearing. "How are you fari-oh," she cut herself off with as she saw him standing idly beside the smoking King Taijutsu, inspecting his chakrams. "I... take it you didn't have any trouble," she said deflatedly. Unlike a certain someone... A sudden growl from beyond her companion drew Sumire's sight, revealing the final, disabled Ursa was still mobile, slowly clawing its way closer to where they stood. With a sigh, Sumi converted her weapon back to its her rifle state, cycled the bolt, and fired straight into a dead tree trunk, collapsing the already weakened structure atop of the final creature of Grimm. "Sorry," she apologized, her eyes cast downward as she quietly popped open the loading port of Kofude and began to quietly feed rounds in, "I forgot about that one, that was careless of me..."

---

Ending Status
Condition: Exhausted
Wearing: Color-coord outfit 1
Carrying: MABB Kofude, Utility Belt
Location: Emerald Forest, South

Interaction: Ozilla