Castle in the Sky pt.1

"We will not save you if you are in danger. You must fight and kill everything that stands in your way. No mercy will be given to you, so don't plan on giving any back."

Carmine voice rang over the intercom. It was loud and clear, the message fairly plain to understand. Once the students were dropped off, the school were only going to pick up the survivors. Everything else was going to be left to the Grimm. In the large airship many of Beacon's prospective students were being carried towards the Emerald Forest.

"The test shall last for five hours. Your goal; reach the floating island of Laputa within the five hours with your entire team. How you get there is up to you; but if you are separated from your team by the time we arrive at the end of the test, you will have failed the exam. Those who feel that they are not ready to take the test should remain on board. But those who do should prepare themselves. We shall be dropping you off shortly."

Said island of Laputa was nowhere in sight. It wouldn't be for the next few hours, and the students were suppose to survive those said few hours waiting for the island to arrive. Either that or they could try to shorten the hours by getting there themselves. Either or, it would be a long wait before anyone would even catch a glimpse at their target.

"To discover who your team members are, the first person you make contact with shall be your partner. Afterwards you and your partner shall go find another pair of partners, and from there your team will be formed. The four of you shall remain together for the rest of your time here at Beacon, responsible to protect, support, and if need be, punish one another. Regardless of what your thoughts about them shall be, they will remain your team members no matter what."

Team Asylum

Annabeth exhaled a breath of smoke. She sat cross-legged, leaning on her knees. One hand held a burning cigarette, while the other was hanging limp over her knee. To say that she was anxious was putting it mildly; who would be her partner? What sort of team will she have? Would she be the leader? She demanded answers for the questions, but she knows that she won't get them for another five hours. She would just have to survive until then. Their destination was the Emerald Forest; a beautiful but also dangerous place. Filled with Grimm, but also remnants of the old world. Ruins from places long lost to the annals of time. Perhaps she'd find something useful there. More than likely however she'd just find things that would kill her dead. Lots of things in the world like that now.

Yexus was standing around aimlessly. Not much else he could do really. One hand held onto his cane, which despite having a perfectly fine walk, he used so that he doesn't bump into things. Attached to his belt was a green plate; the faceplate of the Silver Crow. He knew that he would have to put it on the moment he drops into the Emerald Forest, since he didn't want to have to rely on just his Mind's Eye to navigate the place. Yexus did worry about who would be his partner; he doubt many people would want to work with the blind guy, even the nice ones. He understood why, but at the same time he wanted to prove that he wasn't useless. Being blind is just a quirk to him; not a disability. Still, he just hoped that he didn't get partnered up with someone too crazy, or worse, someone just like him. He'd rather not be part of Team Cripple.

Lisette was eating some pocky. Not much else to tell, though she was also playing with her yoyo between taking bites from her candy. She considered hitting up a bit of recreational enhancers before they got into the forest, but she decided to wait for it. It's not that she was bored; in fact she was quite excited. She wanted to be the first to get out and the first to kill some Grimm. Sure that's not the objective, but it was something Lisette wanted to do. What else was she suppose to do anyways? Unless Laputa was going to go crashing down to the ground, she'd have to rely on her partner to figure out a way to reach the flying island. Even the Spiral Edge doesn't have a range that long. Cracking open a can of Whoopass, something she hopes to also have later onto into the exam. Time would tell.

Malakaus stood by the door. He didn't care to wait. If he didn't know better, he would have torn a hole into the side of the wall and get down to the forest himself. He'd drag along anyone he came across as he fought his way to Laputa, just to get this over with. "Urry up yer dense board. Oi 'av grimm ter kill." The burly fauna grumbled under his breath. The Scarlet Terror was held tightly in his hand as he leaned against the door, just waiting for it to open up. He eyeballed the other students, wondering what sort of strength and weakness they had. How they fought. How to kill them. He wasn't sure why he was worried about such things; those who could fight well would be on his team. Those who don't would be dead. Seemed fairly simple to him, and if it's more complicated than that, well, it's no fault of his own. "Might jist start killin' 'ere. Git a warm up." Malakaus said as he flexed his hold on the Scarlet Terror.

Prue Nella

Sitting on the ground a comfortable distance from the mass of students, Prue tugged each index finger away from the fingertrap causing the contraption to tighten it's bind on her little digits. The struggle could be seen distinctively on her face, tightening lips and squinting eyes focused and seeming lost in the simple toy's entrapment. "Why, oh why, did someone create such a devious device?" The young Prue thought to herself, and after a long struggle of twisting and tugging the girl dipped her head acceptance and defeat. With her attention off one situation, it quickly bolted to another, she was packed on this airship with many others; people she's never met before, large people, small people, scary people, nice looking people, the diversity of the bunch was as exciting to the girl as it was frightening. Prue made no effort to leave that safe and cozy isolated territory she had made for herself, the strange vibe of uninviting-ness that the girl gave off further reinforced this barrier as she would give frightened and uncomfortable looks at any eyes that drifted towards her.

Jingle jingle~

"Pledge, shut the hell up." Prue growled to the knife sheath adorned at her side, smacking the hardened fabric which held the source of the metallic noise. Pouting and huffing to seemingly herself, she flipped a few dark strands away from her eyes before crossing her arms at her chest and leaning against the wall at her back. Her gaze finally averted from from the crowd, turning to look at the side which she just thwacked and unclipping the container to pull out the a butterfly knife. Flipping the blade open and sighing, Prue's back slid down until she reached a comfortable sitting position. She sat the small weapon on her lap, pulling the strap that held the sheath to her side over her shoulder and off her person, holding the sheathe in her right hand and the blade in her left she began using the under of the sheathe which seemed to be made of a harder material to sharpen her knife. As strange the sight may have been, the girl seemed to enjoy this routine. Pledge afterall loved being sharpened, to him, it may as well have been a nice back massage.. Or something like that.

After some time, a fellow passenger had the audacity to blurt the words "Might jist start killin' 'ere. Git a warm up." which didn't sit too well with little Prue. Not that she planned on retaliating towards the frightening person, so in return she returned the sheathe around her neck and shoulder placing it back at her side, and after she finished sharpening Pledge she simply blew the white residue off the blade sliding it back into it's case. Though watching the passenger carefully, she remained silent and in her safe spot. It was a good distance, but he was scary-looking, tall, and a faunus, enough for her to keep her guard up.

Yu didn't exactly know how to feel at this exact moment.

At first, she felt terrified, surrounded by so many people with her feathers hanging out in the open, preparing to start her first mission, but then at the same time she felt excited. Ready for anything, ready to become a Huntress, ready to take down all the Grimm in the world. Then she felt absolutely awe-stricken, eyes settling on one of the many windows within the airship that was currently carrying them to the Emerald Forest. They were high, high in the air, perhaps even above the clouds, and she could barely contain her need to jump out at window and soar away, but that wouldn't do. This was her initiation per-say, the only way she would be able to enter Beacon, and jumping out of the airship on the first day probably wasn't the best course of action. So, instead, she turned to look at the crowd surrounding her. Many were sitting, some standing like her, and most were quiet, only sharing eye contact with their neighbors or whoever looked like competition. Plenty of eyes showed anxiousness, nervous minds siting in emotionless bodies, and she tried to hide her razor-sharp smile. Yu couldn't have the pleasure of feeling nervous. It was best to be excited, clear-headed, and prepared, and that was exactly all of what she was trying to be. Her fear of crowds had to be overruled by her wish to ace this mission, her fear of failing had to be destroyed by her aspiration to become a Huntress.

"Might jist start killin' 'ere. Git a warm up."

The sudden garbled mass of words made Yu break her concentration on nothing, and she turned slightly to her left, discovering the face of a boar faunus just a few feet away. He seemed ready for anything, maybe even a bit impatient, and Yu couldn't help but scoot away as her feathers quickly ruffled, appearing to grow twice their size as a form of self-defense. His words might have been just a bluff, and they definitely were not allowed to start killing each other on this ship, but there was something that kept her stiff and defensive around the man.

'He'd make a good teammate, and a bad enemy.' Her mind echoed and a smile pierced her pale face as she leaned back against the wall and allowed her hands to wander over her neck, running through the mess of crow feathers that clung to her flesh, trying to relax once again. There was no time for fear, only success, and with that thought Yu allowed herself to settle on the ground with everyone else, hoping to rest her shaking legs and quivering heart. The black-feather cloak wrapped around her shoulders splayed out like a pool, shimmering green and purple in the artificial light of the ship, and Yu ran her fingers through the larger feathers, appreciating the coolness and familiarity that the cape brought along. Its familiar smell and rough history was rather off-putting, but in the end it might just be Yu's only comfort item. So, she would allow it to comfort her, as that was the only smart thing to do with it really.

The quietness of the crowd was unsettling, but not hated. Yu liked quiet times like this, it felt a lot like being alone when she wasn't really alone, and that helped to forget that she was currently stationed within a crowd. She had even manged to close her eyes momentarily, until the feeling of being stared at made her re-open them and glare about, hoping to quell anyone's curiosity about her. Yu then allowed her head to lean back a bit, staring up at the ceiling with sudden restlessness. They had been cooped up in this ship for so long that the need for fresh air was growing, and while she could definitely hold out for another hour or two it wouldn't be the most comfortable time of her life. It was always like this, her body just couldn't stay still for too long, despite her wish to relax for just a bit. And with that Yu was up again, legs moving on their own as she paced back and forth, red eyes glaring daggers into the floor. Still, her mind was clear and prepared, despite her nervous body. She glanced up once to stare out the window, and then smiled.

'I'm going to be a Huntress, and nothing is going to stop me.'

Even as a potentially intimidating message played over the airships loud speaker and many of the prospective students that had gathered remained still and silent, a certain fox eared girl could not bring herself to do so. Set on her knees facing towards one of the windows Lien looked down on the emerald forest with an excited expression on her face. The girls thickly furred tail swished merrily back and forth behind her without any notice of anyones space it may have intruded into. She took a brief note of the goal they were to complete in their entrance exam, her ears twitching as she took in the situation. When the message from the headmaster finished with a mention of partners and teams her focus was finally diverted from watching the forest below go by, prompting her to look around the room at the various students that had gathered.

She noticed a red haired girl with a lit cigarette and grimaced a bit at the notion of smoking on a crowed enclosed ship. Next she noticed a tall burly looking faunus who growled something under his breath. Enthusiastic but seemingly brutish. Another sat on one of the benches was some sort of bird faunus who quite literally seemed to have her feathers ruffled by something. Maybe she was nervous or excited about the entrance test Lien thought. Either way she seemed to compose herself quickly. The last one she noticed was a girl sitting on the ground some distance away from the other passengers, looking to sharpen a knife for a bit.

Lien stayed in her seat thinking for a moment, the swishing of her tail slowing as she pondered. ”Smokey and the strong man are out for sure, so that leaves Birdy and the knife girl. But Birdy seems on edge, so...” The fox nodded to herself with a light grin and hopped off her seat, walking over to the end of the ship where the knife girl sat. When she stood before the girl she squatted down with her knees pressed together and her forearms sat on top of them as she leaned forward a bit. ”Hi. My names Li.” She said casually before a short pause, giving a little wave of her fingers and a smile, her tail wrapping around her hips to sit on her own feet, the tip flicking back and forth lightly. ”I like your tie. Are you gonna go down to the forest?” Lien spoke cheerfully as she changed positions, sitting down with her legs crossed and setting her tail on her lap.

”I wonder if anyones gonna stay back. We all came to be hunters so the test does make sense.” She paused again, turning back towards the other students before bringing her eyes back to the other girl. ”Finding a flying fortress though. That sounds pretty tough. I hope I make it, I dunno what I'll do if I don't.” Li spoke with a light laugh, ruffling the back of her hair. She then blinked a bit seeming to have come to a realization. “Oh! Whats your name though? You we're sitting here by yourself so I figured I'd come talk to you. Everyone I knew is back at Signal still or got here way before me.”

What was going on? Was her aura of discomfort not strong enough to repel this loudmouthed assailant? Or maybe this faunus was too thick-skinned or something else to realize that Prue was uncomfortable with the amount of people around, or rather just people in general. None of this would be relevant due to the girl's response however. The girl barraged Prue with harmless, optimistic, compliments and good-feels, this outcome was of course unexpected. Prue simply stared at the fox-girl with widened eyes that seemed distressed by the whole speech, how was she supposed to respond? There was like, so many things going on in what she said, Prue didn't even know where to start. Maybe the last question she asked? Pulling the tie towards her face to further investigate what was so special about it, the "knife girl" shot an unsure glance back at the fox girl and responded.

"Hello Li. Prudence Nella... That's what I am named.. Thank you for complimenting my attire, and yes, I'll also be departing down to the forest. Some of the more cowardly passengers will probably chicken out, hopefully I gather my wits and don't fall in with them. A flying fortress wouldn't be too difficult to find, a large structure floating in the sky would probably be visible from above the canopy of the forest. You look strong, you probably have higher odds out there than myself, though if you don't make it I'm not sure what you'll do either. And I was sitting by myself because I'm not good with people. "

Prue's face almost seemed to grimace after her own speech, looking to Li with an almost frightened expression that would almost say "Please don't hurt me" but in reality it was saying "I'm trying so hard to have a real conversation with a person, please work, oh please work." But after she calmed down, the girl seemed normal once again. Prue continued to investigate her tie, the compliment really got to her, the whole outfit she wore was a parting gift from her father. It felt pretty good that her dad actually had an idea of what the girl liked when it came to clothes. The boar faunus on the ship continued to unsettle the girl however, she'd constantly fire a glance towards the intimidating looking fellow and his ranting, bloodthirsty, scariness.

"That man over there. What do you think about him?" Prue asked Li, her face pressing closer to the fox girl as if trying to conceal her words.

Lien gave a cheery hum as her first response to the other girls response, running her fingers through the fur of her tail idly. When the mention of the canopy came the girls tall fox ears perked up and she began to fiddle with one of her gloves. First a hook resembling a claw extended from the underside of her fingers, then the upper wrist portion of the glove opened to reveal the weighted whip inside, each of which Lien examined briefly before pulling the sleeve of her jacket back down. ”The canopy huh, thats a good idea!” She said with a chipper smile, starting to rock back and forth a bit in place. ”I'm not that tough I think. My weapons don't pack the bite some others do and I'm sure not any bigger than anyone.” Lien continued almost completely oblivious to Prue's anxiety and discomfort.

Taking a pause the girl tilted her head a bit curiously, looking over the fidgeting Prue for a moment. ”You sound fine with people to me at least. I mean, you haven't told me to buzz off yet, so.” Li gave a little chuckle before she took notice of the other girl continually glancing towards the large grumbling faunus she had noticed previously. She herself turned to look the person in question over, tall and bulky with a striking green skin tone. ”Well he seems pretty grumpy. Maybe he gets flight sick, or didn’t have a good breakfast.” Contrary to Prue's hushed tone, Lien's didn’t change at all making it likely those near by could hear her even if only a bit.

”Sorta reminds me of one of the strong men when I was growing up. He was a bull though, was always yelling at whoever. Like to wrestle ursa during the shows, even though everyone thought it was a bad idea. Oh, and he had a mustache like this.” At the end of her sentence Lien rose the tip of her tail to her lips and lifted up two tufts of fur roughly into the shape of a handlebar mustache. She then let her tail fall curled beside her as she leaned forward a bit, hands set on her calves. ”Why? Are you gonna try and get that one for your partner? He's big so he'll probably be easy to see. Even to Lien that combination is one that seemed odd, the girl that huddled herself away at the end of the ship and a guy who seemed just itching to cleave something in two.

For once Lien fell silent merely waiting for a response, her eyes showing a curiosity which was probably all too enthusiastic for such a simple subject. If her expression was not enough to give it away her tail likely would even more as it once again began to swish back and forth behind her, producing a light breeze as it did so.

It was hard to tell if she was eager, or anxious. Her palms were sweaty beneath her gloves, and Clementine’s mind was running a mile a minute as she did her best to calm her lingering anxiety. With both hands sitting tensely along her sides on the grips of Gorgon, and Yggdrasil, she stared out the windows of the airship as she tried to hype herself up, ‘This is it. This is what you’ve been waiting for all your life.’ There was no doubt in her mind that this would be difficult, but she couldn’t help but get swept away in the idea that she was going to be a Huntress. Years of training had finally brought her here, and she couldn’t have been more ready for this first mission. Reaching Laputa would prove to be challenge, but she was confident that she’d find a way. It was a frightening thought that not everyone on the airship would make it through this mission, but becoming a Hunter or a Huntress wasn’t going to be easy. Beacon was only searching for the best of the best, and she understood that even the slightest mistake could end her chances of reaching her goals.

Despite all of her worries, Clementine kept a straight face as she stared out of the window and down at the clouds below. The Emerald Forest was filled with different types of Grimm, and dangers so she would have to keep her guard up, but the brunette couldn’t help but grow anxious to test out her own skill. Apart from sparring with her parents, and taking on smaller Grimm such as Vampire bats, this would be her first experience in true combat. Squeezing Yggdrasil's grip, she felt a flutter in her chest as excitement swept through her. Today was definitely not going to be easy, but Clementine was ready to prove to herself, to the other students, and to all those at Beacon that she belonged here.

The diversity among the students within the airship brought an air excitement within the girl. ‘I wonder who’s going to be my partner?’ She had heard stories from her parents about how they met. Fighting side by side as partners against the creatures of Grimm as fellow Hunter and Huntress. The idea held an interesting and romantic appeal to it, which sent the girls gaze over the crowd around her. Her fell over the tall, burly fauna. His impatient words and aggress huffing brought a heavy intimidation, but as he spoke she felt her jaw tighten in irritation, “Might jist start killin' 'ere. Git a warm up.” A silent vow was formed in her head as she turned her gaze away and scoffed lightly, ‘I’ll have to make sure to steer clear of him.’ This was hardly the time to say such things, but Clementine kept her mouth shut and focused her gaze elsewhere. Falling onto a dark haired girl and fox fauna sitting across from her, she watched as they chatted away, ‘I need a partner, not a team.’ Looking about the room a little more her eyes bounced from smoking red head, to a blind male standing amongst the crowd in the middle, to another girl eating some pocky. Walking calmly about the airship, her eyes searched around until the brunettes eyes fell along another fauna. The dark feathers that pooled around her caught the girls eye as she watched the feathers glisten with color.

Crossing her arms behind her back, Clem carefully stepped forward to the dark haired Fauna as she found herself intrigued. Standing before her, brown orbs fell along the other girls peaceful features and before she could think about what to say, Clem blurted out impulsively, “Your wings are quite beautiful.” Pausing for a moment to admire them once more, the brunette felt her cheeks heat up as she realized how odd that must have sounded, “Ah—I mean, uh,” Swallowing hard and making the air around her rather tense and awkward, Clem gently stuck out her hand in an attempt to break the tension, “Name’s Clementine, it’s nice to meet you."

Merely days into it, and the noise was simply too alien for Oroku. It was clear the young man was quite perturbed by the closed and boisterous atmosphere, leaned against an outer wall in the middle of the ship. He was bright enough to realize that trying to hide himself in the back wouldn't do much for blocking out the voices of everyone on board. Rather, it'd bring a bit more attention to him. If he acted as unassuming as possible within their midst, more easily influenced individuals would be more inclined to see his obscured face and heavy clothing as 'normal'. Still, with his height, armored pieces, and completely invisible face, it was impossible to avert everyone from staring. Oroku simply kept his head bowed, reflective of his old home.

Even in the most busiest moments of the day, the loudest it got was the patter of feet on a wooden porch and a "clunk" of the bamboo rocker just after. It was serene, peaceful, lonely. The cacophony he faced here was much too strange and disturbing, but it seemed he would have to adapt. At the very least, they were to descend into a forest soon enough; a place he was quite fond of. Underneath his mask, Oroku's eyes twitched in annoyance, itching to do something that could distract him from the stares. A long bout of push-ups, normally his modem of calming down, was certainly not appropriate here. He did his best to look internally, to drown out the voices within someone else's; someone who was familiar.

"How long will you be gone?" Oroku could clearly see her dead-pan face, arms held at her back politely and patiently. She had asked him with such neutrality, he might think she were devoid of anything but seriousness. It was disheartening, seeing someone further gone than himself, turned so by his own hands. It had already been announced days prior, and yet his little sister approached him only in the few hours that remained. He desired more emotion, friendliness, an embrace. It seemed hypocritical to him, then, that he might not return such actions himself. Ask and get, and give nothing back but a business-like reaction. Such was the very reason she had turned out in that way.

She was bruised, covered in several bandages and a patch upon her left cheek. The innocent, loveable face he had grown with had become dirtied, fierce, and dead. Oroku muttered something under his breath to himself, much too quiet for anyone to hear.

"Might jist start killin' 'ere. Git a warm up." Oroku's head tilted up, staring towards the homely faunus. A eager scowl cast over his face, the ogre's words enticing. Might the rules allow it, Oroku would have easily approached and offered to remedy his boredom. Beyond Grimm, other people like himself were the most satisfying to do battle with. Grimm did not train, they did not hold honor, and they cared little for victory besides a animistic idea of "survival". As such, testing his might against a fellow human (or faunus, it mattered little to him) unleashed an even greater satisfaction. To what extent was his training greater than another families? Unfortunately, there were few moments he could ever test such a proposition.

”Why? Are you gonna try and get that one for your partner? He's big so he'll probably be easy to see." Oroku turned to his left and gazed at the distanced pair of students whom he heard. Tracing the fox-eared faunus' attention back to the ogre, he scoffed. It wasn't a bad idea, he thought. Dim-witted as he appeared to be, a good pair of muscles was not something to turn away. Still, he seemed obnoxious, loud-mouthed and, once again, not very bright. Oroku would not work with him if he could avoid it.

It wasn't like he had much a choice in the matter anyways; it was up to chance, it seemed, who they would partner with initially. Falling from the sky, he could very well direct himself in the direction of some favorable student, but even then, it wasn't a guarantee. Oroku looked about the room, surveying every student's face with detail. Which ones looked competent, which ones capable, which ones a combination of both? He could hope on the honor of his works that he might land and come across someone similar to his own caliber. Success would not be lost on the inability of a chance partner. If they were too slow...

He never questioned his methods.

Oh my, what a lovely first examination~

No mercy? Fighting and killing everything in their way? Life-threatening dangers? Floating islands in the middle of nowhere? Totally random team selection? All those elements sounded like they were pretty much designed for Azalea's entertainment. There was so much love in the air, after all, and soon the Emerald Forest should be full of pain, either from prospective Hunters, or from the Grimm themselves.

Then, she decided to double back on that thought, since she was fairly certain that most Grimm were incapable of feeling pain. Which was so very sad. No pain, no love, no hope. It was probably because of her habit of crushing their throats that made screaming a tad bit difficult, but alas, it must have been a lonely life to live, being a soulless monster with no reproductive capabilities.

There were other things that the voice of the Headmistress informed them about, but the bunny faunus, wearing a school uniform that was quite popular with some of her one-night friends in the past, didn't care about it. All things considered, there was a castle to go to, Grimm to fight, and friends to make. The Mistress's voice was so much more interesting that her words, after all. It was a strong, imperial voice, filled with a righteous might, so much more pleasant than the depraved pig-snorts and oral-farts that consisted of the voices of most of her acquaintances. But she loved them all the same, because Azalea was a good girl that loved every dirty, twisted, corrupted thing in the world~

Her long, fluffy bunny ears swivelled around as she entertained herself with actually glimpses of everyone else's scant conversations. It was evident that most of them were nervous in one form or the other. Even her adopted mother, that grizzled manly Huntress with W-size boobs, warned her about the madness that was Beacon's first examinations. Something about trying to kill the students right off the bat. It made sense, of course, but it seemed that a whole bunch of students were anxious all the same.

Then you had the future jocks of Beacon, like the deliciously hunky boar faunus, who made Azalea salivate just a little bit, before she licked up the drool that was dripping from a corner of her mouth. So much man-meat packed in one person. Azalea really did like the faunus who were based off the 'wilder' animals. And boars were basically pigs! She wondered if he tasted like bacon when fried.

Ah, but that blind person was also so perfect in his own way! That elegant silence, that cane that was probably a sword, that mysterious aura of crippleness! Blind people did have a way with their fingers, after all, even though she had only heard about that fact from others in her former business. She twirled a strand of pink hair absentmindedly, wondering if that boy was extra-sensitive down there, wondering if he played with that cane of his during lonely, dark nights. Wait, no, that would make him gay, wouldn't it? Or would that just make prostrate simulation his fetish?

She dove into those thoughts just a bit longer, before her amethyst eyes found a piece of nostalgic perfection, which was already being violated by the presence of a normal human girl. A bird faunus with feathers as black as night, red eyes that reminded her of the first man who embraced her with no ulterior intentions. Draped in a shroud of black feathers that seemed to mix with her own wings, she exuded an aura that was mysterious, exotic, and alluring. Azalea was, frankly, getting just a little bit moist. Sure, that girl didn't have scaly skin, nor massive, steel-shredding talons, but birds were apparently descendants of dinosaurs, so the thought was there. The thought, and the memory.

With steps that were as light as light, and a sudden swiftness akin to falling petals, Azalea slid right behind the crow faunus and drew her arms around her slim body. So cool, yet so warm. A tickling sensation was felt on contact, and a softer, more pleasant sensation was sensed when her arms reached the fluffy down that nestled beneath the feathers. Azalea was careful with her grip though, ensuring that her arms didn't simply crush the crow's delicate windpipe, before bringing her head to the side, resting her chin on the crow faunus's left shoulder. She craned her neck, twisting it to get a better look at her face, before saying with a smile and a tilting laugh, “Oh, I'm so sorry to just drop in like this, but I couldn't help but want to feel your feathers, blackbird. They looked so soft and sleek from a distance, you know? I'm sure you're regularly praised for the quality of your feathers back in...hm...”

She thought for a moment, wondering what the right word was, then decided that she didn't care enough for things like that. After all, faunus were liable to get fucked anywhere, financially, sexually, physically, or mentally, so the place didn't really matter.

“Well, anyways, I'm Azalea, bunny faunus. Your name, birdie?”

It was rather tempting, to just pluck off one of the bigger feathers right then and there, but she restrained herself. There would be plenty of time later.

The ships passengers seemed to be slowly opening up, and Yu could just make out some of the conversations that had begun. Ideas about weapons and Grimm, about the way they look and the way they actually are. Gossip about others, sly glances, questions about being partners. Ah, right, partners. She stopped her pacing and sighed, rubbing the back of her head, mind wondering about who would be best to pair up with, until an unfamiliar voice rose up from behind her.

“Your wings are quite beautiful.”

The sudden compliment caught Yu slightly off guard, and she turned around quickly to face a rather pretty brown-haired girl, who also seemed to be surprised by the kind words she had passed on. Yu blushed faintly and then nodded once, a silent thank you and a silent hello. The brunette eventually introduced herself as Clementine and held out her hand in greeting, probably trying to wave away the awkward air that had settled between the two, and Yu slowly took the hand and shook it once, keeping her grip light.

"Hello, Clementine, my name's Yu. Pleased to meet you." She smiled a small, distant smile and then took a step back, bowing her head lightly in another form of greeting that had stuck with her after growing up in such an... Oriental household. Yu then allowed her eyes to cross over Clem, taking in the pretty girl's armor and tallness with an impressed gaze. This girl seemed to be well off, she was tall and strong-looking, probably had some experience earlier in life. A good option for a partner, perhaps. She slowly brought a hand over to her cloak and rubbed at the longer feathers, hoping to calm herself, and then she glanced up at Clem and rose her arms outwards, as if she were going to take off flying right then and there. The cloak was attached to her wrists and elbows with thin ribbons, which made it follow her arms movements like webbing, and as she rose her arms higher the cloak spread out more and more. Yu nodded towards her arms then glanced at Clem again,

"I... Uh, don't actually have wings, see?" She allowed her arms to drop, the cloak once again enveloping her body in a flurry of inky colors, "thanks for the compliment, though." Her mouth widened into a toothy grin, eyes narrowing playfully. The ice had been broken, and Yu had already found something interesting about this girl. She reached forward without hesitation and managed to clamp her hand around one of the long braids at Clem's side, moving forward slightly to examine it closer, grunting slightly as the hilt of her weapon dug lightly into the side of her gut as she leaned. Nice hair, pretty, shiny. Healthy. Yu smirked and glanced up at Clem, flicking the end of the braid too-and-fro in front of the other girl's large eyes,

"So, why're you here, Ms. Clementine?" Yu questioned, straightening up just a bit, still swishing the hair around like a paintbrush between her fingers, "to become a Hunter, I'm guessing? Yes, that's probably the only reason why you'll be sat on this ship." She smirked, eyes narrowed, but then quickly froze up as arms wrapped around her back. Touching, touching, someone was touching her. Yu gaped and attempted to turn, but was completely stopped as fingers ran through her feathers, tugging gently at the plumage that was gathered closer to her neck. Her hands released Clem's braid and clawed, eyes narrowing into red slits as the hand continued to roughly massage at her feathers. Everything about this mysterious person touching her screamed danger, but the hand wrapped around her neck was strong and closed so tightly around her remaining down that it would be painful to pull away now. Now, Yu wasn't one to get flustered, such a weakness was often withheld for events of true embarrassment, and right now didn't seem to be a good time to explode thanks to the surrounding group of potential enemies and teammates. A sudden weight on her shoulder made the bird faunus teeter, and after re-balancing herself Yu turned to glare at the source, face burning as a light voice complimented her plume. Something white and long brushed her forehead and twitched. Bunny ears, another faunus was draped over her shoulder right now.

'And a touchy one at that.'

Yu quickly sucked in a deep breath and calmed down just enough to regain her ability to speak,

"Thank you for finding such interest in my feathers, I sooo wanted to feel someone tug them out." Sarcasm dripped from her voice, heavy and thick. The bunny then introduced herself as Azalea, asking for Yu's name in return, but she simply smirked and reached upwards to grab onto one of the ears that were sat upon the pink-haired girl's head. Once she had a reasonable grip in the appendage, Yu pulled. Lightly, not wanting to cause actual pain, just hard enough to match the amount of pressure she had felt in the beginning. She relaxed her tugging slight and turned back to face Clem, eyes hard with discomfort, and then she returned her glare to Azalea, pulling at the bunny ear once more,

"The name's Yu, glad to make your acquaintance, rabbit. Let's be good friends." Yu allowed her voice to tighten, trying to sound sweet as Azalea did, all while she pulled harder and harder, as if she were trying to flip the bunny-girl over her shoulder by the ear

Cordelia was feeling on board the airship primed. From her childhood days of watching her parents fight the Grimm to actually killing them at after their deaths made her headstrong. Though also what else made her headstrong was training back at home and her participation in Dies Ultionis. Cordelia was alongside her brother and sister. Two of them right by Cordelia in the packed airship. Constantine, six foot tall in armor that simple in design but imposed fear when seen. With his eyes only visible in the armor he was wearing. Valeria, shorter than Constantine and Cordelia wore a hoodie under her armor, with her face shrouded. And Cordelia in her armor representing the medium between Constantine and Valeria’s armor. Like her brother and sister her face was covered by a red scarf with only her orange-red eyes visible to the naked eyes. The trio siblings all wore armor similar in design and color while being masked was probably a coincidence. Their red cloaks were all identical bearing the mark of the Caesar Family.

Cordelia could hear the gossiping of the other packed in the airships. Fame and prestige brought many people to talk about them in the open public when seen or even when they are not in sight. What they did in the past and present brought a lot of pride and ego into the souls of the Caesars and to some shame and sorrow to other members of the family.

"Might jist start killin' 'ere. Git a warm up."

‘Faunus filth. I should give that barbarian a piece of mind.’ As Cordelia looked at the hideous face of the Faunus that said that…words she could not explain. Just as she was going to open her mouth to speak, her brother Constantine roared out. “Watch out, we have a badass over here.” Constantine said with his manly voice. “Did you have to roar it out like barbarian?” Said Valeria with distate. Constantine still looking at the Boar faunus replied back to Valeria, unfazed by her comment. “Shut up. Someone has got to show who the bigger man here is. The male testosterone in this airship is too damn high!” Constantine said in a loud voice that caused others to turn at their direction.

Cordelia was embarrassed behind her scarf. “Dear god Constantine that was the most embarrassing thing you said… You should have more manners and etiquette being a member of this family.” Cordelia said with contempt. Constantine still unfazed said once more. “Shutup.” Both Valeria and Cordelia turned to each other. “Ugh…' Well at least the boar faunus should now notice Cordelia and can give her piece of mind to the barbarian

"Seems like we've got a live one here..." Was all Tarkus thought as he glanced to the Boar Faunus, who'd audibly expressed his desire to start the slaughter on the ship. He wondered if the poor fool was just dimwitted, or genuinely didn't understand that you weren't supposed to kill the other students....possibly both. He thought nothing of it as his expressionless gaze returned to what it had been focusing on; Everything in the room that WASN'T the boar faunus. Or whatever he was. He stopped assuming what faunus was what species after the "Alligator Crocodile" Incident...nasty bit of business there. His innately acute hearing let him listen in on nearly every conversation in the cabin of the ship, from whispers, to simple self-mutterings, nothing was safe from his ears, really. Not that he payed any of them much mind in the first place, most of it just seemed like simple socializing, the type of things normal people would do...if they weren't going to be thrown into a forest of death and proceed to get a dying buddy to go die in a floating castle with another set of dying buddies. Needless to say, he didn't feel like there wouldn't be at least a few casualties in the exam.

Looking to his right, he noticed a rather...odd individual. Had a cloak on, covering his face, and wore some rather heavy and encumbersome clothing...judging from his posture, he figured him for an Oriental (Or whatever the hell Asia is going to be). Seemed like an interesting enough person, certainly a step up from the other, non-mysterious peoples that he'd actually have to leave the comfort of his hard seat to converse with. Taking his left ankle and placing it atop his right knee, he leaned Zoll against the empty space made by a student who'd gotten up to chit-chat. Since it didn't seem like the tall fellow would break the ice any time soon, Tarkus retained a completely neutral expression and said: "So, see any you wouldn't mind be handcuffed to?" as he looked at the others aboard the ship. The question of partnership was probably weighing heavily on most of their minds...personally, he couldn't help but glance at the red haired woman who'd been smoking...in the pressurized cabin. He felt a certain...intensity from her, like she'd be the kind to take charge. Not that it mattered much to him, of course. He just needed a team, period, whether he was leader or lackey held no consequence in his plans.

"...Huh." Was all he said as a rather sizable participant began yelling about how the male testosterone in here was "too damn high"...which he only really saw in the boar man. He intertwined his fingers and placed his chin down on them, supporting his head atop his fingers, waiting to see what was going down, whispering: "Seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied, I'm on my way...

It was as if weight had been lifted off her shoulders once the crow fauna introduced herself. The tall girls greeting brought a wave of relief, washing through the brunette and ridding her of all the lingering anxiety. Before she could talk any further, Clem froze in awe as Yu raised her arms. Watching the feathers spread out as they draped from arms thanks to the ribbons, the girl felt her jaw drop slightly as she spoke up in a dazed tone, “Wow.” Returning her gaze back to Yu's bright scarlet eyes, she mirrored the other girls grin as her feathers draped over her sides once her arms were back down.

Not paying much concern as her slender hand reached and grabbed her braid and began to play with it, Clem simply stood still with her hands still sitting comfortably along her back. Her sisters often played with her hair, so she it didn’t bother the brunette as she watched her swish it back and and forth before her face. Listening to her talk, Clementine took in her shape as she stood before her. Yu's tall slender frame was tone, and athletic. With alluring features and a delicate shape, the sword attached to her hip made Clem all the more excited to see the fauna in battle. “So, why're you here, Ms. Clementine?” That bright smile, and those dancing red orbs caught her attention once again as their eyes locked, “to become a Hunter, I'm guessing? Yes, that's probably the only reason why you'll be sat on this ship.”

Opening her mouth to talk, Clementine came to a halt as slim arms wrapped around the slender crows shoulders. From her back, one hand now sat along the handle of Yggdrasil as the rabbit fauna’s hand stroke Yu’s feather. Tension was high again, and the brunette was hesitant to make any action as she summed up the petite fauna. Her soft, and innocent features didn’t hide the dangerous vibe she gave off, as her fingers stroked through Yu’s feathers. Tempted to pull the pink haired bunny off of the girl, she watched Yu’s hand raise up to tug one of the her ears. Her grip slowly loosened before one hand fell to her side, and the other sat on her hip, visibly frowning as they made eye contact, Clementine watched as Yu introduced herself in a sweet but tight tone tugging on her ear harder and harder. Unsure what else to do, her lips tightened into a flat line as she spoke up in a flat tone and introduced herself to the other girl, “I’m Clem, nice to meet you.”

Castle in the Sky pt.1

Soon the airship reached the location of the drop off point. There was one final announcement by the Headmaster. "This is it everyone. I wish you good luck for what's to come. Remember; find your partner, make a team, and head to Laputa. Show us why you are worthy of being hunters."

Suddenly, there was a loud creaking noise. Suddenly, the entire cabin began to drop. Than it began to split apart. Without being attached to the airship, the cabin began to spin, causing many of the students to loose their footing. Air pressure was broken when one student broke through a window, sucked out of the cabin and sent into a free fall. Everyone had approximately three minutes before the remains of the cabins crashed into the mountainside, and it was already falling apart. It was apparently obvious that actually staying on the remains of the cabin was going to be a death sentence; these new hunters needed to figure out how to land safely before they get smeared onto the ground.

Team Asylum

Annabeth chewed on the butt of her cigarette. Someone had to go about and say something stupid, and that incited someone else to respond. Annabeth was hoping that the two would just shut up. She looked around the cabin to see who she should try to find during the exam. She didn't get a chance to do much seeing when the announcement came on. It was short and just to wish them all good luck, but it quickly turned to hell. Suddenly the cabin began spinning, people were screaming, and Annabeth knew that the Headmaster just nearly condemned them to death. But Annabeth wasn't going to be taken out so easily. It'll take more than gravity to bring her down. Jumping off her seat she made a bee line towards the nearest opening, which she could see easily as people were getting sucked out of it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw part of the floor, a metal plate, get ripped off and send towards the hole. Annabeth ran faster and faster, until she was close enough to jump onto the metal plate. Than she took out her shotgun and fired both barrels at the hole, breaking the glass further to weaken it. She balanced her footing on the metal plate so that when it hit the window, it would shield her from most of the glass. She broke through and began using the metal plate to glide her way down.

Yexus was caught completely off guard. He heard the announcement and tensed up, expecting the doors to open. When he was hurled off hit feet however, he didn't even have time to grab his mask. He was the first to get off the airship when his body crashed through the glass. "Oh god, that's going to leave a mark!" He shouted as he was sent flying. Despite breaking through the harden glass, he was actually just fine. The Silver Crow isn't the only durable thing about him. Despite the fairly rude awakening, once Yexus stabilized himself he was able to get his grove back. He guessed he had about a minute before hitting the ground, so he'd have to be quick. Fighting against the wind current pushing his arms, Yexus reached for his mask. It was struggle, as the force of the air pushing against him made it difficult for him to even bend himself at the waist. But he wasn't going to give up. He struggled and struggled, until he got a grip on the green vison. "Here we go... SILVER CROW!" Yexus shouted over the winds as he slammed the mask onto his face.

"Aw..." Lisette sighed softly as she saw her pocky get thrown out of her hands, and the entire cabin throw towards the ground. She held tightly onto her seat as it was torn from the metal flooring and thrown into the open skies after the cabin began to fall apart more severely. She couldn't really see what was going on as her hair kept getting into her face. It also didn't help that she was spinning out of control. The blond girl would figure out a landing strategy soon enough, but than something caught her eye. "My snacks!" She saw her pockies fall freely from her bags. Not wanting to waste them, Lisette took out her the Spiral Edges. She managed to spy another deleric piece of the cabin just across her pocky; if she could hook her weapons around them, she could launch herself towards the pocky and catch them with her mouth. And she did. Throwing the Spiral Edges with enough force to break through the air pushing against her body, the two yoyos spun around and wrapped themselves around a peice of the breaking cabin. She than retracted the wires, pulling her off her seat and towards her pocky. She managed to catch five sticks into her mouth, the rest of them which broke on her face. Lisette landed on the scrap heap with a thud, chewing her chocolate candy sticks before spying more pocky below her. And thus Lisette began her mad chase for snacks.

Malakaus picked up the Scarlet Terror and was contemplating how he wanted to kill the big mouth that called him out. He was glad that someone was just as bored as he was. But before he opened fire, the headmaster made an announcement. "Luck? Where we're going, we don't need luck." And as luck would have it, Malakaus was knocked off his feet when the cabin was released, and he was thrown off the floor and onto the ceiling. Despite the surprising jostle however, Malakaus wasn't about to become a victim. He landed feet first onto the ceiling, putting immense pressure on it simply by being on it. But he was excited. Not only could the Grimm possibly try to kill him, but Beacon itself may have ideas to kill him too. Enemies were everywhere. "Stoney broke bastards! They'll 'av ter try 'arder! " Over the roaring of the shattering metal passenger space, the Scarlet Terror was screaming to life. Malakaus pushed himself off the what was the ceiling as the bullets began to fire out of his weapon. The recoil from the Gatling Gun launched himself down towards the ground faster than everyone else, and in doing so he inadvertently threaten to pepper everyone above him with bullets. But he didn't care. First on the ground meant first into the fight. Anyone who could protect themselves from him when he wasn't even trying to kill them wouldn't be good hunters.

Even as his feet lifted from the ground for a brief second, Oroku maintained serenity. His arms remained crossed, lifting up slightly and then touching down again gently. He stepped away from the edge of the ship and stood closer to the middle, rolling his arms. The unshakable warrior gave a sidelong glance at Tarkus and stretched out his arms, cracking his fingers at the very ends.

"Not at the moment. Though, judging from this level of testing, anyone who lands safely is satisfactory for me," Oroku stated. The panels underneath him began to separate from one another, and he stepped aside to remain on just one. "Good luck." Oroku rolled his head around and jetted for the space between the floorboards that had opened up, descending undaunted into the sky. Oroku gazed down upon the either helpless or directed students who had jumped prior. There were some who were undoubtedly doomed, soon to splat upon the ground without nary a whisper. Others, however, seemed much more focused, determined; they had a plan, or they simply thought the academy wasn't so sadistic that they'd drop their students out of the sky just like that. They too, were to die soon.

Oroku fell in a straight path, head first. He kept his arms at his sides and legs tightened upwards. The Azure son was like a bomb with pinpoint accuracy, unflinching in his targeted descent. He was one of those who knew exactly what to do, and how to do it. This one wouldn't become a bloodstain upon the earth, nor would he find himself injured or shaken up. As far as Oroku was concerned, this was simply an easier way to reach land than waiting for the airship to do the same.

The ground neared blindingly fast, and he did not slow himself. Nary a movement was made until the very end; with a flourish, Oroku extended his arm towards the ground and cast an open hand upon it. Below, a portal of silvery color ripped open as if the dirt was unzipped. A second portal appeared just beside it, though out of Oroku's reach. Coming upon it, Oroku disappeared in a flash and just as soon reappeared, this time hurtling upwards from the ground. As the momentum of falling was transferred into rising, Oroku slowed. At the peak of his flight, Oroku cast another portal below him, once again descending into it.

Oroku fell but a few feet, and then rose again inches above the earth in another portal before removing both. He landed with a soft thud on the dirt, unfazed by what had transpired. No pause was taken; he needed to find a partner. He walked into the trees with the same calmness he displayed aboard the ship, eyes darting amidst the trees for the first non-flattened body he could find.

Lien's ears perked up when the voice of the head master once again piped through the ship. The girl couldn’t help but spring to her feet, her tail once again beginning to swish about eagerly. ”We're almost there!” She said with a wide grin, looking down to the girl who sat across from her. For a moment she could hardly keep from bouncing about on her feet.

Until a loud ominous creak screeched through the cabin causing her tail to stop as she was brought to full attention. Then it began to split apart. Lien's eyes opened wide as the sky came into view unobstructed, with the forest canopy below. Caught off guard the girl stumbled from the edge of the piece she stood on as it began to spin. She could catch glimpses of other students falling from the ship and trying their own surely hastily developed landing plans. Li shouted in free fall for a moment before she had to force herself to get her bearings straight.

She gave a kick of her legs causing the dust propulsion in her boots to fire off sending her spinning until righting her position with her feet pointed towards the ground. She glanced around the area seeing nothing but falling degree around her. And worse yet, the tree's were rapidly approaching. ”Aaaarh! Well here goes nothing!” She yelled into the open air, psyching herself up for the first impact. When the first tree neared she reached for the closest branch she could, her hand landing with a sharp smack. She didn't manage to grab hold but the wire hooks in the fingers of her gloves dug into the bark.

As she continued to descend the hooks would be torn free, the resistance having slowed her fall just a bit. She took that moment to aim her arm at another branch not far in the distance, the grappling whip of the Fox Tails firing off at it. The weighted end made contact and successfully wrapped around it a few times, the grappling end springing out and latching into the branch. Lien then fired off the jets in her boots once again sending her into a swinging motion, finally in control of her noisy descent.

Having gained her control back, now it was time to show off a bit. Even if it was just to herself. As her swing reached its peak she unhooked her grapple allowing the whip to recoil back into her glove while she was flung into a rising flip. Nearly upside down she kicked her feet at an upward stretching diagonal branch, making firm contact and firing the Paw Pads again. Flipping around once again as she sped towards the ground she would kick off the next tree, continuing the series of flips downward in a clearly embellished downwards wall jumping maneuver.

When she was finally close enough to the ground to make a safe landing she flipped a few times in the air as she fell, righting her position for her feet to meet the ground a few moments before contact. She landed into a kneeling position with a potent thud before springing back up to her feet with her arms outstretched in a Y position. ”And she sticks the landing!” Lien called out into the forest, her head held high before she let her posture fall to a neutral position with a laugh of relief.

The fox eared girl then found herself looking around in the forest, setting her hands on her hips as she looked up towards the trees. ”I should have tried to land higher up now that I think about it...” She said to herself, her head tilting a bit as she started to walk through the forest, peeking around trees ”Oh well, I need to find a partner now...”

[/b]"This is it everyone. I wish you good luck for what's to come. Remember; find your partner, make a team, and head to Laputa. Show us why you are worthy of being hunters."[/b]

Suddenly the ship began spiraling into chaos and students screamed. Cordelia was surprised a bit but kept her footing. She then saw Valeria on the back of Constantine and was free falling from the sky. Cordelia looked around her surroundings of either panicking or calmed composure hunters as the air was falling. She ran out of the airship and saw the sky. Below her Valeria hugging open Constantine back. She closed her eyes and attuned with herself. Her eyes turned Crimson Red and her wings popped out. She flew through the sky circling around several times the falling airship looking, analyzing the Hunters/Huntress still in airship. She looked at three distinct individuals. A shy looking girl, a fairly handsome guy, and faunus...with feathers behind her back. Cordelia wondered if these three were her team members.

Cordelia then flew down, to see if they will get out of the airship and survive. She could feel the pressure from gravity trying to force her back but it was no problem. Cordelia flew in a downward spiral seeing a large crater hole with flattened tree. Likely the impact from Constantine. He was nowhere to be found along with Valeria who likely went off to, somewhere in the forest. Cordelia eventually just outside the forest, waiting for a partner or possibly the three from the airship.

The sudden announcement caught Yu off guard, and then she was tumbling to the ground as the cabin was dropped without even the slightest bit of hesitance. Her grip on Azalea was released as she nearly slammed into a wall, just dodging where a group of students had crashed onto the ground, and Yu quickly sat upright and glared up into the sky. Wait, sky. That wasn't there before. Looking closer, Yu realized that the entire roof of the cabin was high, high above them. Yu grinned as her light body began to drift upwards slightly, along with her hair and cloak, much too focused on the fresh air to notice that her body was literally being pulled into the sky. Such an interesting way to start things off! She grabbed onto the wall behind her as the cabin began to spin, eyes locking with the clouds and airship above before sliding down to see how Clem and the bunny were handling themselves.

'Might as well say good-bye, only right to be polite to your possible partner-slash-victim'

Yu rose one hand, slowing standing up as she called out, "See ya!" And then, with sudden fearlessness, her remaining hand released the wall and she kicked off the floor, allowing herself to drift up away from the floor of the cabin. A flurry of feathers obstructed her vision slightly, but soon it cleared and she was left with the breath taking sight of the sky and forest below. Wind whistled in her ears, sweet and painful, and she spread her arms wide so that her cloak could catch the wind and allow her to glide, just a bit. Free falling, Yu allowed herself to relax a bit before the oncoming storm, taking in the view with sharp eyes. She could already pin point a few other students, hurtling towards the earth like she was, most looking very ready to land, and Yu smirked. Her arms lowered, and instead of gliding down her body quickly began to plummet head first, allowing the green of the forest to quickly expand passed her vision as her eyes gleamed purple for a moment. She quickly caught up and even passed a few of the other hunters, eyes focused on the branches below, and then with sudden finesse her hand locked with the hilt on her side.

Another second, one, two, the trees were close. So close. Not close enough. Another moment, one, two... Yu grinned and flipped as she pulled out her sword, quickly jamming her finger onto the button just below the hand guard. The sword blade then shot forward, stretching far until it dug into the bark of one of the tree trunks below the canopy. She pulled once, assuring that the weapon was secure, and then she flipped once more until her feet were directly below her, locked tightly together. Yu quickly broke through the leaves and weak branches of the trees, platformed boots easily splintering the wood, and she continued falling until her weapon tightened and slowed her fall. She quickly kicked forward, swinging around the tree where Steel Feather's blade was dug into until she managed to land on a study branch. Laughter bubbled in her chest, formed from adrenaline and joy, and she quickly let it melt away.

"Well, that was fun." She said to absolutely no one, clicking the button on her weapon again to reclaim the blade before sheathing it all together. She then took a few moments to groom her feathers and cloak, pulling countless spinsters and leaves from the mess of plumage before she focused in on the mission at hand once more. Below her voices filled the air, calls for partnership and laughter and heavy breathing. Despite being unable to see the ground clearly from her perch, Yu could deduce that there were two students already together. No need to bug them. She quickly turned her attention up, eyes tracing the branches in front of her, and then she was moving, jumping from tree to tree as she kept an eye out for a potential teammate.

The branches eventually began to grow thinner and the leaves began to fade until Yu fell into an open clearing. Soft grass flattened beneath her heavy footwear as she landed and glanced around, one hand connected to her weapon's hilt once more. No monsters, no people. She moved quickly around the edge of the clearing, silent and stealthy, and then she finally broke into a run, returning to the trees at the other end of the clearing. Her eyes scanned the woods, searching for anyone who survived the crash as she sped around bushes and low-hanging branches.

Azalea's bunny ears, interestingly enough, were never really ears. Her faunus heritage had, of course, given her those ears to show that she was genetically related to a rabbit, but she possessed a pair of human ears as well, which ultimately served as her true method of hearing. Instead, her fluffy rabbit ears were just unnecessary additions to her head, the white fur hiding the horrendous amount tissue underneath. Needless to say, it didn't hurt at all when the crow faunus, Yu, began to tug at it.

It was nice that she was so willing to get touchy-feely with Azalea. It made the rabbit faunus happy, that the sleek, exotic girl would be willingly to share pain with her. Craning her neck further, in an almost unnatural manner, she somehow stretched her neck so that her face was almost in front of Yu, before saying with a smile, all full of rainbows and darkness, “Yep, let's go on a date sometime, girlfriend~!”

Before she could follow that tangent further though, an announcement from that Headmistress sounded out once more, and a rumble reverberated from the airship. Staying balanced herself, even as her quarry loosened her grip on Azalea's ear, the bunny wabbit girl could only make a sad face as she watch that beautiful crow lady fall out and away, plummeting into the big blue sky. Welp, at least, whilst g-forces were wrenching her waifu away from her, the pink-haired girl had managed to pluck a feather from Yu's chest. Nibbling on that black feather tentatively, Azalea smiled once more.

It tasted lovely.

Stepping on the floor of the cabin while humming a fun little tune, even as the room disintegrated around her, students flying in every which direction, Azalea peered over the edge of the floor, towards the forest down below. It was almost as if air pressure, wind, and gravity all had no effect on her, as she tumbled with the metal remains of the floor. But then again, she wasn't wearing any shoes, and her feet grasped onto the edge of the plate with enough force to keep her standing on it. The rest of that impressive feat simply came from her abs and her ability to stay calm in the face of scary things. After all, if the world was out to get her that badly, clearly, the application of Azalea's Theory of Happiness would show that the world actually loved her! With that in mind, she took the time to see how other wingless people made their landings.

One faunus in particular caught her attention, mainly with her usage of grappling hooks to slow her descent by emulating a monkey. So that's what she'll do! Might as well find that blue-haired canine-ish faunus and go say 'hi' as well!

Finally releasing her feet's grip on the metal plate, Azalea drew out her Raptor Raptures, those saw-like daggers that she had learned to love during the course of her primary Huntress-training, and flicked them into the air. Somersaulting as she caught the twirling blades with her feet, the faunus fell straight down, counting down in her head. As the count reached zero, she kicked outwards with the first blade, launching it outwards to the maximum extension of fifteen meters...and didn't hit anything.

Azalea shrugged inwardly, used her big toe to press the 'reeling' button on the pommel of her first dagger, and made another attempt, this time snagging the blade onto the trunk of a tree. With a mighty, panty-flashing pull of her legs, she launched herself into a curved fall, tucking her body into a cannonball position as she unceremoniously smashed through all the branches of the trees that impeded her pendulum-esque path. Branches and leaves whipped and cut her, proving that nature's giants were all masochists, and proving that they must have loved Azalea's prescence so very much. Some of them were so eager to feel her that they even allowed themselves to be sliced apart by the steel wire of her 'hook', falling and bouncing off her. As she made a full swing, the momentum of the fall being lost in the pendulum motion, Azalea kicked out her reloaded blade once more, striking the trunk of a tree and halting her motion.

And just like that, she had survived her fall, with just a dozen or so superficial cuts and bruises to show for it~!

Blowing a kiss to the trees, she disregarded the fact that the back and sleeves of her schoolgirl uniform was pretty much in tatters at that point, and pulled out her blades, sheathing them once more as she hopped down the branches of a tree.

“Now,” Azalea announced to no one in particular, “Let's find some friends~!”

With those positive, cheery, friendly thoughts, the bleeding girl began her hunt, enjoying the small pains that wracked her delicate, fragile body.

Castle in the Sky Pt.2

As it appeared that most of the students landed safely, they were not out of the woods yet. The crash landing alerted the Grimm to their general location, though at this hour the only ones active were Beowolves and Ursas. Nothing the students couldn't handle on their own, but it may prove difficult if they arrive in hordes, as they usually do. Nonetheless. there was still enough time for the students to find their partners and form a team before they would even see their first Grimm. Hopefully. In the distance, Laputa broke through the clouds and was slowly making it's way towards a mountain; that would be the student's most opportune chance to reach the floating island, if they could cross the 100 meter gap between the mountain's top and the bottom of the island.

Team ASYLUM

Annabeth could already see some students tearing through the canopy and landing with grace and flair. Annabeth's own landing lacked such showmanship, and instead she simply used the metal sheet she was surfing on to tank most of the blows from the tree branches, and once it was knocked out from under her feet she simply jumped onto a nearby branch with a solid thud. Her legs where shaking a bit, but otherwise she made it alive. She dusted herself off for a moment and check her surroundings, only to hear something in the air. A buzzing noise. She turned just soon enough to see and dodge Malakaus, who for some reason or another pointed his own weapon at her. What he was doing was shooting towards the ground and using the recoil brought from firing the Scarlet Devil to ease his decent, even if he did cut down a few trees and students while doing so. He landed on the same branch as Annabeth did, but brought it down under the weight of his body and the previous gunfire. Together he and Annabeth fell towards the ground, and Annabeth had this to say about the situation. "Shit!"

They did land no worse for wear however, though Annabeth was rather peeved at Malakaus's recklessness. In responds to all of this, all he did was reload."So, yer are ter be me partner than?" The fauna asked. Annabeth could hardly believe her luck, that she'd get him of all people. She tried to think of the bright side of this situation, which mostly amounted to seeing him cut a bloody swath in the general direction of where they needed to go. At least he was good at killing. Hopefully he was good at following orders too. "Yeah. Annabeth Gulch. Let's not waste too much time here. I think I saw some more people fall in that direction. Just keep your eyes and ear open and shut up, and we'll do fine." The fauna scowled at the red-haired human. He already didn't like her, but the feeling was mutual. "Malakaus. Yer better not git us killed. Well, yerself mostly."

Lisette was somewhat disappointing that she couldn't catch all her pocky, but she had other problems to deal with. Like landing. Just a hundred feet above the tree line and the best idea she could think of to survive would be to fling her Spiral Edge's towards a tree truck and just wind her way down. But that sounded rather... Mundane. Instead however, she caught a glimpse of something silver fly past her. Instinctively she threw the Spiral Edge towards it, wrapping itself around the silver figure. Good news was that Lisette found her way down. Bad news was that Yexus was not expecting someone to drag him into the forest. He fought against the sudden force, which was good as it allowed Lisette to slowly land onto a tree. Yexus landed on the same tree and tried to get the yoyo off of him, but Lisette took care of it herself. "Thanks for the ride dude." Yexus turned to the girl. his mask hid that his face was giving her a nasty glare, but he brushed it off. He supposed that he shouldn't take it too personally that someone would want to try to catch Yexus to help them survive the fall. He was flying through the sky. He just wished the girl didn't do it in such a way that would have killed him. "Yexus. And you?" Taking out a can of soda Lisette popped the lid and took a sip. "Lisette Toymaker. Nice to meet cha. I guess this means we're partners, eh?" Yexus nodded before looking towards the sky. He could see Laputa now. Getting there shouldn't be hard for him, and assuming that Lisette doesn't try to hang onto him with her yoyos, he could probably carry her there. "That's right. I can see the island now. Let's find another pair of partners and get our team together. With any luck we may be the first to arrive."