"Are there any questions? No? Good, now take your positions."

Professor Ozpin stood in front of the new recruits, his weight placed precariously on the regal-looking staff within his grip. His sharp eyes roamed over each of their forms, not even spending over two seconds on each person. They all seemed...eager enough. Practical and ready, even. He had no doubts that they would complete this task. He had just finished his debriefing, and they were now ready to be launched into the forest. Giving Glenda a glance, Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. The sound of the first pressure plate being launched was like dull music to his ears.

---

Breathe in, breathe out...focus. Do not hesitate.

These were the words that one Daelon 'Eden' Verde focused on as he stood on his own pad, emerald-green eyes cool and analytical as he observed the deep, expansive forest beneath the mountain's edge. Emerald Forest, otherwise known as the Grimm-filled forest that acted as the Initiation for all upcoming huntresses/huntsmen, was a large and dangerous place filled with the demonic, white-faced devils known as the 'Grimm'. He knew what was going to happen - it was rather obvious, considering the launch pads they were currently on, and due to the fact that they were directly facing the forest. They would be blasted in, and would have to land safely and efficiently, so that they could get on with the task at hand. Find and capture one of the relics, located at an unspecified area at the end of the forest, and destroy everything and anything in their path - or else they can, and will, die. There was no hesitation in Eden's eyes. He had a whole Aircraft-filled pint of aggression just ready to unleash, due to idiots back on the ride over here, and he was ready to complete this Initiation.

The teenager glanced once to his left, noting that he would be the first to launch, if they were launched one by one. He needed to be ready. He certainly couldn't be distracted by the very, very familiar female that was a few platforms down. Clasping his hands together in front of, and languidly stretching his back, Eden cracked his knuckles with a subtle, yet sharp tug of the hands, applying pressure to his rings at the same time. He felt his lips twitch only slightly as the rings, in a steaming hiss, quickly unfolded into hilts, before two two pure black and emerald-highlighted blades, razor-sharp and deadly, jutted from said hilts. His gloved hands gripped the hilts gently, carefully, his scarred index fingers resting on the triggers. He had all that he needed. Exodus Zinnia, his backpack - which held medicinal items and other useful tidbits, and his brain. He was ready. With this in mind, Eden crouched down, and tensed his leg muscles.



This was it, then.

3...

2...

1...

'On the dot.' He smirked.

His launch pad sprung underneath him, and in only a second, he was airborne, gracefully jetting through the air with Exodus Zinnia gripped in each hand. He couldn't help the small grin that formed on his lips as he instinctively flipped around, pointing his two katanas into the air and squeezing the triggers, hard. The sharp, brutal recoil blasted him even further through the air, but he controlled it, pressing the triggers twice more until he was a black and green, speeding bullet. Executing a backflip while still within the air, his streamlined body slicing through the wind resistance, Eden narrowed his eyes and grabbed onto a tree limb, using his momentum to swing completely around the limb, before releasing his hold and jetting through the tree-tops, shooting his swords behind him for extra speed and force. Finally, he found a grassy clearing to land in, and he tucked his body and dived down, landing gracefully into a forward roll that ended with him smoothly rolling onto his feet and into a dash, instantly activating his semblance. A blur of black and green blinked through the forest, heading, roughly, in the direction of the temple. He simply wanted to run, let his anticipation run it's course through the adrenaline, before he finally stopped and strategized.

A lone Beowolf bent over a blue lake to drink, only to hear a loud 'BANG' behind it. It only had a fraction of a second to close it's mouth, before a razor-sharp katana completely bisected it in a buzzsaw-like fashion. A black and green blur grabbed the thrown blade in mid-air, and without stopping his momentum, dashed over the pond and onto the grass on the other-side. As soon as his feet met the grassy dirt, Eden abruptly stopped his speedy dash, long black hair flying forward, through the air, from the sudden stop. Allowing his heartbeat to ease down, the boy began walking through the clearing. The first goal was to, obviously, find someone to become partnered with. It was a requirement, and although he disliked the idea of being paired with someone weak or weak-willed, he had to follow the rules if he wanted to make Her proud. Thusly, he would continue travelling at a sedate pace until he found someone, in which he would formulate a partnership and make his way to where he knows North was - which would be where the relics were. Whatever danger he faced on the way to the goal, he'd end it before it could even begin.

However, up ahead of him, he heard the sound of a large crash, along with dirt and grass flying through the air. Holding Exodus Zinnia out ahead of him, his eyes sharp, and one eyebrow arched in caution, Eden pushed through the shrubbery and bushes, coming face to face with a large hole, the dusty air around it being the only evidence showing that it was manmade, and made very, very recently.

He began walking towards the hole cautiously, ready to shoot as soon as an enemy made itself known.

Victoria Occidere waited patiently on her platform, surveying the dark green landscape cradled under the mountain range ahead of her. She glanced to her right, at all her fellow Initiates that were also facing the trial. "This is it." she thought to herself. "This is all you've been working towards since you joined Signal." She was going to make her parents proud, she was going to make everyone proud. As she eyed the other Initiates one by one, she pondered their reasons for joining Beacon, or what was going through their heads as they waited anxiously for the Initiation to finally begin. As her eyes hovered over the last Initiate, Victoria let out a quiet gasp as she seemed to spot someone familiar to her, before she quickly stared down at the green ground around the platform at her feet. Green, green, always green. She tried desperately to think of something else to occupy herself while she waited for their task to take place.

Moments earlier, their assignment was explained to them rather cryptically by the Headmaster of Beacon; they would need to find and capture an undescribed 'relic' that would be found somewhere in the northern part of the Grimm-infested sea of green flora waiting patiently in front of them.

Suddenly, without warning, the first Initiate was launched through the air, snapping her out of her trance. She quickly realised what was happening and prepared herself for the same procedure, as she watched the first Initiate arc through the sky. One by one the students to her right followed him, before it was her turn. She braced herself and unsheathed Azured Victory, gripping it tightly in her hands. She then felt a rush of air streak past her ears, her hair flowing away from her head like the pale blonde tail of a comet. She looked up at the boundless blue sky above her before she felt herself falling. Victoria started laughing as she began to descend, positioning herself downwards head first before she pointed Azured Victory in front of her with two hands. She pressed her two thumbs over the yellow trigger hidden under her weapon's guard, activating the engine within the pommel. The blade of her weapon began turning as the metal expanded, turning her elegant rapier into a high-powered drill. Victoria began to accelerate as she came closer to the ground. Moments later her drill impacted into the soft dirt, boring a thirty meter deep diagonal hole in the ground, sending dirt and dust into the air.

As she waited a few moments to let the dust settle, she let go of Azured Victory's trigger, causing the blade of the drill to contract back into its regular rapier size. She turned to face the entrance of the hole and began the thirty meter ascension towards it, the platform boots she usually wore made it slightly more difficult than she expected, but she kept at it until she could reach out to touch the harsh light. Climbing out of the hole, she looked up to see green...

"This is it... I'm finally here... All of that training... all of these trials and tribulations... I'm finally about to begin my initiation..."

Eminence thought to himself, as he stood quietly facing the lush expansive green forest ahead ontop of the mountain side where professor Ozpin was giving his speech, his mind aflutter with thought, both good and bad, scared yet excited, determined yet doubtful, his mind didn't know what to think... The only thing he could think about more than his own safety were the others around him... What if something happened? What if someone in the group launched into the forest without a safe landing, what if they get pinned by grimm, consumed like prey by monsters, what if they meet their end inside the forest? The sudden vision of a grimms fangs ripping apart flesh sent a violent shiver down his spine, and his head drooped downward in contemplation... Perhaps he was overthinking things, but even so, to have that thought roaming in his head made him sick... He was scared, for others, not for himself, what if he failed in his initiation, failed to protect his friends? There was always a chance... He shut his eyes, and the pictures of each new recruit about to jump into the forest flashed through his mind... as their pictures burned, the thought of their demise filled him....

"No...!" He thought, as his eyes shot open, staring outward towards the forest, his left hand slowly arching back to grip the handle of Claudia, his Zweihander, no longer trembling, he made sure to tightly hold onto the blade with as much strength as he could muster...

"If I start letting this get to me, then such a future is a possibility! I'm not allowed to think like so! Everyone is going to be dependent on me, they need to rely on me, just as I must rely on them...! I'm not going to let my headmaster, nor these new allies die... I can't!"

Eminence looked to the launch pad beneath him and tested his weight upon it, it was quite the powerful tool no doubt, and the sheer force of its launch will send him hurdling into the forest, as such, he would need to think of a way to land, thinking of a few ideas, it wouldn't be long before his mind came to using his semblance, it had always been what protected him and others from harms way... and he was going to make sure to use it here. Slowly removing his heavy blade from his hilt, Eminence gave a simple nod, and prepared for launch...



With a single quick breath, the launch pad from underneath the feet of Eminence activated, a loud blast boomed in resonance and Eminence felt himself being flung outward into the jungle, the force of the launch taking him a little by surprise, however, he wasn't going to let it deter from his first mission, he needed to succeed in his initiation, if he didn't, he would be less than worthless. The faunus took a dive bomb into the forest, as a large plethora of thick wooden tree branches barred his way below. Slowly swiping down with his Zweihander Claudia, the powerful slash of his blade was enough to cleave through the thick wood, and allow him to safely plummet down towards the forest floor, though before landing, Eminence made use of his semblance, creating a shield underneath his feet like a board, the boy landed with a thud, smashing his shield but absorbing most of the impact, making Eminence forward roll, his sword still in his grip once he stopped, a grunt escaping him, before he quickly got up onto his feet, looking around himself... Noticing nothing but thick dark ominous woods around him, his hand still pointed north of where he was facing during the launch, to indicate where he was going to head.

"Who knows where the others are... As for myself... I'll need to keep an eye and an ear out for anything... if a Grimm approaches, that's bad news..." He thought to himself, before slowly making his way through the forest, his attention completely absorbed by keeping his senses in check, so that nothing will get the drop on him... However, the sound of a close by crash echoed... And in instinct he hurried in the direction of the sound, fearful of another student having been attacked...!

Tommy Brown was not in a good mood that morning. Because it was his first day, he decided to arrive on time, he’d heard that things like that were important here. In his hometown, teachers usually were satisfied when people his age showed up at all. He didn’t listen to much of what Ozpin said, all he got out of it was that he was supposed to meet people and find a piece of something. The wait was long and dull, but he did like how they were taking the phrase cannon fodder literally by firing the recruits onto the battlefield.

He was one of the first launched, and it came to him more as a relief than a surprise. He flew through the air and thought for a moment about how long it’d been since he’d visited a forest this large and verdant. That thought left him when he realized that the assholes in charge expected him to find his own way of landing safely. Tommy didn’t know much about fancy aerial maneuvers or anything of the sort, so he just tried hitting the limbs of trees with his body. That slowed him down, but he still needed something to actually stop him before he hit the ground.

Tommy grabbed his knife and planted it in the trunk of a tree as he passed by, holding onto the handle tight. The jolt was substantial but it did the trick in slowing him down. He still lost his grip and took a tumble into the dirt, but it was nothing he couldn’t endure. Tommy got up with bothering to clear off the stains, the color matched his clothes. He retrieved his knife and reattached it before exploring the rest of the forest, not caring about where he was going. Whatever he had to do, he knew it involved fighting something, and he was always ready for that.

Solomon Fenrir stood awkwardly on the platform while he held tightly onto his sheathed weapon, Ragnarok. It kept him grounded in reality as he worries that every eye was on the massive Faunas and seeing though his guise of a student and seeing him as the terrorist spy that he is. His tail was as stiff as board and his knuckles were white with anxiety, but his breath was still calm and steady, he had years of experience in lying as well as staying calm under his self imposed anxieties. He can handle a few more.

Solomon finally took a look at the other students, a few more Faunas then he have expected but good nevertheless for the White Fang at least when he gives them his report next month. The humans weren't important enough to remember for now, as they were just obstacles to deal with for later. Then after looking over the students he then glances over to the Headmaster and the female professor, he has to keep an eye on them while also making sure to keep them from learning his reason for being here and alliance.

The Headmaster spoke and before anybody could possibly respond and get an answer the students were launched one at a time by the platforms they stood on down into the massive forest down below the cliffs they once stood on.
Solomon sighed and gotten into a widen stance to get ready for his turn to be launched into the unforgiving world of hunters and Huntresses. His tail raised to balance himself when the person next to him got launched, and suddenly the spring below his platform activated and launching Solomon though the air at break neck speed. The forest below was quickly approaching as Solomon nonchalantly looked for possibly landing spots and when to use his Semblance to soften his landing, he only used his weapon when absolutely needs to bad for him being a spy and soon to be hunter, he'll always need a weapon. Once Solomon's legs and tail started to get swatted with twigs and leaves he uses his Semblance, it manifested itself by his entire body being covered in inky blackness until his entire body looked like a shadow in three dimensions. Suddenly shadows like tendrils leaped up from the trees and ground and surronded itself around Solomon until he became a shadowy ball and it softly fell to the ground until suddenly Solomon emerged looking like he normally does a few feet off the ground  which caused the shadowy ball to melt back into the shadows. He left no glaring traces that he was ever here.

Solomon sighed loudly and relaxed, he didn't even noticed he was holding his breath the entire time. His tail started to wag slowly as he was glad to be away from the glaring eyes of the humans and none White Fang Faunas. So everybody but him as far as he knows. After Solomon sighed again he started to walk down a beautiful path with both sides walled with tall trees and low berry bushes and the sunlight seeping though the leaves and branches above. It was quite a sight if not for the possibility of death by grimm he would take some time to relax but he marched forward and kept going down the path. With Ragnarok in hand he was ready to fight and live another day as a White Fang Spy.

Thaddeus yawned as the professor announced the instructions of today's event. He hadn't had the best night, but it'd been passable, and he assumed he was ready enough to do the test. He'd heard about the test from his family, of course. They knew, as they always did, about what certain schools did for certain things, and they'd payed close attention to how groups were divided. Thaddeus knew all about this exercise, so he was pretty bored, and began thinking about the other day when he'd entered.

Well, there're good people here at least. Thaddeus thought.

He'd met some friendly people and became acquainted to some, sort of.

I'm already glad I came here instead of Atlas... Thaddeus thought.

Thaddeus's eyes wandered slowly, bored as all heck. He managed to spot two people he'd interacted with who, despite being distinctively short, were surprisingly hard to spot in a crowd. One even had heavy clothes and the other had white hair, and he was glad that he at least found people he knew. He gave them a wave, but they apparently didn't notice him. Maybe they just didn't want to be associated with him? It happened sometimes, though usually not before he told them certain things...

They probably just think I'm weird. Thaddeus thought, shrugging internally.

"Now take your positions." Ospin said.

Thaddeus was snapped out of his musings to see that the rest students had begun making their way to the launch platforms. Thaddeus hurried over and picked a free one at random. He was between 2 people he didn't know, and it was clear that they were prepared for this.

"Well, this'll be an experience." Thaddeus said, trying to lighten the mood.

He took a sidelong glance at the two, but couldn't discern whether or not they heard him. Their turn to be launched was coming soon. As he looked, it was coming to the person on his left.

"Good luck, I guess!" Thaddeus said to them before they rocketed off.

Thaddeus could feel the launch pad beneath him move, and he knew he had a little time before it shot him off into the forest. He turned to the person on his right and waved a curt goodbye.

"Meet you down below!" He said cheerfully before bending down as launch pad primed itself. If I do this, I'll end up there...

He sprang up as the pad lifted under his feet, rocketing into the sky. Thaddeus yelled out in delight as he soared higher than the others.

"This is what I wanted!" He yelled in middair.

Suddenly, he was buffeted by winds, slowing his flight forward, slowing his momentum.

"Oh, whoops." Thaddeus said.

He began freefalling into the forest, wind whistling in his ears. Remaining calm, he spread his limbs in an attempt to slow his fall.

I'm gonna need a big tree... He thought.

He looked below him and saw that there was one close to his right. He tried to guide himself to be directly over it before drawing his sword with his right hand. As he came down to the tree, he wrapped his other hand around the hilt.

That might be a little too close for my liking... Thaddeus thought.

Thaddeus held his sword out, edge first. As he came to the top of the tree, Dragon Slayer cleaved into the wood, cutting through the middle of the tree. Thaddeus's body jerked at the sudden loss of momentum and he torso smacked into the tree.

"Ow!" Thaddeus cried.

For a few worrying seconds, his sword continued to pass through the tree like butter. His descent began rapidly slowing, however, his momentum from the fall rapidly draining. As he slowed down to a stop, Dragon Slayer threw splinters into Thaddeus's face before coming to a sudden stop. Thaddeus's body jerked and he grunted in surprise, dangling several feet in the air, before Dragon Slayer came loose and dumped Thaddeus on the ground. Thaddeus fell in an unceremonious heap before springing up to brush dirt off his clothes.

"Ugh." he said, spitting dust out of his mouth. "Splinters."

He quickly brushed himself off before checking his surroundings.

"Well, not too bad a place to land." He said.

He was in a seemingly featureless section of flat forest, which was convenient for him. Trees were scattered around him evenly, which only made it more generic.

"I wonder where the ruins are." Thaddeus said out loud. "Maybe I could climb a tree?"

Thaddeus looked up at the tree he'd just landed on. Dragon Slayer had made a mess of it, and it'd practically split in half. Thaddeus shrugged and turned around to find another tree.

"I'll need a whole tree. And taller this time." He said as he walked into the forest.

It was at times like this, when Pruim Lavandula stood above a vast forest, that she wished with all her heart for the ability to see in color. The Lavandula curse, was what she called it. Having been born into a race of Vampire Bat faunus, Prue was one among many who fell victim to this curse. It was well known, at least in the faunus world, that all individuals born of a bat species were at risk. Fifty percent of all bat faunus were born blind, fourty nine percent were born with the inibility to see in color, and the rare one percent who had no visual restrictions at all, were envied. Prue blamed her parents. Both of them being bat faunus who were the lucky one percent, they'd totally used up all the luck and made it so that Prue couldn't see the world as it naturally was. Everything was black... or white... or boring shades of grey. Even her semblance was void of color... She'd learned to live with it, but in a world where she was surrounded by color, and people who lived and praised colors... Prue felt denied her right to love them as much as others.

Below her, she saw the wide expanse that was the Emerald Forest. She could tell it went on for miles from the way the grey mass of trees met with the dull white of the sky on the horizon. Even like this it was beautiful. One would never guess that this forest was teeming with the most evil of all creatures. With a shake of her head, she would clear her thoughts, ignoring the light bouncing from the curs in her hair. She would have to stay focused if she were to pass this test.

"Focus. Remember why you're here Prue." she mumbled to herself. "This is no time to be chasing rainbows. You need to pass this test."

As the headmaster explained the details of the initiation, which weren't very many, Prue listened carefully. She hid her surprise about meeting her teammates during this test, though it made her a bit more excited than she already was. Soon enough, she heard the sounds of the other students being launched off over the forest, one by one, and she couldn't help but laugh as a few squealed in fright. When her turn was coming, she used her middle finger to press down on a trigger that was on the underside of the handle to her metal handbag. As her weapon Obsidian Fang unfurled into its blade form, Prue had only a few seconds to stretch out her small wings before she was forcefully launched into the air and sent flying over the expanse of the forest.

She waited until she was no longer accelerating, but rather falling slightly, before she used her wings to keep herself airborne. The small wings flapped quickly to keep up with the rate at which she was falling, but after a few moments of trying, Prue felt it would be best to figure out another way to land. If she kept going like this, her wings would be too sore to use in combat. She allowed herself to glide down as she simply held her wings out to slow her descent. As she broke through the top of the trees, her bright red eyes spotted a large black figure below her. It was an Ursa. A Grimm. Grinning in a way that would make her fangs visible, she did a flip mid air and extended her sword out in front of her as she dove down and onto the beast. Obsidian Fang's sharp metal blade sunk into the Ursa's back like a hot knife in butter. Prue landed atop the beast and held onto the hilt of her sword as it thrashed around.

"I would stay a bit longer to play, but I'm afraid I'm in a hurry." she said, smiling playfully as she ripped the blade out of the beast's back. Doing a backflip, she fluttered away as the Ursa whipped around and tried to slash at her. Prue twisted the hilt of her sword and waited for it to change into its second form, waving at the Grimm with her free hand.

"Toodaloo~"

Bringing the large barrel of her weapon forward, she would channel the black flames of her semblance into the rocket launcher and fired a large ball of black fire towards the beast. The force of it caused a loud explosive sound as the Ursa was blasted back through bushes and a few small trees in the area, leaving a scorched trail on the ground. Sighing, Prue fluttered back to the ground and twirled her weapon around as it changed back into its sword form. She rested it against her shoulder and looked around her, not seeing anything else moving.

"Guess it didn't have any friends..." she thought as she started walking, picking a random direction to go in. She took a few steps before she heard something that sounded like footsteps approaching her. She gripped Obsidian Fang a bit tighter, only to be surprised when she saw a person, and not a Grimm. She wasn't sure wether to be relieved or disappointed.

"Not that I needed the help, but you're a little late if you wanted to play the hero." she said, smiling at the boy.

@The_written_John

Lelia was a violet streak in the sky, a flying angel without wings. She soared the open air with purpose, a desire that went beyond the obligation of retrieving simple trinkets and finding a destined ally. The mid-day's sun warmed her face, and the convectional winds calmed her senses. She spread her arms behind her into a V-shape and kept legs from pulling back. As much as she loved the thrill of the launched free fall, Ozpin's words of caution had already begun to put a damper on her experience.

It was not long before her arrival to Beacon that her Father bestowed some sobering words of his own. It was nothing new. Since her childhood he often spoke of their family's bloody history, mainly their involvement within the Great War. The Viola clan were feared for their ruthlessness, as much as they was loved for their loyalty. They were admired for valuing friendships and they were hated for their cruelty towards enemies. They were thought to be unmatched for their skill at slaughtering Grimm, and yet none would dare stoop to their level when eliminating foes.

"Do you know why we survived?" Lelia remembered her father asking. "It's because we brought destruction to all who stood in our way. Grimm and Man fell before us. It was before the time of Peace that we Violas went by our true and forbidden name: The Violent."

That was then. This is now.

Lelia looked at the lush green forest below her, a birds-eye view of destiny. She was losing altitude now, gravity finally pulling her towards the road to becoming a Huntress. She ran several scenarios in her heard on how to land safely, but opted for one method that seemed the most practical. Spreading her arms, Lelia unleashed a swarm of wires from Neotina. Through a clearing within the thick branches, she entered the forest like a hurled spear, spinning so that Neotina wrapped around her slim form as well as snatching onto neighboring trees.

The end result was not much of a landing. She forcefully ceased her spin and stretched out her limbs as she absorbed the break to her fall. She hung there, awkwardly positioned like a prisoner with her arms and legs tied and tugged. Lelia hid her surprised she came face to face with another student. She cursed her carelessness.

"I require a partner," Lelia said plainly. "Are you available? If you're as good as you look, you and I will get along nicely."

@AquaAzura

@onewayout

Eminence broke into a sweat, in a hurry he shoved each twig and bush in his way aside, cutting down log after log that blocked his path, racing towards the sound of battle, it was then at this point, he noticed a female, with some form of rocket launcher! He stopped at the edge of the clearing and simply watched as the bat faunus completely obliterated the grimm... Wait.... FAUNUS?!

"Not that I needed the help, but you're a little late if you wanted to play the hero." The young girl spoke, addressing Eminence, for a moment his mouth opened wide, surprised at the devastation of her craft, but more importantly, she openly expressed her faunus side! Of course, Eminence hid his faunus traits behind his hair, and otherwise, making him look as if he were just another human, always afraid of expressing who he was... He had to keep up the disguise though, after all, he didn't know this girl, and it was too quick to trust just about anyone. Even though, what kind of person would he be to not lend a helping hand?

"Sorry." Eminence spoke with a slight smile, sheathing his Zweihander into the metallic covering upon his back to the sound of an audible "click".

"I was just concerned someone may have been in trouble...! I'm a bit of a worrywart, sorry about that...!" He expressed a little embarrassingly, feeling like he made a bit of an ass of himself.

"I had no idea who you were or what you had, but if I knew that you packed a weapon that deadly, I wouldn't have had to come so urgently! I'm glad to meet another fa-"

SHIT! he immediately thought to himself, before quickly switching what he was going to say with another word entirely, finishing off his sentence less awkwardly.

"fa- face... This forests huge... And if we guard each others backs, I think we'd stand a better chance of getting to those relics! The names Eminence by the way, what's yours?"

Eminence didn't bother saying his second name, after all, he didn't act like some snobby noble aristocratic nob who would arrogantly speak of their families name like something to lord over another, down to earth, he just wanted to be known by his first name, unless the other person asked for the second.

Solomon expected to have some alone time before he meets his first team member. But they decided to drop in into his life. Literally as it were,  he thought there was a Grimm nearby when he heard branches and twigs snapping above him and prepared his weapon to fight but instead a young human woman with violet hair and clothes broke though the treeline and gotten tangled by some kind of wire only a few feet away from Solomon,he was surprised by the fallen human sudden appearance to put it mildly.

His tail was straight stiff and his hand held onto Ragnarok tighter, but he relaxed and sighed softly when the violet human nonchalantly spoke about partnering up. Humans are strange. But since they looked each others in the eyes they have to partner up. Even if she's a human and he's a Faunas.

"I can see that..." Solomon replied wit a raised eyebrow. "I am, and thanks..." He replied modestly before he looked over the human, studying her features and weapon closely. She looks to be a rich human if her clothes are any indication which wasn't helped by her violet colored hair and eyes a telling sign of her heritage. She was most likely a Viola.
"Do you need any help getting down? I'm Solomon, by the way."

@Volenvradica

Cyra knelt on her platform, eyes closed, her breaths deep and even through her nose. Her shields rested on the ground at her sides, hiding her tightly clenched fists. She didn't hear the headmaster's words, instead shutting out the world around her and focusing on the ground beneath her feet. Behind her bandanna, her mouth was a tight line. Don't look at them. Don't listen to them. You are calm, you are relaxed. It'll be fine. Someone here will have to be your partner, and two others will be your teammates. It doesn't mean they have to know. Ideally, all of her teammates would be Faunus like herself, and there were several among the students arrayed beside her. Then she wouldn't have to worry so much about hiding. There would be at least one place in which she would be safe.

But if that isn't the case... She took a deep breath against, concentrating on the warmth of her clothing against her skin and carapace, of the earth radiating out beneath her feet. She loved that, feeling the hugeness of the world and being a part of it. Worries about what she was and what others thought of it faded to insignificance compared to that vastness.

A loud ka-thunk startled her out of her meditation, causing her to look around. The student at the end to her right was missing. What! Where did- A second ka-thunk broke the silence, and the second student was thrown into the air by the platform beneath him. They're launchpads? She looked down at her platform, panic closing off her throat. No, no, nonononono. This isn't good, this isn't good! Her Semblance only worked if she was touching the ground, if she was launched then she would lose that connection. She would be small again.

A third launch. Two more and it would be her turn. If she tried, she might be able to anchor herself to the plate, holding herself secure. Of course, even if it worked, which it probably wouldn't, she would just end up having her face driven into the dirt, which would break her concentration (not to mention her neck) and then send her rolling over the cliff. Failing spectacularly on the first day; everyone would be talking about her for weeks.

Fourth launch. One more. Hadn't Ozpin said something about finding a relic? Obviously that is where we're being launched towards. It is part of the exercise. So preventing the launch would be a failure. Fifth launch. She was next. There was no other choice but to accept that, for at least a brief time, she would be airborne. Taking another breath through her nose, she relaxed her hold on the earth and rose, keeping her knees bent in preparation. If nothing else, at least the ground will always be there to catch me.

She was airborne. The wind howled in her ears, screaming for dominance. She would not give it. She was Cyra Verdant, she would endure. So long as she had her shields and the earth beneath her feet, she would endure. She opened her eyes and smiled behind her bandanna.

A smile that quickly vanished. Trees. There was nothing but trees stretching out beneath her. How could she have forgotten about the fucking trees! They would not be as welcoming to her arrival as the earth would be. She might have avoided faceplanting on the first day, but instead had traded it in for the possibility of being impaled. Because apparently that was much more preferable. Never mind, I will endure. Curling her legs into her chest, she locked her shields in front of her and prayed for the ground to meet her quickly.

One by one, the trees snapped and splintered before her, sending her into a tumble. One caught the edge of her shield, spinning her sideways, and she was flung about by two more until at last her momentum was spent and gravity fully asserted itself. Unlocking her shields as she fell, Cyra desperately scrabbled to grab hold of a branch, but nothing firm would hold her. When she finally came to a stop, she hung upside down, arms hanging past her head as she glared at the ground five feet below her. "You didn't catch me."

She looked up her body and groaned. It wasn't breaking her neck from faceplanting off a launchpad, or being impaled on a tree. No, instead it would be her shoelaces tangled around a branch that would do her in today.

Victoria Occidere waited patiently on her platform, surveying the dark green landscape cradled under the mountain range ahead of her. She glanced to her right, at all her fellow Initiates that were also facing the trial. "This is it." she thought to herself. "This is all you've been working towards since you joined Signal." She was going to make her parents proud, she was going to make everyone proud. As she eyed the other Initiates one by one, she pondered their reasons for joining Beacon, or what was going through their heads as they waited anxiously for the Initiation to finally begin. As her eyes hovered over the last Initiate, Victoria let out a quiet gasp as she seemed to spot someone familiar to her, before she quickly stared down at the green ground around the platform at her feet. Green, green, always green. She tried desperately to think of something else to occupy herself while she waited for their task to take place.

Moments earlier, their assignment was explained to them rather cryptically by the Headmaster of Beacon; they would need to find and capture an undescribed 'relic' that would be found somewhere in the northern part of the Grimm-infested sea of green flora waiting patiently in front of them.

Suddenly, without warning, the first Initiate was launched through the air, snapping her out of her trance. She quickly realised what was happening and prepared herself for the same procedure, as she watched the first Initiate arc through the sky. One by one the students to her right followed him, before it was her turn. She braced herself and unsheathed Azured Victory, gripping it tightly in her hands. She then felt a rush of air streak past her ears, her hair flowing away from her head like the pale blonde tail of a comet. She looked up at the boundless blue sky above her before she felt herself falling. Victoria started laughing as she began to descend, positioning herself downwards head first before she pointed Azured Victory in front of her with two hands. She pressed her two thumbs over the yellow trigger hidden under her weapon's guard, activating the engine within the pommel. The blade of her weapon began turning as the metal expanded, turning her elegant rapier into a high-powered drill. Victoria began to accelerate as she came closer to the ground. Moments later her drill impacted into the soft dirt, boring a thirty meter deep diagonal hole in the ground, sending dirt and dust into the air.

As she waited a few moments to let the dust settle, she let go of Azured Victory's trigger, causing the blade of the drill to contract back into its regular rapier size. She turned to face the entrance of the hole and began the thirty meter ascension towards it, the platform boots she usually wore made it slightly more difficult than she expected, but she kept at it until she could reach out to touch the harsh light. Climbing out of the hole, she looked up to see green...

Of course it wasn't an enemy. Even better, of course it wasn't a stranger. It just had to be the one female that he was hoping to avoid for the remainder of this Initiation. Easing his fingers off of the triggers of Exodus Zinnia, and flipping them around so that he could safely sheathe them on his back, beneath his backpack, Eden walked forward. "You shouldn't attempt to attract attention." He stated, his voice as cool and as stoic as ever. Only the slight smirk pulling at his lips betrayed his apathetic nonchalance, the young man reaching down and, without asking, grabbing the girl by the wrist and pulling her up with ease. Victoria was one of the few students that graduated Signal Academy at the top of their class, with Eden being one of the others. There were five in all, the 'Top Rookies', and while he had fully been expecting to see her here, he hadn't expected for her to be in his Initiation. That was pure coincidence.

"That means that we're partners." It was a statement, more so than a question. The first person you laid eyes on was your partner...for the next four years. There was no getting out of it, considering the fact that the teachers were most-likely monitoring them at this very moment. Victoria wasn't a bad partner, per se. Actually, she was a very competent, if not bitchy female that would mold well with his offensive style of fighting. The problem was, Eden didn't like feeling awkward. He was a boy that was very sure of himself and his abilities, which is why he saw no reason to show off or express his talent. However, after what happened back in Signal, and the awkwardness that followed...well, he did, in fact, feel slightly uncomfortable. Were they even friends at this point? He didn't know.

With a sigh, he turned his emerald gaze back down to Victoria. Grimm would be coming soon. They needed to get a move on.

Tommy made a lot of noise as he traveled through the forest without any direction in mind. He thought to himself If I’m looking for something it shouldn’t matter if I’m quiet. I’m not here to do a pretty job, I’m here to get the job done. While walked he kept staring at the greenery, seeing it even cheered him up a little bit. There had to be some reason they hadn’t cleared the land for logging and development. As he thought of this, he heard the roar of a Beowolf, just before it blindsided him with a powerful running pounce.

He had time to get one shot from his gun off while it was in the air. The blast from the shotgun shell was enough to dampen a bit of the beast’s momentum, it landed short of tackling with its full body. The claw still scratched his torso, but Tommy would always prefer a standing fight to being on his back. The Beowolf followed it up with more looping slashes, and Tommy answered with strikes from the bayonet of his gun. This was his first time fighting a Grimm, it was fierce but stupid, less interesting than fighting an actual person.

The traded blows back and forth, raising a lot of noise from their brawl. They landed roughly equally, but Tommy got his legs in position to trip it, and sent it tumbling after a powerful blow. It rolled to its side and got back to its feet, but Tommy grabbed hold of its back during the scramble. He took hold of his gun with both hands and pulled it up against the throat of the Beowolf. The creature bucked wildly, trying to throw him off the back. While Tommy held on to his attempt to choke the beast and did his best to fight off nausea, he saw that there was someone standing in the distance.

He couldn’t make out any details, but he still called out. “Lovely way to start the day, ain’t it?” Before he could finish the thought, the wolf threw him off. He dropped his gun during the fall but managed to land on his feet and kept hold of the bayonet portion. The beast lunged out to bite him, and Tommy threw out an elbow to meet it. It bit down hard on his elbow, but he still had other hand free and holding his knife. They were close now, perfect for landing punches. Tommy grit his teeth, ignored the pain of the bite, and unloaded with full force blows from the knuckles of his now detached bayonet. He punctuated each blow with an insult. “Fuck You!” “Piece of shit!” “Wolf thing!” “Shitwolf!” “Fuck you!” Even he knew it didn’t understand him, but it sure made him feel better to get it out.

The Beowolf withered as each blow landed, finally crumpling into an unconscious heap. He looked at the wound on his elbow and decided it wasn’t worth worrying about right this moment. For now he’d like to meet whoever else was in the area. He shouted out “Hey, do you know we’re supposed to do? We find something? Fight something? Am I supposed to fight you? That guy talked for too long.”

@Lord Santa

It wasn't easy for Bastion to somehow stay awake while he listened to Professor Ozpin give out instructions explaining what their first assignment would be. Talk talk talk talk talk talk! Why do people keep going on about the unnecessary details and get straight to the fun part? Sure, they needed to understand the assignment, but couldn't it had been explained in twenty words or less? It was a simple enough mission; find partners, get whatever trinkets they are going after, and get back alive so why on God's green earth did Ozpin have to explain it in such a long, dull manner? Slowly did he ever begin to drift off into sleep as he stood, a giant snot bubble swelled from his nostrils only to pop at the noise of a pressure plate going off. As if he was injected with pure caffeine, Bastion perked up back to his usual bubbly-self. Finally, excitement, adventure, and a craving for tacos, but that part wasn't important! Though still if he could find a good taco place after this that would be great...

With a whoosh, the faunus flew through the air with his arms extended out. "Yaaaaahoooooo!" was the last thing that anyone heard from him flying off into the distance. The wind raced through his hair and his jackal ears flopped around from the force hitting it. His wings cut through the air as if they were trying to get lift, but they were obviously much too small to give any lift for the faunus' body. Not like he cared one bit. He was soaring through the air like a majestic eagle. Activating his semblance, he began to move along the tree tops with bursts of kinetic energy blasting from the palms of his hands and the soles of his beat. Bastion was simply having way too much fun with this, which was evident with all of the flips and spirals he was performing when he should've been. He descended below the treetops and kicked off from tree to tree until he rolled onto the ground and hopped back onto his feet. "And the judges all give him tens!" He chuckled to himself.

Boy, the Emerald Forest sure was pretty. It was almost hard to believe that Grimm live in this otherwise serene land, but he knew better than to think that. Bastion's eyes darted around the area as he unfolded his weapon Crocus into its scythe form. His animal ears perked up at the rustling of something above him, assuming it was a Grimm, he entered a battle ready stance. What he found however wasn't an enemy, but one of the students that got launched hanging upside down in a tree.

He smirked at her and folded his arms, looking pretty amused at her little predicament. "So, how's it hanging?"

@Thundercrash

Lelia curved her lips into the barest hint of a smile, the most she would offer any stranger as a sign of gratitude. She was thankful for his courtesy, but she demonstrated her self-sufficiency by manipulating Neotina without moving a muscle. Nearly invisuble threads untangled from her form, snaking their way back into her sleeves. Once she gained her footing, she had to stifle a gasp and retreat a step back.

"You're a tall one," she quickly appraised him, not caring enough to sound impressed . He was well over six feet tall, towering over her modest sixty-seven inches. Not bad, just nothing new. Still, he at least looked the part of a warrior. What with the realistic wolf-head hoodie, he resembled a hipster caveman. Plus five on psychological warfare, she mentally shrugged. She winded down this time, not wanting to bust his balls so early in the Initiation. He would be her partner for the rest of her days at Beacon. Playing nice was a necessity...and good for the soul. "Solomon, huh? Well, King, you can call me Lelia." Solemnly placing her right hand over her heart, she tilted her head forward in a slight bow and briefly closed her eyes. A not uncommon greeting from a warrior to another, an almost submissive display, as if to acknowledge another's strength.

Viola tradition: never shake hands with a stranger. That honor was restricted to acts of good faith. Something the sulfer-eyes boy had to earn. And she hoped he would. In time.

She rested her hands on her hips, ready to disembark whenever Solomon was ready. "Shall we continue North from her---huh...Solomon....stand....still." A blur of dark fur crept behind Solomon. She frowned at his lack of awareness. Using her semblance, she willed whatever elusive species of Grimm to expose itself. With a fierce tug powered by her mind, she yanked it back.

@AquaAzura

"Prue."

She gave the guy a look after offering her name, her eyes moving up and down his person, a bit skeptical that he could have helped her much. Eminence was his name, and odd one to say the least. Prue was ninety-nine percent sure she wouldn't be able to spell it even if her life depended on it. Though, who was she to judge. Pruim was just ugly. Not fitting for a beautiful girl such as herself.

"If there's anyone in this forest who can't handle themselves against a bunch of stupid Grimm, well..." she cracked a grin. "They don't need to be here."

With a flick of her wrist, Prue twisted the handle of Obsidian Fang and allowed it to turn back into its regular form. Where there was once a giant blade, was now a small metal handbag resting against her shoulder.

"I guess we should stick together though. If what Ozpin said about teammates being the first person we see, then I guess you're stuck with me for the next few years." she said lightheartedly.

She was about to say something else, as she'd narrowed her eyes and took a closer step towards him, but she hesitated.

"Anyway, we need to head North right?" she said, turning and starting to walk away. "Come on or I'll leave you here." she called, as if she were already paces ahead of him.

@The_written_John

Solomon tilted his head to the side as he watched the Violet human untangled herself without moving a muscle. psychokinesis. The Viola clan's hereditary Semblance, so all the pieces point to her being a Viola, now he just needs a first name, if he remembered corrected they already have an Heiress so this woman must be the back up, still, she could be useful for the White Fang to know about especially if their teammates.

Once Miss Viola was down from the tree she looked him over and mentioned his height, she didn't sound impressed or any other noticeable emotions behind it, she jut pointed out, better then an insult to his Faunas features, but he still couldn't help but reach his free arm behind the nape of his neck and a reflexive motioned of his natural awkwardness. Miss Viola finally introduced herself as Lelia, and called him a king. He couldn't help but blush softly at the nickname, it was a lot nicer then he was used to from a human and even within the White Fang. And she even BOW at him! He was not used to being treated with such respect it was making him nervous. Solomon was speechless for a moment but he mirrored her actions as he bows to her with a slight bent to his knee and bowing of his head while keeping his weapon from sight. He smiles nervously at he was unsure of the etiquette after bowing, luckily for him he knew he wasn't going to get a handshake from Lelia, the Viola's are adamant about only giving handshakes to certain people AND certain circumstances. What are does he not fully sure, he only knows common knowledge about the Viola family since they are so well known, he be a bad spy if he didn't know the basics of most of the famous families of Remnant.

Solomon shifted from feet to feet as Lelia spoke about what to do, but he stiffens when she told him to stand still. Then suddenly she grabbed his tail roughly, he made a high pitched yelping sound as she does and he blushes a deep crimson red while his entire body straighten stiffer from her action.

"What are you doing!?!" Solomon yelled loudly in shock and embarrassment, he was so shocked that he dropped his weapon down unto the ground while trying to hide his blush from Lelia. "You don't just grab a person's tail like this!...it's rude! It's dehumanizing!... And people may get the wrong idea..." Solomon rambled on while his blush gotten deeper as she kept holding onto it. He had people tug at his tail before but never had anyone hold it like she was! It's so inappropriate! They just met! "...Please let go Lelia..."

@Volenvradica

"What, that was it?" Thaddeus said.

Thaddeus squatted over the corpse of a dead beowulf. It'd ambushed him just a few seconds earlier, which was odd considering it'd been alone. Thaddeus had first been alerted to its presence by its howl, somewhere in the distance. However, it'd come from somewhere nearer than he'd expected. When it'd exited the bush to Thaddeus's right, he hadn't been expecting it. Maybe it'd just been closer than he'd realised, or maybe...

Thaddeus poked at the corpse a little, but it disappeared into ash. It honestly hadn't put up much of a fight. After the initial moment of surprise, Thaddeus dealt with it quickly, kicking it with his left leg before following up with a lethal swing. It'd been quite ferocious, despite its lack of substance.

"Maybe it was hungry, or something." Thaddeus said, rising to his feet.

It was quite thin, after all, so it was plausible that it was simply hungry. Desperate even. Or maybe he'd intruded on its territory.

Wolves do that, right? Thaddeus thought as he sheathed his sword and walked on. That howl though...

Thaddeus was sure that the howl had come from somewhere else. Somewhere slightly farther away. And he was also quite sure that beowulfs always travelled in packs, yet there weren't anymore to be seen.

After walking only a few short steps, Thaddeus suddenly heard a blast noise somewhere nearby. Thaddeus's hand snapped up to his blade as he prepared for battle. He briskly strode forward towards the source of the noise. As he emerged from the shrubbery to find it, however, he stopped and stared at the very interesting sight. There was a human there, hanging on to the back of the beowulf, apparently attempting to choke it to death.

"Oh, there's another one." Thaddeus said.

Thaddeus was actually pretty far away from them, and he wasn't sure if he should help out or not. Far as he was, however, the person had apparently noticed him.

"Lovely way to start the day, ain't it?" The guy called.

"Yeah, I guess. Could certainly be better, though." Thaddeus called back.

The guy didn't have time to reply to his reply, however, as the beowulf shook him off. The guy's gun clattered onto the floor, taking Thaddeus's attention for a second.

So that gunshot was him. Thaddeus thought.

The wolf bit into the guy's elbow, making Thaddeus's attention snap back to the fight at hand. Thaddeus began slowly drawing his sword, in case he needed to interfere. However, it didn't look like it. The guy let out a flurry of punches. Pinned as he was, he was whittling his opponent down. Thaddeus drew his sword but stayed where he was.

If he's a hunter like me, he should be able to do this easily enough. Thaddeus thought.

While the damage the pinned guy was dealing was relatively minimal, the beowulf couldn't damage the guy either. It looked like the guy had been thrashed about quite a bit, but he didn't seem to notice any of it. Neither the damage he'd apparently sustained before nor the fangs in his elbow now.

Very resilient. Thaddeus obeserved.

The guy attacked the beowulf wildly, swinging his fist again and again. Thaddeus couldn't help but notice how simplistic it was, considering his own upbringing being steeped in combat training. It was very simple as far as combat styles go, and then there was the swearing.

Lost of wasted movements and all that jack. But it's pretty effective. Thaddeus thought, stabbing his sword into the ground. He swears a whole lot, though. Guess he fights however he feels like?

Thaddeus laughed a little bit, because the guy's fighting style was pretty similar to his own. Whatever works, as long as they go down in the end. Speaking of which, the fight was over. The beowulf fell, unconscious. Thaddeus couldn't help but clap as the beast fell, though it was more instinctive than anything.

"I gotta say, you're one hell of a fighter." Thaddeus said, picking up his sword.

He walked over as the dude shot some questions at him, which he sort of didn't know how to answer. He wasn't listening either, after all, but he had information. There were a few things his family had told him that he did remember; the important things.

"I wasn't actually listening to Ozpin either, but I know a couple of things." Thaddeus said, walking up to where the beowulf lay.

Thaddeus stabbed down, spearing the head of the unconscious beowulf. Its body twitched a little as his sword hit the ground.

"I heard that we're supposed to pair up with the first person we see." Thaddeus said, extracting his sword. "Sometimes that pairs you up with someone you hate, but..."

Thaddeus walked up to where the guy lay and extended his left hand.

"I think we're gonna get along well." He said, sheathing his sword with his right hand. "What's your name, partner?"

@tanderbolt

@onewayout

Eminence smiled gently when Prue spoke her name, In all honesty, he thought it was a lovely name, befitting her beauty and her outgoing personality, though he didn't pay much attention to her looks, and instead took more notice of their surroundings, walking past the girl, looking into the darkness, which his Faunus eyes allowed him to see through, clearly noticing a few grimm hidden in the woods... surveying and inspecting them, though Eminence made sure not to let his fear get to him, his heart was at ease, he knew that fear would bring the Grimm closer, and would tip them off to his knowledge of their location within the thick forestry, and decided to continue listening to Prue, turning to her direction once more.

"If there's anyone in this forest who can't handle themselves against a bunch of stupid Grimm, well..." she cracked a grin. "They don't need to be here."

Eminence frowned at that statement, though she was right... partially. If you were not strong enough to fight the grimm, then you shouldn't be fighting grimm, as it would only lead to your death, though he was against her entire speech, and decided to put his own two cents into the conversation.

"Not everyone starts off as professionals though, Prue, not even we're capable of handling an army of Grimm, despite us having some experience... Some people start off at certain levels, all it takes is more practice to reach your hidden potential. If the headmaster just wrote off everyone by their first Grimm fight, i'd certainly think there'd be a lot less hunters and huntress' in the world..."

When Prue insinuated they stick together and that Eminence would be stuck with her for the next few years, Eminence gave a light smile, and replied with polite confidence.

"Fighting by your side, I wouldn't call it being stuck with you, if anything I think lucks on my side to have been partnered up with a talented future huntress, like yourself Miss Prue."

Eminence bowed respectfully to her, a hand placed over his chest, before arching up to look at her directly. It was then she proceeded onward, heading north towards the location of the relics, playfully insisting she'd leave him, without a second passing before her quick footed self was several paces ahead. Eminence chuckled lightly, liking her very upbeat attitude, and nodded his head, hurrying onward by her side, with one ear always on the Grimm around them...

....

After a short journey through the forests, with Prue and Eminence still guarding the others' back, Eminence stopped. Clutching his chest, Eminence felt his aura reacting instantaneously, as if sensing the presence of more Grimm on the approach... and lo and beyond, surrounding them were a pack of Grimm, five beowolf's and two Boarbatusk's.

"Prue... We've got company." Eminence whispered, before pulling Claudia out from its sheath once more, the blade vibrating the tighter Eminence gripped onto the hilt, awaiting his foes to come towards them...

"Lets take care of this lot and move on...! I'm going to knock these grimm into the air, and you handle their weakpoints when their airborne!" Shouted Eminence, as he beckoned the Boarbatusks to come running for him, taking the bait, each one screeched and attempted to charge for the zweihander wielding male. Calm and prepared, Eminence slowly rested his Zweihander behind himself, waiting for the right moment for a rising swing... A second past, then another, when finally the two Boarbatusks reached his position. Using his slow yet powerful swing upward, Eminence was able to end up sending the two Boarbatusks high up into the air, deflecting their charges, both at once, allowing their bellies to become exposed.

To give Prue time to attack the boars, Eminence ran on ahead to approach the five beowolfs, to protect her. Eminence, upon activating his semblance, forged a large etheral shield in front of himself just in the nick of time, as each beowolf's claws rammed into it, reducing the amount of damage Eminence would have taken by almost full, though the amount of energy required to block FIVE beowolf blows was agonizing, though he managed to do it, knocking each of them back, and in retaliation, was able to make a diagonal swing leftward, just before a beowolf was able to dodge, completely slicing it in two, leaving four remaining.

"Your turn!"

Bright eyes darted around their platform, taking in everything - the teachers, the scenery, the apparently massive percentage of Faunus present and of course, the things they were standing on. The sky was a perfect blue and the wind had died down, as if nature herself was holding her breath in quiet anticipation of the things to come. Aeta didn't like it - everything was so serene and breathtakingly beautiful that it had subconsciously become a facade for something a hundred times more terrifying... teamwork.

She nearly puked at the very thought of it. Aeta did not need a team, she didn't need a bunch of shitheads telling her how to fight when she could probably gut the most of them before they could even blink. Plus, given the nearly equal ratio of Faunus to Humans, she had a very high chance of being paired with one of the pitiful creatures. Her eyes, now sharp and full of arrogant annoyance, darted to Ozpin as he began to speak. Yada, yada, yada. Bullshit. Yada, yada, yada. Partners? Fucking brilliant. She spared Ozpin an ounce of her time, however, because according to a few others, he had once been a great hunter. A part of her still respected the fact that he could probably outdo any Specialist Atlas threw at him. Speaking of others, she had been sampling a few of her supposed "allies". Dreadful bunch really - the sort of people that were inclined towards the gentle nuances of liberalism. Ew... Liberalism.

In her carelessness, she disregarded the rest of Ozpin's words and was quietly taken aback when one of said "allies" were violently launched into the air. So that's what they were used for. She probably shouldn't have eaten knowing that - Aeta had an awkward spout of travel-sickness on occasion and she had the sneaking suspicion that she would be in the middle of being sick and then some Grimm would come across her and she'd have to rip it apart. Poor Grimm. They were just misunderstood.

By the time she had finished processing those thoughts, another two had already been flung from their podiums and it appeared like she wasn't too far away from taking the stand herself. This time, she decided to actually be smart and did a rapid, last-minute inspection on her armour. Atlas Military Grade made for rapid movement, tailored for her and her alone - she didn't really fit into any of the other models they had. That was one advantage of having the Schnee Dust company acting as caring guardians for PR, she guessed. Taking another look around, more students were being fired into the sky and the gap was quickly narrowing; it was time to try her new stuff.

Dragging a headpiece up, she fitted it around one ear before sliding it around the back of her head and into the other ear. It would allow her to monitor her and her armour's well-being while simultaneously boosting a few of her key senses. Good. Everything was perfect and ready to go. She couldn't possibly fail now, even if her partner was an idiot, she could still carry them easily enough. Yes, that was precisely wha-

"Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh...!"

Needless to say, Aeta had fiercely underestimated both the speed at which the podium advanced on her and the speed at which it threw her. The cold air greeted her like an embracing lover, gentle despite the chaos of her tumbling and turning form through the sky. She felt herself slowing, reaching the peak of her arc de triomphe before gravity gave her a gentle little push downwards.

"Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh...!"

This was not good in anyway. She was still tumbling through the air and her armour only served to make things even more awkward. Her eyes caught sight of the sea of green below, accelerating towards her at a massive rate. Grunting, she finally fixed her form just in time to stop her fall, somehow. Aeta honestly had no idea if her semblance could cancel vertical velocity but she was just going to have to find out. Grabbing Night's Paramour from its place on her belt, she quickly activated the weapon, causing it to spring to its true form just before she activated its spin. It was now or never for the free-falling girl.

Finding a lone tree separated from the others by a small gap, she angled her body correctly before jumping. One moment, she was plummeting towards the sea of green beneath her and the next, her vicious three-toothed monster had already chomped down into the thick body of the tree. She spun wildly, her weapon guiding her down and around the tree, macerating any branches that got in her way. Eventually, the thick of the tree offered just too much resistance and she cancelled the spinning of her blade which caused her to unceremoniously drop the rest of the distance to the ground.

"Fuck-fuckity-fuck-fuck-fuck. They couldn't have just fucking air-dropped us in!? Fuck them!"

Aeta didn't realise she was now alone in a forest full of Grimm and to be fair, Aeta didn't really give a shit. Stomping her foot in prissy exasperation, she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at the world around her. Why the hell was she even here? She could have been having an easy time in some stupid Atlas Academy, showing those idiots how you really fight but instead, she was stuck out in some random fucking forest in Vale that was full to the teeth with Grimm and idiots and Fauna and she was not having fun. After a few minutes of frowning at the world and keeping her arms crossed, she sighed and let her frown slip away before grabbing her weapon from the ground. Where to now? There didn't seem to be anyon- Aeta would probably look back on that moment and regret her curiosity for the rest of her life -suddenly an army of breaking branches stumbled over her thinking and made her turn in their direction; a Grimm?

Blade in hand, she advanced into a series of bushes which then opened up into a clearing with a very broken tree and a mildly broken person hanging from said tree. It was then that Aeta chose to remember Ozpin's words vaguely along the lines of, 'Yada yada, first person you see is your partner, yada yada'. The girl had already seen her by now but instead of helping her, she turned and, very politely, walked away.

"Nope nope nope nope nope. You can't leave her... Nope nope nope nope. Aeta..."

Was she talking to herself again? Bad sign. She turned back and advanced on the girl. Just as she was about to, the bushes beside the dangling thing rustled and without a second's haste, Aeta blinked back to the safety of her own bushes - her new partner would be pretty good Grimm bait. Instead of Grimm, however, it was something so much worse; an overly-excited Fauna. Great. Her day just couldn't get much better, huh? Something rumbled angrily. A proper Grimm this time? Aeta's eyes went wide with realisation and she gripped her stomach in part-pain, part-realisation. Oh no. Rather unceremoniously, the contents of her breakfast were puked onto the ground beside the bushes and she inwardly cringed - she had very loudly alerted the newcomer to the presence of something inside the bush. It would be the death of her reputation if he told the others. She had to act so she grabbed her weapon and chucked it without much thought.

Thankfully, it did not remove her partner's leg and instead, accurately cut the string holding her up. It was quick as lightning, however, and its unexpected rebound ricocheted it right round towards him. Aeta's control of the blade was apparent as just as it was about to come criminally close to him, she blinked and caught it. Her features contorted into a frown and she pressed the newly-stopped glaive into his chest menacingly.

"Listen here, you little shit, what you heard just there was a Grimm and nothing more, got it? And if I hear anything about it being a cute, bad-ass white-haired chick vomiting up her stomach, I will personally hunt you down. Also get your grubby puns off my partner. She may not be much, but she's mine, you dog."

Aeta was fiercely protective of the girl she was planning to use as bait. Strange.