Name: Xander Steele
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Nationality: Vale
Appearance: Xander is an unassuming lad, standing at a tall six foot, four inches tall with swept steel blue hair. He keeps it long enough that he can have the bangs swept to one side. He has a lithe, yet muscular build, toned from years of combat training in both Signal and Beacon Academies.

He typically wears a pair of light blue jeans, custom made steel blue colored combat boots, blue t-shirt, and a darker blue jean half jacket, the bottom only reaching to just below his ribs. When he knows he’s going out into a fight, he dons a suit of leather armor with light plating along the shoulders, arms, and legs, with a couple pieces of plating on his chest. The focus of this armor is to allow him maximum mobility while allowing some measure of protection.

Personality: Xander is quiet, observant, and horribly awkward in a social environment. When approached by or approaching another person, he finds himself unable to speak in the form of stumbling over his sentences and being unable to get a full sentence out of his mouth.

However, if he does manage to break through his awkwardness, he usually can’t stop talking and will generally call you his friend so long as you don’t do something to warrant his distrust. Speaking of trust, if he calls you friend, he is loyal to a fault and will step up for you despite his social awkwardness. However, you can imagine any attempt at defending a friend is rarely considered serious unless he is angry.

Aspiration: Xander strives to see a world where people don’t laugh at each other for their insecurities or scorn each other for their differences. Growing up in Vale and attending both Signal and Beacon, he saw a lot of both, with the latter being directed at the Faunas. Having been taught that no one should be mistreated, he doesn’t want to see anymore of this.

Fears:

• Rejection-if he’s made a personal break through with someone, the worst thing they could do is brush him off.
• Being alone-The poor guy is already awkward enough, why would he want to be lonely?
• Heights-Being high terrifies Xander, but he does his best to cope with it, often times singing a song to himself to stay calm.

Ethics: Xander believes firmly that all people should be treated kindly and with respect, no matter what their race or personal problems. To see people who would do otherwise makes him nothing more than angry. However, he’s also a realist and accepted that not everyone will share his views and as a result does what he can where and when he can, whether it be helping the odd Faunas with their work or getting a crying little girl a new dolly to replace a lost one.

History: Xander was born to parents Grey and Gale Steele. His father, Grey, was a well known known Hunter who turned down a position at Beacon more than once in order to continue making a difference in the field while his mother, Gale, was the owner of a quaint little restaurant on a street corner in Vale

Xander grew up spending most of his time with his mother since his father was often away on missions to protect the kingdom. However, to say that he didn’t love his father, or even resented him, as when he was home they did a lot of family activities together and Grey even helped out at the restaurant. It was from his father, however, that Xander got the urge to become a Hunter. You see, growing up for the young man wasn’t easy, what with his inability to be able to have a social life limiting the number of friends he had severely. And he was mercilessly mocked and tortured for it by kids both his age and those a few years older.

However, his mother had taught him that no matter how they treated him, to be kind and treat them with respect. And so he did. No matter how much he got pushed around, picked on, or called names, he didn’t retaliate. Of course, that isn’t to say he liked what he saw, especially when watching how people treated the Faunus. His father had never understood it nor had his mother and so as a result, Xander came to want to help make the prejudice go away. And the best way to do that was to become a Hunter and help work towards ending the discrimination the faunus faced by being kind to them where others would see because as a Hunter, he knew he would be looked to as an example.

He spent extensive time talking it over with his mother and father, the latter of which spent much time trying to persuade, if subtly, his son from becoming a Hunter. He knew all too well the risks of dedicating his life to killing Grimm and protecting the Four Kingdoms, but Xander couldn’t be dissuaded. By the end of his twelfth year, he was already in attendance at Beacon Academy, where he designed his twin bladed revolvers Nightingale Eclipse. Many of the other members of his class designed weapons like transforming axes and swords, but he like the Eclipse. He named it the way he did because the Nightingale was his favorite bird and it reminded him of hope despite the darkness.

Finishing his training at Signal, he moved on to Beacon with the rest of his class, where he first met the Scorpion Faunus Cyra. They talked a little and over the course of the airship flight, began to become friends, though he did not initially know that she was a scorpion faunus when he met her. That was revealed in their third year. While it caught him off guard, it by no means changed Xander’s perception of her and in fact strengthened his friendship with her, as it was clear revealing that about herself was a difficult thing for her to do.

After the Beacon Academy initiation test, he, Cyra, and two others ended up on the same team and the four came to trust each other immensely over the time they spent at Beacon. However, Xander took it upon himself to remind Cyra that sometimes she needed to care for herself as well, as she had a habit of putting others too far ahead of herself.

Over the course of their time together, everyone found a niche that they did well in. Xander became the team’s hit-and-run specialist, being in and out of groups of enemies before they could really register he was there while causing massive damage in the relatively short amount of time he was in their midst. He found he enjoyed it and that it allowed him to do the most for his team.

His time with his team has helped him to begin to finally outgrow his social awkwardness, but he has accepted that he may never outgrow his inability to really get to know new people despite his best efforts.

Semblance: Quick Switch-Quick Switch allows Xander to manifest a steel blue copy of himself in a ten foot radius of himself that he can swap places with in order to quickly reach hot spots and allies around him. It should be noted that the double disappears immediately upon the swap and requires a brief “recharge” time of about thirty seconds.

Combat Style: Xander’s fighting style revolves heavily on rapid attacks preceded by, involving and followed up by rapid fire suppression shots. His reloading style allows him to effectively fire shots between thrusts and slashes and continue to keep a weapon ready while exchanging cartridges.

When closing with a group of enemies, he will flip through the air and spin, firing all his shots into them to kill or injure as many as possible and then following up with sweeping shots while keeping minimum distance for effective sweeps, preferring to avoid a situation where he gets surrounded. He will often use Quick Switch as frequently as possible when faced with a group of opponents as opposed to a single opponent, as it helps him to maintain his distance.

Against a single opponent, he’ll use his semblance to change the direction a key strike will come from when they least expect it, using the time in between switches to unleash rapid barrages of attacks to keep his opponent on the defensive.

Weapon: Nightingale Eclipse is a pair of large caliber revolvers with blades attached to the barrels that allow for a close-to-mid range attacks with the revolvers and deadly hand-to-hand combat maneuvers with the blades.

Non-Combat skills: Xander has spent an extensive amount of time on both his parkour and acrobatic skills, making his reflexes sharp. And somehow it translates into a really good cooking ability as well. The man is well known for his Cherry Jubilee.

Deficiencies: Despite his high mobility and reloading skill, he struggles with long range engagements and some short range engagements, especially against unusual weapons like scythes. He also, to reinstate, is socially awkward, so he doesn’t like to lead.

Miscellaneous: Emblem

NOTE: Imagine the blade in the picture for the Nightingale Eclipse as larger.

Name: Cyra Sylvan, aka Scorpling

Age: 22

Gender: female

Race: Faunus, scorpion sub-species

Nationality: Atlas

Appearance:



Cyra stands at 4 feet, 9 inches. She typically wears very thick clothing with dark colours, hoodies, sweatpants, boots and fingerless gloves. She also conceals the lower half of her face with a scarf. Has violet eyes and chin length black hair. Visible skin is a very light brown, with sections of greenish-black carapace spread across her torso and limbs.

Personality: Cyra is as quiet and shy as anyone can get. She dislikes being the center of attention, as it makes her feel extremely flustered and nervous. She has a nurturing strength to her that relaxes people and encourages them to trust her. While not a particularly open character, she can be exceptionally stubborn and determined when she wants to be, especially when it comes to protecting someone else. Cyra works hard to make sure her teammates, and anyone else she is working with are safe, healthy, and happy.

While not as bad as she once was, Cyra still tends to shy away from physical contact that she herself does not initiate, as her body and its appearance is still something of a sensitive point for her. Old habits from when she was hiding her Faunus status (such as changing her clothes while still in bed or alone in a locked room) still persist. This is not to say she doesn't like being touched, quite the opposite in fact; when she's with some she really trusts and is fond of, Cyra can seem over-affectionate. She no longer tries to hide being a Faunus, and is in fact proud of some her inhuman traits (she can actually go longer without food than most people, and she is incredibly durable even when taking aura into account, though not as flexible), but she does not broadcast her status either. It's just a part of who she is, and Cyra sees herself as not being particularly important.

Aspirations: She is the shield who protects others from harm.

Fears:

-Failure. Cyra is so driven to protect others that she takes every failed mission, every injury suffered by others, and every loss of life personally, believing that she could have done more, even when she couldn’t.

-Rejection. While she is more confident than she used to be, deep down there is still that scared little scorpling who was bullied for her decidedly inhuman appearance.

Ethics: Cyra is a protector. Everything she does is somehow connected to that primary motivation. She knows better than most that the world can be a very dark place, especially for her own people, as she grew up with that reality and it still affects her deeply. As a result, she sees protecting others and helping them to create better world to be the sole reason for her existence. She does not want to bring harm to others, but if it means protecting a person who cannot protect themselves, then she will do what she has to if she sees no other way.

History: Cyra grew up alone with her mother, her father dying in a Grimm attack before she was born and having no other family to speak of. She also rarely saw her mother, who after moving them to Atlas tended to work long hours at difficult jobs just to be able to support her. School was essentially hell for Cyra; as a young scorpion Faunus in Atlas (a primarily human kingdom, and also one of the primary aggressors in The Faunus Wars), she often faced intense bullying, particularly due to the carapace sections on her skin being difficult to hide.

Her path to becoming a Huntress was one of necessity. While at a playground, Cyra was being repeatedly pushed around by a group of kids, when she finally lost her temper, accidentally activating her Semblance. The resulting shockwave not only knocked the other kids off their feet, but also caused serious damage to the playground. Cyra’s mother made her swear to only use her power to protect others, encouraging her to be better than those who discriminated against her. After that, her path was set, and she was enrolled in combat school to become a Huntress. In doing this, her mother hoped that she would eventually find the strength to stand for herself, whilst avoiding becoming a member of the increasingly militant White Fang.

Transferring to Beacon Academy (as her mother disliked the more strict and martial attitude of Atlas) was a difficult transition for Cyra. Away from everything she had grown up with, she went to extreme lengths to hide her Faunus heritage, burying herself in layers of thick clothing and avoiding physical contact at all costs, deathly afraid of what would happen if her classmates discovered her. This resulted in several habits that appeared strange, especially to her teammates Xander Steele _@Zarkun, (TBA), and (TBA). Fortunately, after a time they passed it off as simply being the way she was.

Despite the difficulties that she faced, Cyra took her mother’s words to heart. She resolved to not only rise above the discrimination's of her human peers, but also to become a shield to protect others from the same abuse she had endured. Her quiet drive to succeed and unrelenting selflessness earned her not only commendations from her teachers, but also the trust and faith of her teammates. Late in her third year, she finally felt confident enough to reveal her status as a Faunus to them. Reactions were mixed, but overall positive and welcoming.

Having now graduated, Cyra has emerged as a stronger person, more confident in her abilities and ready to protect the people of Remnant. She is her team's shield and heavy weapons specialist, allowing them to fight relatively unimpeded while she holds their attention, controlling the flow of the battle.

Emblem:



A stylized V with curved tips (resembling herself holding her shields in front of her in Guardian form when viewed from above), surrounded by two concentric spiked circles. This emblem can be found on the face of each shield.

Semblance: Cyra can essentially turn herself into an immovable object, locking herself in place where she stands and transmitting the energy of blows takes either into the ground or allowing it to build up inside herself. This is the primary reason that she is able to wield such heavy caliber weapons, as her Semblance allows her to absorb the recoil. If she allows the energy to build up, she can then instantly discharge it as powerful seismic shockwaves, turning her into the epicenter of an earthquake.

Combat Style: Cyra’s fighting style is an example of contrasts and flexibility. Outside of combat, she is shy, quiet, and tends not to enjoy bringing attention to herself. In combat, she is a tank in every sense of the word; Cyra makes herself the biggest, loudest, and most obvious target there is. She will pick a place that is open and gives her the biggest firing lines, usually between her allies/teammates and whatever they are fighting, then stands her ground and opens up with her heavy machine guns, overwhelming the enemy with sheer firepower. If there isn't such a place, there soon will be. If something is armoured enough that her bullets can’t pierce it, then she uses her shields and Semblance to tank any attack thrown at her before delivering armour-piercing shells at point-blank range with her high-powered rail cannons. She has incredible stamina and durability, both physically and in her aura.

Weapons:

Name: Terra and Lithos



Form 1: Guardian Mode. Each shield can extend panels from the side and bottom edges, forming a large wall shield that Cyra can use to protect herself.

Form 2: Assault Mode. A pair of tines extend to cover the machine gun barrels and open the central rail cannon. These weapons require a brief charge period but possess an immense amount of firepower, being able to crack even Boarbatusk or Death Stalker armour at point-blank range. The recoil of these weapons means that only Cyra is able to use them, as anyone else would be violently thrown off their feet and likely cause serious injury to themselves.

Form 3: Suppression Mode. The rail cannon tines merge and retract into the barrel, opening up the machine gun barrels on either side. While nowhere near as powerful as the rail cannon, they have a much greater rate of fire. The recoil of these weapons is not as severe as the rail cannons, but they would still ordinarily be found in vehicle mountings. Anyone other than Cyra who tries to use them will be staggered and/or injured. Even so, extended combat can make her arms feel numb.

Form 4: Fortress Mode. Terra and Lithos in Guardian form can be locked together at the sides to form a large curved barrier, protecting Cyra and anyone behind her from any frontal attack.

Non-combat skills: Seeing herself as the protector of the team, Cyra does everything in her power to make sure they are both happy and healthy. As such, Cyra has learned various skills such as cooking, first aid and weapon/armour maintenance. Her mother taught her her sewing skills, as growing up they were rather poor and had to make do with what they had. She is an excellent listener who goes out of her way to make people feel better. She is a competent machinist, owing to the fact that while she was in primary combat school she designed, built and maintains her shields herself.

Weaknesses: Cyra’s greatest strengths are also her biggest weaknesses. Her desire to protect others is so strong that she rarely, if ever thinks about herself, sometimes to the point of self-neglect. If someone else is injured, she will always look after them first, even if her own injuries are much more serious. If there isn’t enough food to go around, she will gladly give her portion to someone else, regardless of her own hunger. She is the first to volunteer for watch duty and will push herself so that the others can sleep a little longer. Cyra has difficulty saying no to anyone, even when she really should. In combat, she is always the first one in and the last one to leave. If the mission involves protecting people, Cyra will fight to the last, refusing to leave even in the face of overwhelming defeat so that she can save as many people as she can.

In combat, Cyra is many things, but "accurate" is not one of them. Her rail cannons are powerful but difficult to aim, so she tends to save them for very big targets or when she's very close, and her machine guns adopt a very "quantity over quality" stance. Additionally, because her combat style is very immobile, she is vulnerable to attacks from multiple directions and anything that manages to get past her barrages.

Miscellaneous:

-Cyra loves sour candies and always has some on her to suck on.

-Terra and Lithos are both very heavy weapons. When stored away in their travel case, most people find it nearly impossible to lift.

-They are also very, very loud. To give an example, this is essentially each of her machine guns, and her rail cannons sound like a ground-zero thunderclap.

-Long practice of carrying and wielding her weapons has made Cyra surprisingly strong for her size.

-I actually have a picture of what Cyra’s full body looks like, but it will only be revealed in specific circumstances and only in PM’s, as it’s NSFW.