Some of the Armory's students had already begun getting to work. As Chatsworth walked in from his work, he was greeted with the sight of his usual students- and some new ones, as well. “Good afternoon, students! I see that some of you are already in the works of new gear- or perhaps managing your current ones. Today, I would like a small report on whatever you have worked on by the end of class. I fully trust you all in that you will use this time productively, seeing how this may be a time for many of you to expand upon whatever upgrades or making new gear that can prove useful. If you require parts, as usual, they will be available in my terminal. Your first ten orders will be free, and orders afterwards will charge you for a small fee. I wish you good luck in fulfilling work!”

Sending a copy of the assignment on the electronic blackboard by his desk, the professor returned to the back room, officially starting the Armory class for the day.

---

One would notice that unlike the Armory class, the Grimm Studies classroom’s professor was not present for a few minutes. He eventually strolled in with his exuberant presence armed and ready, dusting his hands as he walked over to his desk. Unlike most days, he seemed to look somewhat exhausted.

“Helloooooooo there, young learners!” Port exclaimed with excitement. “Today we will be studying a new type of Grimm! Previously, you all have learned how to dispatch of a Megaladeus in its own habitat. I fully expect you all to pay far more attention than you have before, however, as I am proud to announce that we will introduce you to a rare Riesen-Type Grimm! The faculty has managed to make it safe enough to engage in class, but I fully expect that you all will not make light of its size. Follow me class!”

Pressing a button, a particular door that some would recognize from the previous Megaladeus study, Port led his students down the hallway. Rather than going to the pool’s direction, however, he took a different turn as he spoke to his students with his booming voice. “The presence of this Grimm had me decide that Grimm should be encountered outside of the classroom. It’s a bit cumbersome, but we aren’t becoming hunters to sit around, are we?” Port laughed heartily as he took a short flight of wide stairs and into a new room.

The room was a blank, wide room with grey stone surfaces. Slightly transparent pads with a faint green color covered the walls and ceiling. A large puddle of water lay at the center of the room, with several large wooden poles planted here and there on the ground. “This is what I’d like to call an extension of my classroom,” Port explained proudly. “You can thank my good friend Chatsworth for coming up with the design. And this new room will be perfect for facing that Grimm that stands at the center of the room!”

Locked inside giant glass-like walls in the center, a large mass of plant-like limbs slithered around itself, its “stem” serving as the root of its tentacles. Several odd limbs stuck out of the middle of the stem, each sporting the typical Grimm mask. At the very top of the stem was a head larger than the other heads it sported, its mouth somewhat resembling that of a Venus flytrap. It did not have any eyes visible, but it certainly seemed aware that it could not do anything in its current state, as its heads remained perfectly still.

“Today’s monster-brought-straight-to-you is the plant behemoth, the Dionaea!” Port explained as he crossed his arms. “These mean fellas are seen mostly in wetlands, where they use their overwhelming number of limbs, flexibility, and a surprising amount of speed for hunting. My old handsaw was handy again, seeing how I had to saw off its teeth, but do note that getting smacked between its fleshy mouth should be the least of your worries. The poles are up for you to learn on using against this huge Grimm, and teamwork is highly recommended against this bugger- its stem is very tough, I tell you! I will give you five minutes to analyze the room and make sure you are fully prepare with your equipment before I sound a signal. Get scheming!”

With that said, Port walked out of the room, letting the students file in as he gave them time to walk in. The Dionaea remained still, its primary mouth shut tightly.

---

Sangue stared at the huge Grimm, watching its tentacles slither slowly. Her eyes trailed up… and up… and up… until her gaze found the mouth facing upwards.

It looked odd.

Something about it didn't ring well with her imagination of plants. They were usually pretty, and she felt happy whenever she poured some water at them.

They usually didn't sport tentacles. Or multiple flytrap-like heads.

Lifting the prosthetic arm Gren made for her, she began observing it to make sure it didn’t not have any visible problems. She also began inspecting her blade. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint her leader.

Skye had no idea what was going on between Ben and Bianca. She noticed something subtle happening between them, but she could only guess at what it could be. I wonder if Ben and Bianca are in a romantic relationship? She looked pretty depressed until he sat with her, and they are smiling at each other a lot. Hmm. Is it wise for Hunters to become romantically involved? That doesn't sound like it would be a good idea considering the risks and complications. But I suppose it must happen anyway, emotions don't always take us down the smart path, do they? No. Definitely not. She had innumerable memories she could turn to to remind herself of that last fact. I'm probably making assumptions again, anyway. It's not really any of my business, either.

She did not even consider that the two had just met.

She put her sidetracked thoughts aside and turned back to Ashe, focusing again on the conversation they had begun with Yue. Ashe said something unexpected about Skye being 'cool'; something she couldn't exactly say about herself but it made her feel better. Furthermore her secret faunus friend helped smooth over the increasingly annoying mask issue with Yue, making things much easier on all of them. "It's true, thank you Ashe." She smiled and inclined her head in gratitude, then added a bit more information to hopefully put Yue more at ease. "I should be fine in the next week or two? Maybe less? I'm not sure how long these things take."

With the hard part out of the way she became quiet, content to listen as everyone talked. She was surprised to hear Ashe was without a team even though she had passed some kind of entrance examination the day before. She did empathize with the 'fish out of water comment, though, and it looked like it was the same for Yue, despite having been a student for a few days. Skye had been placed with Team Jumpercable almost immediately following her sudden acceptance early this very morning, without any kind of exam like Ashe spoke of. Why is it different for Ashe? Are there just no openings right now? Does it normally take more time to place a new arrival in a team than it did with me? I'm starting to feel more and more like some kind of exception... But why would I be? Come to think of it, didn't Luke mention someone else had been transfered from the team just before I was placed? The more she thought about it the more uncomfortable it made her feel, but she kept her thoughts to herself.

Skye was shocked and impressed to hear that Ashe knew firsthand how to capture Grimm, and she even made it sound easy. While the concept Ashe explained was decidedly simple Skye knew that any face to face encounter with the Grimm could be deadly, and was never to be considered an easy task. Unless one were a Hunter, perhaps. Although she knew next to nothing about Ashe's abilities Skye felt the girl was definitely Hunter material.

"Oh, classes? I asked for Physical Education and Dust Applications, so I'll be in your sixth period class." She answered, remembering how difficult it had been to choose her fourth and especially fifth period courses. On one hand she could really benefit from Armory Class, possibly build a weapon that wouldn't break when she tried to use it. But at the same time she had a proven method to fight and kill Grimm already, without a weapon. And the more she knew about Grimm, their anatomy, habits, strengths, and weaknesses the faster and more efficiently she could kill them. Or simply survive them. As for fifth period Survival Class... She doubted she would gain much from a first year course. More importantly now that she had the choice she felt she could use a break from concerning herself with survival every day. Of course, Physical Education came with its own challenges considering how her body worked with all the Dust embedded inside. At least the choice of Dust Applications had been a no brainer, and Ashe would be there, too.

When the matter of the Professor's absence arose Skye looked up, perplexed. Now that it was mentioned it did seem odd. She supposed Bianca might know if anyone did, so she turned to ask her teammate. "Um, Bianca? The professor, is he-" The question died on her lips as professor Port made his appearance at just that moment. Oh. N-nevermind... She laughed nervously as the stout man launched into a spirited greeting and explanation of what they would be doing in class today.

She followed the middle aged man with the rest of the class, noting with a sinking feeling that she had no idea what a Megaladeus or a Riesen class was. If she was lucky those were just technical terms for things she had already encountered. If not... Then again, does it matter what they're called? It's not like we had any textbooks or time to study the Grimm we came across out there. I'll learn the names in due time, I'm sure. She stayed facing the caged creatures as she departed the classroom, very reluctant to have to just leave them here. The rule she was used to was that once a Grimm was aware of you it was unthinkable to just leave it alive. But that did not apply here and eventually she had to force herself to let it go, grating nerves or not.

In the end those nerves were nothing compared to the reaction she felt upon seeing the monstrosity in the next room. She did not charge forward like she instinctually had with the other, smaller Grimm. This beast was the kind you avoided or ran from. Or it would be if she was alone, out in the wild. Here, as professor Port explained, the students would band together to fight and kill this thing. This was to train them how to kill one of these monsters, not just hide or escape. That's right. That's what Hunters do. That's what makes them different. She focused on the few good memories she had and forced herself to relax. Just like yesterday and countless times before that there would be only one option. Face the demon in front of you with everything you have and no hesitation.

It was somewhat different this time, however. She hadn't had this many people at her back since first escaping the decimation of her home, and never this many competent warriors armed so well. And then there was professor Port himself, there to take control of the situation if it got out of hand. She doubted it would come to that, though. It wasn't just their numbers and armaments, but the fact that they had five whole minutes to assess the creature and the environment and make plans. This was another luxury Skye was unused to having. Considered all at once this whole situation was beginning to feel sureal to her. To be able to stand in the presence of a Grimm this size and know with certainty it would be defeated... she had never felt something like this in her life. It felt good.

She sought out Bianca once more, veiwing the girl as her senior teammate and therefor the one to decide what Skye did in this battle. "Bianca. What do you want me to do?"

Grimm Studies

Yue was impressed with Ashe’s knowledge, though in hindsight perhaps Yue was just overcomplicating how hunters capture grimm. She had suspected traps and careful planning with the environment, but Yue kept forgetting that Grimm aren’t that intelligent. Still, she can’t allow herself to underestimate grimm, especially not the older and stronger ones. They don’t get older and stronger for being foolish after all. Ashe also wanted to know what the next classes they had were, and Yue had to take out her agenda to remember. ”Ah, let’s see… I looks like I’m taking Survival, followed by Dust Applications. Just like you!” This was a pleasant surprise. Yue knew she didn’t have Ashe for any of her other previous classes, so it’ll be nice for Yue to be able to hang out with her for the last three. Well, except maybe when Yue and Ashe aren’t on good terms. Hopefully that would never happen.

As yue was talking she noticed that her teammate, Sepia, had finally arrived to class. Yue hadn’t gotten much of a chance to talk to her yet but something seemed off. Yue knew that Sepia was the last to get up, but she had chalked up the sluggishness from just waking up. Yet now it seemed like Sepia was really out of it. It concerned Yue of course, as she’s going to always be worried about her teammates. But before Yue could go and ask what was wrong Professor Port arrived. He seemed tired just like Sepia, yet maintained his jolly persona. Much to Yue’s surprise they weren’t just going to talk about Grimm today: they were going to fight them. And not just any Grimm, but a Reisen class. Yue knew that they were one of the strongest breeds of Grimm and the whole class is going to be tasked with taking it down. Grabbing her metal suitcase Yue followed Port and the others to the grimm.

Sure enough they arrived into a massive complex, and at it’s center was a grimm that was truly Reisen: A Dionaea. Yue has never seen nor heard of such a creature, but it looked fearsome enough. Although the monster was defanged Yue had no doubts that it could still kill with it’s many vines or simply crushing students to death. Normally against a plant-like creature Yue would use Fire Dust, however the area was full of water to simulate the creature’s natural environment. Chances are anything that Yue sets on fire would just get doused so instead she would rely on Ice based Dust. Shatter the creature bit by bit.

Opening the metal suitcase Yue’s face was illuminated by her glowing blade: The Moonlight Greatsword. Her family heirloom weapon, passed on for generations, now in her hands. Strapping the scabbard/bandolier over her shoulders, Yue picked up the massive blade with one hand. It felt light in her hands despite it’s size. And while other hunters may use heavier weapons, even for it’s size the Moonlight Greatsword was oddly light at only ten pounds. She gave it a few practice swings before looking around to the others. Everyone was getting geared up and ready to fight, but Yue continued to worry about Sepia.

After sheathing her weapon into the scabbard yue walked over to Sepia and laid her hand on her silently. Yue let her aura flow through her hand and into Sepia’s body, undoing whatever harm or fatigue her partner may be feeling. ”Sepia, are you okay? You don’t look well. Please don’t push yourself, or even sit out if you can’t fight.” Yue said this even as she continued to channel her own Aura into Sepia to undo any pain her friend might be feeling.

@FlitterFaux@SevenStormStyle@Azereiah

@NarayanK @Write

Cheeky Mistralian.

Bianca’s little trick with the clutch was funny. And clever. It might have been an issue, in fact, if Port’s arrival hadn’t made her pick it back up a few minutes later. The bell was his friend, for once. Saved him from having to figure out how to move it.

Still, Port leading them to another room? Not a signal for fun times ahead.

That was his focus as he picked up his shield and filed out of the room, and his gut instinct was not wrong. Not even a little bit. The name was on the tip of his tongue before Port ever said it, but he uttered it under his breath anyway; Dionaea. It was bigger than his house. The beast must have been three stories tall, give or take half a story. And its height was not even the most impressive aspect. Its dozens of tentacles gave it a sheer volume that was hard to appreciate from a book; a textbook couldn’t convey the way the limbs moved, sinuous and powerful, around that central trunk. Port had defanged it in the literal sense, but it was not harmless. A Riesen was a Riesen, and after his last experience Ben wasn’t taking chances. He’d never seen a Dionaea before, Redwood wasn’t the right environment before. They were more familiar with its root-laying cousin the Datura.

It wasn’t anything like a Manticore, it was much too alien for that. It wasn’t particularly like Vlitra, either. But that feeling was the same. The three Riesens all inspired that touch of fear, that awe at the power implied and demonstrated. The Manticore’s hate and ferocity, even faced with its own demise. Spiteful enough to bring down a roof just to kill one or two foes, and strong enough to do it. The ancient implacability Vlitra had shown to generation after generation.

He wasn’t sure where this one fit yet. What would stand out in his memory. But for the first time that fear came with a certain confidence; he’d killed a Riesen last week, Bastille and Jumpercable. They weren’t immortal.

The ground all but shook with Joyous Guard’s impact, the tower shield propped up on one hand while he drew his tonfa from its rack. They merged into Caletfwlch seamlessly at his bidding, its familiar weight reaffirming his confidence. This was doable. Joyous Guard was going to get a hell of a maiden fight.

Satisfied his weapons were in order, he shot Sangue a grin and a shrug.

”Guess we’re not going to be bored.”

What to do about this thing was another matter entirely. Cutting the trunk would kill it, but the tentacles weren’t going to let anyone close. Not without cutting through them first, at least. Which he could do, but anyone who got close was bound to get the attention of the rest. Deinamig would help… But he’d used everything on Friday, and he’d need that reservoir again in a few days. That was one resource he’d have to try and go without if he could. There wasn’t a whole lot to block, either… Joyous Guard’s shield might not be the most useful…

See how it fought. Then worry about it.

”Hey, Nuit,” He piped up cheerfully, cocking his head a little in her direction. Sure, he’d only met the Faunus girl today but she seemed like a good sort. Working with her’d help make her feel welcome. ”I’ll probably have its attention pretty quick. If it gets hairy, drop behind me. Sangue, you too. We’re gonna need to cut our way towards its trunk. I can take a few hits if it gets a little pissy.”

“Who’s ready for some fun?

"Chug protein drinks and meal replacers, hit the gym. There's a gym here, right?", Ashe replied to Skye. "Two weeks sounds like a really short time, but you can get a lot done if we go daily."

The taller faunus certainly seemed unhealthily thin, but then, Ashe did as well to some extent. Some people just had different tones of muscle and bone structures. She hadn't really thought about it until now, but Skye definitely needed some... Assistance. She seemed almost as though she were just starting to recover from an eating disorder. Or horrible starvation. Either was a bad thing, so Ashe made a mental note to Make this fucking happen.

Judging by the looks on both of her companions' faces, Ashe had apparently said something remarkably profound in her description of Grimm capture, but really it was just... Kinda common sense? At least, with the smaller, less intelligent ones. A Beowulf or Ursa might be tough to crate, and there was always the risk of timing it wrong and getting hit, which she'd seen happen to Violet a few times. King Löwe, on the other hand... That guy was big enough to pick them up and throw them into the cage by hand. "It's harder than it sounds. A lot harder. I don't think I could do it myself... Not yet at least."

Ashe's face lit up like a Christmas tree when she learned she'd be spending all three classes with one friend and two out of three with the other. Yue and Skye both seemed really nice, so she found herself looking forward to a less lonely and more fun semester in her first ever attempt at going to a real academic institute. And Yue didn't seem to mind hanging around Faunus, so... Perhaps it would be time to drop the facade soon. At least, for the most part - there were still some cosmetic changes Ashe had in mind to make. The ability to shift appearances had formed something like an addiction, so she only rarely stayed in exactly the same form for more than a couple hours unless she needed to. But that line of thinking quickly morphed back into only slightly diluted excitement.

"Ooh! Guess we'll be running into eachother a lot, then! I know you've got a team already, Yue, but I hope you don't mind me joining you in the other classes. I hope you'll join us in Dust Apps too, Skye."

Ashe's family, when they'd filled out the applications, were likely thinking of what would make her happy and fit her skill set. They weren't aware of her limited experience with Grimm, but they did know about the weapons that Thomas had helped her make. They were more his craftsmanship than her own, but with a little practice, she'd be able to weave dust circuitry into clothing for herself, which was where Dust Apps came in. Survival just seemed like something she'd enjoy -- and she and her father's habits of walking up brick or even slightly sloped walls made Physical Education feel redundant.

Eventually, Professor Port walked in. He was much less impressive than Ashe had imagined (she hadn't seen his work as a Vytal Festival commentator). He didn't even have a full beard! And honestly, he didn't look like the kind of person who could take on Grimm. But his handiwork proved his skill and strength beyond the shadow of a doubt, and despite his cheerful speech and jolly looks, Ashe felt a glow of insurmountable power around him. Note to self: Don't piss off Port. Like Skye, Ashe had no idea what a Megaladeus was, what a Reisen was, or even what some of the caged Grimm were called. She just knew that she was there to learn how to kill them.

And so, when the class got up to walk into the attached room, she silently followed, her eyes flitting about all over. Building a room of this size was an unimaginably difficult task, and Port made it sound easy. Note to self: Do not piss off Port. Even more impressive than the room was the gigantic Grimm locked within a glass prison. It wasn't doing a whole lot, but the wriggling motions of its tentacles and 'roots' almost made Ashe sick. It almost looked like some sort of abomination of a sea creature mixed with a plant, made of jet black 'wood'. Port's explanation that he'd taken a hacksaw to its teeth didn't ease her discomfort, and its lack of visible eyes or other sensory organs only amplified the feeling. Ashe couldn't help but feel that it was somehow staring at her. At all of them.

Upon seeing Yue pulling her weapon out, Ashe was suddenly reminded: I have comrades here. We can take this thing down, no problem. I think. I hope. With that tiny bit of hope, her mind raced through possible tactics on killing the beast. It was far too large for her Magicians' Hands to kill on their own, and she hadn't brought spare crystals to reload them this time. A frontal assault wasn't an option. Hell, she didn't even know which side was the front. At the most, she could only sever maybe six to twelve tentacles, but she got the distinct feeling that even removing all of them wouldn't actually kill the abomination. It's been defanged, so jumping into its mouth and striking from within would be an option... Wait. I know some plants that look like that. I'd probably get swallowed whole or melted down.

In the end, she settled on something more reasonable, and somewhat quietly voiced it toward the rest of the class. "I don't know how this thing sees its prey. If we can find that out, we can kill it easily."

For the first time that day, she let her disguise lapse. The horns appeared, the school uniform disappeared in favor of a blood red blouse under a jet black tuxedo vest. Jet black pants replaced the skirt and her weaponized gloves materialized, all in a single instant. The only thing she changed about her appearance was her eye color, which was now a delightful shade of pink.

"So, Skye, you ready for this thing?"

@Ryonara@FlitterFaux@NarayanK

@Awesomoman64@Guess Who@Rekaigan

Grimm Studies

Cian stiffened a bit as she sat back down from her somewhat impromptu dance from the squid faunus. The sudden break to dancing was certainly differed and being forced to dance somewhat like that was interesting to say the least. "At least give me some warning next time you wanna do something like that" She replied as the professor walked in and set them up to a different area in which a grimm was being held. It was definately different to say the least. Than again she was mostly used to armory class in which she sat down and worked on projects that came up or if time permitted fine tune her weapon Ichiaval. Cian looked with a disinterested gaze at the grimm being presented though to those who really knew her would tell something different in that she was actually going over possible plans on what can and can't be done while fighting the presented grimm. The plant like grimm may be weak to fire but the room itself was presented in a ordinary fashion beyond the poles nothing really of note. Best bet would be to try and get rid of the tentacles. Cian concluded with a slight shiver. Bombardment may be the best solution and if needed hack of the fangs should the situation arise she concluded.

I laughed a little when Ben did a double take at the position of C’est la Vie. But the entire atmosphere of the room changed dramatically once Port wandered into the room. Even Ben’s eyes narrowed and focused on the stout man as he painstakingly made his way to the front of the class. It seemed Grimm Studies wouldn’t simply be theoretical work today.

As the class began to get lead to another room I found myself near the back of the line. It was ominous how the nervous chitter chatter seemed to stop as soon as everyone walked in. But surely it couldn’t have been that ba-

“Oh my god.” I said quietly, while absentmindedly bringing a hand up to my mouth. The creature, Port named it Dionaea was massive. It was larger than any living thing I had ever seen, but it wasn’t the kind of massive that came with an elephant. Large, slow, and heavy. This thing was fluid, it moved in ways that didn’t seem natural at all. My wings unfurled completely, ready to take off at the slightest hint of an attack. It was a defensive mechanism. Port espoused about the lack of teeth.

Teeth? What about the tendrils?

I scanned everyone’s faces and they all seemed to be reciprocating the same thought I was thinking myself. What the hell were we supposed to do to kill this thing?

”Hey Nuit,” Ben said cheerfully, as if he was handing me a drink at a party. ”I’ll probably have its attention pretty quick. If it gets hairy, drop behind me. Sangue, you too. We’re gonna need to cut our way towards its trunk. I can take a few hits if it gets a little pissy.”

“Who’s ready for some fun?

I looked at Ben’s face and he was. Ready. The old members of Jumpercable and Bastille fought a Riesen-class Grimm last week and they killed it.

I can do this.

My arm launched upwards throwing C’est la Vie towards the ceiling, the purse transformed into its spear formation almost instantly and I used my semblance to bring it right back into my hand, arcing it across my body and letting it rest just below my lower back and near my legs, wings still outstretched.

“Well I might’ve won round one Ben, but you better not slack off here.” I said eliciting some confusion from others around us. “Most tentacles killed wins? I’ll count the root as three.” I said preparing for combat.

Sky joined Ben, Sangue and myself asking what she should do. Truth was I hadn’t seen her fight yet and had only recently gotten her dossier.

“Follow Ben, Sangue, and I. Stay in formation and if something is coming your way find Ben. We’re going for this thing’s trunk.” I said confidently. Perhaps I was only confident because of Ben’s exuberance, but if that was what could get me out of bed and ready to kill a Riesen-class Grimm today, that would be enough.

"And Ben. My semblance is attraction and repulsion." I said speaking fairly loudly so he didn't have to turn to hear me. I was already beginning to formulate a plan of attack to take this thing down for good. While her semblance could perhaps repel at least one tentacle, two or even more from multiple directions would be incredibly problematic. It was much easier to move something that wanted to move. Perhaps like Ben or his sword. We would have to think fairly carefully. The tentacles were thick enough that my main concern was essentially being crushed. I bunched a tiny bit of aura into her pointer finger and saw a familiar briliant pearl of aura. It shone dimly, yet beautifully. I had only attempted that once, now, against a Riesen-class Grimm was absolutely not the time to take that level of risk. Only if it was life or death, I promised myself.

“Well, you certainly are a man of many titles.” Trad noted as Llyr introduced himself. It was at that moment Llyr grabbed Cian and began dancing with her. “And many surprises as well.”

Once they stopped, the squid faunus asked Trad’s relation to Robert, to which Robert replied by a hyped up overview of Trad’s skills and abilities. It was a bit embarrassing but he couldn’t help but feel flattered at all the praise Robert was giving him. “Man. Remind me to have you do all my introductions from now on.” He said with a smirk.

When Prof. Port finally arrived, he informed the class that today they would be fighting a rare Riesen-type Grimm. Leading them to a large stone room with wooden poles scattered around and a massive plantlike grimm trapped in the center, Port explained what the Grimm was and it’s method of attack. After that he gave them all time to look around and formulate strategies, though it might have also been to let the shock wear off on a few frightened faces.

Despite its intimidating size and nature, Trad was able to push himself to walk up to the glass case that held the beast and began circling it. Port said he had sawed the teeth off, so getting eaten wasn’t a problem, but getting crush or even impaled by its many tentacles was. What was truly troubling was the fact that the stem of the Grimm wasn’t planted anywhere. This thing would be able to move, and assuming the worst, it would be fast. What really caught his attention were the small limbs closer to the stem. They all had Grimm masks on, something that usually indicated a weakness. Port had said the stem was tough to cut, perhaps the stem wouldn’t need to be the target?

With enough information gathered, Trad regrouped with the others to plan their course of attack.

“Here’s what I’m thinking.” He started. “From what I can tell, this thing is mobile. So I’ll try to draw its attention and keep its focus on me. That way I can lead it anywhere we need and hopefully keep the heat off you guys. Now as for how to actually kill this thing, I think I have an idea. There are several smaller limbs near the stem all with masks. I don’t know if cutting those off will kill it, but I’ve never known a Grimm to have a mask just anywhere. If you guys can take those out, I’m certain we’ll at least do some considerable damage. If it’s still kicking after that, then we aim for the stem and hit it with everything we’ve got. Sound good?”

@Guess Who@Suku@Rekaigan

---

Llyr couldn't help but chuckle after Robbie's magnificent job as Trad's Hypeman. He could tell that the two were close friends, but the squid thought that telling another person about their semblance wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do. Not that he was going to think much of it, they were all friends here, right? Possibly~ "I'm like a surprise party, you never know what you'll see nor will you know why. Ever~!" He responded with a smirk. He turned to Cian who had recently recovered from their fantastic dance number. She was a good dance partner, or at least that's what he surmised. "Now now, my fair lady. It's not a fun surprise if I tell you every time~", he laughed, giving her another pat on the head.

By this time, a rather plump old man walked into the classroom. Definitely the teacher.. What was his name again? Dock? Pier? Jetty..? Harbour. It must be Harbour. This Chatsworth fellow must be a great friend to help create such an extension for a classroom. The Dionaea looked rather menacing. Llyr could distinctly remember the last time he saw one of these things. Unfortunately he was a small cephalopod at the time so he couldn't do anything other than hide and then run away. Well, now was a better time than any to see if his tentacles were stronger than theirs. His gaze moved back to Trad as he came back with a plan. Llyr's eyes quickly flit around the room before they came back to Trad. "We have many friends here, drawing attention will be troublesome for you~", he replied ominously as the Steel Cephalopod slowly crept out of his back like a stalking predator. The heads of each appendage changed form from grapples to blades in a very erratic fashion as he turned away again.

"Mother always said to eat your vegetables. Does a plant Grimm count~?" he wondered in a tone that anyone would attribute to a melodic madman. He licked his lips in anticipation as he faced the Grimm in the box. Llyr's cane was planted into the ground in front of him, both hands resting on it's head. Some could liken his stance to be similar to the Headmaster's, except with a more cocky expression. His appendages shifting and moving like they were going to malfunction or something.
He felt the excitement building up among his peers.


'How would you like it?'
'Frenched is fine. Frenched is very fine.'
'Really? I'd prefer it dead.'

Krysanthe couldn't help a burst of surprised laughter at Gratia's deadpan response. Something about hearing someone curse in such a flat voice was just funny, plus she had a point. Emerald then flew overhead, seeming making a goal to say hi to literally everyone she could and more or less succeeding. "You're both a little harsh, would it hurt to be a little more positive?" Krysanthe shrugged, "Well I suppose I'm in no position to give advice." She said before opening the notebook she'd brought with her. None of her teammates had Armory as a class so Krysanthe had decided she wanted to make each of them something. Sepia had her staff with grappling hooks and Yue had her oversized sword. Krysanthe flipped through several crossed out ideas. Mhm... she hadn't figured out anything she liked. Guess she should just work on her own stuff. Krysanthe flipped to the back where she kept her own work. Right now she was working making her boots be able to change elements with dust. She had the plans for a revolving cartridge system set in the heel of her boots but was working on how she would activate them. Stomping obviously was a poor plan because it'd change when she stomped on something's face. Something with her hands then? It'd be kind of troublesome to wire stuff though, so it'd have to be wireless which brought up new potential problems. Krysanthe flicked a pen through her fingers as she stared at the page with sketches of the system she had in mind.

The Dionaea's stem remained still, though it still wavered ever so slightly. It did not attempt to break out of the box.

As Trad approached the Grimm, it initially made no movements. Then, ever so slowly, one of its tentacles lifted itself. It silently pressed itself against the glass wall, at Trad's direction. Two more tentacles lifted themselves and pressed against the box in a similar fashion, despite the stem not making the slightest intention of moving to the hunter that approached the box.

As soon as Trad went away, the Grimm's limbs slid down from the box, returning back to its idle state. Few minutes passed as the five-minute time limit came to a close end.

@Awesomoman64

As the class moved down into the area where they had fought the Megaladeus before, albeit to a different chamber, everyone was already thinking of how to best this beast. Though defanged it could still inflict significant damage with just whipping about. It's many appendages meant it didn't matter if they surrounded it or not, it'd still be able to fend off every direction with little impunity, so what was the solution then...? Everyone's unique skills meant they had more options than normal. If it came to it, Jack himself could single-handedly disarm it for a few short moments, given he has enough nails thrown out. Unlike more conventional foes, there didn't seem to be a clear weak point or advantage to obtain like disabling arms and legs... However that large mouth while dangerous, was also an opportunity. Someone here seemed to think so...

"Hmmm that's fair, We can just fire away or throw some ordinance in it's mouth. I think keeping it still is a good idea and you should do that", he suggested.

"I can cut away those arms very quickly to create an opening, or if an opening is made I can take out the masked arms, then someone else can lay into it's open mouth with as much firepower as we've got". The plan seemed sound, keep it still, disarm and then pelt it with as much damage as possible in the most tender spots. It was certainly more to his style, finding the most efficient way and abusing any weak points or places of opportunity.

Gratia Mindaro - Armoury

Gratia Mindaro did not deign to reply, instead choosing to further the work on her project.

Their incessant chatter was of absolutely no importance to her. Even if the one sitting to her side was her newest team member, he was little more than another source of mild irritation, a distraction whose voice blended into the white noise of the unwashed masses of youths that populated Beacon. She wasn't here to fucking flap her gums and 'socialise', not when she needed to focus entirely upon her work for it to be completed in time. Only the success of that goal was necessary, nothing else.

She lifted up the assembled rangefinder, clinically inspecting each and every component she had soldered together. Everything was in their proper place as expected, and when put next to the 'hull' of her project, an old helmet, it would definitely fit without needing too much extra work. That would lessen the difficulty of gluing them together when the time came.

An unexpected turn of events, but a welcome one.

The Mistralese girl lifted the safety goggles up for a second, glancing down at her work desk with her own, cool onyx eyes rather than through a protective lens. Her choice of using LED torches meant that more wiring and soldering was likely to occur, so they would be soon covered once more, but for now she was making sure - in the perfect clarity of her orbs - that every single part of her work so far was perfect.

She wasn't surprised to see that it was.

Gratia Mindaro kept working.

---

"Noted," Robert replied back to Trad as he was asked to remind him to always give such a flattering introduction.

Soon after, the notably late Prof. Port finally arrived to class to introduce them all to their next big group assignment. A giant tentacle monster. If the boy had a larger knowledge of dirty humor and watched animated pornographic movies from the Eastern continent, also known as hentai, he might have made a comment about how he knew where this whole situation would lead to. Sadly, the innocent and naive boy did not know of such videos and no such joke would be made. At least by him.

Upon hearing his teammate's plan on how to possibly defeat the massive plant Grimm, Robert nodded. Overall, everything sounded fine to him, except one thing. "As great as your semblance may be, I don't know if it's a smart idea to only have one person at the divergence team while everyone else wails on the thing. Maybe we should try to get the rest of the class in on this plan and see if we have any more tanks to soak up the hits. If we don't, maybe I can pair up with you and just try my best to avoid getting hit," he said.

And there it was again, the redhaired hunter volunteering for the most dangerous job, despite his abilities not even being the best suited to the task. If they wanted someone fast to play decoy so they could possibly avoid getting hit, someone like Jack or Ashe would be much better suited. If they wanted someone to play the damage sponge, Trad or Ben with their shields would be the best choices. Here he was though, picking himself to be Trad's partner. If he hadn't recently changed his outlook on life back to his usual cheery self, one could be forgiven for thinking the boy had some sort of death wish or at the very least have a masochistic streak in him.

Amaranth Desree - Wishing She'd Skill-Dumped Craft Weapon

It hadn’t been a good night.

Amy’d somehow managed to not sleep enough and simultaneously oversleep, waking up halfway through second period and feeling dreadful enough to not bother going to third. It wasn’t a headache this time--she honestly wished it was that, she’d actually bought Tylenol this time so it wouldn’t be that hard to deal with. No, this was the far more serious ailment of Wisteria-itis, caused by extremely unexpected overexposure to her mother. She was exactly the same as Amy remembered apart from being 15 years older, though Amy understood her far better now.

It did not, however, mean she liked her anymore than she had.

Her mother had ended up gushing about other relatives, who her father was, everything under the sun. She had a half-sister one who went to the school and shared a few classes with her, but that’d she’d never spoken to. Her father was a Hunter, too, evidently she’d inadvertently stumbled into the family business.

Well, the family business that didn’t involve one-night stands and dubious methods of protection, Mom.

Armory was generally therapeutic, though. The Fury needed to be cleaned and rethreaded--despite how robust its construction was, it wasn’t built to wholly decapitate a Manticore in one go, even with Ben’s sword having done over half the work. She might as well get started on integrating it with her new project, anyway, she’d finished calibrating the jump jets and it’d take some time to work the sleeves in with the armor. Any work she could do with her hands or math she could distract her brain with would be good.

So she’d managed to get herself out of bed, eat a quick lunch, then thunk down into the seat next to Lauren’s right as the bell rang and Chatsworth gave them their assignments. Or, rather, lack thereof. She pulled the sleeves of the Fury out of her backpack and put them on the bench, grabbing a screwdriver and opening up the side of the right sleeve.

There was a whine, a spark, and 20 feet of the chain geysered out of the side panel, going 3 feet in the air before piling itself in a tangle on the desk.

"Fan-####ing-tastic."

@NarayanK @Write @FlitterFaux

”Slack off? Sure you never met my old teachers?” Ben quipped, grin widening a little. He slipped Caletfwlch into the holder on Joyous Guard to free up his hands a moment. ”I think you’re on, Nuit. Round two’s mine.”

The need for a free hand become clear a second later. When they fought the Megaladeus they’d gone to the pool and Port had given them time to change. Well there was a little less water this time around, but take a wild guess. Nowhere to change. Since he didn’t feel like completely ruining a uniform, he slipped an arm out of his jacket sleeve, propped up Joyous Guard with his other hand and slipped out of the second. The jacket went flying over his shoulder to lay (hopefully) outside the combat zone, followed a second later by the blue vest underneath. His hand found the tie around his neck and tugged at the knot until he could pull it out from under his collar and undo the shirt’s top button. He needed his neck free, and a tie was only going to be a hindrance. Best not to leave something he could get hung with.

It joined the heap behind him, but he really wished he could do something about his shoes. They weren’t great for a fight on dry land, one in the water was really going to suck. But, he supposed that was why he kept a spare set around. Something to wear when these ones were waterlogged. Being barefoot would definitely be worse.

The prep gave him a chance to look over the impromptu team, too. Jumpercable and Bastille together again. He hadn’t worked with these two, though. It’d be a bit of an experiment. He had a rough idea about Bianca, at least, and her Semblance explanation helped fill in a few blanks. Skye was a different variable. The girl was… Well, an unknown in a lot of ways. He didn’t see any visible weapons. She looked thin to say the least. It’d be hard to plan for her, but that was kinda the point of Grimm Studies. Learn about Grimm, learn about the other students. Learn to fight together.

If he had to guess, he’d say that all three dealt a little more in maneuvering than tanking. Just a guess. He knew it to be true for Sangue, seemed true for Bianca’s build, style, and weapon, and it didn’t seem likely Skye’d be one to tank a hit. Left him to do tanking duty, as expected. Sangue and Bianca could definitely do some damage and do it quick, though, which gave him a pretty good idea of what to do… He fished a pair of sunglasses out of his shirt pocket, met Sangue’s eyes, and flicked them open with his wrist. Hopefully she’d brought hers. Wouldn’t have any information on the Jumpercables, but it’d be good to have an idea of how his own teammate was doing.

”Bianca’s right. We push for the trunk. I’ll take point.” The displays came to life as soon as he tapped the nodule. Obviously he wasn’t going to have any information on his teammates, not yet at least, but his own readouts were pretty important. About eighty percent Aura to start with, could be worse. Both batteries hovered around a full charge. Good to have the supply if he needed it. Caletfwlch slid smoothly out of its holder with the soft rasp of metal on metal, held loosely, comfortably, in his right hand. The tip rested lightly on the ground, relaxed stance belying his readiness. Joyous Guard’s grip felt just as comfortable in his palm, secured to his forearm just to be safe. He didn’t want some tendril getting clever and taking it away. He lifted its bottom edge off of the ground effortlessly, rolling his shoulders a little, and pivoting a few degrees so he could address his friends more clearly.

”Those tentacles are probably long enough to attack us from pretty much any direction, once we get close enough. Closer we get, more it’ll focus. That’d be my guess. By the time we’re really close they’ll probably be able to come at us from behind too.” A pause, and one more glance at the others in turn. ”Bianca should watch our left. Sangue our right. I bet you guys are quick enough for any that come from the sides. Skye, you’re gonna want to watch the rear. Back up Bianca or Sangue if they’re having any issues. We stay in formation and we can ward ‘em off.”

He gave a little smirk.

“Anyone gets grabbed, well, yell real loud.”

@FlitterFaux@Lucius Cypher@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN@Kaithas





Emerald had to force herself not to burst out laughing as the older boy went on about Atlas having catgirl superheroes and levitating second graders. Of course, Emerald had never been to Atlas so...maybe it was true? That's fucking awesome I want to live there...

Distracted with her thoughts on Atlas she almost missed the otter girl and the boy leaving. She waved goodbye and decided it was probably best that she did as the otter suggested and landed back on the ground by Anna, Oswald and Gren. Emerald looked at Anna excitedly.

"There's so much I want to do after classes now. How high do you think I can fly? To the moon?"

Unfortunately Emerald's chipper mood was not to last, as the one person Emerald had dreaded running into arrived in class. Her newly discovered half-sister, Amaranth Desree. That name is pretty cool though...wait that's not the point! Normally she would have been very eager to talk to her sister and get to know her, but for once in her life, Emerald was actually feeling pretty shy. It didn't help that her dad had asked her to give Amy space, and from the looks of it, Amy was in a bad mood.

Emerald grabbed Anna's arm and pointed toward's the hawk faunus. "That's her, my half-sister. She...she looks a bit unhappy, should I say anything to her? I don't want to make her mad..."

---------------


Violet tugged against her uniform in annoyance. She found the school uniforms to be impractical and not very comfortable. Were they expected to fight Grimm in them? She felt way too exposed, nothing to cover her face or ears.

She sighed, it couldn't be helped, it was the required uniform after all. If she wanted to attend Beacon she had to wear it, at least during classes. The wolf faunus could barely believe she was even in the school. Somehow, Ozpin had found her wandering Vale and convinced her to join the academy, that man had a way with words.

Violet still had serious doubts, but she was already here so she was going to make the most of it. She was a bit late to her next class, Grimm studies, mostly because she'd been given incorrect directions to where the class even was.

Finally she'd found it, pushing the doors open to the classroom as she entered, she found that the students were being lead into a different room and followed behind them.

The monstrosity of a plant that was the Dionaea caught Violet off guard. She'd never run into a Grimm like this before. Caged or not it was quite intimidating. Now Violet was pretty skilled in fighting people, that was something she'd been doing for most of her life. Grimm however, she'd only fought on a rare occasion, and rather small ones at that. This, this was something new for her.

I suppose that's why I'm here though, isn't it? Violet pulled out her bow instinctively, ready for action. They apparently had a few minutes to analyze the creature, more than they would normally get in a real life scenario. Violet took this opportunity to mark the beast with her semblance, her eyes glowing purple for a brief moment as she did. Now she would know where the creature was at all times, not that it could really go anywhere. It's adrenaline levels well, she wasn't sure Grimm had adrenaline, but if it did she would sense it.

Violet listened as the other students made plans of attack against the creature, what they were planning seemed as good as any plan against a giant plant.

"If the rest of you can keep it busy, I'll burn it's tentacles to a crisp." The archer stated loudly, she didn't like speaking out, but she felt it was necessary in order to achieve their common goal. She removed an arrow infused with fire dust from her quiver in preparation.

@Krayzikk@Guess Who@Sho Minazuki@NarayanK@Rekaigan@Awesomoman64@Write@Suku@Azereiah@Ryonara@HereComesTheSnow@Plank Sinatra@SevenStormStyle@Forsythe

Ashe clarified she had not captured Grimm personally and it was just as dangerous as one could imagine, but Skye was still impressed. She considered Ashe's advice on getting back her lost weight, and nodded affirmatively at her offer. Besides catching up on her studies she needed to put this at the forefront of her goals, and Ashe's help or just her company would be appreciated, no, probably needed. When she thought about it Skye honestly had no idea how weak she would be without her aura. Would I even be able to move? I'm already slower and weaker than I was...

Skye smiled at the two other girls and their enthusiasm about their shared classes. Truth be told she felt the same way; she was looking forward to spending more time with the two of them. Not only that... "Another one of my teammates takes Dust Applications as well if I remember correctly. I might spend some of the time with him as long as he doesn't mind. He's smart and... helped me out a lot since we met. But he's really nice, too, so maybe he wouldn't mind the three of us for company? I'll have to ask him when I see him." Thinking about that also reminded her she only had this one class shared with Bianca and their team leader, Jack. That didn't leave much time to get to know them during the day. But then again, they would be sharing a room, so maybe they would have more time to get to know each other later tonight. She hoped so.

---

As everyone prepared for the coming life and death struggle Ashe brought up an interesting point, how did the Dionaea detect its prey? She wasn't sure how knowing that would help, but Ashe must know what she was talking about.

She nodded when Ashe asked if she was ready. Technically she had been ready the moment she had arrived in this room. She also took a moment to get a good look at her new friend without her disguise. Hm, she looks better this way. But... I'm still pretty sure her eyes were not pink in the photo she showed me.

"If it is much like normal plants it could have a complicated sense of smell. But as a monster it might sense movement or heat? She knew flora communicated mostly through smell, pheromones, she thought was the correct word. But Grimm, even ones based on plants, were a whole different story, usually.

Skye was shocked by Ben's casual comment directed at the quiet redhead who had been silently studying the enormous Dionaea. Bored? Is he serious? Does he usually get bored fighting monsters? He doesn't look afraid, not one bit. Almost none of the others do. Incredible... Listening to the exchange between Ben and Bianca she was convinced that these people had to be absolutely fearless. How do they do it? Does Ben honestly consider this fun? Ben and Bianca were even making a challenge of who could cut more tentacles. They both seemed very confident, and the redhead herself was unerringly steady. Even Ashe was looking more confident about this.

Skye listened carefully as the strategic plans were laid out. She nodded at Bianca when she said to stay near her, Ben, and Sangue, then again at Ben himself when he further clarified she should guard the rear. The plan, overall, sounded very good to her limited knowledge of strategy. Skye could not consider herself much of a tactician beyond attacking a perceived weak point and adapting to changes as they happened. Such tactics worked well enough for her to survive, but it wasn't usually pretty. In fact most of the fighting she was used to got very, very ugly, despite having survived each encounter. But it sounded like this plan, though very dangerous, would work out well.

Hearing a somewhat familiar voice Skye turned to see Jack, Jumpercables' team leader, had spoken up. He was addressing another group that seemed to have their own plan of focusing on the upper parts of the Dionaea, which also sounded like a good idea to her. The other group Jack was talking to seemed to have more ranged weaponry than their own team, which, at first glance, looked to favor close range combat. She waved at Jack when he looked her way, and wondered which group he would be part of, or if he would be fighting independently from either. He certainly looked like the fast, mobile type that could manage such a thing. Technically she could as well but she functioned much better as part of a team, and definitely preferred it, as well.

When a female voice spoke up behind her she turned to see who had addressed what sounded like the whole class. Her eyes immediately fell on the speaker's weapon, a bow. This was a weapon Skye had a tremendous amount of respect for. The unofficial leader of the survivors from her village had been a master of the weapon. Using it he had saved so many lives...

She inclined her head towards the girl in acknowledgement. They would keep this beast occupied for the shooters. And in turn the shooters would make their job much easier.

Vega was focused on reading her article instead of the commotion surrounding around her. And suddenly “Ah, I see so that’s a way to improve aim.” Now I can improve that Muzzle Compensator that I have been working in.

Vega then pulled out a Muzzle Compensator and a toolbox and began to disassemble it.

The Dionaea continued to remain idle.

With the time limit over, Professor Port clapped his hands as he exclaimed, "Alright, students! It is time for you all to face this beast. Remember, the green pads around the room will bounce you right off the walls in case it sends you away from it. Good luck, students!"

After his announcement, he took a deep breath.

At his signal, the loud noise of the glass box being moved erupted across the room. With the box sliding down, the lid opened itself as the Dionaea was freed from its transparent cage. It squirmed, finally showing a sign of movement as it took notice of the difference in the amount of space around it.

As the box vanished, it continued to remain still for a bit. Its roots then began to slither with a hint of hidden vigor. And as its roots began to slither, the bottommost head turned itself directly at the students' direction.

Then the head above it turned to the students' direction. Then the other moved, and all but the topmost head began to clap their mouths angrily, threatening to lash out at the students as they moved with a rather unpredictable movement.

Slowly, the Grimm's primary head looked down at the students.

At the Dionaea's movement, Port, excited to see the students take down the Riesen-class Grimm, boomed,



As soon as he yelled, the Dionaea's smaller heads screeched loudly at a high pitch as the largest head simply watched the students. Its many tendrils soared, each of them moving with impressive speed towards each and every student as the Grimm itself backed away from the students. About two roots were flown at each and every student, and even then, it still had unused tendrils at its disposal, which seemed to defend the Grimm from anyone who approached it immediately. The tendrils that were sent to the students were either set to smash them aside sideways or knock them up in the air.

If one were to immediately go for cutting the tendrils, they would find out that the limbs were sturdy despite their flexibility. And the Grimm's sheer weight prevented it from being forcibly moved by simply attempting to grab it by its roots. Repeated attacks or heavy attacks would be needed to think about cutting them down, and that meant that being left open was a certain possibility. Whenever its tendrils missed or was smashed away from the students, they quickly went back to attacking without rest.

---

As the battle started, Sangue immediately stood behind Ben with her hand at the handle of her blade. The sudden onslaught of the Grimm's limbs that was sent towards the students' way caught her off-guard, but she didn’t expect it to be on the same level as the lower-class Megaladeus she had faced before.

While she had separated from Ben in that particular class session, she intended not to stay too far away from him this time. He did give her the direct command to stay behind him, after all.

Eying the tendrils that shot towards her, her gaze sharpened as her somewhat intimidating glare returned. Her grip tightening as she drew her blade, the redhead flipped over a root that swept itself underneath her feet before slashing upward at the other limb that shot towards her. Much to her surprise, the Plant-type Grimm’s limb was barely cut, having only a small scratch on the surface of the limb, and bounced up from her before returning to the stem. When one of its roots returned to attack her, she decided to slip past the attack with a sidestep as she moved directly behind Ben.

"..."

She remained silent as she kept her guard on full alert.