Fandom RWBY Saga: Vale [Arc 2 IC]

[The Suspicious Eye]

ValeIt's been one month since Salem's brutal attack on Vale, and the whole of Remnant has felt it's effects. The Grimm destroyed the CCTV tower in the initial attack, and as you know, when one goes down, they are all down. Inter-Kingdom communication is nigh impossible, so no one other then Vale know the extent of what happened to the kingdom. Vale has been crippled to the point of falling, with hordes of Grimm hound the desolate streets, looking for more to kill, more to destroy. Buildings became rubble or were overtaken by the black vines that sprouted in Beacon. Beacon itself has become a sort of hive for Grimm, especially the dragons that razed it a month ago. For so short a time, the city went from a shining jewel to a vine infested ruin. Grimm pour in though gaping holes in the walls in search of the massive concentration of fear that is the once grand kingdom of Vale, and rumors even tell of a new kind of Grimm that stalks through Vale.

But alas, hope is not lost. Towards the outskirts of Vale, sat a large abandoned hospital that was set to be renovated the day of Vale's fall. After the original emergency shelter was destroyed by Grimm, the survivors took shelter in the hospital and used the materials meant for the renovation to fortify the area. While it was already relatively secluded, the fortifications already made make it hard to get to, and so Grimm attacks are uncommon. Vines get through, but are quickly removed. A glimmer of perseverance in an ocean of darkness.

Now, as night falls and the beowolves begin to howl at the departure of the sun, and the packs of Ursa roam the streets, the people of Vale cling to the fact they survived the slaughter that was Salem's attack. Ever since arrival, no student nor citizen of Vale has been permitted to leave the hospital, for safety reasons. Vale might not be in the best of shape, and it will undoubtedly be a hard fought battle to regain it. But the people have hope. Hope that the current and future huntsman and huntresses of Vale will save them from this nightmare and deliver them unto greatness once more. But, one wonders. Do the people's protectors have hope themselves? Written by the fantastic The Prophet

 

[xAlter]

Orion Schnee

Location: Hospital/Refugee Camp
Nearby:
@Tags: The Suspicious Eye The Prophet IG42 KarenAKAMint

Orion stood by a window in a random hall smoking a cigarette. Taking the stick from his mouth and blowing out a cloud of ice dust, he crushed it in his hand, realizing he had been doing that a lot lately. It was the only thing that calmed him in the past, and now, it wasn’t working. He stared at the gray sky and couldn’t help but think of everything that had happened since he arrived at Beacon. Initiation, first missions, Robyn’s disappearance quickly followed by Azure’s, Robyn’s reemergence, and even the Rose twin’s party.

Io… he hadn’t thought of her in days. She probably hated him now, if what the message from her siblings was. He guessed he deserved what he got. He forgot all about her, especially when she was in her ‘state’. It was completely justified, and that hurt the most. He knew what he did was wrong, and if anything, it hurt him to say how terrible he was. She’d probably try to kill him the moment she laid eyes on him. That thought wanted to make him laugh. It was his fate to be cursed with regret and despair. Everything that had happened to him, it was his own doing. He couldn’t fight it anymore, he’d just accept it.

All the good times he had with her, why did he throw it all away? How could he have thrown it all away? Nothing made sense to him anymore, not in his current state of mind. In ten maybe twenty years, Orion would finally understand how he had come to this situation with Io, why she never told him, why anybody never told him. Sure she was a faunus, but that wasn’t Orion, not anymore. He can’t hate a person for being born a certain way, born to certain families, or given something out of their control. I mean, look at him and the Snake. He could call him brother practically now. They had thrown their names and relatives aside to become teammates, and forge that brotherhood. Why couldn’t he do the same for Io?

Hearing a buzzing from his scroll, he tried to ignore it. He wanted to be left alone, which is why he secluded himself in the hallway. He hadn’t even talked to his team after arriving. He just kept silent and stared at the wall. Even as the buzzing persisted, he ignored it. Whatever was happening, he didn’t want part of it. Feeling the buzzing stop, he leaned back against the cool glass, and slid to sit on the floor, his head hanging low. Everything was in pieces. Everything was going wrong, like history repeating itself.

Dozing off, Orion was quickly awoken by the sound of DelTa screaming at him. Her eyes shimmered with tears, almost as if saddened. Her urging to take out his scroll, only made it worse, but he complied anyway. Noticing multiple texts from his mother, father, aunt, and even uncle (which was weird considering he never texted Orion), Orion began to scroll through them all. His eyes slowly widened as he stared at each individual message. Jacques Schnee had died, and all family had to come home.

Standing, Orion began running back to the mainstay of all refugees. He needed to find Grey and Cirrus. They needed to know. If grandfather passed away, something huge was going to happen with the SDC. If all the Schnees came together in a single area, it would be a high profile target for the Fang or any terrorist group with a vendetta against the family.

Tsana Luna Khan and Ashe Ember

Location: Hospital/Refugee Camp
Nearby:
@Tags:

Ashe sat on a cot within the main sleeping area of the refugee camp. His cot was in a corner, as was all the other cots of team CAKE. He had taken to staying behind when everyone else had went off to do their own thing, preferring the solitude and quiet to read his book. The story was about a man stuck in time, or rather stuck in one place of time. He would die, repeat the die, and die again, all while trying to change the events that took place. It was a rather gruesome story, being very vivid in the imagery and storytelling. It wasn’t bad though, just not a story for everyone.

Looking around the room, he couldn’t help but realize how lucky, he and everyone else who got out of Beacon was. Not many more made it after that initial two waves of survivors from Beacon. He saw a bunch of his classmates had made it out from the tower to the rally point, which was good. Less people had to suffer from losses if more people made it. However, that was a different story for those in Vale. Vale had suffered huge amounts of destruction like before with Salem’s first rise. If the same amount or more happened with this rebirth, nothing would be the same, and maybe, they won’t rebound.

Hearing a whimper to his side, Ashe looked down the mop of brown hair topped with two wolf ears. Tsana laid curled against his side, wrapped in a blanket, and sleeping. She had almost been killed during the invasion of Grimm. After waking up and dragging Ashe to the courtyard, she had literally jumped from the bullhead as it took off to slaughter Grimm beneath. She had summoned her wolves and began cutting down Grimm left and right. Ashe followed, but saw her go down when an Ursa knocked her down. He would grab her and run to an extraction zone. By the time the two made it, Ashe was littered in bruises and cuts.

Standing and gently laying Tsana down, he made his way out of the refugee room. He needed to find some food, or anything to eat, if his growling stomach was any sign.

 

[KarenAKAMint]

Phoenix Rose

Location: Refugee Camp
Interactions: No one at the moment
Mention: Jade, Ophelia, Summer, Ruby, and Oscar
@Tags: Brinni The Suspicious Eye

The month after the fall of Beacon, again, Phoenix felt like he was stuck in a loop of insanity. He would take time out of his day, looking out to the main door in hopes that Ophelia would just walk through the doors. His mother was still working in order to get her, but he actually wanted to be out there doing it himself. The only way he distracted himself was to be around his friends and family. He had made a promise to not run away to Jade a long time ago and he plans to keep that promise.

Nix has kept up with his training, never allowing things to stop him from getting better. He's even beginning to train with others. Mostly either Jade or Summer but it was a start. Of course, he would never be as strong of as fast as Summer is, since she had trained to be at the level that she is at. Even with all he had been doing the past month or so, he finally snapped today. He hadn’t heard anything from his mother and to his surprise, his ‘father’ was nowhere to be seen.

“This is driving me crazy!” he hissed as he emerged from one of the shadows that were rare in the hospital. He walked around the place as looking for anyone that might have answers to what is happening outside or even at Beacon. Nix felt like a caged lion, ready to pounce at the right moment toward freedom from the same mundane routine he had established.


Summer Rose

Location: Refugee Camp
Interactions: Ashe
Mention: Phoenix and Tsana
@Tags: xAlter

Summer had been keeping herself busy helping in the kitchen when ever she had time. In the beginning, she spent it trying to keep her training up, which Phoenix finally warmed up to train with her. Now, they train around his usual schedule, which was normally when it was the darkest. She didn’t mind, it allowed her to spend time with him and distract him from ophelia. If she wasn’t training or cooking, she would be with her friends, trying to liven up the mood a bit. It was hard to do, but at the very least she tried to help.

She had went around, handing out meals and snacks for anyone that wanted it. With a smile on her face, Summer walked around the camp. She was about to run out of food and turn back when she reached team CAKE, well half of them. Summer walked up to the two and asked, “Are you guys hungry? Oh…” She noticed Tsana sleeping and lowered her voice, “I have some meals for you guys if you want it. You must be Ashe, I haven’t gotten the chance to actually get to know you.”

Summer smiled, hanging him two containers with the food she had prepared in the kitchen with the other helpers. “They’re still warm,” she rescued him. Taking a seat beside him, she continued, “I hope you don’t mind if I take a break beside you.” Summer took the last contained in the bag she had been hauling and began to dig in to the rice first, saving the chicken for last.


Skyler Eden Sharp

Location: Refugee Camp
Interactions: Phoenix
Mention: Summer and Bora

Skyler was walking around the camp, looking around for anyone really. She had seen several families together talking to each other. It made her worry about her own family who have been spending longer days out trying to figure out what was happening. Robin and Sapphire have been around but today Larimar had sent them off to do something. Saffron had been keeping an eye on Iris most of the time she had gone out to look for him, but she never had the willpower to actually come up and hang out with them.

The only people she had been willing to hang out with was Sage, Summer, and Bora. Sage was mostly with Cirrus or taking a rest. Summer had taken up the job to help around the kitchen, making everyone food. Skyler couldn’t blame her, since she knew Summer loved to cook, it relaxed her. Bora had been a surprise to see, since she hadn't seen her in a year after she stopped going to the club she met her at. They had slowly regain on lost time, deciding to go from a fling to finally being friends and Skyler was glad for that, since she was the one to just walked away from the relationship they had before.

She was about to head back to her little spot she had taken over since the month they had been at the refugee camp and just read the day away, but the sight of Phoenix pacing at the entrance made her stop. Skyler just watched him, wondering if it would be pointless to talk to him. She had barely gotten to know him from the sleepover but even the she had been having her won issues and was very drunk. Shrugging she walked up to him and called out to him, “If you keep pacing around the same area, you’ll end up making a hole…”

Phoenix finally stopped and looked up at her. He looked offended but then just sighed, “I hate being told to just sit around… At least back home I had a forest to go out and explore, but here we can't even go out without causing a scene.” Skyler shook her head, a smirk on her face as she walked over to him, “I get what you mean. I mean I like being inside, but I hate it when you aren’t allowed to enjoy some fresh air. We can just go out there. They can’t get mad at us if we have at least someone with us.”

Skyler took his wrist and began to drag him to the main doors and just walked out. She stopped just outside the doors and let go of Phoenix. Taking in the air, she let out a satisfying sigh. When she looked over to Nix, she sound him doing the same but he was looking over to the distance where Beacon was located. She had heard of what happened from Summer, but she didn’t bring it up as she just held herself and enjoyed the silence they were holding.


Sage Auburn

Location: Refugee Camp
Interactions: No one at the moment
Mention: Family and Cirrus
@Tags: IG42

Sage was finally better. Well, physically that is. He still kept having nightmares from the accident. Iola’s twisted face haunted him even now, but he had been keeping it silent. Sage didn’t want to worry anyone, besides it was something he had to get over on his own and he is determined to do. Stretching from his recent nap from bored, he looked around the area around him. Several others where taking his suggestion of a nap, but Sage just walked out away from the other sleeping bodies.

He walked around, wanting to find Cirrus and be with him for a bit. It had been almost two months since the had actually been boyfriends, but their current situations had been hard on Sage. Worried out of his mind for his family didn’t help him. He had been sneaking away to abandoned room as he tried to recall everything his grandfather had taught him. Mostly singing old songs in order to relax. Recalling that, he began to hum as he continued for his search for Cirrus.


Cerise Darcy Amaranth

Location: Refugee Camp
Interactions: Summer and Ashe
Mention: Kids, Upperclassman, and Tsana
@Tags: xAlter

Cerise waved goodbye to some of the kids that he had been playing guessing games for the past few hours and began to head back to his team. A smile danced on his face, clearly enjoying his time distracting the kids from what was happening outside the refugee camp. Keeping high spirits around here had been hard but people quickly understood that the more they worried the more grimm will come.

The first few days, students and the teachers had been working to get rid of the grim around the area which eventually became a manageable amount. Some upperclassmen were given the job to scout around and get rid of any roaming grimm that appeared. Really, he would have loved to be out there helping out but, the teacher’s had other plans for us. With the CCTV Tower down, it had been hard to get a hold of his mother, but as long as she stayed away, he had nothing to worry about.

When he finally reached his team, he found Tsana sleeping and Summer talking to Ashe. “Hey Summer,” he called out light enough to not wake Tsana, “Working hard as a cook?” Summer let out a light laugh as she nodded, “Yeah, it relaxes me, so I don't mind even though I’m not used to cooking for so many people.” Cerise sat across from the two awake and leaned forward. His elbows on his knees and his chin on his left fist, Cerise smiled.

He had slowly been remembering his childhood, but even as dark as it was after his father’s death, he didn’t show it. Slowly opening up to Ashe about it the longer they stayed here. “Sorry, I’m eating the last of the meals I had and the other two, I gave to Ashe and Tsana,” Summer’s voice pulled him away from his thoughts. Cerise sat up quickly and waves her off, “Don’t worry about it. I can always walk you back to the kitchen and get a meal there. Go ahead and eat.”

Summer blushed, which Cerise took as a good thing and looked over to Ashe. ‘How long has Tsana been sleeping?’ he signed, ‘If she sleeps for too long, she’ll never sleep during the night.’ Cerise had been taking his role as team leader very seriously after Hunter left the group due to his parents asking him to leave. He couldn’t blame him, what happened was terrifying and dangerous to say the least. Cerise would have left if he didn’t fear Shade more then what went down at the Twin’s party.


Bora Shu Mun

Location: Refugee Camp
Interactions: Orion
Mention: Cherry, Slate, and Ophelia
@Tags: xAlter

Bora spent mostly alone, meditating, not wanting to worry about her parents, she knew that they had their ways to stay safe. Sighing, she got up from her sitting position and stretched her tensed spots on her joints from sitting for so long. Energized a but she decided to her back to her team. She had gotten to know Cherry more, but then again she was the only one that was always willing to talk yo her in her team. Slate was either in his own world or off somewhere and Ophelia was still missing.

She turned down a corner as she bumped to someone. It was a slight bump, since they only collided from their shoulders. Even so, it spinned her quickly and ended up falling backwards on her ass. Hissing a bit at the pain, she looked up to the person she bumped into, wanting to see if they were alright. A white haired individual stood before her, who she recalled was Orion from team BASL.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t check the corner before turning,” she explained as she slowly raised to her feet. Dusting herself off she looked back to Orion and extended her hand to him, “You’re Orion, right? We’re classmates, my name is Bora. I haven’t gotten the chance to introduce myself.” Orion looked rushed, which made his speed when they collided understandable. “Oh sorry, you must be in a hurry, sorry if I held you up,” she said a bit panicked.

 

[xAlter]

Orion Schnee

Location: Hospital/Refugee Camp
Nearby: Bora
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

Orion was running through the halls. He needed to find Cirrus and Grey. A full recall of all the Schnees out in Remnant? What were people thinking? The effects could be disastrous, and especially if his grandfather’s will was involved. Although he was booted from the Schnee Dust Company, and the succeeded by his mother, Jacques Schnee still held a lot of power in Atlas. He needed to find his cousins and fast.

Rounding a corner, Orion did not see the mop of purple hair, or the girl who had said mop of purple hair, in the way. Running into her, and colliding, then falling down, Orion’s scroll went skidding across the hall. Rubbing his head, Orion looked at the girl in front of him, and his brain blanked. “Delia?” he asked surprised. Getting a good look at the girl, he realized she was someone else entirely. This wasn’t Cordelia. She wouldn’t have been in Vale anyway. “I’m sorry, I confused you for someone else.”

“Bora, huh. You were in my combat class, right?” he asked, trying to remember where he had seen her before. He didn’t really pay much attention in class anyway. “And no, no. You’re fine. I can sit and chat for a few minutes if you would like. The thing I needed to do anyway would be held up. Y’know, having to stay in the hospital and all. Anyway, how have you been since the attack?”

Tsana Luna Khan and Ashe Ember

Location: Hospital/Refugee Camp
Nearby: Summer and Cerise
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

Ashe almost fell back when he heard Summer speak to him. He hadn’t expected anyone to come talk to him or Tsana (even as she still slept away), due to multiple reasons. One, he kept his revolver out and holstered on his leg at all times. Two, the spectral wolves made a terrifying presence. And three, Ashe had actually beat up Faunus haters who tried to harm her. With his piece done, though Ashe gratefully took the food offered to him and Tsana, bowing to Summer. Turning, he gave a knowing look to Summer and Cerise when they couldn’t see his face.

Gently rousing Tsana from her sleep, the wolf girl rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned. Blinking, she looked around before settling on the familiar faces fo Cerise and Ashe. Giving off a small smile, Tsana took the food with a quiet ‘thank you’, before digging in. If Ashe remembered, she hadn’t eaten anything since their arrival at the hospital. Turning back to Cerise, he shrugged. “She’s been having recurring nightmares.” he signed back. “She doesn’t sleep at night, and the only time she does is during the day when she knows no one is going to hurt her.” Something had changed Tsana, and no one knows what it was.

Sitting besides Tsana, Ashe began to eat his own meal, noticing that although the food was made of limited ingredients, that flavor was there, and it was first-class. Motioning to Cerise, he pointed at the food and nodded, notifying the other boy about how good it was. Looking around, he spotted his bag. Grabbing it, he pulled out a marker and whiteboard, and quickly scribbled down on it. “It’s really good.” the board said. “Thank you.”

 

[ChazGhost]

Jester Nightmarish

Location: Refugee camp
Nearby: Phoenix and Skyler
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

While Jester gave it his best effort in the end he got stuck in Vale as hell seemed to break loss on the city. Though with his set of skills he was able survive on his own for a short while but eventually he had look for help and shelter with others. And so he founded at the hospital. While must people were definitely against him joining them, be it his criminal past (and present), the fact he wears mask, or a mix of both. But beggars can't be choicer so they let him in. Sense then Jester has been working on maintaining the currently building as it already a fixer up before this. With his know how he was able to help keep the lights on for the building.

Jester was working on outside of build with a few other handy men. They were mainly fixing up some damaged caused by previous Grimm attacks. The handy men were used to working with Jester at this point. When they first started working with him to repair the building they didn't know how to handle the costume freak. But after showing his skill and being surprisingly helpful they got use to him. They even have had a few drink together.

As they worked Jester noticed some kids come out of the building. A pair of young huntsmen in training if he was right. "I'm going to see what the two brats are doing. You guys keep working" Jester said to his fellow handy men as walked to the pair of students.

"Sure thing Jester, just don't give the kids any trouble" one handy men said to Jester as he walked off.

Jester walked up to pair he vaguely recolonized the two. "Sky Sharpie and the Fire Bird Flower, right?" Jester said as he drew a large blank on Skyler's and Pheoinx's names. Then after a moment he remembered who Skyer was completely. "Ohh ya now I remeber. Your the girl with the poison right? Wow girl I have to admit you got some guts to use poison on people. I never excepted a huntsmen to being willing to kill some one like that, but you surprised me" Jester said complementing Skyler in a way.

Croc and Bruno

Location: Refugee camp
Nearby: Who ever wants to be
Mentioned: IG42

After Vale turned to a hell scap and their arrival to the Refugee camp Croc and Bruno have been sticking with each other. Croc mainly trying to help ease Bruno into the current scenario. Which was needed as Bruno for the first few day was having a hard to time taking this all in and needed a lot help to keep a hold of himself. He never knew things could get as bad as they were now. But the help of Croc and Cirrus he was able to calm down and ready himself for the days to come. Sense regaining his sense Bruno has been helping everywhere he could. While he wasn't a skill craftsmen or cook he was good shoot and could carry around a lot of weight. So he has been helping move materials around the camp and shooting off Grimm from sniper point in the camp.

Croc, after helping Bruno get a hold himself, didn't have much do as his thieve skills weren't that useful for the current situation. He found ways to keep himself busy like helping and hanging out with his team, Val, and few other students. But as thing went on Croc has been getting an inch to practice his trade as because of where he was stealing things wasn't much of a good idea... Well isn't usual but right now it cause more trouble then what the reward be worth.

Currently the pair, Corc and Bruno, are just hanging out around the camp talking about what's been happening and where they go from here...

 

[KarenAKAMint]

Bora Shu Mun

Location: Refugee Camp
Interactions: Orion
Mention: n/a
@Tags: xAlter

Bora shook her head when Orion confused her for someone else and reassured him, "Don't worry about it, but I don't to be a bother if you are busy." She bowed her head in an apologetic manner, "I don't tend to run into people... I mainly avoid them, since they don't seem to be put off by my mannerisms." Bora looked up at Orion once more and offered him a large smile. "So if you need to go and do something, you can always come back and find me. I don't like being a nuisance to people."

Tugging some of her hair behind her ear, she noticed the scroll on the ground and picked it up. Handing it over to him, "Here you go." She took in Orion's features. Bora had seen plenty of attractive individuals in the past, working with her parents, but something about him caused Bora to blush. She cleared her throat and laughed, "Sorry I didn't mean to stare."

Summer Rose

Location: Refugee Camp
Interactions: Ashe, Tsana, and Cerise
Mention: Sage
@Tags: xAlter

Summer tried to recover from her flustering moment. She hadn't been around guys very often since the attack, so it was refreshing to have a guy offer to walk her back to work. She can take care of herself, but it was the thought that count. She looked up from her meal when she noticed Ashe and Cerise signing. Summer had seen Jade and Phoenix do it before in the start of the year, it caused her to smile. She was about to say something when Ashe pulled out a board and held ou the message. "Oh!" Summer exclaimed as she read, "You're very welcome. I'm glad you liked it. I should ask Jade for signing lessons so I can talk to you."

Taking her time with her meal, not wanting to rush and leave the company she was currently having. She took another bite before looking over to Tsana and asked, "Tsana, how are you holding up? I have been so busy I hadn't been able to check up on the rest of our classmates..." It was clear that they Faunus girl had been struggling with sleep since the bags under her eyes were evident. "Sage has also been having problems sleeping..." Summer explained, recalling what Skyler had told her.

 

[xAlter]

Orion Schnee

Location: Hospital/Refugee Camp
Nearby: Bora
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

Orion smiled when she handed him back his scroll. Tucking it back into his back pocket, he stood from the floor. "No need to apologize to me. I wasn't looking where I was going. If anything, I'm the one at fault here. I was in a rush and wasn't paying attention." Ruffling his hair, and then flipping it from out of his eyes, Orion looked out the window at the gray skies and the Grimm filled street. Getting lost in his own little world, Orion snapped back to reality, only to notice Bora staring at him. It reminded him of the stares others would give the Schnee heir, but this one wasn't full of malice or contempt. It was more curious.

"Again, don't apologize. It's not a big deal if no one gets hurt." he replied when he heard her second apology. "I'm used to the stares of others. I'm an amputee, a Schnee heir, and many other things." Turning to walk away, Orion turned and waved. "I'll take you up on that offer for talking when this all blows over. I'll see you later Bora." Walking off, Orion smiled as DelTa popped up in his vision. "So... you put my number in her scroll. You cheeky AI."

Tsana Luna Khan and Ashe Ember

Location: Hospital/Refugee Camp
Nearby: Summer and Cerise
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

Writing on the board that Summer didn't need to, Ashe smiled and set down the board and the marker. Turning to Cerise, he signed he was going to get some fresh air, and he should join him. Standing and signing something to Tsana, the wolf girl nodded. Walking by Cerise, he grabbed his arm and looked him in the eyes. Without doing anything else, Ashe let go and walked out of the sleeping area, leaving Tsana, Summer, and Cerise. Tsana looked up and smiled, her ears perking and her tail wagging. Setting aside the food Tsana waved to Cerise.

Turning back to Summer, Tsana jumped up and hugged the Rose girl. Letting go, she sat back down on her cot. "Summer!" she exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "It's so nice to see you! I've been fine. I'm just not sleeping well, and Ashe has been a big help! Like a really big help! He's a good teddy bear. But I've been okay..." she trailed off, and her ears fell. "I'm scared. After I ran off from everyone at the evacuation, I got hit by one of those rocks, and then everything went black after a Grimm knocked me out. My Aura has been all over, I keep having recurring nightmares, and there's..." Going low enough so only Summer could hear, she continued on. "There's a voice in my head. It keeps telling me to kill everyone, find the Relics, and take the power..."

Looking down at her hands, Tsana's eyes began to tear up. "I don't know what to do Summer. I can't take it anymore. Why did everything have to go so wrong? Why couldn't we be done with the fairy tales and legends? Can't we just be normal students?"

 

[Chak]

Rook Byrne

Location: Vale Crisis Centre/Refugee Camp
Nearby: Summer and Tsana
@Tags: KarenAKAMint xAlter

"I swear, patrolling the borders almost makes me wish for a Dust-fueled winter."

Hearing the comment drew a small smile out of Rook. To be honest, it wasn't the first time she'd heard it uttered either. Seemed to be a favorite comment for the troops put on border patrols. It almost seemed to be programmed as one of the few things they all actually knew how to say, and that alone was silly enough.

"Cut the chatter and just keep your eyes open. Lot's of resentment and sorrow at the camp. Grimm have been tuned into that, makes it a notable target. Besides, you're professionals, and the kid here has complained less about any of this in the past month than you lot have in the last hour."

And that was Argus. He was a Gyrfalcon faunus, protege of James Ironwood himself, and the one of the first two people Rook had found herself fighting with the night of the crisis. Apparently she'd made some sort of impression, albeit with a healthy dose of distrust from Argus. Turns out he didn't like not knowing thing, so when he got told by James that he should mentor him, well, she'd never seen a face go that red before.

She'd thought he was going to explode for a second.

Then he told her to make herself useful and go get him a cup of coffee.

A whole month later and here she was, running patrols with him. Personally she was glad he took her under his wing, metaphorically of course, though given the pair of literal wings he had he could easily just cover her. It was a welcome relief, as she had feared that her hopes of training would have ended as soon as it had become apparent that thee was no way to hold the city proper. Vale had fallen once again.

But as things went, anything that fell could be lifted back up, with the right tools and the right hands. So while others did the boring work in the walls of the camp and put the effort in to find a way to liberate the city of the Grimm and get the people back in their homes it meant people like herself and Argus could spend their time outside the walls of the camp doing legwork. Legwork that was, well, already few and far between.

"Hey, Argus, question," Rook spoke up, despite knowing he preferred silence on patrols. Still, she was learning, and this was an interesting question, "I know we're all fairly decent at Grimm slaying, but we haven't killed so many that their numbers have thinned out. So why is it with each patrol we encounter less and less of the ugly bastards?"

Raising an eyebrow at the astute observation of Rook Argus was reminded yet again that, while he didn't know where, this girl had at least some manner of training, "You would be correct, Rook. We haven't killed that many of them. It is important to remember, however, that many Grimm are opportunistic. It was chaos when Vale fell. In that chaos was opportunity. But now we've developed order. They may still test our strengths from time to time. Looking for those opportune moments to strike, but with regular patrols and seasoned, or not so seasoned, hunters patrolling the areas around the camp they are less likely to give it a go."

"Hmm."

It was odd to think of at times. That the soulless monsters that plagued humanity actually had some form of conscious thought other than 'eat, sleep' murder, repeat'. That being said, she preferred the Grimm to the monsters that had souls. The Grimm, at least, made it obvious that they were a threat from the get go. People weren't so easy.

___​

It wasn't much longer that they were on patrol. On the way back Argus got a message on his scroll. Who it had been from wasn't something that Rook knew, but it seemed to put the faunus into a foul mood. Rook figured she would either hear about it later if it involved her, or that she could ask when the man looked less likely to verbally tear her head off. Hells, the man hadn't looked so off put since the night she'd come back with his coffee and found his spear buried halfway through a concrete wall, so she certainly didn't want to set him off now.

Once back inside the walls of the refugee camp Rook followed Argus long enough to get their patrol report finished before deciding to skip off and find something to do with herself. Which didn't constitute much. When it came to most of the actual in-camp work, she was not well suited for much of anything. Maybe broke up a scuffle once, helped get a cat, and the kid that got stuck trying to get said cat, out of a tree, picked up the old lady that got knocked down by some guy in red that ran away from the cat. Which was the odd part out of all of it.

Sadly, there weren't enough basic issues for her to help with, and for the sake of everyone, she certainly didn't get involved in the cooking either. Sighing, yet not letting her small smile falter, she headed towards the barracks, he usually skipping and light footed half dancing not drawing attention like it used to, which suited her purposes fine.

A short hop, skip and jump and moments later the girl was slipping right back out with a bottle nicked out of the soldiers' stash tucked away in her bag. Now she just needed to find some place lieutenant-lance-up-the-ass wasn't going to find her.

Not to be misunderstood, Argus was an amazing teacher, just very, very rank and file.

As Rook made her way to the hospital building proper she noticed her mentor still off near the wall, and as such grinned wider as she slipped a bottle of golden rum out of her bag and brought it up to her lips, taking a small sip and relishing the warm burn and blossomed in her chest. Taking a better look at the bottle, Rook gave a light giggle at the idea of her doing something so... welll... naughty. She'd had a small drink here or there with the Byrnes, a sip for her birthday, or for one of theirs, or during the holidays. But now she'd manage to slip off with a whole bottle. Of course she didn't need, or want, to drink the whole thing. She needed to find someone fun to share it with, otherwise she''d make herself sick.

As she meandered towards the lving area of the compound with hopes of maybe finding someone her own age, she mishandled the cap of the bottle and watched as it fell to the ground and rolled away from her. Chasing after it quickly, Rook overstepped and felt her foot go out from under her as it landed on the cap. In a mix of sheer luck and agility, the girl got her ring blade out, swapped it to its larger size setting and rolled right into the hoop. Once in the hoop she managed to get to her feet inside of it and walk along the inner edge as it rolled down the ahllway, gathering all sorts of attention as it went. Despite this Rook just went along for the ride until the momentum slowed enough for her to hit the button, reverting her ring into it's hula hoop form. Once that was done she planted a foot and looped her hoop around, launching it up and catching it neatly in her free hand.

Looking at her other hand, still holding the bottle of rum, she hadn't spilled a drop.

Clearly it was all skills. No luck at all. Nope.

Hearing some small cheers and a bit of clapping, Rook noticed some families with small kids, the latter laughing or giggling with the parents being the ones cheering. Well, it was an accident, but it had been nice for Rook to see the kids laughing. It'd been much to dour lately and- 'OH MY GOSH ARE THOSE PUPPIES?!?!?!'

Her train of thought completely derailed as she noticed a pair of wolves down the hall, Rook took off at a brisk skip, her feet sliding to a halt as she left her ring blade go, the weapon conveniently rolling right up to the wall and stopping at a neat, our of the way lean. Taking another sip of the bottle the excitable girl crouched right in fornt of the wolf, completely ignoring any signs of hostiliaty it may or may not have been presenting her as her free hand came up to ruffle its ears, her smile practically ear to ear as she 'pet the puppy'. After a couple seconds she did the same thing to the other before actually paying attention to the two girls.

The first had auburn to reddish hair, and while she wasn't not noteworthy, it was the other that truly caught her attention. Hand extending as an almost accusatory finger was pointed, Rook spoke.

"You! I know what you are! You! Are!" She decried, almost imperiously, but not enough to drawn the attention of any but the two before her, "Absolutely adorable! Ohmigosh, you're tail looks so fluffy! Can I touch it? Am I allowed? Was it rude to ask? It's just so... oh..."

Her observation and subsequent gushing sputtered to a stop as the massive smile on her face dropped down to a simple up turning of the corners of her lips. It was probably the closest to not smiling she'd been to in years, to be honest. And it was because the adorable fluffy tailed girl looked like she was on the verge of bawling, which just wouldn't do. It wasn't fair for a girl blessed with such things as adorable tails or expressive ears to be allowed to get as upset as the one before her was.

Planting the hand that was pointing on the ground, she balanced on it alone for a moment as she crossed her legs under her and sat down. Then, extending her hand in greeting, she took another sip and introduced herself.

"I'm Rook. Slayer of sad faces and petter of pretty puppies," she stated, putting down the bottle and reaching back to pet one of the wolves while her other hand still outstretched for a handshake, "I'm here to make people laugh, and look like an idiot. How am I doing so far?"

 

[IG42]

Culpeo Albain

Location: Vale Streets/Refugee Camp
Nearby: Tsana, Summer, Rook
@Tags: xAlter KarenAKAMint Chak

On an empty street a trio of Beowolves roamed aimlessly in search of prey unaware they were the ones being hunted. The Grimm bringing up the rear of the group paused and sniffed the air suspiciously before vanishing seemingly into thin air, a moment later a yelp cut short sounded a short distance away. The remaining Grimm growled threateningly and ran towards the sound, entering an alleyway they saw the last puff of smoke of their packmate dissipate revealing Culpeo standing in it's place with weapons in hand.

Snarling the two Beowolves lunged at the fox who launched a fiery blast from one dagger that stuck it's target in the face leaving it stumbling blindly, the second kept coming and swiped at Culpeo who ducked under the blow and stabbed the Grimm several times in with both weapons dropping it backward with a perforated chest. The last target had just gotten it's sight back when Culpeo landed on it's back and stabbed it's neck from both sides, hopping off of the Beowolf as it began to evaporate he sheathed his weapons and looked up at the sky. "Should head back..." He murmured under his breath before setting off down the street.

Passing by a small shop with a smashed window Culpeo paused and took a look inside, reaching in he grabbed a few handfuls of assorted sweets and stuffed them in his pockets before continuing on his way.

Returning to the hospital he carefully looked over the defences, he had managed to sneak out and back in a few times already but he was careful not to get complacent, for anyone else getting past the defences would've been impossible and even with his semblance it was far from easy.

Making his way back inside without incident he made his way to one of the few remaining areas of open space which had mostly been set aside for the children, strolling around he casually whistled a short tune making a few of the children stopped what they were doing and came over once they were sure no one was watching them. "Hey guys." He said in a conspiratorial whisper crouching among them. "I got a good haul this time." Grinning he doled out the loot to the children, he didn't think of it was stealing. It isn't as if the shopkeeper is going to pick it off the ground and sell it when he gets back. He reasoned to himself and it was the least he could do to make the kids that little bit less miserable while he went out to keep his skills sharp. "Just remember to share alright?" He said as he left before someone noticed and asked where he had gotten the treats from. Strolling away he looked around to see if anyone had missed him while he had been gone.

Making his way inside he caught sight of a girl he had seen around a few times accosting Tsana and Summer excitedly, while he was curious about Tsana he hadn't spoken with her much at all but seeing that she looked to be clearly upset he decided to step in. "Hey, is everything okay over here?"

Cirrus Jay Schnee

Location: Refugee Camp
Nearby: Sage
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

Cirrus was getting thoroughly sick of the hospital, even the walls were starting to irritate him, the colour just seemed to try so hard not to offend anyone that it looked awful to everyone. Tossing and catching his collapsed weapon a few times he huffed, while he was glad his family had gotten out safely and Ren had decided to come with them Ophelia going missing had devastated him and Phoenix and the question of just what manner of creature had impersonated Grey still nagged at Cirrus and Ren hadn't had anything useful to say about it.

Huffing again he put his weapon away before it made anyone uncomfortable. "I think I'd rather be anywhere but here." He muttered under his breath just before his scroll buzzed. Pulling it out he stared at it for a moment, while not all communication relied on the CCT anymore losing the Vale tower again meant that civilian traffic was basically non-existent, filled with curiosity he opened the message and read it over. "Oh hell no." If they wanted him in Atlas they'd have to drag him there. Jumping to his feet he stormed off in search of Orion.

He wandered the corridors angrily for a few minutes until a familiar sound caught his attention. Sage... The faunus had been whistling that tune a lot recently. He couldn't just leave his boyfriend in the middle of this to go live it up halfway round the world. Stopping in his tracks he turned and followed the sound until he caught sight of the little faunus. "Sage! Hey..." He called out and jogged over. "Hey...y-you alright? I-I need to talk to you." He floundered for a moment and pulled Sage out to one side before taking a moment to compose himself. "It's my grandfather Jacques Schnee, he's dead and the entire family is supposed to go back to Atlas now, I don't know what's going to happen now."

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Location: Behind the hospital
Nearby:
@tags:

Reinheart TorchwickRen was sitting outside on a box in the back entrance of the makeshift hospital. His leg tapping away venting out the nervous energy he had overflowing through his body. The shame rested on his skin like a painful brand, for all he'd done. Never having the moment to just rest and grieve, he needed some time to himself, eve if it was so painful. As a celebrity and apparently an asset, he spent his time either being questioned or crowded for autographs and pictures. For days he was forced to answer the same questions over and over again. Who was Ophelia and what was her plan, day in and day out till he was finally given this menial job. His job was to assure that the other refugees and make them feel calm and safe here, or else. At least that's what they told him, not that he cared he had already ruined it all. Besides it was all to easy for him.

One of the nurses found Ren hiding in the back and smiled as she went over to him. With every step she was bouncing a bit in excitement. Reaching him it was clear she was a fan as her cheeks flushed and she began to introduce herself. "I can't believe I found you our here. I'm Laur-" Her voice was cut off as she stared into Ren's glowing blue eyes and his voice rang through his ears.

"You will leave this place and not tell anyone you saw me here. Don't forget to work hard today, there are people who need your time more than me." Ren said his semblance working it's magic over the woman as she began to mouth some of his command words. "Turn around now and get back to work." Ren said and watched as the woman turned around and went back into the small hospital ready to work hard. Waiting until he was sure she was gone he let out a heavy sigh and letting his blue eyes return to normal. Having a saddend half hearted chuckle he looked over at the empty crates. "What the fuck am I doing here?"

It had been a long month of waiting for news about the huntsmen, about Ophelia. Ruby told him to wait and like a fool he trusted her to bring her back to him quickly. However, with no one allowed in or out and news feeds and scroll contact with the huntsmen has been non-existent. He couldn't take nor knowing what was going on and he was going crazy in here. Ophelia told him how she wanted to fight agsinst her mother and quit this life like he did. He thought she could do it, she was so much stronger than she thought and she was so determined. Yet when he saw her in front of the elevators... "Dammit!" Tearing his hat off his head he threw it and hung his head.

The look in her eyes was the same from back then and those bruises weren't unfamiliar to him. Pressing his face into his hands he ran his fingers through his hands grabbing a handful of hair as he cursed to himself. "I shouldn't have said she could do it. I should have known that she would be stronger. And that bastard..." His whole body trembled with rage as he thought back to his unglamorous life. "I should have known he'd work for her. Blondie... fuck." They're going to kill her, he thought to himself. They're going to kill her and I have to stop it. I need her.

 

[The Prophet]

Akashi Taurus

Location: Refugee Camp
Nearby: practically everyone
@Tags: xAlter and anyone else

It seemed like yesterday Akashi's life changed before his very eyes. One day he was playing games in his dorm room, the next he was escaping from a sudden Grimm attack. Running away, his father would never let him live it down. From one second Akashi was an innocent academy student, living his school days in safety. And just as easily as it came, they were raided and he practically became a refugee. Raid. A more proper term, as it was way to coordinated for a simple Grimm attack. But then how did someone control Grimm? Nobody can do that. Nobody, and yet someone did. And it destroyed Vale. A frightening adversary indeed. He'd definitely new to ask his father about it. No doubt he'd have men tirelessly working to uncover the culprit of such an attack on the school his only child attended.

This past month has been the most boring month I'm Akashi's life. It was like his whole life followed a schedule. Wake up, comb hair, eat, train, lay around, eat, sleep, repeat. And all of it to be done in the confines of the hospital. The most exciting thing he'd done all month was run for his life away from a cat. Not something he was proud of. His sanity was deteriorating, and he needed to do something about it. Jumping down from his hiding spot atop some boxes. "Guess I'll go actually talk to my friends. Which means, I guess I'll go talk to Orion. Why is my life so unfulfilling?" He mused to himself, wandering the halls in search of his only real friend. I mean he had BASL, but I'm sure they didn't like him. And he really didn't talk to most of Orion's friends. Used to have a ton of friends in Mistral, but he moved. But alas, such is the life of the Taurus......Man he needed way more friends.

Running his fingers along the wall, he chewed on some candy he luckily had in his pockets when the raid occurred. He actually had quite a lot of candy, two big bags full in fact. It'd be enough to last him the rest of the day. He'd need to call in a care package. Father would never send a care package, but Bleu definitely would. She knew the the power of the sweet tooth. After all, she had one. The snacks he could get, and he didn't even have to share! The prospect made Akashi's mouth water in potential. 'No, foucus Akashi! You need to find Orion! Or anyone who could possibly entertain him!' He thought to himself, shaking his head to dispel his unpure thoughts. "Orion!!! I'll cut up your cot if you don't appear before me! Anyone? Somebody! Entertain me!" He pouted, sounding more like a spoiled kid then a future huntsman. The day Akashi gets serious will be a dark day indeed. But until then, he'll be as dumb and childish as possible. Why? So people laugh. And if you aren't having fun, what are you doing?

 

[KarenAKAMint]

Phoenix Rose & Skyler Eden Sharp

Location: Just outside the Entrance
Interactions: Skyler and Jester
Mention: Dagger and Trix
@Tags: ChazGhost

After a while in silence, Skyler glanced over to Phoenix. Deciding finally break the silence and bring up the elephant in the room, “She’ll be okay, you know.” Skyler was about to continue when a familiar voice called out to both of them. She looked around to notice a guy in the ridiculous clown outfit she recalled from her mission when she barely even became a student at Beacons. Quickly taking a hold of Block, her switch knife, in her left and swiftly moving her right as she exposed Wing’s, her butterfly knife, blade to anyone that could see.

“I think you should ask yourself, why the hell would bring a little girl to a fight,” Skyler hissed as she got ready for whatever Jester was planning to do, “But really, I got to say, you have guts showing your face here.” Phoenix was confused at the sudden change in Skyler’s voice as it no longer held an elegant melody to it, but only venom in ever syllable she spoke out. Reaching behind his back for Thorn, he kept an eye on both Skyler and Jester, thinking who he would have to stop. He had never really seen the strange guy before, but whatever went between him and Skyler must have been bad for her to even pull out her weapons, in his opinion.

“I don’t know who the hell you are,” Phoenix spoke up, walking to stand beside Skyler, “But I suggest you either go back where ever you came from or you’ll regret coming across her.” He pointed to Skyler as she smirked at the comment. Nix had seen what she can do during their combat class, which made him fear crossing her. “Who is this guy anyway?” he asked Skyler as she laughed. Never looking away from Jester he answered Phoenix’s question, “He was who me and my team fought at our mission. He was working with a kid and a slender woman with short black hair.”

At the mention of a slender woman with dark hair, Phoenix took out Thorn from her resting place behind his back, ready to shot the man. “Let me guess this woman’s name was Dagger? No… her name is Mai. You must know where she is,” Phoenix accused the man as he waited for what the guy had to say. Skyler glanced at Phoenix out the corner of her eyes as she wondered how he even knew the woman, but now was not the time to ask questions.


Bora Shu Mun

Location: Hallway in Refugee Camp
Interactions: Orion
Mention: Cherry
@Tags: xAlter Brinni

Bora’s eyes grew wide when he pointed out the reasons that he thought that she was staring at and quickly tried to clear up the air. “How, not I wasn’t trying to stare at you for those reasons!” she began, getting flustered. The last time she was this flustered at anyone it was what she walked in on her half-brother and his then girlfriend, which was the worse thing she ever experienced. She quickly continued, “I was just taking in your facial features- I mean-!”

Bora stopped her blabbing as she just bit her tongue from saying something else and just waved as Orion walked away. Turning on her heels, she slapped her palm on her forehead as she quietly told herself that she was an idiot. Shaking her head she just continued to walk wherever she was going to before. It took her a moment to remember where she was heading and aimed at looking for Cherry.


Cerise Darcy Amaranth & Summer Rose

Location: Sleeping Quarters of the Refugee Camp
Interactions: Ashe, Tsana, Rook, and Culpeo
Mention: N/A
@Tags: xAlter Chak IG42

Cerise was looking at the three in front of him as he began to think over something when he noticed Ashe moving his hands. Focusing on what he was telling him, he gave him a questioning look as he sighed back, ‘I mean sure, but I was going to walk Summer back…’ He watched as Ashe turned around and talked to Tsana before he got up and pulled him up. Something in his eyes made him worried as he allowed himself to be helped up.

“I guess I’m being told to leave,” Cerise laughed, reassuring Summer as she looked up from her meal, “I’ll be back, but if you head back before me, I’ll swing by the kitchen.” He wave the two girls a wave goodbye and headed out one of the sleeping quarters. Once in the hallway he just spoke up toward Ashe, “Wait, so why are you taking me with you? I mean, I don't really mind.” Cerise put his hands in his pockets as he followed Ashe to get some air.

Summer watched the guys leave but turned her attention to Tsana as she hugged her back. She listened to everything she had to say as she gave her all her attention. Summer was taking everything well until she brought up the last bit. “What do you mean you have been hearing a voice in her head?” she asked, “Have you talk to any of the teachers about this? They might be able to help.”

Summer was about to ask more questions, but the sudden outburst directed to the two of them made her stop. Several of the other refugees who where sleeping, began to wake up a bit at the sudden yelling which Summer shrugged and apologized silently. “It’s nice to meet you... “ Summer hesitated, not sure where she came from, “...Rook. I’m Summer… can you maybe keep your voice down, we’re being glared at.” Another voice called out to them, but it was a bit more quiet. Summer looked up at Culpeo and smiled, “Hey, Culpeo. Everything is fine, we are just meeting someone new. Um, meet Rook.”


Sage Auburn

Location: Refugee Camp
Interactions: Cirrus
Mention: N/A
@Tags: IG42

Sage’s humming slowly turned to him singing lightly as she walked around in the halls. He was getting to the chores when he heard Cirrus call out to him. A broad smile tug on his lips as he watched him run up to him. “Hey,” he greeted, “Better every day, but I should be asking you if you are alright.” Nodding to his request to talk, he followed him to the side of the room, as Cirrus tried to catch his breath. Sage couldn’t help laugh a bit due to seeing Cirrus so out of breath, but what Cirrus told him next made his smile drop.

“Oh no… I’m sorry,” he stated, reaching out to hold Cirrus’ hand, “You should go. It would also be a good distraction to what’s happening here, even if it’s not a pleasant distraction. I know your mother would want you to be there.” Sage gave Cirrus’ hand a small squeeze, allowing him to take in what Sage had told him. Running his thumb across his knuckles he continued, “You don’t need to worry about me all the time, Cirrus. So go do what you have to do and then you can come back to me.”

 

[Brinni]

Saffron Auran Zephyr-Valkyrie

Pitcured: Viridian

Location: Outside the camp
Nearby: Ren
@Tags: The Suspicious Eye
Mentions: Iris, Culpeo, Ophelia, Ebony, Skyler, Culpeo, Viridian

Saffron was hanging out in a clearing, just outside the hospital. He had manage to get there by going out of a window and walking across the air. He made sure to stay in sight of the hospital just to keep those in charge placated. Laying on his back he could feel the dew from the grass beginning to soak through his pants. He had been feeling restless the entire last month, he couldn't just keep sitting here. He was just staring up at the sky when a thought struck him and he couldn't help but laugh. Once again his time in Mistral with Viridian popped into his head. He had caught her reading poetry once before their training...

The Mistral sun was beating down on them. It was probably one of the hottest days that summer. Viridian wasn't paying attention, just waiting for Saffron. It was going to be their turn in the Trials soon, so they wanted to get some last minute practice in since they had no idea what they'd be facing. Sneaking up on her, Saffron snatched the book from Viridian's hands. "Hey! Jerk, give that back" she said laughing, having to jump to try and reach the book, but her stature was nothing compared to Saffron's and she couldn't reach.

Saffron flipped through the pages, making sure not to lose the one she was on, to see what was so interesting. "No way! I wanna see what could possibly take my partner's attention away from noticing the glorious sight, blessed by the Twins themselves, that is me. Poetry eh? Gross. Well allow me to read the page you're on for you so we can hurry up and get to training." Clearing his throat, he held the book aloft and began to read overdramatically.

his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom."

Saffron got a crooked grin as he read the words. Nice to see you're still thinking of me even when I'm not here. I mean how else do you explain reading a poem about a bird? Though I gotta tell you. I'm not caged, I'm as free as can be. Now, let's get back to work" he said closing the book and tossing it to her. Viridian pouted as she caught it, then swung it into Saffron's torso, aiming at the solar plexus. A whoof of air escaped and she knew she had hit the right spot. As Saffron doubled over, trying to catch his breath, she huffed "Fine. But don't take my stuff again."

Saffron sighed heavily as his mind brought him back to Vale. She had been popping up a lot in his mind since the attack...because he had failed in his promise to her. Everyone had been accounted for except two. Ophelia Shayama...or Fall, if the rumors were to be believed. Not that the daughter of Cinder being at the school should have made a big deal since they had also allowed in Akashi, who openly was proud of the fact his father was Adam Taurus. The other had been Ebony from Team CAKE. Saffron didn't know much about him, he seemed to keep himself to himself. But it still hit Saffron hard that neither had made it back. "If only Larimar hadn't gotten in my way I could have saved them...or at least tried."

It was the failure that made him avoid his team, avoid Skyler. He had been spending most of his time around Iris, because he knew in her eyes he could do almost no wrong. Even for a moment, he wanted to believe in it. Getting up he had decided to see if he could make himself useful. If he didn't at least try the urge to fly away would take hold of him. He got near the door when he witnessed a girl approach Ren and abruptly be turned away.

Walking up to him he stood there and said "Rough day?"

 

[ChazGhost]

Jester Nightmarish

Location: Refugee Camp
Nearby: Skyler and Phoenix
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

"Well I'm here fixing the base and making sure we have power. I thinks that a good reason as any to be here..." jester said answering his own question as Skyler asked as the two students pulled there weapons out. "Well things escalated quickly... Like my usual Friday night..." Jester said putting his hand up. Then Pheonix asked who he was. Jester commented right after Skyler saying "I'm the grand and wonderful merc Jester Nightmarish, master of bombs, dreams, and janitory tasks". Then Phoenix stated Jester knew where Dagger was. "While she was my boss, I assume the whole apocalypse thing here has terminated our contract. And even if I still worked with that knife, she never gave her location." Jester said calmly.

"I guess news of my work here didn't spread... Look I'm in the same boat as everyone else here. Sh*t hit the fan, we couldn't escape the city, and now were stuck here" Jester said slowly putting his hands down. "For the time being I'm here to help, mainly so I can survive. Once this over and I can get out of Vale we won't see each other ever again. Unless you want to hire me or my business takes me against ya once again... Life can be fun like that" Jester said with a shrug. Jester then finally had his arms back down as he turned to Phoenix. "So Fire Flower, out of curiosity why do you care were that deadly mad man of a women is?... Also better question how do you know her name?" Jester asked tilting his head.

 

[xAlter]

Orion Schnee

Location: Hospital/Refugee Camp
Nearby: Bora, Cirrus, Sage, Akashi
@Tags: KarenAKAMint The Prophet IG42

Orion walked through the halls searching for Cirrus and Grey. of course his search was interrupted by the banshee like screams of Akashi demanding to be entertained. Finding his teammate with the threats of a cut up cot, Orion knew he had to confront his teammate. “And so I appear… what do you want Snake?” Orion asked as he sat on his cot in front of Akashi. “Actually nevermind. Don’t answer. I need to find Cirrus.” Getting up from his cot, Orion left Akashi behind and went in pursuit of Cirrus once more.

Back in the halls, Orion looked for Cirrus. If Sage was somewhere around, then his boyfriend wouldn’t be too far away. Listening for the whistling of Sage. Finding the deer faunus, Orion of course found Cirrus. Standing to the side, Orion confronted his cousin, his scroll in hand. He needed to talk to Cirrus about this and what they planned to do. Nodding to Sage, Orion tapped Cirrus on the shoulder.

“Alright Cirrus.” Orion started. “Grandfather is dead and we’ve been recalled. I’m planning to go. I don’t care what you do, or how you do it, but I’m leaving, with or without you and Grey.”

Tsana Luna Khan

Location: Hospital/Refugee Camp
Nearby: Summer, Cerise, Culpeo, and Rook
@Tags: KarenAKAMint IG42 Chak

Tsana nearly screamed when someone approached her and jumped in front of her face. The fact that she was petting her wolves without any aggression from the two was also a sign of danger. Ears falling flat, and pulling her tail to her chest, Tsana shrunk away from the hyper energy girl in front of her. She wasn’t used to the attention, and it was unnerving her. She didn’t feel safe, and she didn’t like that. Standing and walking behind Summer, Tsana seemed to hide behind the smaller girl. She just wanted to go talk to someone, and that someone was either Summer or Ashe.

Tugging on Summer’s sleeve, she shrunk behind the girl, trying to not bring attention to herself. Looking at the offered hand, and then back to Rook, Tsana nodded slowly. “Tsana Khan…” she whispered. Bringing a hand up to her face, Tsana coughed a few times. Looking to see Culpeo come around the corner, she gave of a small smile, almost imperceivable to anyone but Culpeo because, you know, ninja training. “We’re fine Culpeo, just talking.” Tugging on Summer’s sleeve again, the wolf girl dispelled her summons and looked to her to take her away from here. “Can we go somewhere else Summer… I don’t feel comfortable talking here.” she whispered into her friend’s ear.

 

[Brinni]

Cherry

Location: Hallway in Refugee campe
Nearby: Bora
@Tags: KarenAKAMint
Mentions: Slate, Ophelia, Culpeo

Cherry wasn't sure what to do with herself at the moment. Ever since the attack on Beacon and finding out he was a target, Slate had been rather distant. Ophelia still hadn't been found. At least she still had Bora around for her team. But in terms of what she did around the refugee camp, it wasn't much. She occasionally helped Summer out with the cooking, but she couldn't do much in the way of baking since she didn't want to use up supplies in too frivolous a way. Most of the time she spent playing with some of the children, to keep their hopes up. Many of them found it really interesting she could change her eye color at will. She had noticed that they were getting candy from somewhere and was happy to learn it was Culpeo. It seemed that while the adults were concerned with safety, which was important, they weren't as concerned with the quality of life for those in the camp. So it was nice to see some of the other students taking an interest and doing something about it.

After Culpeo had brought his latest score she smiled brightly at him. Once the children were distracted by the candy she got up, brushed herself off and began to wander. She briefly considered finding one of the Rose twins or maybe one of their cousins to find out more about the legend of the Silver eyes, but decided to save that for another day. As she wandered about looking for something to do, she ran into the only other teammate still around. "Oh! Bora! How are you? Are you ok? Your face looks a little red. Are you feeling sick?"

 

[Brinni]

Forest

Location: Hallway in the Refugee Camp
Nearby: Larimar Sharp
@Tags: KarenAKAMint
Mentions: Zenith, Orion, Akashi, Adam, Grey, The Schnee Family

Forest punched the wall in his frustration. He had spent the last month or so just trying to gain information about the world outside without resorting to his semblance, but to little avail and today was no exception. To everyone he was a huntsman in training, and while that offered him a little bit of respect among the civilians, to the experienced Huntsman and police officers he still looked young and was treated like a kid sometimes.

He had tried to connect more with his team while here, but he was starting to realize he had been counter productive. Shortly after telling them about it, he tried to press it into his team's heads to keep his Semblance a secret. Although he had told Zenith the specifics of how his semblance worked, the boys apathy oddly making Forest trust him with it, he didn't want to risk word getting out he could read minds. Not having given Akashi and Orion the details wasn't a personal thing, though Forest felt like it may have isolated the two from him.

He hadn't told Orion due to his family. While he may not have known about the relationship between Orion and the rest of the Schnees, they were a family well known for exploiting every advantage they could. Especially with Grey in the information business. With Akashi it was even more simple, but still a familial reason. His father. While he was sure that Akashi didn't have his father's beliefs, the confrontation between Forest and Akashi having revealed his desire to get away from his father's image, he couldn't be sure that Adam wouldn't try to use the information against him.The less a secret is spread, the easier it is to keep. However it served only to put a wall between Forest and Akashi as the faunus had no desire to risk having his leader inside his head.

He wasn't sure what to do in that regard. With all the refugees coming here it was a safe bet that their enemies might have spies in the camp, but maybe he was just being paranoid. He was wandering the halls when he came upon the weapons professor, Sharp. He walked past with a distracted and mumbled "Hi professor" and walked a few steps past him before stopping short. Maybe what he needed was some advice. He may not know what to do about the world outside, but maybe he could get some help repairing what he felt like was broken. "Oh wait. Umm... Professor Sharp, you've been a Huntsman for a while right? Did you ever have something you felt like you couldn't tell your team and felt like it caused a rift between you guys?"

 

[KarenAKAMint]

Phoenix Rose & Skyler Eden Sharp

Location: Just outside the Entrance
Interactions: Jester
Mention: Dagger, Ophelia, Sage, Saffron, and Summer
@Tags: ChazGhost Brinni The Suspicious Eye

Skyler was taken aback as he listened to Jester. Back then at the dust shop, she acted on being attacked or well Sage. Flicking her right hand she put Wing away and stood up straight, out of her fighting stance. "I know of her because I saw her at the Water plant factory... She's the one that did this to Vale. She's one of the tiers that is pulling on strings," Phoenix replied, lowering Thorn to his side. "We are in the same boat..." he continued, glancing at Skyler and she nodded, "Know that we will have an eye on you... Jester... Stay out of trouble."

Phoenix strapped Thorn back on his back and turned around, telling Skyler to follow. Her left hand still holding Block, Skyler gave Jester a final look over before putting away her knife along with her other knives. "Stay away from Sage and Saffron... You might not be as lucky with the blond one," she warned him before turning on her heal. Phoenix waited for Skyler to enter the building first and followed right behind her. They continued to walk the halls in silent not wanting to bring up what just happened.

Once they were far away from the entrance, Skyler stopped Phoenix. A hand on his shoulder, they stopped and moved to the side of the hallway. She didn't look up at him at first but once she did, she spoke up, "I suggest you tell your team about Jester. The more eyes we have, the better. I might need to keep this from my team. Saffron would just go on impulse and go on a manhunt." Nix nodded, agreeing with her worry. "It was great talking to you," Nix offered her a smile, "Well, we mostly just stayed in silence, but that speaks more than any words. I'm stubborn, but I know Ophelia will come back. I trust my mother and the other huntsman."

Skyler sighed from relief and punched his arm playfully. "You should stop being a lone wolf," she laughed, "You're worrying Summer. Go and be with your team." With that, she gave him a final smile and headed on her own in search of her team. Her main focus was Saffron, but she knew he would be the hardest to find. Phoenix watched as Skyler left his side and rubbed his upper arm, but laughed at the faint feeling it left. Shaking his head, he headed toward another way to look for his team. I can't let them down... Not my team... My friends... Or My sister.




Bora Shu Mun

Location: Hallway in Refugee Camp
Interactions: Cherry
Mention: N/A
@Tags: Brinni

Bora was trying to calm herself a bit, thinking about anything other than her interaction with Orion. Distracted, she never saw Cherry coming, causing her to jump a bit as soon as she heard her call out to her. "Cherry!" Bora exclaimed, "You nearly gave me a heart attack! What? Oh, no... I was- It's nothing, don't worry about it." Bora smiled finally getting a hold of herself. "How are you feeling," she turned the conversation back to Cherry, "It seems to me that something is bothering you. Would you like to talk about it? It might help."

She glanced at a group of chairs attached to each other and motioned her to join her. Taking a seat on the plastic and cold seats, regretting wearing such a short skirt. Letting the cold diminish, she turned her attention fully to whom she saw as a friend. "A lien for your thoughts?" Bora reassured Cherry to trust in her, "If you need a person to hold your worries, you have come to the right person. So, what has been eating at your mind?"








Larimar Sharp

Location: Hallway in Refugee Camp
Interactions: Forest
Mention: N/A
@Tags: Brinni

Larimar had been back for less than an hour, along with his wife, Sapphire Sharp, trying to look for any survivors still stuck in the city. The pair walked the halls in silence. Anyone on the outside of their circle would think that they had gone through a fight, but anyone that knew them, they knew that they were just comfortable around each other. The long coats they both wear hid away the hand that they held, sending each other small gesturesof affection with a simple swipe from their thumbs. He nodded and greeted back to his student, Forrest and continued to walk but stopped as he was asked to hold on.

Sapphire tightened her hold on his hand, recalling the one thing that he held from her and the team. Larimar gave his wife a single stern look before he let out a sigh. "Plenty of things, Mr. Bronzewing. I held so many secrets, that I was afraid to let them know, not because I didn't want them to know, but because I didn't want them to get hurt by knowing them," Larimar told Forrest, relaxing Sapphire by giving her hand a firm squeeze before releasing his grip a bit.

"Those secrets only made things worse. I cause more trouble by keeping them from them, that it almost lead to their death. It wasn't wasn't until someone opened my eyes to trust," he glanced to Sapphire and finally smiled a small grin which Sapphire returned broadly, "I know something as hard to open up about, but I suggest you look towards your team. Maybe toward one of them, but find someone that can help you hold the burned of your struggles. It will do more than letting yourself be burring by them."

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Location: Behind the hospital
Nearby: Saffron
@tags: Brinni

Reinheart TorchwickMind racing as he began concocting a plan to escape from here, Ren didn't notice someone new coming up to him. Running through the contacts he's made during his careers his attention was only taken as Saffron spoke up. Slowly pulling his head from his hands he looked up at the somewhat familiar faunus. Having only been in Beacon for a short time he didn't get into meet everyone. Glaring dagger's at the boy he raised a brow at the boy and leaned back giving him a sly almost cruel look. "Rough Day? Yeah you can call it that." His voice was a low his as he tried his best not to snap at the stranger. Popping his neck he sighed. I need to get at grip, Blondie would say all this frowning is going to ruin my completion. Even back then she was so serious about appearances. Pausing for a moment as realization struck him and he gave a low chuckle as he knew just how to get out of this place.

"But moping around is not my style. She wouldn't like that of me." Running his fingers through his hair he got to his feet and passed by Saffron. Making his way over to his hat he plucked it from the ground. Brushing off a bit of dust he placed it on his head and ran his fingers across the rim. He pulled out his scroll, a black scroll with a unfamiliar gold design. Running through his messages he found who he was looking for and began to rapidly send her a series of messages. Remembering Saffron Ren turned back to look at him his eyes glowing a soft blue as his voice and words surrounded Saffron and invaded the crevices of his mind. Saffron's will loosening as Ren's words began to mold his actions, his thoughts and his existence. "Oh, right. Don't tell anyone that you saw me here in fact, forget we even had this conversation, as short as it was." Letting his semblance fall Ren let out a heavy exhale and whipped some sweat off his brow. Turning around he put his focus back to his scroll and smiled as he heard the ping of a new message. A soft smile grew on his face as he went back to messaging. Without a single goodbye to Saffron as he entered the hospital.

 

[Brinni]

Cherry

Location: Hallway
Nearby: Bora
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

"Oops, sorry!" she said with a giggle. Tilting her head slightly she said "If you say so!" She smiled at Bora's kind offer. "I suppose! Although, there's not that much to say I suppose." She took a seat next to Bora and swung her legs. "Mostly I'm worried about Ophelia. There hasn't been any word on whether or not she's been found. That and I'm going crazy just sitting around. There isn't much to do anymore since they don't want us going outside...not that that seems to stop some of our classmates."

Forest

Location: Hallway
Nearby: Larimar and Sapphire Sharp
@Tags: KarenAKAMint The Prophet xAlter

Forest listened to the teacher's responsesighed in response. "I suppose it doesn't make a difference if they know half the truth or all of it then. Either way it paints a target on my back so I might as well be totally honest with them. Thanks Professor" he said. Looking up and down the hallway he picked a direction and just started walking, looking for his teammates.

 

[xAlter]

Ashe Ember

Location: Hospital/Refugee Camp
Nearby: Cerise
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

Ashe pulled Cerise alongside him out into the hallway. While Ashe did have some serious things to discuss with Cerise, he would do those topics later with the rest of the team. Those topics being Tsana’s current state of mental health and physical health, plans for the team now that Beacon was gone and they were ‘confined’ to the hospital, and finally, how the team situation was going. But right now was a really important question, on he had been mulling on since he transferred and first met Summer. He hadn’t really talked to her, but she was nice, and he wanted to get to know her better.

Looking to Cerise, Ashe was dead serious when he signed. “How do you ask a girl out?” Ashe was quite nervous when asking Cerise about this. Having lacked the social confidence to actually ask a girl out was something of a killer when it came to his social life. While not the most popular before his transfer to Beacon, Ashe had been asked out a decent number of times. He of course, did not know how to react, and politely declined. So being the one initiating now, he had to change pace.

 

[KarenAKAMint]

Cerise Darcy Amaranth

Location: Hallway in Refugee Camp
Interactions: Ashe
Mention: Tsana and Summer
@Tags: xAlter

Cerise waits patiently for Ashe to start talking about what he pulled him away from Tsana and Summer. Even if he was ready for their usual serious talk, he never expected the question he brought up. A bit taken aback, he just spoke his question back to him, “What!? Where is this even coming from?” He tried to think about what he had just asked and grew flustered at the thought of how to ask someone out.

“Well…” Cerise collected himself, “I’ve never really asked anyone out… I stayed away from others when I was back in Vacuo, and never actually searched for someone here.” Cerise rubbed the back of his neck for a bit before he looked at his old childhood friend and asked, “Wait, who is it that you are trying to ask out?”

 

[xAlter]

Ashe Ember

Location: Hall in Refugee Camp
Nearby: Cerise
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

As Ashe listened to Cerise's own response to the question, Ashe blushed and turned away. Where was this even coming from was the right question. Why in all of Oum's name would Ashe ask this question now, in their current situation. Maybe it was because Summer looked so down when she was around. The only time she was up and happy was when she was talking to her brother, or even her friends. He just wanted some happiness in the dreadful atmosphere of the Refugee cam, something to pick up the mood of the girl that caught his interest.

He, of course, did not want to say who, but knowing Cerise, not saying would only worsen the situation. Mustering up the courage, face still red, Ashe turned back to his friend and signed the name. "Summer..." he admitted reluctantly. Admitting to the fact that he had a childish crush was something of a pride killer. Ashe prided himself on many things, his gun slinging skills, his knowledge of the mundane, and among other things, being a good friend. This, asking for dating advice, was not one of them.

 

[KarenAKAMint]

Cerise Darcy Amaranth

Location: Hallway in Refugee Camp
Interactions: Ashe
Mention: Summer
@Tags: xAlter

Cerise held his breath as he waited to hear who had captured his friend’s interest. When he saw Summer being signed, he struggled to keep his voice down. “What!? Are you serious! I mean she’s cute and kind, but you just met her!” Cerise exclaimed at first but then turned to sign, 'Don’t you think you should build a bond with her first before you go ask her out? Especially when we are kind of stuck here at the moments.'

Trying to think about how to help, Cerise crossed his arms across his arms and hummed in thought. Once he had an idea, he untangled his arms from his chest and signed, ‘Okay, here is what you are going to do. You are going to go in there and ask her to walk her back to work. When you drop her off you can ask for her number and bam! You can continue to talk to her while we are stuck here. Get to know her! Oh and when you come back, can you get me something to eat?'

The last bit was just him being hungry but then again, he was giving up his spot to walk Summer back to her volunteer work. Knowing a bit about her, he knew she might as why Ashe was walking her instead of Cerise. ‘Oh, if she asks, tell her the kids came by and took me off to play with them,’ he offered but then other idea came to mind, causing him to smirk. Activating his semblance, he changed his voice to sound like Summer’s and spoke, “Oh, Ashe~ Do you really like me?”





Bora Shu Mun

Location: Refugee Camp
Interactions: Cherry
Mention: Ophelia, Phoenix, and Ren
@Tags: Brinni

“Even if they have news on her where about,” Bora explained, “That they will tell us about it? It obvious that Ren and Phoenix are the ones showing more sign of their desperation to locate her. They have shown that they are impulsive if they were to hear where she is. I don’t blame the huntsmen for keeping things from us. We have shown time and time again that we act on our own accord to get things done.”

Bora had been around for much less time than Cherry had, but she knew all too well what had happened to plenty of them from her conversations with Skyler. With a sigh she continued, “I may not have known he all too long, but I want to get her back. But in order to get the huntsmen’s attention will only happen when we show them, we have matured and when we wouldn’t act on impulse over reason.”

 

[xAlter]

Ashe Ember

Location: Hall in Refugee Camp
Nearby: Cerise
@Tags: KarenAKAMint

Ashe nodded at Cerise's advice and pounded a fist into the palm of his hand in acknowledgment. He understood though as to why Cerise was surprised about this. While they did not really communicate, or interact much, Ashe had seen Summer on multiple occasions when school was in session. Looking back at his friend, Ashe was happy, internally of course, to see some of the old Cerise coming back through. The same kind, helpful, and protecting guy that had built a brotherhood between the two.

Then, realizing what Cerise said about food, he couldn't help but let out a silent chuckle. Ashe and Tsana did eat the last two meals she had made, and it made him feel just a bit guilty. Hearing what Cerise then said, in Summer's voice no less, caused Ashe's face to explode red. Blushing up a storm, Ashe, while no the weakest of the freshman, grabbed Cerise, and although with some effort, pushed Cerise by the shoulders into the wall. Glaring at his friend, Ashe let go, smoothed his clothing and let out a sigh of defeat, his face still red.

Pointing a finger at Cerise, Ashe turned to walk back into the common rooms to rejoin with Summer and Tsana's conversation about her health. He was worried about the wolf girl, but now he had to worry about Cerise being a teasing, gossiping, son of a Grimm.