Maggie gave Nevin a sparkling grin. "Pretty insightful of you to guess she's a girl. I met her on the air ship and tried to make friends, but she was really scared! I think maybe it was the fact that she was up high. I don't understand how people are scared of heights, but sometimes they are. She seemed like a nice girl. And she was really pretty. Her name is Aurelia."

She turned her grin on Abel when he mentioned he was pretty hyped and made a clearly happy gesture. "Good! Glad to hear. I like it when people are excited and hyped! She fixed her hair with her tattooed hand and glanced around again in search for Aurelia. She finally saw her as a group of students dispersed and pointed. "There she is!" Again she waved toward Aurelia. She tried to make it a spectacle as to catch her attention.

Just as she stopped waving she jogged up to Aurelia with a big grin on her face. "Hey glad we could bump into each other again. Are you feeling better from the airship? I hope I didn't startle you too much."

Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it. Her father always warned her.

She never did understand him. Until now, that is.

Aurelia nearly jumped out of her skin when Maggie approached her. She wasn't expecting her and somehow did not see her coming (she was all too wrapped up in whether or not people would be properly dressed for bed) so when she popped up, the girl nearly screamed in surprise. Luckily (for her) she did not let out that scream, but her expression clearly gave it away. As she tried to calm herself down, she inhaled and exhaled deeply before turning to Maggie. She was actually quite surprised that she had approached her, and looked at her rather curiously.

It then hit Aurelia that she needed to respond to her question.

"Oh, um..." She cleared her throat slightly as she rubbed her arm, nervously shifting her weight from one leg to another. It wasn't like Maggie was a complete stranger, but at the same time, her hyperness kinda scared the girl. But she said she was glad to see her! That meant something, right? She was used to people getting annoyed with her, so it was nice. Sort of. "I...yes, that was..." Just my social anxiety like always. She wanted to say, but it didn't come out. "I am fine, thank you." She responded quietly, finally managing to string together a complete sentence. Even if it was no more then five syllables.

Nevin grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “Lucky guess,” he offered in response to Maggie's comment. It wasn't a hard thing to guess, though. It was just an assumption that she might have friends from her previous school. At her outburst, he realized that what he had assumed proved to be correct as the girl ran over to her friend. The other girl seemed to be...uncomfortable? He wasn't sure if that was the right word, but he found it kind of strange. If they were friends, why would the other girl be so uncomfortable?

Ah, well. Maybe he was over thinking it. Though, he did realize that the girl never really answered his question, rushing off before she could. He decided to answer his other newfound companion's question after a moment. “To be honest, I've been here a few times. Figured I'd take a look around the classrooms to get an idea of where everything is since it's been a while. Though, it might be getting kind of late for that. No idea what they have in store for us tomorrow, but they're probably gonna be testing us soon. I didn't have to really do much to get into Beacon. Kind of seems too easy for how prestigious this school is supposed to be.”

He offered a shrug before gesturing towards the two girls. “Wanna join them? Doesn't hurt to know another person before things officially get started here.” Without waiting for an answer really, he started walking off towards them, thinking it would be a good idea just for that reason.

As he approached, he waved to the two girls. “I suppose this is the friend you were looking for before?” he asked with a small smile. He nodded his hand to the girl and extended his hand. “My name is Nevin. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

Friend? That was certainly a stretch, so to speak, considering they had known each other for all of, what, a few hours maybe? Still, Aurelia didn't have much time to contemplate, as the newcomer had extended a hand to her. She stared at it for a moment, as if the thought of shaking someone's hand was completely foreign. Never mind that she had literally just done the same thing with Felix, this was an entirely different situation. Before, she had been the one to initiate it. Now she understood why Felix had been so nervous; being offered a hand was, quite frankly, terrifying.

Is this punishment? She asked herself mentally, twiddling her fingers lightly. This is what I get for complaining, right? Slowly, the blonde extended her hand, though she couldn't really control her shaking. Nice and easy, just like before, no big deal, you should be used to interacting with so many people. She gulped lightly, closing her eyes as she took his hand in hers. The handshake was rather brief, but to her it seemed to last an eternity. As she withdrew her hand, she clasped it with her other one, holding it to her heart, as if afraid it was going to fly away at any second.

She then remembered she had to introduce herself. "A-Aurelia." Her voice was much like a hushed whisper, as if her name had been a mistake. At this point the girl's entire body was quaking, as if she was facing some fierce some foe. She felt quite small. "A...a pleasure."

Nevin shook her head, but noticed her unease instantly. That was curious. She was much more uneasy than even most introverts he had met at Flare. If she got that nervous over meeting someone, how did she hope to be on part of a team?

He pushed that out of his mind, though, slipping his hands into his pockets and letting an easy smile come to his lips, trying to be reassuring for the clearly nervous girl. “I'm sorry, I know it can be kind of stressful with all these unfamiliar faces around,” he offered. “I've just been trying to get to know some of the other new students coming into Beacon. Makes things easier, y'know? We'll have to have classes and such together eventually anyway.”

He offered a shrug, stepping to the side. “Well, I don't wanna intrude if you guys were talking. We were gonna take a look around the school before classes started...” He gestured to Abel, signalling that the 'we' entailed the two of them and Maggie. “...but I think it's getting kind of late for that. I'll probably see you sometime, whether it be in the ballroom or sometime during classes.” He offered another smile to her before starting to move away, heading towards the doorway if nothing else kept him there. He figured it wouldn't do to intrude and he could take the time to look over some of the other students while he got ready for bed.

Rather than pushing forward with Nevin, Abel opted to remain at the back of the group. Even given his lack of total competence in terms of social interaction, he could feel the blonde's discomfort radiating like heat from a microwave. Clearly this was a major introvert—the hardest kind of people to be around. As such, he unwittingly gave off the impression of recalcitrance to the students around him. His hands, hanging awkwardly, folded across his chest.

Aurelia? He had to strain himself to hear. A pretty name, entirely representative of the rest of her; a more creative person might have drawn parallels between the willowy teenager and some flower. It was almost a relief when the conversation tipped back to Nevin. After the other boy excused himself to prepare for bed, Abel decided that it was time to pipe up. “This early? Gonna be a while before the sun goes down. I'll keep lookin' around for now.” An invitation for Aurelia to join him died on his lips. If she wilted before Maggie and Nevin, he -the largest and probably scariest of the group- would do more to frighten her than to comfort her.

Still, it was hard to deny those protective instincts. A moment of hesitation passed, during which Nevin abruptly left and Abel uncomfortably scratched his gills. “Well...tag along if you like.” He acknowledged Maggie with a nod before following Nevin's example by walking away. Rather than his counterpart, he headed down a nearby walkway, this one winding around the building. He successfully resisted the urge to turn his head and stare at Aurelia.

=Everyone=

After an hour, the sky took on a warm, orange tint. An hour after that, it was a pleasant, dark blue, pure blackness held at bay only due to the glow of the fractured moon hanging in the sky. All had finally gathered in the ballroom, making preparations to sleep. Some were already asleep, some were restless, and some tried to take advantage of the large number of people so that they could get noticed. But, in the end, everything finally went quiet. No one could fight the coming of the end of a very long day forever.

Some already suspected it, but tomorrow would be even longer.

~The Next Morning~

A wake-up call, a quick meal, and then straight to the locker room.If anyone had missed it before, it was impossible to not realize now. The entrance exam wasn't the last test they had to pass. Of course there would be many tests to come, but there was one last obstacle barring everyone's way into Beacon. The only thing was, no one seemed to know exactly what this test entailed. Less than two hours after waking up though, it seemed they were about to find out.

Sixteen of them were marched out to a large cliff, overlooking a forest. Before them stood Professor Ozpin and the woman who had directed them to the ballroom the night before.

"This... is the Emerald Forest," the woman told them. The forest seemed to stretch on almost endlessly. They certainly couldn't see where it ended. "Your task is simple, but it will be dangerous. This will be a live fire exercise to test your abilities in an uncontrolled environment and it will also be how we will decide your teams. I believe Professor Ozpin wishes to explain the rest."

"Yes, thank you Glynda," Ozpin cleared his throat. "I'm sure you've been wondering about teams for some time now, well let me shed a little light on that subject. It's really quite simple, though also a bit of a gamble, so be careful. The first person you meet eyes with will be your partner for the rest of the year. Now, I know what you're thinking: a partner does not make a team, and that's correct. However, you will have to wait and find out the rest later. As for how to pass this test, you and your partner will have to find a 'treasure' hidden toward the center of this forest, and then you must make it back out alive. That is all. Any questions?"

-Felix-

The first person he met eyes with? The rest of the year? Oh dust, he felt bad for whoever he got stuck with. He was going to be a terrible partner, he just knew it. This was a recipe for complete and utter disaster. His eyes fell to the ground, and the strange stone squares he and everyone else were standing on. Well, there was a question. What exactly were these squares for? Maybe it was like a base and they had to make it back to their squares to win? But he hadn't said that...

-Enyo-

'OK, so the first person I see in the forest, who isn't Felix, will be my partner. So as long as I find someone, who isn't Felix, that doesn't suck, I'll be fine...' Enyo thought to herself. Why did she have to be taking the test with Felix? Why not another batch of more competent students? If she got stuck with Felix, she was pretty sure she'd just kill him and find someone else. Maybe she should ask if murder was allowed for the duration of the test...

-Amalger-

Hm, Nevin was in his test group. Would that work? If he got stuck with Nevin, competing would be... strange. Counterproductive might have been the right word. They'd be a formidable pair, sure, but somehow Amalger came to the conclusion that he didn't want to meet up with Nevin in the forest, at least not until he found another partner. As for the whole team? Well, he didn't know enough to have any idea on how to avoid that just yet. Luck, maybe.

-Randy-

Randy looked around. Who did she have to pick from? Well, she supposed she had limited control. It seemed like it would be more luck based, though she supposed if she saw someone she didn't like from behind she could try to sneak away. Well, there was Enyo. She wasn't sure how she felt about her. She was smart, so that wasn't bad... but then there was the rest of her, so maybe not so good.

There was a really pretty girl among them, she vaguely recalled her having a panic attack on the airship. Oh, and the large boy who had yelled at her in an attempt to keep her from passing out. She knew less than nothing about the girl, but the boy seemed... OK she knew nothing about him either. And... was that guy part fish? Oh, Melody was there too!

She caught Melody waving at her discretely. She then made an "I'm watching you" gesture, and then gave her a thumbs up while mouthing "good luck." Yes, Melody would be a good partner, right? Someone she knew, someone she trusted. Perhaps her luck would be better today. Yesterday had been awkward, but today she could do better!

"No? Then let's begin. You'll be using your landing strategy to enter the forest, and from there... well... good luck," Ozpin suddenly concluded, and glanced at Glynda who began pressing buttons on a holographic tablet she held in her hands.

"Um, wait... landing strategy?" A boy near the far left of the line asked.

"Yes," Ozpin replied simply. Suddenly the boy at the very end of the line, and the previous boy's direct left, was launched into the air and over the forest by the stone square beneath his feet.

" . . . oh," the boy's face went white before he was abruptly sent flying.

'That looks like fun!' Randy grinned, eagerly awaiting her turn now.

Nevin raised an eyebrow at the explanation. First person to make eye contact is your partner? Wasn't that a bit...randomized? Did they really want to trust a random chance to the people you would have to fight alongside for the rest of your time here? It seemed a bit underwhelming. He expected a more...elaborate way of choosing teams. He supposed he couldn't rightly complain, though. The only person he truly knew here was Amalger and he'd be damned if he got stuck on that guy's team. A great duo they might make, combining their strengths, but that wasn't what he wanted out of this. He finally had a reason to compete with Flare's top student. This was where it counted. He didn't want to waste this opportunity in being on the same team. He knew the two of them would excel in their classes...it was just a matter of which one of them could come out on top.

So what were his other choices? Abel seemed like a strong fighter, though that simply may be his size talking. He never actually saw the man use that spear of his. What he could tell, though, from his form, was that the man should be strong. Perhaps not too quick...but definitely strong. Then there was that hyperactive girl. She had a lot of energy. If the rest of them needed a chance to gather their strength, she'd be a handful of an opponent. Other than that, he couldn't say a thing about her strength. Then there was Aurelia, the only other person he actually met here. That crippling anxiety almost made it seem like she'd be the worst option. He had no idea of what her strengths may be. Would that anxiety be an issue, even in battle? Especially considering they would be working as a team...he didn't know how that would play out. The other seven, he had no idea to their strengths or weaknesses or even their personalities. That girl who beat up the cocky kid from yesterday was part of his group, but that interaction was way too quick to get any sort of feel for who she was...

Nevin let out a small sigh, letting his body relax. There was nothing to do but leave it up to fate, he supposed. In a way, that made it more exciting. A grin split across his face just before the platform he stood upon erupted, hurling him out over the forest. He flipped himself upright so he could get a better view and cocked his left fist back. Punching the air quickly, a burst of flame shot out, flipping him backwards and stopping his momentum. As he began to fall, his right fist jabbed out and his form shot down like a bullet, landing in a crouch with electricity sparking around him, fist against the ground. This was his first test at Beacon. He was going to take it seriously.

First thing was first, though. He had to find his partner. Rising up to his feet, he glanced around at the trees around him. The question of where to start died before he even began to ponder it as he spotted two beady red eyes staring out at him. They were soon joined by a few more. It seemed he had his work cut out for him until he found a partner. He didn't think they would be onto him this quickly, but...well, there was no point in worrying about it.

Readying his fists, his grin grew. "Come on then," he called out. The first beowolf shot forward, quickly followed by three more.

Aurelia was now in her comfort zone.

Contrary to her usual nervous self, the blonde was very collected when she was listening to Glynda and Ozpin. This would certainly be her moment now, as this was what she was here for. Rampion was filled with Dust, while she doubted she would use it all she thought it better safe than sorry. She went over her spells all morning as she ate breakfast, reviewed what she needed as she got her weapon from her locker, and made sure to clear her mind as they gathered around. She was so ready it was ridiculous, she actually found herself extremely eager to start.

As the mention of partners popped up, she couldn't help but wonder if eye contact was enough to trap two people together for an entire year. Besides her usual anxiety, what happened if you hated the person? Or if the two people did not get along? She thought it was really weird, but he was headmaster, so obviously whatever he says goes. She obviously dreaded the aspect of a team, but her mind did wander to yesterday. Meeting the people she did, not everyone was that bad (Nevin was strangely understanding). Still scary (Maggie and her rapidfire talking put her on edge), but not bad. Or alternatively they were terrified of her (Felix was not someone she was going to forget easily, not to mention it was odd being on the other end of the awkwardness scale). So...she could probably do this. Maybe. Probably not, but she would cross that bridge when it came down to it, simple as that. She didn't have much of a choice, anyway.

And thus, she was launched. It was a strangely liberating feeling, soaring through the air. Once she felt her body pause in the air, she prepared herself as she began her decent. It was actually quite exhilarating as everything came rushing up at her. She twisted her body, avoiding colliding with any branches, and once she was close enough to the ground she brought out her staff. Holding Rampion above her head, it caught onto a branch, halting her fall, and she let herself dangle there for a moment. She swung herself up, unhooking her staff from the branch, and gently landed on her feet. As she touched the ground, she heard something nearby, and as she spun around, a boarbatusk had decided to charge right at her.

Holding her staff with one hand, Aurelia bent her knees, waiting for the boarbatusk to get closer. Her staff's jewel glowed, signaling the presence of Dust, and once she deemed it close enough, she leaped into the air. She watched as it crashed into the tree, easily knocking it down. She pointed her staff at it, the head re-configuring as it changed into something akin to a small cannon, and she fired a single shot. It blasted through the boarbatusk, and as she landed she watched it collapse in defeat. She whipped her staff to the side as it changed back to normal, and she took the chance to look around. Nothing but forest all around her, it seemed, though she was sure she was not alone--both her classmates and the Grim surely accompanied her. At the moment, she was in her element, and it was with a previously unseen confidence that she readied herself for the obstacles ahead.

Picking a direction, Aurelia began to walk.

While last night hadn't been particularly restful for Abel, the excitement of the coming trials was enough to keep him awake and alert. After splashing cold water onto his face in the lavatory and checking to make sure his equipment was in top shape, he had joined everyone else in their brief journey to the Emerald Forest. He kept to himself for the most part, still somewhat groggy and uncommunicative for a while, though with every step his enthusiasm grew. By the time the test was ready to begin and the students stood upon a cliff overlooking the endless viridian sea of trees, he was practically twitching in anticipation.

“...Huh.” Out of every scenario that Abel had imagined -all two of them- none had included random chance. It seemed to him a definite mistake; this man, their headmaster, was content with letting fortune decide who paired with who. Putting personality aside, Abel succinctly considered the implications of this from an objective standpoint. Effectively randomized team meant that the worst pairings were much within the realm of possibility. Abel almost actually shuddered to think of his eyes meeting those of Hansen or Gretchen. Things like that were bound to happen, though, and if this Ozpin guy was as inflexible as he looked any unfortunate pairings would remain for the next few years of the students' lives. Not fun.

Of course, Abel didn't voice any of these thoughts. Instead, he simply prepared himself for the launch, guessing that he would have to work with this situation. When the first teenager was abruptly catapulted into the air, wailing, he hesitated momentarily. Flying to the school in an airship had been amazing, but flying through the open air with nothing but gravity at his disposal somehow seemed like a far less inviting prospect. Nevertheless, Abel girded his loins and waited until his ascent began. He told himself that he wouldn't scream.

Unfortunately, the sensation of tumbling helplessly through the air at high speed proved too much for him to contain. After a few moments spent bellowing in fear, he managed to stop twisting around and work his way into a spread-eagle position. He regarded the pointy-looking branches hundreds of feet below, and noticed with some degree of unhappiness that it was growing closer. In his training at Pallisade he had never taken any courses in falling -not that he could have remembered them in his current state anyway- so he figured he would have to improvise. Reaching to his back, he pulled the Ampere from where his semblance held it, and switched it into staff mode with jittery fingers. When he allowed his aura to flow into the weapon, a brilliant blue bolt of electricity arced from its tip into the woods below but did absolutely nothing to slow his fall. Another moment passed as he stared at the clear dust crystal focus at the Ampere's tip, wondering why it didn't work and trying to come up with something else.

A plan flitted into his mind as the forest approached. If his semblance could pull the Ampere to him, why not the other way around? He returned it to blade mode and held it with its tip facing forward as he entered the canopy. In a split second, the weapon was torn from his grip, lodged deep in a tree trunk. The jarring feeling kicked his ability into action, and a stream of electricity connected his hand and the Ampere, trying to reunite him. Abel grunted as his speed dropped sharply, and he plummeted twenty feet to the forest floor at a reduced rate.

A few second passed before he stirred. Rubbing his bruises, he sat up, and regarded the Ampere stuck in a tree fifteen feet up with annoyance. Another moment went by before he stood up and headed to the tree in question, planning to climb it and retrieve his weapon.

-Enyo-

Oh dear. It seemed she'd be flying in, sans wings. She wasn't concerned. She sighed, braced herself for the initial launch, and when it was her turn, off she went. She almost wished she'd brought a magazine or something to pass the time while she flew, but it probably would have been blown out of her hands. Before long, the treetops grew close. She threw her arms up and prepared her aura, crashing through the canopy and into the forest itself. Seeing a tree trunk growling close, she used her semblance to compress the air before her and change course, pushing herself away. She then kicked off of another tree, and used her semblance one last time to cancel out most of her downward momentum, the rest of her drop being far from threatening. She landed in a crouch, stood back up, took a moment to stretch, and then looked around.

"Anyone but Felix..." she repeated out loud now that she had no witnesses. "One... two... that way." She pointed in a semi-random direction that should take her in the direction of her final objective. She was sure she'd run into someone eventually if she just headed in the right direction.

-Amalger-

"Might as well make a splash," he spoke to himself as he flew. As he reached the peak of his trajectory and began to head downward, he extracted a puck from his right weapon affixed it to the front of his left. Boosting his aura and semblance to the max, when he finally hit the ground, he hit it left fist first. To say he went in with a bang would have been putting it mildly. When the dust cleared, Amalger stepped out of a five foot wide, knee deep crater in the earth. The explosion had canceled out his momentum, and the mix of aura and semblance had protected him from the concussive force. "I guess I should add human meteor to my list of titles..." he mused and looked around. It seemed he'd landed by a clearing in the forest.

An inhabited clearing that was.

Within the clearing were two, no, three boarbatusks. They all eyed him rather intensely. It seemed a quieter landing may have behooved him, but it was too late now. He was in for a fight already. The first one charged at him rapidly, apparently eager to kill him. Amalger quickly loaded a puck into his right weapon's extractor arm and then flung it like a disc. It flew and hit the ground in the path of the charging grim, and then detonated when the beast was upon it. The grim tumbled and skidded to a halt a few feet from Amalger, who quickly stepped forward and then drove the massive spike of his left arm's weapon down into the beast's side, impaling it.

As he moved to pull the weapon free, the next boarbatusk charged. He pulled his weapon free in time to swing and swat the grim in the side of the head. It stunned the grim, halting its charge. He then quickly retracted the blade back into its housing, only to fire it back out full force, stabbing down and smashing it straight through the armored skull of the boarbatusk with a satisfying crunch. The last boarbatusk curled into a ball and spun, launching itself at Amalger.

"Never a moment to rest with these things," he sighed and weighed his options. He didn't have much time though and quickly came to a decision. he extracted another puck, and this time left his blade partially extended, affixing this puck to the rear of the weapon. At the last moment, he jumped aside, and as the boarbatusk rolled by, he set off the puck, launching the blade completely out of its housing. It was like thrusting a stick into a bicycle wheel, except much more violent and nothing like that at all really, but long story short the boarbatusk was dead with 30 pound hammer-blade sticking out of its side.

With the threat over, Amalger took a deep breath and let his adrenaline subside.

"It does get harder than this, right?" he asked no one in particular. Well, according to his studies boarbatusks were hardly the most threatening of grim. The biggest issue was their armor, and his weapon crushed that with ease. So yes, he was sure it would get harder. If only he knew.

"Hmm, not bad. You'll do." Amalger turned around to see a short, blond girl standing behind him, arms crossed with a tiny smirk on her tiny face.

"Will I now? I guess I'll have to since we're officially partners. You're that violent girl, right? I don't suppose you're as good at stomping grim as you are at stomping the faces of your classmates?" Amalger asked her, a ponderous expression upon his face.

"If you can keep up, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. This way." The girl pointed and began walking. "Oh, and I'm Enyo Allaway, partner."

". . . Amalger Brandt, a pleasure to make your acquaintance... partner." It seemed he'd picked up an interesting one, cocky as she may be. Oh well, she'd be sorted out by the end of this. Whether 'this' turned out to be this test or their time at Beacon in general was yet to be seen.

-Randy-

Yes... any moment now... YES! It was her turn. Her heart leapt as she felt the plate beneath her feet jerk and send her flying.

"Wheeeeeeeeeee!" she cried out in wide-eyed excitement as she flew like a bird. A bird covered in armor, blades, and guns, but still. Well, as fun as this was, she figured she should probably start thinking about how to land. It wouldn't be so fun anymore if her flight ended with broken bones and/or death. She reached down to her hips and stuck her hands into her bladed gauntlets. She braced herself, crashed past the first few layers of branches, and then quickly took aim. She found a mid-level branch and fired the under-barrel cannon on her right weapon. A grappling hook shot out and clawed into the branch. She swung forward and heard the mechanisms in the weapon creak as they struggled to handle all of her forward momentum, but in the end they held. She reeled herself in and stood upon the branch.

"Partner, partner, partner, where art thou?" she muttered, wondering where she should start.

-Felix-

It was the most free he'd felt in a while. This was something he could control. With every person who became a speck in the distance, he felt a weight lift off of him. As he flew through the air, alone, he felt weightless... until he started falling, then he felt really heavy again. Heavy, but not afraid.

He gripped his left wrist, and then dragged forward, extending his metal gauntlet out over his left hand with a series of clicks. As he neared the first tree, he stuck his hand out, raking his claw against it, slowing himself ever so slightly. He repeated this on the next tree, slowing himself much more significantly. He then vaulted off the side of the tree, swung from a branch, landed upon and jumped from another, before swinging from one last branch and then rolling to a stop on the forest floor.

He began carefully walking deeper into the forest until he heard a noise. His heart rate spiked, the soothing feeling of loneliness suddenly leaving him. He quickly a quietly moved to investigate and found a familiar face standing over a fallen foe. It was the girl, Aurelia. Was this to be his partner? Wouldn't they be an awful team though? But then again, she'd just proven that she could slay a grim. She didn't look all that nervous at the moment. Perhaps she was more calm in a fight, somewhat like him? Perhaps it would work, perhaps he'd at last found someone who could understand what he was going through!

Now he just had to make eye contact!

"Oh, hey!" Felix froze when he heard a voice. He looked over his shoulder to see a red headed girl waving at him. "I guess you're my partner then?" Wait, what? Oh, dust! He'd met her eyes, hadn't he? "I'm Randy Riley, boy's name I know, but it's not so bad! Now, what do you say we get going and finish this test and kill some grim?" she grinned. "Ah, but I guess this means I'm not partners with Melody..." She began talking to herself. "But then again, there's more than two to a team, so I guess there's still hope for that!"

This Randy girl was his partner. So far she talked way too much. He sighed, pouting, and looked over his shoulder. Aurelia had wandered off somewhere out of sight...

'. . . FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-'

"Anyway, I think I recognize you! No no, don't tell me! I got this!" Randy squinted her eyes and grabbed her head, clearly thinking hard. "Fernando... Fred... Felix! Felix, right? There were a lot of rumors about you and that Enyo girl back at Signal. She's here too right? Maybe we'll run into her too!" Randy said.

'-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-'

"So, which way should we go... umm... I kinda lost track..." Randy mumbled, looking at the ground and scratching the back of her head helplessly.

"-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-' On the outside, Felix just groaned and pointed in the direction he thought best. "-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-'

A flash of lightning was the only signal of Nevin's movement, shooting from the ground to the branches above. He let out a small breath of air, relieved at finding an escape for the moment. The three initial Beowolves had proven little trouble, his skills being more than enough to handle them. However, more had continued to come after him. He had eventually been faced with eight with an alpha leading the pack.

He could take them out, but he had no idea what else was lying in wait throughout the forest. He didn't want to overexert himself on the small fry, just to be spent against something bigger. With a quick movement, his right fist lighting up with sparks before he shot off again, shooting into the air and landing down on another branch. He paused here, glancing back in the direction he had come. He probably made enough distance to be safe for the moment at least. He had to say, though, it did seem like there were a lot in this forest. Even for Grim, this seemed very populous. It was unusual for him...but he supposed Ozpin might have stockpiled them just for these sorts of tests.

Shaking his head, Nevin looked down, readying himself to jump. However, a growl stopped him, causing him to turn his head. A beast lunged at him, another Beowolf reaching out at him with its claws, mouth agape to latch on to him. The boy bent back quickly, the seal on his right glove lighting up brilliant once more before he vanished in a burst of sparks, hitting the ground hard.

Unfortunately, he couldn't right himself up in time and took the fall to his back, rolling away from the landing before coming up into a crouch. Dazed for a moment, Nevin shook his head, looking up. The first thing he noticed was the Beowolf launching down to land in front of him, growling viciously before standing up on two legs once more. The second thing was the young blond girl he had met at the academy. Aurelia, he thought her name was.

“Shit,” he muttered out without thinking before using his power once more. He shot at the Beowolf, his right fist jamming into its stomach before it could react. His left fist slammed into its face, a jet of flame exploding out and tearing its head clear off the body. The headless corpse collapsed back to the ground with the exchange over with.

A small sigh escaped him once more before he turned to face the girl, eyes meeting before he thought better of it. Would she even want to be his teammate? She wasn't too social and, really, they were strangers. She would have probably been more comfortable with that Maggie girl finding her. “Sorry about that,” he offered sheepishly. “Seems to be a lot of these things in the forest...”

As Aurelia walked through the forest, she found that she wasn't entirely sure where she was going. She should have paid more attention when she was launched, maybe then she would have some idea of where she was. She let out a low hum as she thought about what to do. Perhaps she could climb a tree? She contemplated the idea for a moment, though a growl snapped her out of it. She immediately grabbed Rampion with both hands, though found that she was not the target. She spotted a familiar face, watching as he took it down. Before she noticed it, however, the two had made eye contact.

Oops.

Aurelia found herself staring at Nevin, unsure of what to do in this situation. She should probably say something. That would probably be a good start. It then hit her that Nevin was now her partner, she was stuck with him now. As in they were stuck together. For the rest of the year. Along with two other strangers. Oh boy. She didn't really realize that she was frozen in place until she found that Rampion slipped out of her hands. She blinked a few times, though she quickly picked it up, letting out a nervous laugh. Shoot, he probably thought she was a total spazz. Well, she was, but her combat skills weren't!

She cleared her throat, thinking of how to diffuse the situation. Wait, what situation? Why did she have to diffuse it? She needed to just say something. Anything. Her eyes wandered to the fallen Beowolf. "Not bad." She found herself saying, though she found herself curious about his gloves. "Is...is that your Semblance?" She asked him curiously.

Nevin paused a moment, a little surprised by her response. She did seem to be nervous, as was what he knew her by. However, she was trying to talk to him at least. Her question made him smile a bit. "No, actually," he said. "My gloves have been laced with dust. My sister gave them to me with these seals on the back that let me use them." He held his hand up so she could see the seal, marked in yellow for the lightning glove. "My Semblance is actually quite useless when I'm by myself. So, I'm kind of glad to have found you. I hope we can work well together." He gave an encouraging smile, trying to show her that he believe they could. It would just take some work for her to be able to treat him normally. He wasn't going to bring it up, though, figuring she might not want him to.

However, a small idea popped into his head. They didn't have enough time to really sit here and talk, but...he could at least give her a demonstration of his own Semblance. "Would you like to see my Semblance? I've noticed you're kind of nervous around me. Understandable, since I'm just a stranger. I figured it might help you be a bit more at ease with me," he offered. "We can't stay here long, though. There was a group of Beowolves near me when I ran this way. Dunno if they're following me or not."

Even though the trees of Forever Fall were generally knobby and rough, meaning that there were plentiful hand and footholds for the average climber, Abel was having a tough time of it. Scaling a tree trunk was an experience he had never had the pleasure of attempting before—even at Pallisade the closest he'd gotten was a rope attached to the ceiling. That was strength, but this was finesse. As he maneuvered around little branches and tears in the bark, doing his very best to avoid plummeting back to earth, he wished he had spent more time with that rope.

His full focus returned when the strip of bark his left hand clutched abruptly peeled away, leaving Abel scrabbling to hold on. After a few panicked moments, he steadied himself and breathed deeply. A dozen feet to his right and about three feet up, the Ampere was stuck fast in the trunk. For the second time he tentatively reached out a hand, moving slowly so as to not overbalance, and attempted to use his semblance to pull the weapon to him. Though the polearm fidgeted, trying to respond to its master's call, it didn't move. He was pretty much at the worst possible angle for this. If he had picked a different tree, remotely pulling the Ampere from the wood was entirely within the realm of possibility. Here, however, it was pointless.

So he jumped.

After gathering his strength, he pushed off his tree with both legs, kicking off shreds of bark. As he fell, he reached out for the Ampere again. This time the blade came free, sliding from the clutches of the wood and spinning through the air, wreathed in electricity, to his hand. “Hah,” he exclaimed when the familiar metal slapped into his hands, but his adulation faded as he pivoted around to land in the Emerald Forest for the second time. He managed to bring the weapon around in time and execute a diving plunge, transmitting most of his kinetic energy into the Ampere and impaling it to the ground while he landed safely behind it—and on his feet, no less.

Very pleased with himself indeed, Abel marched off into the forest at a brisk pace. There were artifacts to find.

Aurelia found herself absolutely fascinated by Nevin's gloves. She just had so many questions: how much Dust do they use? Could anyone use them? What different types of Dust could they use? What was their enhancement capabilities? What happened if the gloves got damaged? If that wasn't his Semblance then what was? Her last question seemed to have been heard (somehow) when he stated that his Semblance was useless when he was by himself, and that he was glad that he found her. Did this mean he didn't think she was a total spazz? She doubted it, though when he smiled she just gave him a curious look. She really, really, really didn't want him to think that she couldn't fight. He hoped they could work well together which pretty much meant she needed to stop being so anxious and just chill for two seconds. Which was easier said than done. But he was right, if they were going to be shackled/stuck to one another along with two more for the rest of the year, she needed to just relax.

Nevin then offered to show her his Semblance. She had been rather curious about it, seeing as he mentioned how it'd help her be more at ease. What kind of Semblance would do that? She found her curiosity overwhelming her anxiety, so she simply nodded. She wondered if she should tell him about her own Semblance. Well, it wasn't really needed, and hopefully after this she could prove herself. She actually started hoping those Beowolves would come, then she could show him that at the very least she was combat capable.

Nevin smiled a bit, returning her nod. Slowly, he shut his eyes. He reached into himself, dragging out his power as he focused on the girl before him. Slowly but surely, he felt himself reaching out to her, feeling bits and pieces of her own feelings and anxiety. It was...interesting. Thankfully, though, it wasn't strong enough to cripple him from talking to her. With a smile, he let his own feelings comes forth, letting her feel them. All in all, it was an overwhelming sense of calmness, not at all troubled by the position they were in. He had quite a bit of confidence in both of their abilities to survive this so he had no reason to be fearful of it.

As he connected the two of them fully, he let out a small breath. "It's nothing flashy, but my ability is...well, in simplest terms, it's synergy. I can connect us," he explained with a small smile, scratching the back of his head. "Do you feel any better?"

It was weird.

"I don't really feel anything." Aurelia admitted slowly and somewhat doubtful, wondering if it had actually worked. Wait, she had just formed a complete sentence without so much as a stutter. Wait, she wasn't panicking. Wait, what was going on? Whoa, this entire thing was somewhat freaky. She didn't feel anything--no nervousness, no anxiety, no shaking, she felt perfectly normal. If anything she was slightly ever so confident, like how she was in battle. One hundred percent normal. Her eyes slowly widened, as if she was experiencing an epiphany. She let out a small laugh, as if arriving late to a punchline. "I don't feel anything." She repeated with a lot more enthusiasm, as if it was the most glorious thing in the world.

"It's amazing! Alright!" She declared, taking Nevin's hand. "Let's keep going then, I promise I won't drag you down, okay?" She told him, and proceeded to pull him along the path.

Still standing on the cliff where the students had been launched minutes ago, Ozpin and Glynda looked down at the device in Ozpin's hand. His personal scroll allowed him to view the students from special camera's that were programmed to hone in on the students from a safe distance away. Otherwise a nevermore might... eat the surveillance equipment.

"It seems we have a number of partnerships formed already," Ozpin mused, flipping through various camera views. It was hard to say there were surprises, as it was all completely random, but he was pleased with some of the developments. There were some much worse pairings that could have formed. Like that Felix kid who had almost bumped into Aurelia... there was too much talent in them for them to be getting each other killed because of their nervousness. Then again, their combat scores were nothing to scoff at. He was interested to see how a pair of nervous wrecks like them would fare in the end.

"Indeed," Glynda replied tersely, as if something was bugging her.

Ignoring that, Ozpin went back to his scroll. No, instead Aurelia had found Nevin. He pulled up a second screen, containing all the data he had on Nevin.

"Hmm, Flare academy. A waste of hot air if I've ever seen one," Ozpin mumbled, shaking his head. He caught a huff of agreement, he thought, from Glynda. "And if I'm not mistaken... ah yes, Amalger Brandt. Flare number one. Two in one test, eh? Then again, scores like that at a place like Flare don't mean nothing. A school like that which focuses on numbers and prestige only produces more expensive meat to be butchered, but I guess we'll see if they can break the mold." He flipped to a slightly different angle. "And Enyo Allaway is with our number one student... did you ever find anything more on her?"

"No... clearly a fake identity, it's too perfect. It must have been made through official channels," Glynda told him. "It seems to be legal, but I can't say anything else about her unless I want to make the law angry."

"I see. Completely bland, but then suddenly entered into combat school. And now breezing through our entrance exam like it was a first grade math test," Ozpin narrowed his eyes. He was curious, but whatever there was to find there probably wasn't too significant in the grand scheme of things. "But how will you fare against monsters?" He moved on. "Ah, someone who has faced real monsters, Abel-" He was about to continue muttering to himself, pondering how each student would handle the test, but Glynda interrupted him.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" the woman asked, a deep frown on her face.

"Whatever do you mean, Glynda?" Ozpin adjusted his glasses, putting the scroll aside and turning to face her.

"You know exactly what I mean," she began to raise her voice. "You know I trust your judgement, everyone at this academy does, but this is just risky!"

"Ah, but of course. You're referring to the unusual number of grim in the forest we just threw twelve children into." Ozpin shut his eyes and sighed. "Well, it's nothing entirely unusual. If the test is a little harder than usual, then we'll get to properly see what they're capable of, it's nothing so serious. They chose this life, after all."

"You said it yourself, they're children! There's being harsh, and there's being unfair! They don't even know what's going on!" Glynda argued.

"Of course it's unfair, and we told them that there would be no help if they got into trouble," Ozpin replied and turned back to the forest, looking back to his scroll. "But I assume you have people in place just in case anyway, right?"

"Yes, I have teams of veterans ready to intervene in the case of undue threats upon their lives." She nodded, sighing as she prepared for his retort.

"Just as I requested. See, Glynda? I'm not so cruel. I won't waste their lives. That's all on them." Ozpin smiled in amusement. Yes, everything was proceeding just fine. He had a feeling another pair would be forming shortly.

-Enyo & Amalger-

Enyo was doubled over, panting. Her arm was starting to ache.

"H-how many arrows did I put into that thing again?" She asked, shaking her hand and trying to keep it from tingling.

"About ten," Amalger replied looking at the fallen ursa around them. "In the span of about twice as many seconds. Not bad. You know, the part where it tried to eat you after you blew its arms off was especially scary."

"You could have helped!" Enyo growled, baring her teeth as she did.

"I was dealing with my own problems." Amalger shrugged. "My weapon got stuck in this one's spine I think..." He lightly kicked another dead ursa, that still had most of its limbs.

"I'm a ranged fighter! You're supposed to protect me you giant idiot! What good is all that scrap metal on your arms if you don't use it right?" Enyo berated him. Ten arrows for one, giant ursa. And about twelve for the one before that. Plus a handful of smaller ones. It didn't make sense, these were ursa, not beowolves. They weren't supposed to run in packs. She'd had to start using explosive arrows on the damn things just to kill them faster.

"Oh please, you're fast enough. Just be glad they're big and easy to hit." Amalger sighed and motioned for her to get moving. "Come on, we have a test to finish." Enyo just grit her teeth, resisting the urge to remove his arms.

-Felix & Randy-

[i']-UUUUUUUUUCK!'[/i] Finally he gave up. He had bigger issues.

Randy glanced at Felix nervously, he looked like he was breaking into a cold sweat. She'd noticed he was a bit... uneasy, but this was the absolute worst time to have a panic attack.

Felix was breaking into a cold sweat. He felt a panic attack coming.

Before Randy and Felix were grim. Not too many, just three beowolves, but Randy wasn't sure she could fight and protect Felix at the same time. If he couldn't handle a fight, why was he even here? And why'd she have to deal with it? She grabbed her weapons from her hips, sliding them over her hands. She held them up, ready to cleave the face off of the first one that got too close.

Felix had never seen a grim in person before. The black fur, the bony armor, the red eyes, and the clear unmistakable desire to see him dead were more than he could take. This wasn't his anxiety or his stupid delusions tricking him, he was really about to be killed. His hands shook uncontrollably, but he managed to make them move. Finally, his fingertips brushed the stock of Fin de Larmes. His hand wrapped around it, and suddenly everything that had been moving too fast slowed down and felt just about right.

"Sorry, let me handle this," Felix apologized. He could tell his appearance had made her nervous.

Wait, who was that? Oh, it was Felix? So that's what he sounded like when he spoke. Randy was almost more startled by him finally speaking than the fact that he'd just asked to handle this himself. He, who had been shaking like a leaf. Well, in the end, it wasn't really up to her. The first beowolf led the charge, and Felix responded in kind.

The first beowolf looked ready to pounce on Felix, but he lifted his shotgun as it prepared to jump... and blew its face off using both barrels. As it slumped, he loosened his stance and let the recoil move his body. He spun quickly, seeing the next beowolf almost upon him. Using his momentum, he swung the giant bayonet at its jaw. It stumbled back, it's lower jaw hanging by threads. He then finished it in a similar fashion to the first.

The final beowolf leapt over the falling body of the second, and Felix had no time to aim. He ducked under a slash from its claws, and then raked his own gauntlet across the beast's stomach. It barely even phased the beowolf, which then tried to bite him, but he jumped back. He had no time to lift his gun unless he wanted to get torn apart, so he turned and ran.

"Slower... NOW!" He'd left a mark when he'd slashed it, and could feel how close it was to catching him. He slowed down to let it get closer, and then jumped up, rebounding off of a tree and landing behind the beowolf as it slashed, but only hit tree bark where Felix had been a second ago. It quickly turned to attack him, but Felix lunged, plunging his bayonet into the beast's mouth, and pinning it to the tree. It was probably dead, but he thought he saw it twitch, so to held get his weapon free, he gave it the double-barrel treatment, removing the top of its head.

He lowered his weapon, panting. He wasn't tired, but his weapon didn't kill his anxiety, it just let him move through it. His heart was pounding, but at least now he knew he could fight the grim and survive. He wouldn't freeze up nearly as much in the future.

"WATCH IT!" Randy suddenly shouted. Felix looked at her, and then followed her gaze in time to see a fourth beowolf rise out of the bushes nearby. BANG! A bullet slammed into it, cracking the bony plate on its head. BANG-BANG-BANG! Three more bullets slammed into the beast, rocking its body and tearing holes through it. It fell over, now quite harmless.

Felix looked at Randy again to see that one of her gauntlets had split open, revealing two large gun barrels. Whatever caliber she was packing, it was definitely rated for grim. The gauntlet closed up again, the barrels retracting and the weapon reverting to blade mode.

"I got your back, don't worry!" Randy grinned. "You're a lot better than I thought."

". . . thanks," Felix muttered, disappointed in himself for letting his guard down at the last second. He walked back over to Randy, about to put his weapon away, when both froze, hearing noises in the foliage around them. From the direction the last beowolf had come from, red eyes could be seen in the shadows. Suddenly, a half dozen more walked out of the bushes, teeth bared and claws ready.

"Uhh... I say we work together this time..." Randy suggested, and both raised their weapons once more.

"Yeah-" Felix was about to agree, when yet more appeared. Including a much, much larger one. An Alpha.

"On second though... you still want to do this?" Randy gulped, glancing from one beowolf to the other. She couldn't think of any good plans that let them win this fight unscathed and both alive. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull a second later.

"N-not really." Felix began to slowly back up as a second Alpha, with escorts, showed up.

"How's your cardio?" Randy asked, starting to sweat nervously.

"Uh, decent I guess," Felix's eye twitched, just waiting for the grim to charge them. They wouldn't hold back much longer.

"Good, because we're running! Let's go!" Randy's right gauntlet split open, revealing the under-barrel launcher. She fired a chain-bola at one of the Alphas, tying its legs together before it could react. She had no idea how the grim thought, but she hoped disabling one of their leaders would slow them down. Whether or not that worked, she didn't stick around to find out. They ran.

Some boy reached for Gwyneira's ear while she had her attention diverted ahead of her to the line moving onto the airship. The sudden hand had startled her, although some had asked her permission to touch them before the situation. The sudden jerking of her head caused the tip of her horn to scrape across his hand.

“Careful!” He shouted at her. He was wearing a layer of chainmail over a charcoal tunic and a matching pair of breeches tucked into leather strider lace ups. He had a pallid, square face with unruly chestnut hair and slate gray eyes.

Gwyneira was curious how much damage chainmail could withstand. Not that she was going to brandish her weapon before she had even made it to the entrance ceremony. Getting kicked out of Beacon was not on her agenda for the day. “Please don't touch me again without asking,” she replied calmly. She did not want her temper to get in the way. Already, she noticed that people in their vicinity had turned to stare. Probably because the boy had raised his voice.

“Don't tell me what to do.” His words sounded like he was threatening her.

“Hypocrite,” she muttered under her breath.

Large hands seized her by the front of her vest and pulled her towards him. She pushed up on her toes as he tried to bring her up a half a foot to be eye level with him. He didn't seem very tall. “What'd you say?” He demanded. He seemed offended.

“Just, you know...” She trailed off, deciding whether or not she should continue. She should have probably let it go. “It's kind of hypocritical to order someone not to give you orders.”

He abruptly pushed her backwards and she stumbled into someone behind her. She quickly offered an apology. The boy's face had turned red, but it was contorted into a scowl like when she had first turned to look at him. Gwyneira didn't know if he was angry, flustered, or both. Well, that just wasn't true. She could already tell he was furious. She didn't think a scratch would get someone attending Beacon all out of shape though.

__________

The airship that carried Gwyneira to Beacon already had her feeling mildly nostalgic and homesick. She didn't know how long it would be before she saw her clan again, or even her family for that matter. She briefly wondered if Beacon would have some kind of parent visitation at some point. She hadn't remembered reading or hearing anything about it though.

She stared out the window watching the scenery pass by. It might have benefited her to interact with some of the other students, but she wanted to enjoy the feeling of flying and the sights before her. Did she need to be in a hurry to make friends? It seemed like it would only be necessary to make friends prior to dividing into groups if they got to choose their own. Making friends outside her group could come in time.

Normally, Gwyneira wasn't so slow to interact with others. However, she liked to take the time to enjoy limited experiences such as flying in an airship. It also didn't help that she had been assaulted already. It made her not feel like approaching anyone yet.

Once she was off the airship, ardent legs carried her towards the front of the school. She paused only briefly to admire the scenery. While it was a spectacular sight, she assumed she would have breaks in her study where she would be able to get another look at it.

When everyone was told all of the students would be sleeping in the same room, she was disappointed. However, that was mostly because it meant she was stuck sleeping in the same room as the boy she had encountered in the morning.

Gwyneira glanced around to look for him so she could put some distance between the two. When she didn't see him, she thought that maybe she was in the clear. That was until she felt something tug violently at her tail. She let out a painful yelp and turned around to glare at the culprit.

“Payback for earlier,” the boy informed her with what had to be one of the most annoying smirks she had ever seen.

She restrained herself from letting the boy bother her. She told herself he wasn't worth the fight. The last thing she wanted was to let a verbal disagreement escalate into a physical one. “Now can we forget about this?” She queried. Her patience with the boy was starting to wear thin.

“Leave her alone, Kol,” another girl said as she stepped towards the pair. The other girl had violet curls that reached just above her shoulders with a pair of fuchsia orbs beset in an round, umber visage. The girl was wearing a lavender jumper over a light pink t-shirt. Purple boots reached just below the knee.

The girl's presence seemed to cause Kol to leave for the time being, but she chose not to question it. “I'm Gwyneira.”

“Lyla,” the other girl introduced her with a warm smile. “We dated briefly,” the girl informed her after Kol had left. “He doesn't particularly like being near me because I broke up with him.”

Gwyneira chose to stay close to the other girl until the evening was over. She seemed friendly enough.

__________

When morning came, she headed out to the launch pad with the others. She stood on a square at one of the ends. An uneasy feeling settled in as her stomach began to sink. What if she was stuck with someone she didn't get along with? She would have liked to be paired on a team with Lyla, but decided she might be fine as long as Kol didn't make it into her group.

There wasn't much time for Gwyneira to come up with a landing strategy of sorts. She thought about removing the chakram. Maybe she could somehow loop the circular part on a tree branch. That sounded like it would be impossible no matter how she angled her body. She felt foolish for even thinking about such an idea. Using her semblance seemed out of the question. There was likely some way that she could use Dichotomy to assist her with her landing strategy, but reserving her aura seemed like the wise thing to do. There was no telling how much of it she would have to do once she landed in the forest.

The faunus was already sailing through the air by the time she had thought all of it over. She fiddled with her weapon quickly, extending Rhewlif into it's full length and held it in front of her as she moved towards the top of a tree trunk. The blade at the tip of her weapon buried itself into the tree and began to slide downwards as a result of the weight and the momentum. Gwyneira's feet skidded downwards and slipped off to the sides when a large branch seemed to suddenly appear beneath her. She seated herself on the branch and tugged on her weapon to yank it free of the bark, careful to avoid plummeting to the forest floor from her current location.

When Rhewlif had been compressed to the smallest size, she began to move from the branch she was on to the lower branches. One foot was moved below her at a time as she tested her weight before daring to move further down. She tried to utilize her height in the tree to benefit her, scouting from her vantage point for another person. Nobody was spotted immediately, but that didn't mean that there wasn't something to obscure her vision. Rather than waiting to see if anybody showed up, she continued to descend the tree until she reached the forest floor.