Jorie sighed to herself, kicking her legs into the water as she stared into space. There seemed to be no one inside of the entire pool at the moment, and there she even checked the changing rooms! Well, except for the men's changing room for obvious reasons. So, with her rolled up pants, she continued to kick water into the air without any thoughts in her mind. Her paper thin antennae idly slightly twitching at the droplets of the chlorine water splashing on her face. She continued to do this until her hoodie started to vibrate once again with her stomach glowing from the brightness of the scroll. The vibrations through her body soon enough brought her out of her spell, regaining her consciousnesses from the calming waters. She tentatively pulled the tablet from her hoodie, putting her face close to the screen to read the message. It seemed that Sarina couldn't find anyone at the rooftops, and the missing team was evidently not located within the pool. Using her human arm, she started to type up a message to her team.

>Sender: Jorie Ngo
>Receiver: JSSC JESS

"Uh?" Jorie questioned, confused by the auto-correct made by the tablet. She tried to type in JSSC once again thinking of it as some type of mistake, but it seemed to keep on auto-correcting itself to that acronym. She quickly tapped the screen a few times to check the people composed of this Team JESS to see that three familiar names popped up, but one stranger. "Who is Estellise" Jorie said to herself, hoping that she pronounced the strange name correctly. Staring at it for a couple of minutes, Jorie shrugged to herself about this new name for the team and the stranger.

>Sender: Jorie Ngo
>Receiver: JESS
>Body: Sorry, no luck at the pool. However, has anyone noticed the new name for the team? Team JESS? I'm kind of confused about this change... Can we go to back to the dorm to figure this out?

Getting up from her seat, she used her semblance dry her legs with the pressurized air, forcing the water to be shot off of her skin. She quickly rolled down her pants to cover her legs once again and headed for the exit. Jorie did find it quite strange to herself why she chose the dorm room, but she felt like that place would be less crowded than the empty halls as someone might intrude upon their conversation and might scare her in the process. Yes, the dorm should be empty of strangers.

Ben tossed Amy the only set of clothes that were within his reach, given their relative proximity, but he wasn't paying much attention. Another Ibuprofen went down the hatch with a swallow of energy drink before the bottle went the same way as Amy's clothes. In times of scarce painkiller supplies, all shared. And man were supplies scarce, after the day they'd had. Amy's migraine, Ben and Lauren's mutual knockout in Combat Training... Sangue was the only one not currently suffering from one source of pain or another, and it was hard to say who had it worst.

Ben's money was on Amy. At least the rest of them had already passed the source of their pain. Amy's was a constant, never-ending noise. Still, Ben didn't waste much time thinking about it. More important things to be done, he reminded himself as he pulled his shoes back on. He hadn't bothered to ditch the rest of his uniform, so he was pretty much set to go. Though there was one thing he needed to do...

He grabbed Artorius and Lawnslot from their place next to his nightstand, and in a few deft moves, popped both of them open to remove two small cylinders. One of which he tossed to Lauren, the other he pocketed. "If you could carry that around while we're out, Lauren, that's be great. Mission soon, and I'm never going to be at 100% if it's leeching off of me constantly. I can take the other one."

Without waiting for a response, he pushed himself off of his bed and clapped his hands.

"Anyway. Bastille, let's get going!"

Sterling Johnson -- Firing Range

"Sorry, kid, it's strictly senior business only. I'd have to kill you after I told you." he growled, affecting a stern face as his eyebrows attempted to merge into one, scrunched up, severe-looking entity, spreading across the entirety of his brow.

A facade that lasted all of a half-second, as his easy snicker-into-chuckle followed, and mischief exposed itself and took a bow.

"Naaah. CPLT's been missing the whole day, so Goodwitch sent out a notice to all the seniors asking for help on our Scrolls. Speaking of which..." he explained, whipping out his vibrating scroll even as the rapid fft fft ftts of his ball bearings sailing downrange brought forth a symphony of shattering glass.

>Sender: Jorie Ngo
>Receiver: JESS
>Body: Sorry, no luck at the pool. However, has anyone noticed the new name for the team? Team JESS? I'm kind of confused about this change... Can we go to back to the dorm to figure this out?

Huh. That was weird. Thoughtfully frowning, he typed out a response.

>Sender: Sterling Johnson
>Receiver: JESS
>Body: Huh
>last time that happened it meant a new teammate so I guess that's it
>anyways Practice Area came up dry too, nobody been around for at least 2 and a half hours. I'll head back

"Well," he slid the phone into his pocket. "Thanks for the help, kiddo. Gotta bounce!" he called, recalling all his floating ball bearings and beginning to walk towards the door.

"And keep it up! For a first-year, you're a hell of a shot."

---

...

"So, to the pool, right?" he asked, looking to Beryl. If the experiment was truly done, there was no sense in keeping her waiting.

IC: Emerald Felicia - Gym -

"Nnnnnnnnnghhhh..." Emerald had blacked in and out of consciousness a few times since the rather spectacular end to her and Krysthane's duel. When she gathered enough strength she managed to turn herself over onto her back, looking up at the ceiling in a daze. As awesome as her finishing move was, she was starting to wish she had one that wasn't quite so...painful.

Eventually she forced her head to move so that she could look over towards where her fellow huntress in training lay, she looked to be in a similar state. It was hard to say if she was conscious or not. "Hey..." She started slowly, her ability to talk taking more work than usual. "...hey Krysthane...that was a pretty great fight...may have gotten carried away a bit at the end there..." Or a lot rather, considering the state of the gym, the floor of the gym was thankfully made of some pretty powerful stuff, though they had still made quite a mess of things. She wondered how the janitor even dealt with this sort of thing...did they even have a janitor?

Emerald realised her thoughts were getting off track again and got back to the subject at hand. "I guess since both our auras went in the red it's a tie...we're about evenly matched...that's cool." Of course she had a cannon that's use almost always guaranteed a tie in a duel, but that was just a minor detail. "Hey...you awake? You're not dead are you? Because I've never killed anyone before, accident or not, and I'd really like to keep it that way if you don't mind..." Then Emerald heard something, something that sounded like a...rumbling? A gurling? Her stomach!?

"I'm hungry."

@Eklispe

Sapphire smiled triumphantly as she saw the edge of the cliff turn to mud and begin to destabilize all around Ebon trapping him in the mud. This quickly turned to disgust as Gren grabbed the arrogant child by the Kingdom and tossed him free of the collapsing dirt as a small chunk of the cliff went crashing into the waters below. He was wrong though. Sapphire knew she had far more violent impulses than was healthy but it was far from the way she relieved her distress. She'd attacked Ebon because, for lack of a better way to describe it, he gave off an unnerving air. Something about the way he had been staring at her had caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. She'd approached him with weapons drawn and the feeling had vanished almost instantly. Sapphire felt certain the feeling came from him though no reason to assume so and no evidence to support herself. Just a bad feeling.

The smile reappeared on Sapphire's face when Gren pointed his weapon directly into Ebon's face and berated him for his idiotic behavior. The boy cursed and stormed away from the rapidly growing group of people. She watched him depart with satisfaction until a hand touched her shoulder. For a brief moment Sapphire was tempted to lash out. To grab her weapon and slash at anyone that would touch her, anyone that would try to hurt her. Her muscles twitched towards the daggers strapped to her arms but just as quickly as it came the impulse subsided. She was at Beacon, she was safe, no one here wanted to add to her many scars, some of which just peaked out of the tank top she had on. It was just Abel. Nonetheless Sapphire didn't like people touching her. She shrugged his hand off her body. "Don't touch me." she said her voice a harsh whisper as sharp as a knife and filled with venom. Mentally she reminded herself to have an insulated coat ordered. The thought of Abel's electric semblance was one of the only things that had kept her from stabbing him when he'd surprised her.

Sapphire looked at all the people standing around with worry and concern etched into there faces. Her eyes darted to the people that had attempted to intervene "You're right Sepia... this is none of your business, and you" she said turning to Delta "Keep your Brownie on a leash."

Sapphire sheathed her weapons and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Gren, I appreciate your high handed attempt to defend my honor or my person or whatever the hell that was but I don't need anyone to finish my battles for me. That was my fight and I had it handled." She glanced around at everyone who were all deathly silent. "Weren't we planning on having a night on the town?" she said looking at everyone's faces. "Or is that off the table now?"

Gren Orchid

Gren sighed as Ebon left. While he was okay with him leaving, this wasn't exactly how Gren wanted to start their little shindig. "Oh well. Shit happens." Sapphire continued to be a problem however, shooting venomous remarks to everyone present. Now this was getting tiresome, and now Gren was going to have to drop the hammer. "The party is still on, Rode. But if you're going to act like that, you're not much better than Ebon. We're going to head into the city to have fun and get to know one another. If you're going to keep acting like a paranoid bitch, then maybe this isn't for you." Gren sheathed his weapon and walked away from Sapphire to meet up with the others. His disposition changed from mildly disappointed to happy once he met with the others.

"Had a bit of an issue with some personalities, but that's dealt with now. Let's get going before the teachers get on our case, eh?" An airship arrived, which was heading towards the city. "File in everyone! First place we're going to hit up is the Blue Moon Market. There's lots of things there to check out, and for you thugs something to wet your tongue." Gren shouted out to everyone as he stepped onto the airship.

Cobalt watched the entire situation with a passive gaze. It was better to let them sort out their own problems, stepping in would make them reliant on others help. He would've stepped in if things got too bad though. When Gren called everyone over, Cobalt got up with a minor sigh as he stretched out his limbs.

He walked over to Gren and nodded. "Nice handling of the situation. It's good to see that not everyone solves problems by punching them." Cobalt looked at Gren and muttered something to himself. He shook his head and spoke a little louder. "Does the offer on getting me Rocket Boots still stand?" He asked with a hopeful tone. Rocket Boots sounded super cool.

Cian ran up and was glad to see that they haven't left for this "party" yet. It would be good for her she supposed force herself to intermingle with others and perhaps pick something up for herself. Still with that said and one she quietly stood back wearing more casual clothes of a black tanktop and shorts with a large white hooded jacket. Making it in time and hearing the part on rocket boots Cian let out a small laugh rocket boots did sound cool but not something for her. As she walked up and entered the airship she wondered if perhaps this was the right thing to do? Despite everything she was kind of forcing herself to go she hoped she did not offend anyone.

Jorie Ngo, Sarina Tala Dei, Sterling Johnson, Estellise Sidos Heurassein Nuit - Team JESS – JESS DORM

Sarina entered into her bedroom after search for CPLT came up with nothing. What was interesting was one of the beds, Sarina saw a white-haired pale skinned girl. She observed her momentarily, A bird faunus…an Owl huh. She must be Clairs’ replacement while she’s gone. It would be rude of her to wake her up as she thought. So she walked into the living, made tea from their mini fridge on a preparation counter, and minded her own business until she awoke from her slumber. She would eventually wake up from the sounds of her footsteps. Sarina opened up her tablet to find out the name, Estelle Nuit, wait Bianca had a sister?! Sarina never knew about this and now was curious.

Estelle's subconciousness decided that she needed to be awake and her eyes shot open. She could hear footsteps from somewhere in the room. The Faunus rubbed her head and fixer her hair before pulling herself out of bed. She glanced around the room, noticing the other girl. She decided she should probably introduce herself; after all she was technically trespassing in the poor girl's room. She pushed herself out of the bed, steadying herself against the wall and walked towards the other girl.

"Hello, I'm sorry for missing you, but it seemed everyone was out when I arrived." Estelle began placing a hand forward for her new teammate to shake. "My name is Estelle Nuit, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

“We had duties to attend to that have now passed” as she took a sip from her tea. “My name is Sarina Tala, Ducissa (Duchess) of Dei. I assume you must be a relative of Bianca, her sister?” Sarina had noticed with her awaken she indeed resemble her sister.

"Yes, Bianca is my sister, she is..." Estelle stopped for a second, clicking her tongue trying to think of the right words, but they just refused to come to her "She's not feeling too well after what happened to my mother." Estelle said, shifting her weight onto her back leg and glancing around the room once more. "I heard about you from Bianca though. You showed her around at one point, right?" Estelle asked.

“Yes I did and I hope she gets better soon to return to Beacon. I know the original three of VGNB miss her” as she sipped some more tea.

His search too coming up short, Sterling Johnson was nonetheless still in his typical high spirits as the long-suffering JSSC JESS door was roughly tossed open.

"Ayy, second new teamie in here?" he asked, walking inside with both his fleshy and metallic arms casually entrenched in his pockets. Peering over Sarina's head, his one consistent teammate coincidentally straight in front of him, his eyebrows rose as he saw a pure white and fluffy head of hair.

“Yes, Clairs' replacement.” Finally another one, I wonder where is the Crab.

That looked like the belongings of a cute girl if he ever saw one.

Stepping out from behind the TA (and having accidentally done a remarkable job of concealing his larger, more powerful frame), he raised a hand in greeting and threw her a friendly grin.

"Yo! Welcome aboard, greenhorn! Name's Sterling Johnson and I'll be your tour guide of our humble abode for the evening. That stuff over there--"

His metallic arm now emerged as well, jabbing an indicative finger towards a bed with legs raised high enough to create a miniature mancave below.

"That stuff is mine. Ground rule here and it goes for everyone, not just you: No touching of my stuff without my approval of you touching my stuff."

He gestured to the other three beds.

"This, on the other hand, is everyone else's stuff. Go wild."

The friendly grin became coated heavily with cheek.

Estelle was momentarily taken aback by the sheer stature of her new teammate. The man was massive; there was no getting around it. She couldn't help but release a small giggle at some of the things he was saying. But she took note of it, don't touch his stuff, got it.

"It's nice to meet you too, my name is Estelle Nuit." She said happily shaking his hand with a powerful hand shake. She moved over to the bed that was designated as hers. "I just spoke with Ozpin that was slightly intimidating." Estelle said looking up at the ceiling with a grin.

"This school is definitely going to be interesting." She chirped brushing the hair out of her face. "I was wondering, it seems missions are to begin soon, will we be going out on a mission as well, or do we have duties to offer tutelage to the younger students?" Estelle asked thinking of Bianca's ex-teammates. She wouldn't mind either truly. However, she would enjoy an opportunity to prove herself to her new teammates.

Sarina simply observed as Sterling and Estelle conversed, Estelle owl features, she was just like Bianca

"Well, in short, yeah." he replied unhelpfully. "Sarina here," he began, good naturedly clapping the Mistralese woman on the back just hard enough to not spill her tea (which it must be noted was a learned skill preceded by tremendous failures all throughout earlier years) "Is a TA for Goodwitch, so she helps out. Additionally, sometimes we get schools of fish to babysit on the more easygoing stuff, but this week looks like it's just us on a mission closer to our caliber."

He folded his arms.

"So it looks like we'll have to figure out how you mesh on the fly. Same with Jorie, albeit not as much since we have her match with Taidan to go off of..." his eyes drifted up to the ceiling in thought for a moment, before lidding themselves as he shrugged confidently.

"Eh, no worries. We'll piece it together in no time."

Sarina simply observed as Sterling and Estelle conversed for some time, Estelle owl features, she was just like Bianca. “We can start today with a light sparring match against all three of us in five minute intervals” as she poured more tea from a pitcher into her cup, taking another sip. “That way we can get an idea were you fit in with the team.” Sarina took another sip of her tea before looking directly at Estelle, “Are you alright with that? I can understand if you are still tired but knowing and experiencing what you can do now will benefit the entire team greatly."

"Noooooo," Jorie mumbled out, the disgruntled noises emanating from the closet located somewhere in the room. It only took a few seconds before the wooden door slightly opened, revealing only the hooded face of Jorie. She was actually the first one to arrive on the scene, but after finding the stranger inside of the room prompted her to hide. It only took a few minutes before the conversation between everyone came to be, all the while the shrimp continued to just listen. Though, Jorie felt the need to interject when she heard that they were going to have to fight, again. "I don't want to fight," Jorie stated, lightly speaking her mind to the group, though her face was looking towards the floor even with the hood covering her entire face, excluding the mouth and chin.

And the crab came out, not surprising as Sarina always found to be in different spaces. But she was here before her; she could have introduced herself to Estelle instead of startling the owl.

"That seems fine with me. I'd love to show you what I've got." Estelle said placing a steady hand on her blade sheathed on her hip. She smiled towards the group; she was obviously not threatening them. She heard Jorie from within the closet and her head spun 180 degrees in order to look at her, eliciting a silent "What the fuck" from one Sterling Johnson. Estelle was a little startled; it wasn't everyday someone pops out of a closet. She laughed when she heard Jorie's complaint.

"Well if you don't want to fight I suppose you could always just observe." Estelle giggled, turning her head back to face Sterling and Sarina. She took in everything her new team was saying. They definitely weren't what she had expected, but they would do. She was looking forward to seeing their talents in the field.

"Where is a good place to spar around here?" Estelle asked shooting a glance out the window in their room as if scanning the landscape for an area with few people. She glanced back at Sterling and Sarina, attempting to size them up, but without much knowledge of even their semblance, it was an empty action. She stepped forward towards the two new teammates and prepared for them to show her where they were going.

Her questions were completely lost upon the silver-haired Atlesian.

"Is your neck okay?"

He had much more pressing concerns on his mind.

"Hm? Oh, I'm an owl Faunus, I can do that naturally, I'm sorry for any concern." Estelle answered demonstrating by turning her neck an approximate 260 degrees, almost fully around. She turned it back and smiled at her new teammate.

"Oh." came the succinct and befuddled reply. "Yikes."

Heh, trying to size me up As Sarina had noticed the glance Estelle gave, the typical head turn. We will see how skilled you are shortly… “We have a combat arena were the students spar, settle grudge matches, show of their strength etc.” Sarina then turned her gaze to their team leader, “Eh don’t let your mistakes during your match with Shuai stop you from a fight. Besides, this a good time to redeem yourself” she said with confidence and stoicism (the usual). She then turned her gaze back to Estelle, “Your neck, interesting... unnerving. That will be beneficial to the team.”

"Re-Redeem?" Jorie stuttered as the essence of despair bursting out of the closet as her covered face somehow managed to express the feeling of sadness towards the group. "I was going to watch, but I guess I can fight," Jorie silently stated, her face disappearing into the darkness of the closet.

Soon enough, the door started to open rather slowly. It could almost say that a light gust of wind could open the door faster! Still, it opened, revealing the Jorie's entire short self. You could tell that the cloud of gloom had disappeared in those few seconds, and the look of unhappiness seemed to be missing. Still, she looked rather nervous meeting a new person. However, if her teammates accepted her... Then she could act, normal around her as well. "Uh... _{Hi, my name is Jorie Ngo, and I'm an Alpheidae Faunus.}" Jorie awkwardly waved towards Estelle with her claw arm, "_{I guess we can fight... If you want."}

"C'mon, Sarina, quit ribbing the new leader." Sterling muttered in an aside. "Jo-rie! Leader's gotta assert herself a little! Show her your game face before she gets ideas to usurp!" he cheekily advised from on high, ribbing the new leader.
"Besides," he continued without missing a beat or waiting for a reaction, "If we see more of the both of you we know how the both of you fight. Sarina an' I have stuck around on this team for a while, so we know how our styles mesh. You guys are the wild cards here."

"Very well" Estelle said standing up and withdrawing her blade. "Shall we leave to go to our sparring match?" She asked waiting for someone to take the lead. She however didn't pass up the opportunity to glance over at her team leader. The girl seemed somewhat uncertain of herself, though the fact that she was a fellow Faunus struck a chord in Estelle's heart. She found herself drawn by the claw arm, Estelle could see a myriad of ways it would prove useful in combat whether just by being a claw arm or by distracting an opponent, because it was a fucking claw arm. Estelle caught herself wondering if this was how people viewed her neck turning, internally shrugging.

With a lopsided smile, She is new after all only time will tell when the missions come. Sarina stood up and placed the pitcher, the cup and plate on the preparation counter. She grabbed Arbiter and Tormento which had sat leaning besides the chair she sat on. “Yes” she said looking at Estelle “let’s go to the arena.”

--

Jorie Ngo, Sarina Tala Dei, Sterling Johnson, Estellise Sidos Heurassein Nuit - Team JESS – Combat Arena

Team JESS entered into the combat arena. Several students were seated around the arena, just casually relaxing, talking; chatting while there were some students in the arena grounds that had just finished sparring. The presence, the entrance of the Team into the grounds of the arena created a sense of authority as everyone looked at them. Seniors teams were easily identifiable as they were older, matured, and had exuded a permeation that could be felt by others. The arena cleared quickly as the students went to the seats had their attention upon the entire team. A fight was going to happen and there was nothing more entertaining than a match between different students. The commotion of them talking about the Team can be heard whether about the crab Faunus and the owl, to Sterling, to Sarina.

Sarina stood in front of her entire teammates, odd as Jorie should be the one doing this though she had no problem asserting herself in a dominant position. After all she still is a leader [1] of a team from Haven, currently disbanded at the moment and this is what made her known for in Haven and Beacon. “All right, Jorie keep time with your scroll. Estelle, Sterling to the arena. I will begin the match.” Sarina wanted to see what Estelle would fair against Sterling, an impressive fighter as she had known him since she came to Beacon.

Estelle nodded at Sarina, it seemed like the more stoic female was the dominant teammate on this team rather than their captain. She found herself almost...giddy. The students watching the fight that was about to take place, her partner standing across from her, it was enough to make a woman like herself excited. She drew her weapon, placing it in front of her at an angle preparing to fight her new comrade.

"Whenever you're ready Sterling." She said as she began to cover herself and her blade in her aura. [2]

--

Five minutes later…

Sterling nodded in agreement in Sarina. He exited to the sideline, getting five good minutes of fighting as the crowd watched with interest, creating commotion in the seats. Now it was her turn for ten minutes. Ms. Serene stepped onto the stage gazing at Estelle with her red eyes holding Tormento, Arbiter within it. “Ready for challenger two, begin when you are ready” she said stoically.

Sarina had seen Estelle semblance, it was quite impressive but a dangerous one. Weight control vs. luminosity control [3] this was going to be an interesting fight, a thrilling though for Sarina. She had long for a human opponent, the lust of fighting another soul in battle, this would satisfy her.

Estelle took a quick step back and wiped her brow from sweat. The last fight was a fair one, she felt proud of her performance and she could tell at the very least the crowd was entertained by the looks on their faces. But the next fight definitely would be different; Estelle had lost the upper hand and gained a disadvantage.

She eyes Sarina closely, inspecting every movement, breath, and glance. She looked for something, god knows what. She raised her sword in the very same diagonal angle separating her from the rest of the world and faced her new teammate.

"Sarina, whenever you are ready, come at me." Estelle said cracking her neck and keeping her gaze on her opponent. She once more, covered her body and blade in her own aura preparing for combat.

Bad answer… Sarina began running towards Estelle, her weapon still sheathed and with an illuminating flash launched a powerful jump kick at Estelle, her boot landing in her face sending her slaying a few feet away. With her condescending face, she just looked at her waiting to get up as she continued to hold Arbiter/Tormento in her hand, not even unsheathed.

Estelle picked herself up off of the ground, placing her sword on the ground in order to steady herself. 'Okay then, so she can make a light show, fair enough then.' Estelle thought bracing herself for the next impact, she ran towards her opponent slashing downwards towards her, only to use that momentum in order to spin and sweep out Sarina's legs. Estelle then pointed her blade down at the other combatant.

"Don't suppose we're done?" She half-joked, yet retaining her focus and guard.

“Nope not yet.” Not yet as with her empty hand, a blue luminescent light grew quickly around her palm and she released it, causing a flash [4] that blinded Estelle allowing Sarina to make a side roll to get up and launched a several blunt attacks from her sheath onto Estelle pushing her back.

Estelle felt her feet skid against the ground, but not far. She had to thank her semblance for that, regaining her vision she lunged towards her teammate once more. She raised her blade as if she was ready to strike before throwing it directly at her teammate. She used the allotted confusion to tackle Sarina, pining her arms and legs under Estelle's semblance. She made sure to close her eyes as well; she wouldn't need to see in order to keep Sarina exactly where she was.

"Do you yield?" Estelle asked panting from the exertion of fighting one comrade after another.

This pressure is unbearable! With Estelle holding her down, in physical contact instantaneously activated the core ability [5] within her soul. Her eyes, changed immediately from red to an enchanting dreamy blue eyes “Who yields in battle” making a grin afterwards. Sarina began to grow the same blue light, except it was throughout her entire body. “Your dreams…I see…visualized in my mind. You have very interesting ones.” That prophetic statement would have sent chills down someone spine.

Sarina body was growing more intensely blue now at the point Estelle body parts such as her hands and legs would feel a painful burning heat.

Estelle felt the burning sensation along every point of contact on Sarina. She quickly realized this was yet another form of Sarina's semblance. She had to think quickly or she risked taking burns throughout her body, so she kept one hand on her teammate, shifting her position and releasing a powerful kick sending Sarina skidding along the ground at least ten feet. She retrieved her blade and pointed it directly at her adversary. Watching, waiting.

"You yield in battle to avoid further injuries, Sarina." Estelle said still reeling from the heat of Sarina's body.

Sarina stood up; the kick was compensated by her aura. Though now it was time, no more of this held back pressure the two sword wielders had had. With that, she stood back warming up her shoulders with a few rotations. Arbiter/and Tormento, still in her hand, she unsheathed it revealing a hi-tech mechanical sword, facing as she held Arbiter towards Estelle and Tormento in her other hand facing the ground downwards.

“Oh yes but from you, these injuries are a mere child’s play” questioning Estelle strength. After all, Sarina is powerful. There is a reason why Goodwitch selected her to become a TA.

Thus Sarina with all that illuminating blue light, her aura color she collected activated her semblance and the light. Luminous blue threads [6] materialized around her that looked like her defense, revolving around her. Next was a distinct star, in the appearance of an Aster [7] hovered above her head, what was its function. She gazed at Estelle with that serious stoical face “Are you ready?“ A blue light began to illuminate from Arbiter [8], much like with her body

"Sarina, let's end it with this next attack." Estelle said focusing her aura over her entire body. She prepared for a final, devastating attack. She walked towards her opponent, a steady pace. Each step she walked trembled the very ground beneath them. She flipped a small switch on her blade and it sparked to life, electrifying the air around it. When she got to Sarina she paused, looking the girl in the eyes and nodding. She then came down with an overhead strike that held the force of multiple cars, swinging as if it weighed a simple pound. She struck downwards and the very ground beneath her split and air generated by her sword flew out. This was why her blade was called Coup de Foudre. She put the majority of her strength into that last blow, should Sarina somehow withstand it she would allow the fight to go to her teammate.

The powerful pushed back Sarina but with her aura, she managed to get a control herself, as she flew back landed her palm on the ground making a back-flip. She panted but Sarina was impressed with the power she had, her skills more than enough as the crowd had been awed by the two opponents abilities but expected more. With that, Sarina made a half smile, there was no reason to continue the fight. She did not want to kill her teammate on the first day and sheathed Arbiter and deactivated her semblance, withering away back into her as decreased her luminosity. “I have no reason to give you a final blow when our mission is in two days. You are going to fit in quite nicely with the team” she normally, not so stoical but her eyebrows raised, happy, content. After all, Estelle had satisfied Sarina lust.

Estelle smiled, sheathing her blade in its self-contained sheathe, placing it on her hip. She walked over to Sarina and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It was a good bout, but we can't give the audience too much information." She laughed, waving to the audience. She wasn't used to this kind of happy atmosphere, but it was so...relaxing. She couldn't begin to imagine why Bianca felt more comfortable in Mistral; Estelle would have to be kidnapped to go back.

She walked back over to Jorie and Sterling, Sarina in tow. "So now that we know how each of us works, might as well get prepped for the mission, correct?" Estelle asked beaming after a good couple fights. [9]

--

Notes

[1]: A Hint of Sarinas background.

[3-8]: I only just started to rework Sarina abilities around Luminosity/Heat control after doing research on how it could work. The abilities seen were added in quickly just for the fight so it is subject to change until I finalize the rework. Kudos to Prince suggesting it.

[2 & 9]: Due to time constraints, we could not add in Sterling fight nor extend Sarina/Estelle Match. Details of it will be added later on.

As the two girls hopped off the airship to Vale, Lauren favored the man standing at the exit hatch with one final, defiant pout. She had been the subject of suspicious glares from the moment they had boarded, and they had been difficult to BS an explanation to Amy, observant even in her bemused state. They probably hadn't flown, but the important thing was that they had gotten to the city without even a whiff of an incident. So what was there to brood about?

Crossing her arms and tucking her hands under her arms, her pursed lips gave way to a wide, cheerful smile. The energetic bruiser of BASL fell back into step with her teammate as they adopted a comfortable place off the dock and down a sidewalk. Vale was cozier than any place she'd ever been in its eponymous kingdom - especially around the evening time, when there was no worry about being jostled for just enjoying a walk with a girl.

"So what are you feeling?" she asked Amy good-naturedly. "Pharmacy or food first?"

"Food. Not supposed to take Ibuprofen on an empty stomach... And I didn't exactly have a full lunch," she said, smirking at the girl walking with her, her mind flashing back to the half sandwich Negasi had brought her in armory.

"How'd you feel about Mistralese?"

"Dope." Truth was, Lauren was easily swayed by fancy words like tortellini, rigatoni and caprese. The extent of her knowledge in tonight's area of cuisine had been bacon pizza for dinner for the first 19 years of her life. But with four years ahead of her and the first mission of her life just around the corner, it was no time for BASL's most boisterous member to get cold feet. "Think I might know a place, actually. My brother took me before he went off for his job. Few blocks from the park."

She was kind of enjoying the lazy pace, honestly. It felt nice, if unfamiliar, to not be so hyperkinetic. And a look on Amy Desire's face besides one of pain was always appreciated.

"I could eat the table by this point, girl," Lauren sighed longingly, as though she was already imagining the heady taste of mahogany. "I'm really high protein. Beacon's eating schedule has my body all outta whack. I'm more sluggish."

"Beacon's schedule has my sleep cycles all out of whack."

Amy's normal routine had been 6 hours shifted from that of ordinary people--rise at noon, go to sleep at 4, and shifting to ordinary had her falling asleep in morning classes and laying awake in bed at night with insomnia. Thankfully, things were starting to align again, and math was no longer extra sleep time. Her grades were improving, thank the Lord.

"Let me know when we're getting close. I'll try to look less down and out."

"Aaaah, who's worrying about it? You look fine." Lauren asked jovially. Nonetheless, she let Amy have her time to pull together, and for a couple blocks the boxer walked alongside her teammate with the hands in the pockets of her short jacket and her head lifted towards the brisk autumn wind. She'd spent a good while in Vale, but something about the temperate breezes here always seemed to perk her up, leaving her with a wide smile and a flush in her cheeks. She looked to her right over at Amy again and thought about fixing her hair. It had been bugging her since Armory. Buuut personal bubbles and all that. Right-o. Lauren tended to forget that not everyone got as comfortable as her. One of the things she'd been warned about by Ozpin.

After a brief fit of jaywalking and another block or so, they had reached the restaurant that Lauren had recommended only to find that the place had a line nearly out the door. Luckily, after Lauren had realized the amount of waiting it would take for them to eat ("Oh, this won't do at fucking all") and a text to someone she described as "this guy Sloan helped out on the wait staff," they had maneuvered their way towards a table for two against a window. When seated and confronted with drinks and wine lists, Lauren had stared at the menu of expensive wines like a gazelle who thought that she'd spied a famished leopard from the corner of her vision.

"Uh...just a soda for me," she requested. Oh man, I sound like such a bum. Well, she was...kind of a bum, but...Amy didn't need to know that! "I don't...uh...drink stuff that could pay my tuition."

Oh, fucking suave, Negasi.

"So...uh...your fight today was different!" she chirped, once the order for breadsticks and drinks had gone off. "Ben's hits have a kick like a jackass, but I made sure to get enough vision back that I could watch."

"Soda for me too."

Normally, Amy would have offered to buy some wine for herself and Lauren, but mixing alcohol and drugs was not a good time. At Lauren's fight comment she sighed and studied the menu for a few seconds before responding with a slight smile.

"So you saw me flub our best chance at a team victory?"

"Well, if we're gonna be reading into things, we didn't get a single team victory in a class period where two teammates actually fought. We fucked up the unfuckable. So technically...you and Sangue came out better than we did!" Grinning from behind the thin black menu, Lauren's eyes roved over entrees and specials. "Think I might spring for a..."

Don't say pizza. Don't say pizza.

"...I'm feeling a calzone." Much better. "And a garden salad."

She set the menu down and pushed it to the end of the table with a casual flick. She shrugged out of her leather jacket and draped it on the back of the chair behind her, crossing her arms over her bare abdomen and trying not to slouch.

"I mean, it wasn't a bad fight," she said reassuringly. "There were some bad fights today. You just had...stuff going on, I s'pose. Happens to everyone."

"Probably chicken alfredo for me," she said, then bit her lower lip. "No, it wasn't a bad fight... But I let personal feelings get into it."
Amy tossed the menu down and put her head in her hands, crimson spikes sticking through her fingers. She sighed, then reached with one hand to pull the shoulder of her shirt back over her bra strap, grimacing at how poor the male uniform fit her.

"In my... old life, getting personal feelings involved never ended well for anyone. I... I could have killed Diamond, I think, and--that worries me. I can't let myself get that out of control again..."

"Oh." Lauren raised her chin up from her chest and tilted her head at the exhausted half-Faunus before her. She was fidgeting with the school uniform and staring at the table as though she could find Diamond's face in the pattern on the tablecloth. "...Oh."

So she had a thing for Diamond. That explained a lot. Cleared up some stuff. Oh.

"Well...like..."

Yeees, Lauren. Seal the deal. Soon everyone in Beacon will learn to fear your vague advice!

"I don't know much shit about most shit, okay? But I know feelings. They're my Semblance." What the--no no no, VAGUE advice, Lauren! Don't speak from the heart! "And I know that...sometimes, when I feel like crap...it's other people that pull me outta my funk. They give you the bad, but...they give you a lot of the good, too. So you were a stripper. So Diamond has a pencil neck. There's a lot of stuff about me that I hope you guys will never find out. But...we're all training to be Huntresses now, right? We all gotta give a little bit of a crap about other people, or we wouldn't be here. So locking up the bad juju in your head and your heart only means that if you ever slip up, it could, like...cause more problems down the road, right? Better to just be a real person and take the good and bad as it comes. And you are a real person. A pretty cool one, too."

Noticing Amy fidget with her bra strap, the newest member of BASL reached behind her back and pulled the leather jacket off her chair, draping it under Amy's feathers. She gave her teammate her most mature and cheerful smile to go with it.

"Hey...sorry it didn't work out with you and Diamond." It was only half a lie, but still more of one than Lauren Negasi was used to telling.

Most of the time.

"I wish a stripper was all I was, Lauren. I'm not ashamed of what I've done, but..."

She searched her mind, just too make sure-

"I'm not ashamed of what I've done, I had to do it. But if I waste this chance and have to go back to it... Then I will feel bad. Because I didn't have to."

This is the kind of conversation a girl needs more than a soda for.

She might have to spring for a little wine after all.

"Look. You can't tell anyone this - I mean it - but...I lied about how I got to Beacon."

LAUREN NOOOOOOOOO

"I didn't really fail the entrance exam. Instead I, uh, I stole cars. Half my life. I never even qualified for Signal, so I had an, ah, excess of free time. Couple months ago was my last steal. Lifted a sports car in Downtown Vale and nearly drove it into a nightclub trying to shake the cops. Chase on foot went on for almost another hour before I finally got myself got. When my brother wouldn't bail me out, I uh...I got a little low. I thought my life was over. But I guess Ozpin had his ear to a scanner that afternoon, because after another few weeks I found myself in an airship to what I thought was a prison."

"Instead, this quiet old man tells me that I'm officially enrolled in Beacon Academy. No firearms or vehicles for 500 days, no thoughts of trying to weasel out of my higher education, but it was freedom. I thought I was going to spend my twenties in a correctional facility, and instead I'm sitting here just a few days later with a total dime and a huge fucking calzone coming my way. So get that chin up, buttercup, because I'm only saying this once."

Lauren clasped her hands and rested her elbows on the table, grinning at the half-Faunus stripprostitutress-in-training.

"They don't throw people out of Beacon. You're graduating or you're dying - and I've never heard of four people who have such little idea of when to give up and die. And unlike your choice in girls, that stubbornness kiiiiinda leaves you short on options."

Lauren grinned wider, tilting her head to the left without breaking eye contact.

"Breadsticks!"

Amy put her hands on either side of Lauren's clasped fingers and smiled, squeezing slightly. She could hardly judge- she'd been a thief too, after all, though not to the degree the girl sitting across the table was. "Thanks, Lauren. BASL against the world, huh?"

"Course it is, doll. Birds of a feather--"

Lauren stopped and tilted her head.

"...That's not racist, is it...? Uh...us girls gotta stick together. Yeah. That's better."

Amy dropped her hands back to the table, making a mock "oof" with her lips.

"Figure of speech, Lauren. Nice diversion though, especially considering Ben is a guy."

"So I've noticed. I like to make him think I haven't, though." Lauren's teeth scraped her bottom lip and she grinned wider, pulling her own hands back as well to grip the rim of her glass and pull it in for a sip. "Haaaaven't exactly had my eyes on him. I'm not Cap's type."

Amy raised one eyebrow.

Lauren beamed.

And the other eyebrow went up.

"Yeeees?"

"You going to make things explicit or nah?"

"I could," Lauren teased, breaking a breadstick in half and chomping happily on one end. "Can't say I'd mind getting a little explicit with ya, ifyaknowwhaddImean," she added, after finishing off her first breadstick with a slight dab of oil, garlic, and pure mischief.

"Mmmmm... Well, breadsticks and chicken alfredo is a little below the going rate for racists..." Amy smirked, winking slightly.

"Is there aaaaaa 'I just cheered you the hell up' markdown?" Lauren asked hopefully through a long drink of soda. She found herself grinning more and more. She'd counted herself lucky to end up part of Bastille almost from the jump, and almost a hundred percent of that was thanks to the people. And half of that was thanks to this...this...

"Babe," Lauren said, returning fire with a wink of her own as she set her glass down, "gimme tonight to impress you. Just 'til we're back at Beacon, I promise. I might be able to surprise you if I try my hardest."

"No discounts, but--" Amy took a long drink from her soda, a smile going from ear to ear. "I'll let you turn it in for a chance to impress me. Be forewarned, I've been dated by millionaires before."

"Been dated, huh."

It was at that fortunate moment that the food arrived, and Lauren Negasi dug into her calzone with gusto before either girl was in the mood to frame a reply to the jab.

The time had come, but in no ordinary fashion: the time had come, once again. For some, undoubtedly, it carried with it the stinging memories of the time previous, when their excitement and energy turned into panic, pain, and personal sorrow in the wake of shocking events unforeseen. Others, however, not only retained but magnified their anticipation, ready to leave the books, bells, boredom, and beaten path behind in favor of adventure, adversary, and who knew what else. This Friday, alarms had been smacked, clothes thrown on hastily, weapons inspected, and breakfast hurriedly scarfed as that all-important hour of 9:00 AM ticked nearer. Ten minutes prior to the appointed time, all students, whether freshman or senior, journeyed with their teams to the pavilion colloquially termed Mission Control, where the day's assignments awaited them. All around the area elevated screens flashed to life when groups of four drew near, and when inputted the team name, would not hesitate to relay the task appropriated for them by the Beacon Board of Missions.


Mission: Patrol
Difficulty rank: C
Overseeing staff: City Guard officer
Reward: 2 Credits; 2000 Lien
Briefing:
A flu has grounded several of the Guards patrolling the city’s perimeter. <Team Name>, we need you to plug that hole. Your objective is to take over a section of Vale’s defenses and stand guard. I know it is a boring job, but somebody has to do it. The Guard will offer you a small compensation for your time.
Stay vigilant, and if by some chance the Grimm make a move, do not hesitate to call for help!
Antagonist: @Lucius Cypher


Mission: A Friend In Need
Difficulty Rank: A
Overseeing Staff: N/A
Reward: Bianca Nuit
Briefing:
A letter for Team VGNB arrived earlier today, inside was a message from Bianca. It appears she's been kidnapped and is currently being held for ransom. From the coded messages, it has become clear that she is being held at an isolated mansion owned by an influential member of the transnational criminal syndicate known as the Dodici Cosca. Your job then, as her friends and teammates, is to infiltrate the mansion and rescue Bianca from the clutches of her kidnappers and search the mansion for evidence of the Dodici's involvement in illegal operations.

Be warned, the Dodici are infamous for their cruelty, and will likely not hesitate to attack on sight. In addition, recent rumors suggest that the Dodici are increasing operations human and faunus trafficking. There is a possibility that other prisoners are located in the mansion. Keep an eye out and rescue any you come across.
Antagonist: @Write


Mission: Brewing Storm
Difficulty rank: S
Overseeing staff: Glynda Goodwitch, MCC representative
Reward: 5 credits, + 1 if difficulty rises to SS, 2000 lien
Briefing:
Three weeks ago the Manticore Chemical Corporation set up shop outside of Vale’s official borders, establishing an outpost named the Outlands Distillery on a cliffside overlooking a swamp valley.  As far as we know, everything went swimmingly.  After the first week, the Distillery was in production, harvesting the dangerous liquids and fumes choking the swamp and breaking them down into large amounts of chemicals we use in our everyday lives.
Five hours ago, Outlands Distillery went dark.  MCC is panicking; not only have is there a huge investment at risk, but they haven’t heard a peep from the Distillery crew.  Preliminary scans are, however, turning up large amounts of Grimm, as well as the Distillery’s radio tower, which has been downed.  This means that there are likely survivors, but they are unable to contact help directly.  The Altesians have been notified, but with no bases anywhere nearby, they are not expected to arrive within the next ten hours.  As such, the job has been handed to us.  We’re sending both of your teams to investigate, kill the Grimm attacking the place, and rescue the men and women trapped in the distillery.  MCC is offering a substantial amount of lien in proportion to any chemical drums you’re able to save, but make the civilians your top priority.  
Reinforcements: Team IFRA and I will be waiting in the airship, overseeing the operation from above.  If necessary we can descend to assist you, or direct the ship to fire on marked positions.  Each team leader will be given a flare gun for this task.
Antagonist: Lugubrious


Mission: Griever Hunt
Difficulty rank: C
Overseeing staff: Esther Vanhomrigh
Reward: 2 credits, 10 Lien per Griever killed (provide evidence)
Briefing: There have been reports of a Griever pack hiding in the western farmlands. Find the pack and eliminate it before it causes too much damage. The pack tends to spread out over a wide area and will hide at the first sign of trouble so be prepared to do some extensive tracking. Outside of the Grievers and possibly some minor Ratatosk infestations there have been no signs of Grimm in the area, and the area is generally quite safe.
It cannot be stressed enough that the food supplies and farming equipment must remain untouched. With fall approaching there is no time to regrow the crops so too much damage can lead to food shortages!
Reinforcements: Several hunter teams have been called in for this mission. Should you for whatever reason encounter something you cannot handle on your own you can call in teams from the surrounding area for help.
Antagonist: @Harinezumikouken


Mission: The Chorus of the Deep
Difficulty rank: B
Overseeing staff: Rowan Iderson
Reward: 3 credits, 1750 Lien
Briefing: Four days ago, the sheriff department of the seaside town of Trawl received a missing persons report, but preliminary efforts at finding said missing persons proved unsuccessful.  Yesterday, however, another missing persons was filed, and this time there was a witness.  An lady by the name of Magenta Rookwood was walking with her friend Daisy near the shore when Daisy went into a trance, muttering about how beautiful something was and having to find it.  Confused but unaffected, Mrs. Rookwood followed her friend over the rocks, but lost her in a cluster of boulders.  After that, Daisy was nowhere to be found.  What’s significant about all of this?  Mrs. Rookwood was hard of hearing, and used an aide to pick up sounds.  That means that we’re dealing with a Siren.  If you know anything about Sirens, you know that despite their relative frailty, each and every one is a huge threat.  You must get to Trawl, track down the Siren, and eliminate it before it can call for help.
Reinforcements: Professor Iderson will be on call to drop in should things turn nasty, but please, call her in as a last resort.
Antagonist: @Multi_Media_Man


Mission: Hit and run
Prerequisites: 4 credits worth of missions completed or any mission that dealt with targeting large/numerous grimm.
Difficulty rank: A+
Overseeing staff: Prof. Ozpin
Reward: 4 credits +1 for each difficulty up
Briefing: Good morning KNVS. I’ve selected you to perform a dangerous but important task. Your previous accomplishments make me confident you are up to it.
Last week, another team assigned a recon mission discovered a lair of an Ariadne dangerously close to Vale. Your mission, should you accept, will be to perform a strike on this creature. It’s presence is not a danger to Vale on it’s own, however the numerous broodlings in the area have become much tougher opponents under it’s influence.
It will undoubtedly try to pit it’s drones against you, and that is why you must approach stealthily, deliver a crippling blow and extract in the shortest amount of time. Remember, your goal is to neutralize the Ariadne, not to kill it. Crippling it sufficiently to be unable to move with it’s broodlings will be sufficient to keep Vale - and yourself - safe. Pack lightly, but for heavy damage.
Antagonist: @Prince of Seraphs


Mission: Capture the Fort!
Difficulty rank: B
Overseeing staff: None
Reward: 3 Credits, 1000 Lien per defender
Briefing: This is a fairly straightforward mission: There is a Hunter Outpost overrun with Grimm, but recent observations shows that there is a fairly minimal Grimm population at the moment. This would be the best time to strike, clearing out the fort and securing it. You task, should you accept it, is to not only eliminate all threats within the fort, but also hold it until reinforcements arrive to secure the location. Try to keep the damage to the fort to a minimum: while it's made to hold off against large assaults, it's been years since anyone has been able to do any maintenance on it, and it will fail as a fort if it's destroyed before reinforcements show up.
Reinforcements: Once the fort is cleared additional hunters will arrive within 2-3 days.
Antagonist: @Lucius Cypher


Mission: Defend a Caravan
Difficulty rank: S
Overseeing staff: N/A
Reward: 4 Credits, + 10,000 Lien
Briefing: This one isn’t pretty, but it’s a necessity. We have a trading caravan coming in from Minstral that is a biannual flow of resources moving between our countries. However, we’ve been told there are large groups of Grimm moving on the Caravan’s location. We need to move swiftly and with tact. Your objective is to figure out what is drawing the Grim to the caravan and defend it, we don’t know when exactly the Grimm will arrive, so you’ll need to have at least one team member awake at all times, this job should last a full 24 hours. As this is so last minute, we have no time to send you back up. Good luck.
Antagonist: Lugubrious

Kuhaku Shiro - Mission Control

Staring at the holographic panels intently, Shiro carefully read through the details for his team's mission. As his eyes panned through the text, it was apparently that the White Tiger Faunus boy seemed...tired. As evident by the dark circles and bags underneath his eyes, it was clear that he hadn't been sleeping very well recently. Pausing briefly to yawn, Shiro covered his mouth as the corners of his eyes teared up. He wouldn't say, but odd nightmares had been plaguing him. Any small amount of sleep he did get wasn't restful and it was affecting his performance in his classes. He wasn't sure what the cause of the nightmares was, but Shiro didn't seem to think much of it and figured it to be a non-issue. Sniffling as he scratched at his ears, he wasn't familiar with what the 'Siren' Grimm was. Pulling out his Scroll, he decided to look up information on the Grimm to familiarize himself before the start of the mission.

"Professor Iderson's in charge of this one, hm?"
His gloved fingers tapped on the Scroll's screen in its tablet form.
"Not sure what a 'Siren' is. Maybe I should swap out a class for Grimm Studies or something. Not going to really learn much in Armory now that I think about it."
He paused his search to yawn for a second time.
"I wonder if the police department have any Faunus trackers. If I could get a hold of some of the clothing belonging to the people who went missing recently, I may be able to use that to accurately sniff them out. Provided that the scent trails hadn't died out that is."
Bleary-eyed, Shiro lazily skimmed through the details on the aforementioned Grimm.
Making a disgusted face at the captured image, Shiro quietly shuddered.
"Eugh! Ugly looking thing. Then again, not many Grimm would be considered 'pretty-looking'. Pretty nasty abilities too..."
Making another curious scrunched face, Shiro absently stared at the Scroll's screen. Spacing out and becoming lost within his own thoughts..

Esther Vanhomrigh - An empty classroom

Leaning against her white-gloved fist, Esther carefully re-read the details of the mission she posted a while back. Ever since she had submitted the mission request to Beacon's board, there was one detail that nagged at the back of her mind. As simple and low-ranked as the mission seemed, two teams was a bit much. It was uncharacteristic of her to be so unsure. The main problem was that she had experience fighting the Grievers and the "Rat-fuck" (*As she called them) creatures of Grimm and knew how troublesome they could be. It was out of that experience that she wanted the best for her students. To shield and protect them from potentially traumatic experiences that could arise from the situation. Being mixed in with those Grimm, she knew what tragedies they were capable of. It didn't help that she read up on the mission details of the former members of what was now team 'CODE'. She knew how badly the outcome affected Oswald and Diamond and a part of her compassionate heart related to their pain. Sighing heavily, Esther decided to make a last minute adjustment and be done with it. Straightening in her seat as it made a creaking noise, Esther typed a quick change to the mission that should update immediately at the M.C. Omitting Team JNPR, she listed herself as a last resort emergency backup instead. If her students weren't aware of her background and power, she'd make it known and clear then. After editing the mission information, she pounded out a swift message notification to the assigned Hunter team.

To: Cobalt Chideta, Oswald Connoly, Diamond Frost, Emerald Felicia [Team CODEX]
From: Esther Vanhomrigh [Practice Class/Teacher's Aide]
Subject: Mission Briefing [Griever Hunt - C Rank]
Body:

"Muster outside at the Beacon Commons area before 0800 for your mission brief. At that time have all necessary armor, weapons, and equipment. They will be present for my inspection and will be prepared by SNH [Said Named Hunters/Huntresses] beforehand. Team Leader Cobalt Chideta will be held accountable to ensure all team members arrive in a timely manner. If SNH are tardy and ill-prepared, Team Codex will automatically fail their assigned mission and receive an unsatisfactory demerit. Disciplinary actions will include but are not limited to mission reassignment to a more responsible Hunter team and extracurricular activities such as janitorial duties.

Do not be late."
- E. S.

Collapsing her Scroll and locking it, Esther stood from her chair and grabbed her cover. Sliding her chair back into place and pocketing her Scroll, she seated her cover on her head as she walked out of her unoccupied classroom. Determined to be waiting at the Commons Area long before Team CODE would arrive, she decided to test them to see if they could at least adhere to simple instructions. If they couldn't, she fully intended on punishing them. It would be better to have them safe here at Beacon cleaning bathrooms than to have them out in the field ill-equipped. Out there, a mistake would get you killed. As a responsible future teacher at Beacon, that was her worst nightmare. To have a young Hunter or Huntress die as a result of her not being hard enough on her pupils. Brim of her cover low on her brow to shade her eyes, one could see a hard and stony expression that failed to betray any sort of human emotion such as compassion and love. When in reality, the opposite was true. Heels of her boots clacking with a resounding echo, she projected her bellowing voice down the hall to clear her path to the Commons.

"MOVE!"

With that command, a clear line was made for her by the shuffling masses.
As her body moved, it was painfully obvious that she was a woman on a mission.

Robert Fallson - The Dorms

The four days prior to today's mission had kept Robert fairly busy, what with fighting not one but two underwater Grimm, a fellow student whose main form of attack was blasting people with water, and finding that one mysterious kid with that loud semblance. It wasn't until he had gotten back from his "retrieve Sapphire's daggers at all cost" mission that he finally got a moment to rest and let his mind wander that day. The sight of his old teammates belongings still scattered around his dorm helped the red haired boy direct where it was that his mind wandered. Ever since that day, Robert had been sneaking off in the middle of the night to get some time away from his team. He didn't want them to see him as wallowed in misery thinking about Greyson, Daniel, and especially Priscilla. Robert was no longer in a state of denial. He knew they were gone forever. The team leader couldn't let his new team see him like this though, it'd affect morale. So when he was finally done, he'd go back to his dorm to rest, making it appear as if nothing had happened.

Waking slowly, Robert looked at the nearby clock for the day's date. "Oh boy. Do you guys know what today is? It's time for missions! The best part of Beacon!" he shouted sarcastically. Robert hadn't forgotten the ass-whooping he had received last time. "I just hope we're not fighting the White Fang like we did last time... Oh wait. None of you have done a mission have you? Oh you're going to absolutely love it," he said, the last sentence dripping with lethal amounts of sarcasm. "Come on. Let's go see what it is that will be giving us scars, both physically and mentally."

Gonna get down on FRIDAY

---

One black-haired member of the contingent of four walking down to the pavilion bright and early, or at least what counted as bright and early to a former high-schooler who really wished he could schedule classes on his own time blocks as opposed to having periods to fill, yawned and raised his arms to the sky, stretching languidly with an oddly relaxed demeanor for a Friday morning at Beacon.

The week had passed by quicker than he had expected, and had been, in very basic terms, an entirely average week. There were highs--

• Language.
• Psychology.
• Newfound understanding of mathematics.
• Getting to know the class a little better.

--and there were lows--

• Practice.
• Ending up unable to show Beryl Harken to the pool.
• Missing an oppurtunity to convince Beryl Harken to ride double when they headed for the pool
• Being acutely aware that his scalp was under constant scrutiny by one or more Vignobles--
  • Whenever possible.

--But in its totality, the week was a normal, balanced week. While it may have seemed at first glance to have been strange from the get-go, especially judging from the events told about Monday, through the objective, 20/20 lens of hindsight, he had come to recognize that it was actually entirely normal for a day in Beacon. High concentrations of extraordinary individuals lead to high concentrations of extraordinary events. As such, what was extraordinary to him quickly and suddenly became ordinary. Unusual became usual. Outlandish became routine.

And he had begun to adapt. Not as quickly as he was sure his mother had, or his sister would, but that being said, he had been faced with a far more jarring transition than to simply be eased into the program by Signal.

That also being said, he was an obstinate young man by nature, almost foolishly so. The adaptation had been going at a slow burn rather than the typically foretold explosion of freedom and change one was purportedly to experience in colleges, or college-like settings. He still found himself surprised, for example, to learn that one of his classmates, the leader of Team RWBY, was a girl barely a year, if even that, older than his little sister at Signal. He was surprised to learn that he shared a class with a famous athlete, on team JNPR.

I hated that cereal, though...

Count Chocula to the grave.

Lucas Schwarz, 18-year-old-hunter-in-training-and-sophist-at-large, was, as we just established, still obstinately finding surprise in things even as he was adjusting to life amongst his peers at Beacon, and acknowledge daily (hourly) wackiness as the status quo. So with that in mind, then, it should come as little surprise that he found himself very surprised when he woke up Friday morning.

As everyone knew, even well before they transferred or enrolled into Beacon properly, Fridays were dedicated to mission days. At least once a week, a team would go out and gain field experience. This was not the surprise being described, for even the desultory, foolish, easily-surprised Lucas Schwarz was privy to the weekly routine in terms of his classes.

His last mission was arguably the worst experience of his life. By necessity and unfortunate timing, he was in both senses of the phrase thrown into the fire on his first day of school. Having likely set a record for "World's shortest span of time between departing and arriving from and to Beacon's Airdock", before he could even unpack he was en route to the Underground Casino. From start to finish, he had felt as though he would snap from his own sheer tension-- everything from simply slipping under the notice of a very bored security officer to the climactic confrontation with the ringleaders themselves, he thought himself a hair's breadth from losing it.

He'd had his hand crushed in a closing steel door, and nearly fallen victim to the same fate in his entirety to the automated version. He'd had to bring his A-game combat performance to fight not one, but two senior officers of the White Fang contingent stationed within, after drawing literally every eye in the casino onto himself by making the most overblown scene he could imagine.

Maybe I should join theatre--

No.

I'm not thespian enough.

He'd had more close encounters with fire than he dared dream to happen in a year fending the two of them off, and the very closest one had come from poor Cian, under the hallucinatory effects of Morgan's Semblance. Were it not for his teammates exploitation of cognitive dissonance and their opponent's willingness to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, it was likely that Officer Murphy would have dropped into a much bloodier mess.

Would it have been a complete rout? Maybe not. their leader's own combat prowess was formidable, and with that lightning-like speed of his he was probably more than capable of taking out Morgan before she could work her semblance's powers upon him as well, especially if he had taken out their ringleader by his lonesome.

Nonetheless:

It was an experience that I had reservations upon the idea of repeating.

So what, then, was the surprise?

It may have been Jack, eternal lover of a good fight, influencing him and his judgement.

It may have been Cian, whose eagerness to better herself and put that incident behind her, spurring him on in turn as he watched her leave in the evenings for the firing range, helmet in tow.

It may have been Mokuren, her seemingly-constant absences, distant nature, and unrepentantly strange sayings leaving him with more questions than answers about her character, ones he thought may be illuminated in a context so much more reliant on actions than words.

It may have simply been his own mind, tired of dredging up singular facts and formulae from the flood of information he had absorbed through each and every class, longing for a change of pace. A type of insanity that came from without, rather than generated from within as it tried to keep up, furiously collating information in the most valiant effort put forth in the XXth century.

Whatever the reasoning may have been, the surprise came all the same to the black-haired man:

He was looking forward to their mission today. Even in the face of the hard times the first was, he still felt a curious breed of excitement overtake him as he shook off the cobwebs when JCML rolled into the pavilion at precisely 8:50 AM, just ahead of a lively team of Seniors.

As a team, they approached one of the many information terminals, and as if hearing them coming, it flared to life.

Gray eyes casting their vision over the screen as it flashed for them, he searched for the now all too familiar combination of JCML in the headers, blinking when he found none. He scanned again, noting that a certain few clumps of letters were in pairs--

Wait.

He picked out the three secondary names, his face impassive even as his mind began to comprehend the meaning behind their placement. JNPR, with CODE. IFRA, with KNVS. And finally, nonchalantly tacking itself onto a mission he felt a tad guilty for not reading anyways in the first place-- JCML, with BASL.

And now IFRA, too.

A typo?

"A joint mission," he noted carefully, to the team as a whole. "And S-Rank. It looks like we're going to have our work cut out for us, if they plan on sending two teams in, with senior backup."

As he awaited the response from his teammates, he looked over his shoulder on either side, in search of four specific pairs of eyes.

• Benjamin Lloyd
• Amaranth Desire
• Sangue Naga
• Lorena Negasi

"Good thing it's with BASL. They seem to have good heads on their shoulders, and I'm pretty sure we all know how well they do in fights." he continued with a touch of wry humor, relating back to that first wild Monday session of sparring.

IC: Emerald Felicia - Dorms -

"Guys are you ready!? Because I've been ready to go for an hour!" Emerald exclaimed quite early in the morning, uncharacteristically alert and hyperactive for how early it was, she normally wasn't much of a morning person. Nevertheless she went to bed earlier than usual Thursday night, and woken up before the rest of her team.

To say she'd been anticipating her first mission was an understatement, she'd gone to bed with her heart thumping in her chest, and when she woke up it had been beating even faster. She was ready to kick ass and shoot some Grimm! She'd showered, gotten dressed, eaten, and grabbed her gear in less than an hour, that had to be a record breaker for her.

The last four days had been a bit of a blur for her, nothing of note had really happened between then and now, save for the agonizing wait for Friday. But now that wait was over! Emerald looked her outfit over, making sure everything was put on correctly and that her shoes were properly tied and that her shotguns were filled to the brim with ammo and properly cleaned and functional. Of course she'd checked this last night, and a few times this morning already. But it never hurt to check for the fifth time!

Emerald looked back at her team, by now they were all either ready, or just about. She couldn't wait in the dorm any longer, so she opened the door. "I'm gonna start heading towards the mission brief!" With those parting words she clipped her weapons onto her arms and headed out the door, moving at a brisk pace toward the Commons.

I wonder how many Grimm we're gonna kill...well that's a silly question, all of them!

She giggled to herself as she dodged random students rushing through the hallways. The atmosphere of the school felt very tense, she could almost sense the anxiety from the other students, it was very stimulating!

Before she even realised it she was at the designated meeting place set by Esther Vanhomrigh. And speaking of Ms. Vanhomrigh, there she was, waiting for them! Emerald had never personally met Esther, but Emerald wasn't one to be shy!

"Good morning!" Emerald waved with one of her arms, shotgun and all.

Jack had attended classes as normal, and from thereafter went out shopping for a snack before he would head to HQ. Out of all the other students, he was the one seen going out and hitting the town the most, either for a quick bite to eat, or a cheap thrill at the arcade, or simply browsing some of the stores to see what new stock they had. His wonderment of such simple things were testament to his rather poor upbringing. Such a topic he would not willingly share. His mind wandered to this from time to time, he wondered how the other kids were doing. Unlike him, they weren't talented in any form of combat.

Heavy thoughts aside he found himself returning and heading up to mission control eating a bag of potato chips. After the regular processes were done to go on through he spotted Luke on one of the terminals.

"Hey Luke, they have these new sweet potato chips now, and they're awesome, you should try some", he was saying, as he stepped beside Luke to look at the monitor.

"Huh... I didn't know it was a joint mission. That might be fun", he noted... As they waited for the other team members, their own and BASL, he stood there in waiting silence for a moment, before slowly thrusting the bag of chips closer to Luke.

"You want one?"

- 4 nights ago -

Everyone was already asleep by the time Diamond made her way back to the dorm, or so it seemed with three bodies lying still in their beds. This day was at the top of her shit list - first her feelings can’t make up their bloody mind and then all of that swimming bullshit, coupled with a… Promise? Order? Threat? from Cobalt that she would have to deal with it. The thug had half a mind to just cut the day’s field out of a calendar and declare it never happened.

A monument to her skills, she managed to navigate the hallways without getting busted somehow, despite taking the usual way instead of the window. She wobbled into the room, silently closing the door behind her. Pointing a finger at her sleeping teammates, she grunted: “You’re all drunk!”

She dumped her coat, blouse and pants on the floor next to her bed in an unorderly heap and fell on top of the sheets. Her upset stomach refused to allow her to fall asleep though. Wincing, she opened her eyes and her gaze fell on Emmy’s face. A silly smile plastered itself on her face as she got out of the bed.

Or tried to at least. Instead she fell, lucky not to break a wrist. Crawling over to the cat faunus’ bed, she looked at her sleeping form. “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!” she said, her pitch way too high for comfort. At this point, her brain was incapable of much logic thought, let alone thinking of the consequences of her actions.

After dealing with her past feelings for Amy, all that was left was the fuzzy eared reason she started having doubts in the first place. There was no sense lying to herself - Emerald was too cute to slip under her radar. That alone felt like good enough reason to her inebriated brain to be head over heels in a drunken love. So it decided to tell her so..

Mesmerized by the cat ears, her arm went up to them, only lightly tapping the tip of Emmy’s right ear with the tip of her finger: “Touch!” she giggled stupidly, “You’re so…. cuuuudly you know? I could ju-just… hug you andnotletgo. EVER! *hic* And dem eeeeeeeyes! So prettyyyy! You’re the… bestest. I luw you~! But… Don’t tell Emmy yet! I… can’t handle a ‘no’ right now.” she blurted her unsteady confession.

Her stomach gave her an awful reminder that it wasn’t at all agreeing to her drinking as much as she did, and she fell back on her butt, needing to support herself with the arms not to hit her head on the bed behind her. “I’m nawt… feelin’ so well… Been drinking to… to... forget. Who I was. Don’t wanna remember. Diamond’s been a baaaad girl! I… Stole a truck full of dust form Schnee girl… Lived out of that for two years… was great!” her mind started recounting her criminal resume, and she started counting her disagreements with law on her fingers, “Tunneled into a… Mason… Mansiosh.. a biiiig house to steal the biggest gemstone you ever seen, broke into a gallery and stole this.. this… piece of coloring book. And, you know, a house here and… there… and there… and there… Because those jewels were really niiiiice! Must have!”

More hiccups. “It was pocket change for those folks anyway! And I gave to orphanages!” she whisper-shouted pointing her hand upwards in a lecturing gesture. “But then that… evil cop… They put me in jail!” she whined. “Jail… terribad! There were those two guys.. made me drink something and then… nononono, forget, must forget! Yesh, forget. Didn’t happen. Don’t ask Diamond about it. She’d get angsty and sad. Or her Ex. Don’t ask about her. All in the past. Live in the now.”

She sighed. “And then… f*n swimming.” she made a disgusted grimace, “I’m moar cat than you in hating water. Don’t wanna… already almost drowned once… Trust Diamond and stay on land kitten.” the drunk said with a lecturing gaze pointed to the sleeping faunus.

Clutching her stomach, she looked up, her eyes seemingly full of clarity all of a sudden: “Imma need a bucket!” she said and hastily wobble-sprinted to the bathroom, feeling the booze about to go back up the way it came in.

Deeming the bed way too far, Diamond settled down on the floor as she were. It was cold and that felt really great.

- Present time -

It was friday again. Diamond was frankly quite amazed nobody booted her out of the school yet. Although, this particular person that sent them a message right now seemed like they would very much enjoy doing so if they could for whatever the reason.

Speaking of those, the thought of reassignment got her thinking. All it would take is something small like stealing Cobalt’s boots or something similar to render him inoperable and out of her hair. Shooting a sideways glance at their ‘leader’, she couldn’t recall him ever doing anything that would convince her to trust him in that role. If she was asked, his actions in that blasted grimm studies class only confirmed her worries, as the first thing Cobalt did when she notified him of her problem was to fall in line with what someone else was proposing, and then just giving her a

"You heard the man. Stay at the edge of the pool and provide ranged support. Later."

That wasn’t how a teammate behaved, let alone one supposed to be in charge. Leaders can’t be followers. she recalled someone’s quote, but wasn’t sure of the author. Oh well. All the more relief that their current mission seemed to be one of the easier ones.

“I’m going to grab some stuff at requisitions office. Should I fetch you peeps anything?” she called out, looking at the clock. Plenty of time to go have a smoke before they had to be there. Good.

Trad Oak – Dorms

---

As the sun peaked in waking up the RDGT members, Trad heard their “ecstatic” leader speak. It was mission day. This chance had already passed Trad by once and there was no way he would miss it again. Unlike with BAST however, Trad really didn’t have any idea how this team would do together. Sure in terms of combat he knew their choice of weapons and brand of combat, but that’s about all he knew of them. They all kept distance from one another for whatever reason. Even their leader seemed to disappearing some nights only to come back acting like he never left.

Now they were about to go out doing who knows what for however long with no way of avoiding each other. If the team was going to clash in anyway it would be done out there, the worst possible time. On the flip side, they could find out they’re all really the best of friends and this mission would simply be the perfect ice breaker. Maybe then they could also discuss what to do with the mess left behind by the former members. (He wasn’t exactly fond of finding peoples unmentionables in places he’d rather not know how they ended up.)

Pushing himself to get out of bed Trad let out a yawn large enough to be mistaken as a battle cry, then calm responded to the their leader.
“We should probably get some food before hand. Best not decide on an empty stomach. “

Glancing at the clock the current time sent a sudden reminder of his weekly meet up,
“Crap, I’ll have to meet up with you guys later. Promised a friend we'd meet up before each mission.”

Opening his scroll he sent a quick message to Diamond.

To: Diamond Frost
From: Trad Oak
Subject: Smoke date

“Hey, sorry I’m running a little late. Give me a few minutes to get ready and I'll meet you in the gardens.”

@Forsythe

Cobalt double checked all of his equipment that he had prepared last night. Then he triple checked and checked once more just for good measure. He had taken some sleeping pills last night just to make sure he got a good amount of sleep for the mission and he prepared all of his stuff 12 hours in advance. He looked over to Diamond and smiled. That was kind of her, maybe she was getting over the whole gun in her face thing.

"No thanks Diamond, I'm good. Wait Emerald, we're supposed to leave as a team! God damn it." Why did Ozpin set him up as a leader again? This was such a bad decision on his part. 'At least this will be an easy mission.' Cobalt put on his coat and boots, brushed his hair out of his face, threw on the 27 Smasher onto his back, and put on his backpack full of ammo, food, and any other essentials.

"Are we all good, nobody is missing anything? Speak now or forever hold your peace!" He waited a moment for Oswald or Diamond to respond and nodded resolutely. "Ok, we're all set. Let's head to the Commons Area!" Cobalt heard Diamond's scroll get a message and looked at her. He then looked at the clock and sighed.

This past week had been intense. He nearly destroyed any possible trust between himself and Diamond, sorta fixed it, fought a Megaladeus! And that party was insane, he never knew that Gren could handle so much alcohol. 'I still want those damn rocket boots.' Cobalt looked over his stuff again and nodded. "Alrighty then, let's head out." He walked out the door and headed towards the Commons Area. People moved out of his way surprisingly fast, then again he did look pretty scary.

He arrived there in a timely fashion and looked at their supervisor. "Good morning Ms. Vanhomrigh. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Etiquette seemed to be the way to go with this teacher.

Gren Orchid

Despite the rough start, the party went fairly well. The first place Gren took everyone, he also allowed them to meet his parents, for a little while anyways. Being a good host he made sure to buy everyone their dinner as they roamed around, occasionally getting into trouble with other local youths, though their sheer size made most criminals smart enough to avoid trouble around them. Gren largely played host and didn't spent too much time in the spotlight, though he did offer a listening ear to those who wanted to say something. Otherwise a few hours later before midnight Gren had everyone go home, or at least the ones who didn't want to stay out late. After they returned to Beacon Gren checked up on how Shiro was doing with his dagger hunt before turning in for bed himself.

The rest of Gren's week was quiet for the most part. Training, classes, working on his weapons, taking care of his garden. His begonias were growing well, and in a few weeks they should bloom. Gren tweaked the rebreather during armory class managed to create four copies, better than his prototype. While they still had an hour-long supply of air, they were more comfortable to wear and much more secure. He made sure to give one to each member of his team. He also occasionally leaves Beacon and heads to the shadier parts of town: there he sales his bootleg electronic accessories and makes a small living. Compared to other smuggling factions in Vale, Gren was a small potatoes dealer not even worth extorting (If only because he could give as good as he gets when it comes to trading bullets). Still he made a tidy profit for himself and continued business as usual.

Then came mission day. It was a good thing Gren made those rebreathers, as they had to deal with Sirens. Gren only knew a little about them from past experiences (Of which he only had one, seeing them on a tv show), but he knew they were aquatic Grimm with a penchant for sound-based attacks. He had sound dampeners in his helmet strong enough for him to ignore the sound of The God Eater, but doing so would effectively leave him deaf, removing a level of perception for Gren. He wished he could have made headsets for everyone in the Armory class, but too late for regrets now. After preparing everyone a breakfast of pancakes and bacon, Gren went off to check out the details of their mission.

Sipping some tea as he reached the room where the missions were being dealt out, Gren spotted Shiro and walked over to him. He's noticed that Shiro seems... Less chipper than usual. Gren was trying his best not to coddle him, but at the same time he hated the idea that he might be ignoring Shiro during an important moment. So he went and got Shiro his own cup of tea, lemongrass and honey. "Yo buddy. Still alive?" Gren called out to Shiro. Gren bumped the smaller faunus with his hip as Gren's hands were full. He than offered one of the cups to Shiro to drink.