Beryl Harken-Infirmary

"Did you bite off another person's head, Gratia?"

The flowing tone of the words revealed their speaker even before anyone turned to look at her. The new B of Vignoble was walking towards the pair, having just stepped out of the way of a rather upset looking catboy.

Her cheerful gait soon brought her over to Bianca's bed. Caring eyes floated above a small smile. Below that the faint tones of some sort of energetic violin music floated out from the earphones settled around the otter Faunus' neck. Loud enough to dispel any depressing vibes trying to get near but quiet enough to settle into the subconscious after a couple seconds.

She held up a small vase filled with purple irises.

"Hey Bianca, I figured you could do with something colorful to look at while you were in here."

Kuhaku Shiro - Cafeteria

Shiro tilted his head. "Well, yeah I'm angry. You would be too if you just had to deal with someone like...that," He thought to himself. Shiro waved his hand at Diamond, ignoring the light insult to his personality. It wasn't like he disagreed with her, there were quite a few things that just flew straight over his head he knew that much about himself. He frowned when she mentioned that seeing him in his current mood had depressed her. That wasn't his intention. He only wanted to chow down before pounding in some training dummy's face. He'd shower then go to bed and wake the next day with no hard feelings reserved for whomever that headphones-wearing girl was. He'd just be mindful of being around her or ever speaking to her ever again. Ever. He didn't like profane and vulgar speech. He even hated using the words himself, even if he couldn't help himself at times. "No...my mission went alright. Well, it would've been a 100% clear if I hadn't gotten bitten by my own..." He shook his head. "Ah, never mind that. But yeah, someone did kind of bother me a little." Shiro drew circles on the table with his finger as he looked boredly at it. Maybe he had over reacted? Again, he hardly knew who the girl was so maybe that was just part of who she was and he was being a little baby about it.

Shiro's ears twitched upon the mention of alcohol. "Uh...I don't know about all those other things but...I don't really like the stuff. I mean, I tried it once and it tasted horrible. Burned my mouth and nose too and I felt funny afterward, getting a little sick. Plus..." Shiro's blue eyes shifted around, "I don't think you should be talking about drinking. I don't know about you but I'm a minor. I don't think I'm supposed to drink." It was true, he had only tried a sip of some rotgut he found somewhere once before out of curiosity. Immediately hated it. Immediately swore it off for life after how badly it had affected him. "I mean, I appreciate the offer to help me feel better but I'll get better on my own with time. Just...be careful about the things you talk about. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble..." he then frantically waved his hands at her. "N-not that I would ever tell on you! I'm not a snitch, so don't start thinking that! What you do with your life and your body is your own business, not mine. So long as it doesn't affect anyone else around you..."

He turned back to his food to slowly resume munching, with much less anger and intensity from before.

From an early age, Abel harbored an unusual interpretation of the idea of 'stress'. Shortly after beginning his training as a guardian in Palisade, he came to the conclusion that stress was a poison. It built up inside someone who didn't know how to deal with it or didn't have the time, affecting that person's abilities and attitude, all the while slowly eating away at his or her soul. Like certain diseases, though, it didn't ultimately kill by itself, but instead allowed other malevolent afflictions to get their time in the limelight. Someone choked by stress might not notice an extra Grimm coming in at the side, or be so tired that a sudden gust of wind might blow him or her over the wall. This rather odd notion, combined with Abel's methodical nature, meant that he always took pains to alleviate stress whenever he felt it bubbling in his veins.

No normal person would have made a beeline for the gym after only half an hour of post-mission rest, but Abel did exactly that. His reasoning was simple: through rhythmic, repetitious exertion, he could shed away his worries like scratching away so much dead skin after a sunburn. Some people lost themselves in music, or in a book, or in the bottom of a shot glass, but Abel chose to run himself so ragged that he couldn't bring himself to think about the past or future. After arriving, he did not throw himself into frenzied exercise, but measured himself so that he could go for a long time. Jogging around the perimeter, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, crunches, balancing, lateral raises, stretches, piston punches, kick drills—all served to tire him out and help him forget. He became sore quickly, but after that became numb. The knowledge that such exhausting work would make him stronger and more useful in the future, along with clearing his head, sustained him, though he did make sure to visit the drinking fountain often. Occasionally his stomach troubled him for food, but he didn't really distinguish it from the plethora of other troubles aching his body now.

Eventually, Abel just stopped moving. He lay motionless on a floor mat, waiting like a salivating dog for each cool drift of air from the fan far above. Fatigue made every motion a chore, but despite the state of his body, the guardian was happy. Paradoxically, he never felt in a more peak physical condition than when he'd just finished an extensive workout. Though he moderated his thoughts, he absolutely felt as if such great exercise was proof that whether or not he did well in a certain situation, he could be formidable and helpful no matter what. I can do it echoed through his mind.

A beep sounded out through the quiet gym, originating from Abel's phone. He laboriously pushed himself to his feet to check the device. “Twenty minutes ago...?” he frowned, looking at his Scroll. In his singleminded dedication to working out, he'd toned out the sound that heralded a message's arrival. So Shiro wanted to go for pizza. “Sure, I could eat,” he matter-of-factly informed himself. First things first, though; as elated as he felt now, he also felt disgusting. He'd need to get clean and changed pronto before he could even think about reintegrating into human society. The guardian headed for the gym's locker room and spent a little more than five minutes in the shower, scalding away his exhaustion with hot water. When he got out, he discovered that Gren had replied to the group text and named a restaurant. Abel recognized the name and nodded in approval. Only after putting the Scroll away in his pocket did he realize that replying would have been a good idea. With that in mind, he whipped it out and got to work.

To: Gren Orchid, Kuhaku Shiro
From: Abel Fulgurate
Subject: Re: Good pizzerias?

Top. Let's smash it.

His finger paused over the 'send' button. Wait, didn't I just type 'Great. Let's do it'? Why'd it autocorrect to that? Shrugging mentally, he sent it anyway. The new phrase worked just as well.

Diamond's eyebrows shot up in curiosity as Shiro described how his mission went, the corner of her lips tugging up in a restrained smile. "Oh? Go on. Bitten by my own?" she pried. She would have expected getting bitten by just about anything but something on your side? That had to be a good story.

"And please. IF they could nail you just for talking about something the jails would be overflowing. Besides, I'm legal so I can talk all I want. However, if your experience was pretty much just downing a glass of whatever poured out of a garage still with some other kids in a shady alley, of course you hate it." she smiled, "There's more to it than just getting hammered, it's a social event like any other. Oftentimes what helps is the company rather than the drink itself. Or the place. Not many things beat reading in the warmth of a fireplace with perhaps just one glass of something to sip all evening." she shrugged.

"That or you could always go and buy a woman. I could give you a couple numbers for that too." she said in a flat voice, her eyes measuring for a reaction.

Kuhaku Shiro - Cafeteria

Shiro chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, I don't think I should really say...It's a little embarrassing for me," he said, unaware of how much more embarrassing it was for his team leader to have this fact about her revealed. There was also the suspicion that this 'Diamond' girl would somehow use the information against him. Something about her overall appearance and scents told Shiro that she could end up getting the words out from him anyways or find out from some other source later on if he refused. Ah, what the hell. "Basically Sapphire, my team leader, had some sort of panic attack when we were in the water. I tried to rescue her but she ended up biting me on the arm. It was hard enough to go through my gloves and bandages, but thankfully it didn't really break skin. Just left a bit of a bruise." Shiro was too easy sometimes. Hardheaded at exactly the wrong moments as was his nature.

When Diamond countered with her line of logic and reasoning, Shiro couldn't help but nod in agreement. His eyes looking up towards the empty space above his head as he looked thoughtful for a moment. She was right, if people could be jailed just for talking about something but with no concrete evidence or proof, the jails would be fit to burst over capacity. Even still, he didn't like talking about potential legally-dubious subjects. He always tried to avoid moral gray areas if he could help it. He couldn't wrap his mind around the 'social drinking' concept, but then again that's what parties were. Right? Just taken to excessive levels. Was there social drinking that wasn't taken to excess? For some reason upon the mention of fireplaces, he imagined stuffy old folk in top hats and monocles sipping expensive wine around a fireplace sitting in antique armchairs discussing international politics and economics. He snorted and chortled to himself randomly at the mental image. How silly.

"I guess so...when you put it like that. Doesn't make too much sense to me still. I don't think that would be my cup of coffee though. Why anyone would enjoy doing something like that is beyond me...Sounds boring..." Shiro leaned towards his food, just about to take another bite when he stopped and turned his head towards Diamond. Blinking as he looked completely lost and confused.

"Buy a...woman? What?"
Now there was a completely foreign concept to the tiger boy, if there ever was one.
"Wh-...what do you mean by that? How do you buy people? And for what? Why?"
Only ever having a one girlfriend in his life thus far, and that was a short-lived puppy love type deal when he was at Signal, the virginal purity that was Shiro was completely in the dark about more mature and adult relations. That was a world he had never treaded or even known about.

Listening to the story, Diamond sobered up a little. "Huh. Fancy that. I didn't think Rode and I could have anything in common, but there it is." she pointed out, "Well at least I have enough sense not to take a mission in a water filled environment. Word of advice though? You don't struggle with a drowning person, you wait until they stop, then pull them out. Also before you go an earn yourself a chewing out, forget about suggesting something along the lines of swimming classes. If she's like me then it's not like an inability, but a phobia." she shared.

Diamond thought back tot he mission board, recalling a mission that dealt with escorting a ship. With CODE's luck, she probably dodged a big bullet by not going on that one.

She shrugged off both the thought and Shiro's judgement on the idea of getting a glass. "Hey, don't diss it until you tried it. Although I am a bit of a sucker for the old kingdoms and their ways so I might be a tad biased." she smiled, finishing what was left on her plate. Just in time to nearly choke at the faunus' epic purity. Smirking she leaned over to him as she was leaving and whispered to him an explanation before leaving him to his mountain of meat.

Yue

Location: Cafeteria
Activity: Touring the place
Thoughts: "I wonder if anyone ever had a food fight here..."

Yue had arrived to Beacon earlier that day. Her first time ever traveling somewhere outside of Atlus, and alone at that! She would have been here since the beginning, but Yue still needed to complete her training with her family. Even now, the idea that she enters Beacon in the middle of their school year was something that her parents hotly debated. Her father felt that it would be more appropriate for her to enter when a new semester was beginning, but her mother wanted Yue to start as soon as possible. Her training with the family was complete; to start any later was only going to force her to catch up. Sure, she had plenty of catching up to do right now, but the lesser the better.

So Yue was on the first airship heading to Vale, and arrived to Beacon earlier that day. To be honest, she was at a lost. She knew no one was just going to give her a tour, and all the paperwork for her application here was already finished, but now that Yue was actually at the school she wasn't sure what she was suppose to do. She didn't know who's team she would be on since she was never there for the entrance exam. She didn't know what dorm she'd be in, or what her classes would be, or where to go to figure any of this stuff out. Without anyone to tell her where to go, Yue was lost. So she just started to wander around.

Yue had only one suitcase, most of it filled with various uniforms. Everything she she'd need such as books, decoration, hygiene products, etc, Yue would have to buy here at Beacon. Fortunately her parents gave her Lein to make sure she could buy all her essentials, though anything else beyond that she'll need to use her own money. While she was in town Yue did see a few ads for part time jobs, but seeing that she was going to be a full-time Hunter she won't be able to have a side job. Or at least she shouldn't, not unless she really, really needed it. Aside from her suitcase Yue also had a black case strapped to her back. It was larger than she was; if it wasn't so thin, one could mistake it for a coffin. Yet despite it's size she had it perfectly balanced on her back, her steps even and steady even with the big black box behind her.

As she wondered around, Yue watched the students go about their lives. She saw quite a few get taken to the Infirmary, so she could only presume that they came back from their missions. This made Yue grip her hands tightly, knowing that one day she'll be on a mission and that it'll be her job to make sure her partners don't get hurt. She continued to walk around until she found the cafeteria. A grumbling in her stomach reminded her that she hasn't eaten anything but a light breakfast of chicken soup, though she worried that she might not be able to get food yet. Did Beacon use some sort of card or account system? Did she have to buy her own food? Bring her own food?

"Well... I suppose I could go for a snack."

Yue went inside the cafeteria, bringing everything along with her. She supposed that she could stop for a quick ten minute lunch break and then continue looking around.

Kuhaku Shiro - Cafeteria

Shiro tilted his head, Diamond shared some odd fear of water like Sapphire? He frowned, confused. "Why would anyone be afraid of water?" He couldn't understand why anyone would have some 'phobia' related to water. After all, it was fun to swim and play it. Clean drinking water is a necessity to life and shoot, you bathe and wash in it. He shook his head from side to side to also disagree with the idea of ever becoming an alcohol drinker. Seeing Diamond get up to leave, Shiro turned back to his meal and was just about to take another chomp when his ear twitched and he turned to see Diamond leaning towards him. He blinked as he listened intently to her words, but one could see the exact moment of when the content of what she had told him got to him. Immediately freezing up, his ears and tail perking straight up, he made a strange choking sound as his face instantly burned a deep, intense red.

"Wh-what the hell?!"
Watching as Diamond walked away from him, his mouth hung agape in pure shock.
Shaking his head rapidly, he smacked the cheeks of his face a few times.
"No! Nonononononono! NO!
Muttering to himself, he went back to assaulting his meal.
Mentally repeating his rejection of Diamond's words.
How morally corrupt.
How wrong.

Thankfully, his Scroll buzzed and vibrated in his pocket which distracted him from his meal along with his funny embarrassed feelings. Slipping it out, he smirked at Gren's response but frowned at Abel's. Tapping out a response;

From: Kuhaku Shiro
To: Abel Fulgerate @Lugubrious, Gren Orchid @Lucius Cypher
Subject: Good pizzerias?

"Ah, thanks Gren. You're the best. I was looking for a good place to order delivery from. Sorry Abel for the confusion. Didn't mean for it to sound like a suggestion for the team to go out. Maybe some other day though, for sure!"

After searching the named pizzeria by Gren online, Shiro put in his order through his mobile device. Once done, he locked his Scroll and pocketed it to return to finishing his meal in relative peace.

---

Kuhaku Shiro - Cafeteria>Armory>Practice Area

Thanks to his wonderful metabolism, his body was already hard at work burning away and digesting the piles of food he had consumed not so long ago. After his 'anger eating' session, Shiro as planned paid a trip to the Armory to once again check out his weapons Kladenets and Perun for some much needed steam-venting and practice. However, as he stood on the mushy rubbery pit of the 'ground fighting' section of the Practice Area, he wasn't expecting there to be such a strange sight. Namely, there was a peculiar bot that heavily resembled an Atlesian Knight present. Only key difference was that it looked beaten up as hell and much older, as if it were a prototype. Why it was there, Shiro had no idea. It just stood there, silent as it stared back at the faunus boy.

Blinking rapidly like he usually did whenever he was at a loss, he looked around him.
There was no one else present.
The bot was just...there.
Left unattended, Shiro wondered if it belonged to Beacon.
Leaning from side to side, he examined the bot from where he stood for any distinguishing marks and found one but not one that he recognized. The symbol was that of a wolf's head in a knight's helmet, with three different swords crossed behind it and some foreign script underneath it.
"Hmm. Well, that looks cool. But...whose is it?"
Tapping at his chin, hmmed as he puzzled over the origins of such a random bot.
At that moment, the bot sprung to life and powered up.
"Greetings, Mr. Kuhaku Shiro."
The bot said, its voice a collection of both male and female voices. Both young and old.
It startled and disturbed Shiro so badly, the tiger boy actually jumped back a few feet into the air.
Flailing his arms as he landed on his bottom.
"Bwah! OOF-! Aww...Ow..."
As Shiro sucked air through his teeth in pain, rubbing his bum, the bot approached the faunus boy.
"Are you quite alright, Mr. Kuhaku?"
Frowning as he looked up at the bot, Shiro was a bit wary of the machine.
"Uh...Yeah, I'm okay. Who...No, what are you?"
The bot snapped to the position of attention before giving its response to Shiro.
"I am a combat training android, Mr. Kuhaku! Designated code name: Bobbie! It's a pleasure to meet you."
Frowning still, Shiro tilted his head at it as he scratched at his ears.
"H-how do you know my name?"
"I am currently linked with Beacon Academy's student roster! To provide more personalized interactions with individual students and to tailor customized training programs!"
Shiro cocked an eyebrow at 'Bobbie'.
"Uhh...okay? How did you get here? Who do you belong to?"
"My serial number is currently leased out under Ms. Esther Vanhomrigh's authority for use as one of Beacon's training androids!"
Shiro's face darkened as his heart sunk. He belonged to her?
"Uhh...c-...can anyone practice with you?"
"Absolutely, Mr. Kuhaku!"
Standing up and dusting himself, he put his hands on his hips.
"So...I need to practice transitioning between my two different weapon modes. Do you have a training program for that?"
"Absolutely, Mr. Kuhaku!"
Shiro sighed, chuckling nervously.
"Uhh, you don't need to do anything. But, could you just...stand there and evade or block my attacks?"
Shiro wondered, that would provide more 'realistic' training if he had something to pound on.
"Absolutely, Mr. Kuhaku!"
The bot stood still for a moment as it emitted a few whirs and beeps. After it was finished...doing whatever it was doing, the bot brought up its fists as it settled into a stance.
Shiro smirked as he affixed his shield to his left and drew his sword in his right hand.
"I have to warn you, I hit pretty hard."
In an almost menacing tone, 'Bobbie' replied rather bluntly.
"So do I, Mr. Kuhaku."
Shiro grinned, settling into his own battle stance.
"Sweet."

Gratia Mindaro - Infirmary

Her onyx eyes, bereft of anything but solemn impassivity, glanced towards Beryl. The newcomer to the team was still someone she had yet to properly acclimate herself towards, but their short period of cooperation had given her an image of what the Faunus girl was like. Easygoing, genial, and if the state of the Dodici patriarch's body was any indication when they had incarcerated him, hiding a ruthless, wrathful streak beneath the layers of calm kindness. Highly protective as well, and very much willing to fight if necessary. Gratia herself had seen that resolve in their dorm.

She would be fun to fight.

"I do not suffer fools, Harken," she replied, tone unchanging as her gaze drifting towards the vase in the otter Faunus' hands. Purple irises. A flower of wisdom and hope, of compliments. It was an unorthodox choice to give a recovering patient. "His fucking stammering was overly irksome."

Krysthane was about to reply to Sepia's question when the airship suddenly started moving. More worried about getting dropped off the moving vehicle Krysthane turned and quickly ran into the airship, finding a seat rather hastily. To her surprise there was no one else on the airship, it seemed to be running entirely automatically. Krysthane attempted briefly to get the airship to stop, but apparently she didn't have 'Elevated administrator rights'. Focusing on herself now that it was clear she wasn't able to do anything to help the two missing members of her team Krysthane quickly belted in and looked at the ascending ramp worriedly. One concern was addressed as, at practically the last possible moment, Skyra managed to bolt into the airship and find herself a seat. Anything Krysthane would've said was interrupted by the sudden acceleration of the airship towards Beacon. On the way there Krysthane tried to formulate what she was going to say. Obviously Ebon wasn't on board, but she had no idea what happened to him. It was entirely possible he had run into some unsavory types in his investigation and was either captured, or something worse that Krysthane didn't spend overly long considering. Shit, she'd lost a team mate already? No, no, no, it was probably fine. After all, his little bots had helped her get out so he was obviously in a situation to control them. Or at least, had been. Gah, it was so frustrating not knowing what was going on.

Faster than she would've liked, the airship arrived at the city and they were unloaded. Oh. She'd been expecting to be back at the Academy, guess this was their time off. Krysthane looked at her two teammates awkwardly. "Well, obviously Ebon is MIA for now. I'm sure we'll find out more once our weekend is up. For now, let's just enjoy ourselves, what do you guys wanna do first? If nobody else has an idea we can go... get pizza!" Krysthane said brightly, finishing the rundown with a smile on her face. Was she being callous by pretty much ignoring Ebon? They couldn't just dwell on it and let it depress them, but not giving it proper attention might be wrong as well. She was sure Ebon was find, they would undoubtedly find out on Monday what the deal was and they could worry about it then.

@Lugubrious @Sho Minazuki @HereComesTheSnow @Suku @Plank Sinatra @NarayanK @Kaithas

“It’s big, it’s strong, and we pissed it off.” Ben answered, running a hand through his hair. This really wasn’t going as well as he wanted. The Grimm inside the refinery had been pretty easy to handle, all things considered, but the Manticore was another story. He couldn’t hit it very hard at all, not without getting closer and getting closer was a really bad idea given that they were in an airship that couldn’t set down until it was dealt with. The people stuck on the ground wouldn’t be able to deal with it themselves, either, and Goodwitch couldn’t strike it down from here. What did they have…

The lightbulb went on when he remembered what he had on his belt. What was on Jack’s, too. He tore the flare gun off his belt, held it up, and pointed to the cockpit. “I know how to deal with it. We had these to direct the airship’s air support if we needed it. We never used them. The ship shouldn’t need them to target the Manticore, not anymore, but we can use them to keep its attention on us.”

“More importantly, our guys and gals on the ground can see it and now to stay out of the way. It’s tough, but I think this ship can hurt it enough to make it leave. At least for a little while, even if it can’t kill the fucker.”

Yue

Location: Cafeteria
Activity: Getting some food
Thoughts: "Not bad for peasant food."

Yue stopped by the cafeteria and got herself some food from the lunch line. Despite this being the first time here, she went about her business quickly and efficiently, picking out a freshly grilled sandwich with corned beef, melted cheese, and sauerkraut. She took a pint of milk and, just for herself, banana yogurt. Paying for her meal Yue went to a table and ate alone. Instead of picking up her sandwich and eating it, Yue pulled out a fork and knife from her bag, cutting the sandwich into bite size pieces and eating them one bite at a time. As she ate, she wondered about her future here at Beacon.

She wondered what sort of team she'd have. Would she have an all girl's team, or maybe two boys and two girls? What if she was the only girl in her team? Yue's face grew red just thinking about it. She wondered if any of them would be mean to her. Or what if one of them was a faunus? Yue doesn't have too strong of an opinion about faunus, but she couldn't deny that being raised to serve the Schnee family, she has accepted the usual racism against them. Yue might not bat an eye or really think about any oppression they're suffering from, or feel more invested to fight against faunus extremist. And what about her classes here? Yue hasn't brought her books yet since she had no idea what sort of classes she'd take. Since this was a Hunter school she imagined that she would learn things pertinent to hunting. Grimm biology, world history, mechanics, dust. That last one Yue was most knowledgeable.

Her mind eventually drifted back to the students. Yue wanted to get to know some people, figure out who would be a good master for her. She couldn't help but feel lost and alone without someone to tell her what to do. She wasn't really given any directions when she got here, and she has no idea where to go from here. Nervously Yue tapped her fingers on the table before finishing up her meal. "I guess I'll just keep looking around."

After washing up, Gren was still hungry. He returned to his dorm to get out of his armor and put on some casual clothing. Despite being a big, beefy boar faunus, Gren liked to think he was a fashionable person. That being said, he didn't really dress up fancy or interesting. Khaki pants, black shirt, and white sneakers. And of course, The God Eater on his back. Gren had a special harness he could wear underneath his shirt that would magnetize the God Eater to his back, and Gren could control the output of the magnets through his systems. Gren combed his hair and flossed his teeth before heading out towards the cafeteria. With any luck the lunch line won't be too long and today's meals would be good.

Gren entered the cafeteria and mad a beeline straight towards the lunch line. There was a limit on how much food he was allowed to take, so he only took as much as he was allowed: two sandwiches, a side order of fries, an apple, a bottle of water and a bottle of soda. Leaving the line he was already planning his second trip when he spotted a strange creature. Something he never thought existed outside of story books. A mythical being that all have heard about, but have never seen. Until now. "IT'S A MAID!"

Gren checked his breath. He took a bath and flossed his teeth but he didn't brush. He cursed himself and had to make due with minty gum. He adjusted his clothes and straighten up his weapon. Gren was a it nervous that he didn't wear his armor or even his uniform; now he just looked like some armed thug who had walked into Beacon. Still, this opportunity wouldn't be here forever. He had to strike hard and fast, and this time Gren was confident in himself! No weird come ons or pick up lines. He just needed to introduce himself, get to know her, and maybe introduce her to his friends. "You got this Gren. You've taken on bigger challenges than this. Man up! Release the beast!"

Gren walked over to the maid, clearing his through to get her attention. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

As the team was debating their next move, something happened to the forest. For lack of a better term, the ground opened up underneath them and swallowed them whole. Which wasn’t entirely untrue: the ground underneath the team did indeed open up, and from the hole came thick, sticky web. This web not only was nearly impossible to escape by brute force, even for the students, but was as hard as cement. Worse still, this web didn't come from a single grimm. It came from hundreds of them.

As the team fell into the dark hole, they may catch a glimpse of beady red eyes staring right at them. Thousands upon thousands of arachnids, some as small as a car tire, others as big as a semi truck. And behind the ocean of broodlings was their queen, their mother, the Ariadne. She let loose an ear piercing scream that signaled the entire nest to descend onto the hunters, ready to tear them apart even as they were strapped in the web.

@Savato@Onarax@Crimmy@Sho Minazuki

Shuai Taidan - Team KNVS (Sticky Situation)

Picture the image. Three dashingly handsome men (a hunk with rippling muscles, an aristocratic gentleman and a cute pretty boy) and their female sidekick are descending into the depths of a darkness known colloquially as a hole. Freeze frame. Ignoring any possible Freudian imagery, take a gander at what this unfortunate series of events has lead them to. A deep, dark hole. Crimson-eyed spiders, their numbers rivalling even the years of an oriental emperor's reign, emerging from the void. A thick, white fluid that would stick to every part of their body like hot glue on figma (which, excusing the Freudian imagery, can be better described as incredibly adhesive webbing). Team KNVS is frozen in this shot, about to meet what was likely their doom.

It is usually at this point in a manga where the previously mentioned abilities of one of the cast members finally comes into play, having previously used them for what seemed to be unnecessary and comical purposes. A Chekhov's Gun, if you will, a dramatic principle named after the famous Russian writer himself, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (29 January 1860 - 15 July 1904). "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off." Thus it was certain that one of the members of Team KNVS would find a way out of this ... sticky situation. After all, they had abilities that could be used.

If they didn't, then why would they have been included in the signup form?

Press play.

Heat and light explodes underneath Shuai Taidan, prettyboy extraordinaire and resident pyromaniac. Wind and fire wheels, the Rongquan, are attached to his black boots. They serve multiple purposes, from makeshift lighters to decoration, but their intended purpose if that of utility. Flames, like those from the thrusters of a rocket, enveloped the ringed weapons, spurting downwards at the webbing to singe away at the white.

A weapon to save him from the webbing, one would assume.

But what of his teammates?

That was why such an assumption was incorrect! The wind and fire wheels were more than just weapons! They were tools that assisted him in his ability to perform as a Huntsman (despite his feminine appearance) of all sorts of nasty creepy-crawlies!

They allowed him to fly.

Like the Nevermore from earlier in the mission had unfortunately learnt, Shuai Taidan was very much capable of flight. In fact, the skies were merely another domain to him. Another world for him to frolic in. A mere Trap Hole was nothing to him! In fact, you could say that he had activated his Trap Jammer, discarding fuel in order to do so! What could webbing do to him ... if he wasn't touching it!? He would not allow the spiders to ravage his flesh. That would just be unacceptable!

But what of his teammates?

Santouliubi. A romanisation of 三頭六臂. A reference to the three-headed, six-armed form of the Marshal of the Central Altar himself. A colloquial term for those who are 'superhuman'. The name of Shuai Taidan's semblance! Freeze frame. Behold the ethereal arms emerging from his back as if he were an eastern deity! Six in total, like the Third Lotus Prince! The manifestation of the prettyboy's burning soul, a power that allows him to multitask in any situation! Arms that could knit clothes! Arms that could hold his groceries while he searched for his wallet! Arms that could grab others with ease!

The same arms that killed the Nevermore would be the arms that would be able to save his teammates!

Two arms per person.

Varius, Noelle and Kiran were each grabbed tightly around their waists by these powerful semblance arms! Two per person! Holding tightly as if their lives depended on it (which it sort of did)! All in order to escape the fate that was the hole!

Press play.

Fire burns downwards. Shuai Taidan grins. He flies upwards like a rocket on his way to Mars. His teammates follow suit, held within his powerful semblance. But the red planet is not his destination. No, his destination is one safer than that! The sky! An atmosphere composed mostly of nitrogen, and was slowly being polluted by industrial byproducts such as sulfurous oxides! Yet a death via shitty air was one far preferable to death by spiders! Even soulless Grimm spiders!

The hole is escaped. But that isn't Taidan's only course of action!

Chongli awakens. The speartip opens, and the napalm floods downwards into the hole. It burns hotter than even the flames of his wheels, for napalm can generate temperatures of 800 to 1,200 degrees Celsius (1,500–2,200°F)! Water, in comparison, burns at 100 degrees Celsius (212°F)! Water evaporates upon contact with it! It's adhesive, sticking to anything in its path! And its burning releases carbon monoxides, which are very, very bad to breathe in, which is why Taidan has been wearing his gas mask all day long!

And it oozes down into the hole, towards the webs, towards the baby spiders, towards Ariadne.

Excessive amounts of napalm pumping towards the enemy.

No, it isn't excessive.

When dealing with a threat to mankind, one must do their best at all times. Otherwise, there isn't a gold star on your report!

It's fortunate though that the Grimm are soulless husks, because otherwise all the napalm falling from the skies into the hole could be classified as a war crime!

Beryl Harken

"Well, as long as his physical head is still attached to his body." Was all that Beryl had to say to that. There was nothing she could say to get the other girl to soften up in the next five minutes. It hardly helped that Beryl felt like the berserker caged within Gratia's icy exterior was salivating when it looked at her.

Turning, she looked Bianca over with a clinical stare, almost as if she was assessing the work the doctors had done on her. After a couple seconds of scanning her face lit up with a smile and she leaned in to gently hug the bedridden Faunus. One hand carefully avoided the wings while the other absentmindedly placed the vase of purple flowers on the small bedside table.

"I'm glad you are looking better, Bianca."

Kuhaku Shiro - Practice Area > Showers

"How long has it been?!"

Shiro knelt on the ground, his body heavy and struggling to maintain his hold on his weapons. He was wondering how long they had actually been training against one another. Him and this...Bobbie. Shiro was pleasantly surprised. As he remained there, catching his breath as best he could in between his panting, Bobbie stood in its fighting stance. Ever at the ready. "Bobbie" was right. He did hit pretty hard. Shiro sustaining a few blows here and there that would surely bruise up if it weren't for his Aura. Which, was subsequently running a tad low for his liking. He had really put out, burning off most of his anger from prior and his energy to go with it. Shiro got what he wanted out of it though. He definitely got plenty of practice with his combos and transition attack drills. Drenched in sweat, Shiro took a deep breath and strained as he stood. Willing his body to keep going for just a little longer. They had traded strikes for however long that his poor ears had a persistent ringing in them. It didn't sound nice when geisteel/siderite alloy clashed with whatever the hell Bobbie was made of. When they trained and fought, at moments Shiro thought it was going to rain. Their fighting sounding like the crashes of thunderstorms. Shiro absently hoped he hadn't drawn any attention to himself.

Exhaling deeply, Shiro grinned and sheathed his weapons. Slinging them onto his back, he walked up to Bobbie with his fist out.
Bobbie, when it saw Shiro disarm himself, eased out of its stance.
"Phew! You weren't kiddin' there boss! You just don't quit, huh?"
That was the advantage of being a robot. You didn't tire. If any parts broke down or wore off, you simply repaired/replaced/upgraded them. Shiro figured that must be a bit of an enjoyable advantage to have over everyone else, thinking of Gren.
"Well, I think that's enough for today. Thanks for your help, Bobbie!"
Bobbie, looking at Shiro's presented fist recognized the gesture.
Greeting Shiro's knuckles with its own light bump of the fist.
Must've been preprogrammed or learned from prior experiences, Shiro figured.
"I'm all spent, so I'll be going to hit the showers now. Hopefully we can train together in the future some more, Bobbie! Thanks again!"

As Shiro walked away, he waved his salutations. Bobbie just standing there watching as the faunus boy left. Once gone, Bobbie then kneeled down. Powering off.

Shiro stretched as he walked, a more difficult task than one would think. He wasn't looking forward to feeling sore tomorrow, but at least it would be good. It meant that he gave a good amount of effort. As he returned to Beacon Academy proper, he hoped he didn't look or smell too bad being freshly covered in sweat and dirt. He would have to check his weapons back into the Armory. Then return to the room to get his clothes and toiletries. Finally, the shower to rinse and clean off. Maybe go into town and hit up the arcade and see what's new. A notification rang from his Scroll and he curiously slipped it out to view it. It was from the pizzeria he had ordered from. The order was complete and on its way to where Shiro had directed them. With a smile, Shiro pocketed his Scroll and whistled as he walked.

"Hmm. Maybe I should invite everyone out for pizza after all..."
Shiro wondered, his eyes looking up at the sky.

He nearly ran into a light pole in his wanderlust.

Yue

Location: Beacon
Activity: Wandering around
Thoughts: "Where should I go to next?"

"I do not mind, I was just about to leave."

Finishing her meal Yue stood up and went to dispose of her dishes. Once she was done Yue figured she could go back for her walk. However it felt like she's been everywhere already, at least everywhere that wasn't inside a building. Yue supposed she could go look inside too while she was at it. There were a few places she wanted to find, like where the dorms were or the library. Readjusting her belongings Yue turned and left the cafeteria to go find somewhere else to be. She was slightly disappointed that she wasn't caught up in a food fight, but she supposed that Beacon was a school for hunters, and are thus expected to hold themselves in a higher regard than you're average academy.

Now there was just the matter of where to go first. She supposed that if she was going to stay here she would need to familiarize herself with the dorms. She knows there is no gender restrictions at the dormitories, aside that teams share a room together. But with that being said Yue wasn't certain if she would be having a dorm or if arrangements were going to be made herself. That also reminded her that she should probably go find the administration's office and see if there's anything else she needs to fill out before she was properly a Beacon student. Wouldn't want to be mistaken as a common, if rather dapper, vagrant after all. But without any real direction, Yue just figured that her best best would be heading towards the tallest building and hope for the best.

Sapphire shook her head annoyedly thinking about Shiro. If he'd talked to Emerald about it all of Team Codex would know soon enough. Perhaps the damage would stop there but the realist in Sapphire suspected that wouldn't be the case. Shiro was too socially inept to even recognize that it might be a sore subject for her. With their mission otherwise going off without a hitch Sapphire's aquaphobia would be the first thing the tiger faunus vocalized every time someone asked "How'd the mission go?" And being that the missions were a school wide event of significant excitement that question would be asked often by many different people.

All of that flashed through her mind in a second as she resolved to let no one know that either her aquaphobia or its sudden common knowledge in any way bothered her. For the moment though her own social problems weren't especially relevant.

"I've heard the coastal towns can be rough. Often makes me wonder why people stay out there." It was not as though her own living situation growing up had been especially pleasant but the factors in her life had forced her to remain despite the possibility of bodily harm. The outer town villagers didn't have the same sort of defense. "I suppose an argument could be made for sticking by what you've built but it makes you question what was going through the heads of the people that first settled those towns. I'd want somewhere safer to raise my family. Though you'd know better than me whatever charm that kind of life holds."

As Oswald described his personal mindset regarding training an image came into her head of the aftermath of Oswald's previous mission. The punching bag in the training hall stained with his blood from his split and bruised knuckles as he beat the thing so badly that his hands suffered worse than the bag he was fighting. "There are other ways to train hard and live up to your obligations. Your way of training..." she sighed and shook her head trying to find a way to vocalize what she meant. She wasn't all that good at this. Cecily was the sensitive one in the family and Demetra the insightful one. Sapphire was more the violent one of the three. She was better at settling things physically than emotionally. It worked well enough, most of the time anyways.

"I just mean... you might try easing up a bit. If what I walked in on last week was any indication your kind of training is going to burn out your body before you manage to graduate. You wouldn't be a help to anyone like that, least of all yourself. Doing more isn't always as effective as doing better."
@Multi_Media_Man

Every atom of air, charged to capacity with tension, bore oppressively down on the would-be heroes of Beacon. On the earth, the students dared not to move, lest the nightmarish beast that divided them from an open sky of freedom and safety sense their presence. The decisive moments of this mission were upon them, and now the soft but portentous winds of the eye of the storm played around them. Often enough people spoke in hushed tones of the dreaded Grimm’s rumored ability to smell fear, but whether or not the Manticore truly could, it went without saying that it was only a matter of time before the smell of man wafted upward to its nostrils and betrayed the student’s presence to this overwhelming evil.

Far above this scene, professor Goodwitch frowned slightly at Ben’s use of vulgar language, even if the situation warranted it, but she nodded in response to his plan. “Very well. Marine?” The pilot of the airship, having put the flying machine into a state of hovering, perked up in acknowledgement. “Make it uncomfortable,” Goodwitch told him icily, and a muffled sound that might have been a dark chuckle could be heard within the pilot’s helmet. The instincts of those onboard bid them to hold tight as the vehicle spun around, angling downward to the ferocious beast that paced below. From beneath the fuselage, a chaingun appeared, and without so much as a by-your-leave it let loose.

The sound of hundreds of rounds per second belched in ultra-quick succession from the impassionate weapon of steel seemed oddly…soothing. Its ruthless might provided assurance that mankind’s ingenuity would not allow the howling dark to take it down easily. The bullets ripped into the manticore’s flesh, mostly across its back where its armor, grown no doubt to defend itself from smaller creatures, did not adequately protect it. A calamitous roar shook the landscape—a terrible cacophony of rage and pain both.

Any ordinary person would have observed the Manticore now and still taken it as a dire threat, thinking that to even escape it alive would have been a miraculous feat, without the notion of beating it anywhere near the scope of reality. Goodwitch saw something else; so too did the astute among the present hunters-in-training, those familiar with Grimm biology. In its frenzy, the monster was also confused, and in confusion it was vulnerable. Narrowing her eyes as the airship turned so as to permit its occupants a view through its open rear, Goodwitch said, “As I hoped, the barrage loosened it up. There’s a chance that you lot may be able to end it here. It will take every one of you, attacking in sequence one after another, with all your strength, all your knowledge, and all your agility.” Hearing this, the pilot began to lower the ship. Goodwitch continued, “Let your instincts take over. Fall from the sky and strike with all you’ve got. Once you begin, those on the ground can chime in. It’s time to finish the job.”

So saying, Goodwitch leaped from the open ramp. As she fell, she span several times, and around her like the eddies of a hurricane a storm of magic grew. The Manticore’s crimson eyes fixated on the purple light around her, and it sent a gargantuan paw up to slice her to ribbons. In that instant she struck. Like the blast of an immense shotgun, a spread of arcane bolts careened into the paw, throwing it back the way it came just as quickly. Another more concentrated volley flew immediately after toward the base of its newly-exposed foreleg, gouging the flesh and spraying black smoke out of the wound into the muggy marsh air. With elegance Goodwitch landed on the earth immediately after, buoyed up by her telekinesis. Hers was a tough act to follow, but Beacon’s finest could do nothing less than exactly that.

God, was that thing big.

Having found his feet after a minute or two of hurried shuffling mid-recovery, Luke's first remark upon exiting the facility with Lauren and Cian was a breathed "Holy..."

It was massive. He'd known Grimm, Manticores in particular, could get large, but this one made him question how the building had even supported its weight in the first place! It was bigger than his house!

He could scarcely believe they were expected to fight it...

And yet, as if responding to his incredulous thoughts, the gunship swooped in low, lower than it had been circling previously by a good margin—

And opened fire.

Hundreds of bullets tore into the hide of the beast within the span of a second, the low rumbling of a high-caliber chaingun soon replaced by almost deafening cries of rage and agony. Confused, disoriented, and suddenly much more ventilated than before, the massive Grimm and those watching it had been reminded all too suddenly of the fact that it wasn't invincible.

That makes it easier...

In fact, the confusion and pain would make for the best opportunity to dish some real hurt on the thing all day. It was exactly what you were taught in any combative situation, that disorienting your opponent would leave much more exploitable openings than allowing them to remain alert and focused.

Not to be outdone by technological advancement, their close air support gained another, perhaps more powerful dimension as Goodwitch herself dove into the fray, meeting the angered swipe of a paw with the arcane equivalent of oversized buckshot, snapping it back.

And while she's got its attention—

His mind raced.

The Professor followed up with another volley to the same forelimb, magical power gouging deep into the muscle of their enemy's limb. She completed a graceful, telekinetic descent to the earth as it staggered under its own suddenly unstable weight, its viability as a target for a follow-up higher than ever—

And Luke was far too cautious to let a perfect chance like that pass him by.

Even as her heels touched the ground, he had already broken into a dead sprint towards the massive Grimm after telling his present company that he was "About to do something pretty crazy". Rushing past the professor, he sprang upward, flinging himself directly at the Manticore's head while it was still reeling.

This thing is armored everywhere, and I don't exactly have the best weapons to deal with it—

It turned its face towards the oncoming blur, attempting to snap at him with its jaws, but he was coming in too high, too fast. The apex of his leap carried him clear, and he landed directly onto the heavy, solid brow ridge with an impact that would have been considerable to something that wasn't so massive.

Of course, trying to hurt it by jumping on it was a fool's errand.

Therefore, I what I need to exploit—

One armored hand gripped a fistful of mane and clung to it for dear life even as the Grimm attempted to shake him off, whilst the other became encased in steel rotating at high speeds, his drill whirring to life. He brought the drill back—

Is the most unarmored target it has!

And thrust it deep within the baleful orange eye that was glaring up at him with every ounce of strength he could muster.

The result was immediate, black smoke gushing out of the wound as the Manticore howled in agony loud enough to reverberate in his bones and a paw came up to the eye, looking to both clutch at the source of the pain and kill whatever was responsible—

But Luke had already ripped his drill free. With his armored hand, he yanked himself skyward, swinging just over a claw the size of his arm that was connect to a paw the size of his whole body—

And what came up must come down, so when both gravity and the arc of his swing pulled him back towards the earth, he utilized the momentum of centrifugal force to its fullest extent, and drove the point of his drill straight down into the other eye.

The Manticore was now blind.

Kicking off of the agonized beast, Luke made himself scarce without a fraction of a second to spare, as every free limb swiped out at where he had been and where he might have gone.

Landing and tucking into a roll, he sprinted clear as soon as his feet were under him, skidding to a stop and panting while the Manticore thrashed about, his eyes wide with adrenaline and not a small amount of surprise.

D-

Did I just pull that off?

"...I think it might be mad now." he remarked at length, even as another of his peers swooped in to take his place.