---

"Oh I've been waiting for this day for so long, I almost couldn't fall asleep last night. But here I am, Haven at last!"

The young man was metaphorically skipping up the long, some might find exhausting, flight of stairs, talking to himself along the way. He was practically bouncing with joy and excitement, beaming and humming happily to himself as he made his way upwards to the place he'd been dreaming of heading to, and doing everything within his power to reach, for quite a number of years now. Sure, he was as young as the majority that made it this far, but he wasn't going to let that discount the effort it took! He had to make his parents proud, for his dad who'd seen him off a few weeks ago so he could make the trip with time to spare and get a feel for the capitol, with enough funds stashed away for a rainy day. For his mom, who's letter wishing him the best and with some extra spending money tucked inside arriving only a few days prior to him leaving home for the foreseeable future. That extra money had to mean she was doing well with her contract abroad, hopefully between that and his own planned successes they could afford to get out of Kuchinashi and away from the people who had given them trouble for almost as long as he could remember.

With his wandering train of thought, Midori barely noticed when he reached the top of the stairs, stumbling as he tried to take another step that was simply not there for him to step on, though he shook it off with a trademark grin and chuckle. He had to pay attention, after all, who knows whether or not he'd run into one of his future teammates already! It was possible, and he'd hate to make a poor first impression just because he was almost day dreaming and ended up running headlong into someone or something! It was quite crowded after all, plenty of people around his age looking to make their mark and earn their place in the academy. There was a lot of people, sure, but Midori wasn't going to let that bother him. He knew his worth, and just how much he'd given in getting this far. Nothing like a little competition and reminder of just how desired these roles were to really reinforce how vital being a huntsman or huntress was. Being a bit early was nice for another reason as well, one that was a bit of a guilty pleasure.

So many new weapons! Midori had seen plenty of different components, styles, and designs working with his mom, but seeing so many different combinations, constructions, and design philosophies in one place was absolutely astounding in the best way possible. Given it seemed there was some down time before they were being ushered anywhere, well, that just gave the redhead time to promptly start wandering around, admiring the various weapons and equipment other would be students had brought with them, chattering at whoever made the mistake of actually listening or responding positively, or at all even, to his probing remarks and questions. Some might see it as trying to gather information on rivals, but for Midori, he just wanted to get to know all he could about the various weapons. Who knows, maybe there would be design ideas that he could adopt and modify into his own personal weapon, Promise, and improve overall! With a giddy, friendly smile he'd set to wandering and talking, chattering and enjoying being finally at Haven with so many others who'd, hopefully for the most part, genuinely earned their way here and not rode in on the coat tails of others.

"Wow, they really let that guy in?"

"Must be because of Reine?"

"Even still, how did they manage to convince the headmaster to take in a common thug like that."

"Not even born in Mistral, though he'd fit right in with the gangs like all the othe-"

"Ssssh, he's looking this way."

Silme walks into the quad area with an irritable expression, bag slung over his shoulder as glares towards the gossiping upperclassmen that he'd heard talking about him. He had expected it from kids in his class, doing his best to not let his annoyance at their muttering whispers show on his face. It had been like this the whole way up(so much so he'd taken to jogging up the whole thing in order to get away from the chatter), though luckily there was another celebrity to take the attention off him in the class. Some rich heiress or something whose biggest accomplishment as far as he was aware of was getting kidnapped as a kid. Reine had talked about it when mentioning a colleague of theirs, but he wasn't that interested in an aspiring damsel in distress.

She'll probably flunk out and go back to sucking on her silver spoon before the year is out. Silme sapres a quick glance in the rich girl's direction but doesn't really pay her much mind as he goes back to grumbling under his breath, standing tall even under the weight of more than a few suspicious stares. As long as I don't have to deal with her. The last thing I need to tell Reine is I flunked out of this school because some princess couldn't carry her weight.

Taking a moment to look behind him, Silme noted a familiar face amongst the crowd, leaping about without a care as if he was getting high off the air.

"Well, didn't expect to see you here gear-head."The young faunus just gives a nod of his head, his face and voice remaining neutral even if the distraction of a faint acquaintance helped to take his mind(and temper) off of the rumor mill forming around him. "Hope your gear manages to hold up better for the test than it does when I use it."

@TGM@Eisenhorn

---

H A V E N A C A D E M Y
E N T R A N C E
K I N G D O M O F M I S T R A L

---

It seemed like there were an endless number of stairs that led up to Haven Academy. Not that it really mattered all that much to Bren, the monotony of steps let his mind calm down a bit as the nerves he hid so well began to rear their ugly heads. He was further away from home and his parents than he'd ever been in his entire life, but this was what he wanted. He had argued with his parents repeatedly to convince them to let him go someplace other than Atlas Academy, and he wasn't about to let cold feet stop him from doing what he loved. A quick mental shake was all he really needed to push those emotions back down and focus more firmly on his surroundings. He felt a bump against his side and let himself glance down at the spectral canine that was currently walking up the stairs next to him. A collection of purple and black energy that bled of in small wisps around the form of one third of his semblance in the shape of a large wolf-like entity. This particular spirit being the first of the three that he summoned while training with his mother, and was the most relaxed of the three, always calmed his nerves even further than he could on his own. Something about it reminded him of home and that was enough to completely put his mind at ease. He gave the spirit a pat on its, mostly, incorporeal form before continuing on. Hopefully he'd be allowed to keep the spirit present, the instructors in Atlas had never really had much of an issue with it, but he didn't know what kind of rules were present at Haven.

There were plenty of people, his own age and older, heading up the stairs and he couldn't help letting his gaze wander to try and get an idea of the types of individuals he may end up on the same team with. Everyone had their weapons and the upperclassmen were clear to see as they walked with a bit more confidence than the rest of the group. He could overhear some of the conversation, something about a person named Reine which was not a name he recognized; probably some famous Mistrali hunter if he had to guess. Eh, if it's important I'll hear about it later. He was at Haven to learn after all.

The quad was much more open than the stairs and that was something Bren greatly appreciated. While he had no problem being around people it made his skin crawl to be packed in with so many at once without much personal space. Not many people caught his attention has he stepped up the final few steps, though he could see a red-headed young man who appeared to be in several places at once with how quickly he was moving as well as a silver haired individual who looked more than a little pissed off. He made a quick mental note to keep his distance on that one...last thing I need is a fight on my first day at Haven. He'd also heard mention of someone who was from a wealthy Mistrali family, he wasn't sure if it was someone his family had dealings with as they were more on the technological side of things, but he supposed there was always the possibility.

A quick sweep of his eyes allowed him to find a space by a bench somewhat away from everyone else where he could post up and continue to people watch to his heart's content. He found it was the easiest way to get an idea of who he would be dealing with, especially if someone didn't know they were being watched. He let himself sink down onto the bench, maybe the stairs had taken a little more effort than he would've liked, and snapped his fingers to command his spirit to post up underneath his legs. He had no intention of letting anything go awry, having just one of his spirits present took very little effort anymore, but it wasn't worth the risk. However, he simply decided to watch and wait to see what he could figure out about the unfamiliar space.

_{Mentions: @TGM}

---

Of all of the places that Mistral could receive air traffic from, Kuchinashi had to be among the top rankings for danger. As a home to many individuals from the darker, more criminal walks of life, everyone making their way off a Kuchinashi airship was watched suspiciously by the receiving officials. It was likely that the staff didn't trust any kind of security checks from their Kuchinashi counterparts, reinforced by the increase of 'random searches' conveniently around the time one of their airships did arrive. Travelling out of Kuchinashi by air was more expensive than by rail however, and so there were thankfully some leeway compared to the groundside arrivals. Plus, air arrivals typically arrived at the higher locations of Mistral city, which was far more pleasant. There were many reasons why Cleaver had picked travelling by air for Azure, but the girl wasn't focusing on the reasons for the method of transportation; Even as she skipped her way toward Haven Academy, her mind was still glued on the aerial view of the city from her time gazing out of the airship's window. Which, admittedly, had been the entire flight. Thankfully, she wasn't daydreaming hard enough to forget her suitcase nor weapon case, the latter of which held Starsweeper within.

Mistral city seemed to be a lot cleaner than back home. A lot friendlier, a lot safer, but the level of mistreatment was almost similar if the signs on a few doors were to judge - Azure paused to glance at a No Faunus poster beside a shop's entrance, before carrying on her way. Azure hadn't had to worry too much about such matters back home, being the daughter of a large gang's leader was a free pass, though she only really tried to get into them if there was something spectacular inside to lure her in. Away from home, the young Faunus girl decided to avoid them as much as she could, though there was no telling when she'd spot something to take her chances at. She knew that a quick exchange of lien-for-item was hard for a shopkeeper to ignore if it was swift and with little fuss. A hat or hood would help, too. Azure allowed such thoughts to overtake her in an effort to ignore the countless amount of stairs that she had to climb. She didn't want to tire herself out thinking about how many there were left to go. As Azure began to near the top, her excitement also grew. She could see the top of Haven Academy peeking over the last step, her view increasing with every step. When she finally reached the top Azure took a moment to examine Haven from her position with the largest of smiles on her face, before raising her arms in the air (almost tossing her weapon case away in the process) and whooping, causing a few others that were scaling the steps to take glances at her. She had seen images of Haven before, but to see it in person was spectacular.

"It looks amazing!" Azure exclaims, letting her arms drop down from their elevated positions and making her way forward once more. Her eyes flickered from the building to all of the other students. So much variety, people from all sorts of walks of life. People with different appearances, different weapons, many from what looked like different school years - she could pick out who was new just from those who didn't have uniforms yet, just like herself. Deciding that she was going to approach one of them, Azure did so, making her way toward one of the girls, one that was definitely a bit taller than herself. "Isn't this fantastic? Haven looks wonderful in person!" A bright Azure spoke gleefully, hopping a little on her feet in excitement.

Location: Haven Academy

Mentions: @Raijinslayer

---

Midori had been practically bouncing from person to person, cluster to cluster, chatting with folks and pestering them with various questions about their weapons, who they were, and so on, when his latest victim person to chatter at got a moment's reprieve when an aquaintance decided to get the young man's attention with a remark on not expecting to see him here. The poor soul he'd been bothering had taken the chance to make themselves scarce, though Midori wasn't going to really worry about that. Instead, he walked on over to... Slime? No, no Silme! That was it, and Midori kept that light hearted grin on his face as he ignored the looks and remarks he had heard from before aimed at Silme. The comment on sturdy equipment got a sheepish chuckle and he scratched his head briefly, ruffling his hair unintentionally though it left it about as it had started.

"I wouldn't miss this for anything Buff, been my life's dream for quite awhile now. And you know the design was solid, but we just cannot get the materials to stand up to the sheer stress you put those poor tools under. Maybe Haven can help out with that and make it easier to get sturdy enough materials?" Midori treated Silme much like he treated most other people, tone friendly and just as open as ever. Sure, he saw the various looks and heard the remarks about the poor kid as he bounced around, but that didn't matter. They were all here to be huntsman and huntresses, and the nice thing was it didn't matter what got you here, if you didn't make the cut you didn't make the cut. He was pretty sure Silme would manage just fine, from what little dealings they had prior to running into each other again here, but it was always nice to see someone he recognized.

---

Finally, the day came when Artemisia could finally head to the Academy with the rest of the would-be Students. She actually had arrived a few days prior but mostly remained by herself in a rented room, waiting for this day to come. She did not waste those few days, though, keeping to her training and placing her things in good order for when she'd leave this temporary rented room for the Academy's rooms, most likely.

Now reaching the top of the plateau, she could see some small girl with blue hair jump around in excitement, her head disappearing further out of her field of vision. Soon enough, Artemisia reached the top of the stairs herself, removing her sunglasses and hanging them on her shirt's collar. Now she knew why the blue-haired student seemed happy - it was a sight to be sure. Haven had a certain charm to it, and Artemisia did not try to hide the smile that drew on her lips as she kept on walking.

To her right was a decent gathering of people around...someone? Some kind of big shot, probably. There was also the girl from earlier, but the Atlasian's gaze did not linger there. No, instead her eyes fell upon yet another small group of students. She wasn't walking to them per say, but her path led her close enough and she heard some of the comments of students around.

There was a tall, silver-haired Faunus walking up to a smaller guy. From what she gathered, the tall guy was supposedly bad news, or something along those lines. By the time her curiosity got picked and she had gotten closer, she could hear the small exchange that happened between the two students...and that was it. Without fully understanding the bigger picture or even being sure of what happened, she walked in. To her, tall guy looked and sounded like a bully and she disliked that - so she acted.

"Or maybe..." she said as she walked beside the smaller student, crossing her arms and looking up at the Silver Faunus. Artemisia wasn't small for An Atlesian, but this guy was way taller and she was close enough that she had to look up. Yet, to anyone that would be actively looking for it, there was no trace of doubt or fear in her eyes - only defiance. Her physique also spoke tons, as she looked liked she could hold her own even against that monster of a Faunus.

"...Maybe the fault's with the user? Y'know, there's such a thing as mis-handling gear. Takes time, and practice, but I guess that's why we're for, right? Betcha, we'll all get along just fine, am I right?"

"Sure, gearhead, or maybe your folks taught you to look at issues in too much of a box." Silme shrugs his bag off his shoulder, seeming ready to continue when a voice suddenly interjected itself into the conversation. Lilac eyes narrow at the newcomer, the low undercurrent of irritation spiking as the redhead swaggers onto the scene as if she owned the place. While Silme wasn't aware of her heritage, he could instantly recognize the swaggering walk of an Atelsian blowhard. He'd seen more than his fair share back when he lived in Mantle. He had used to try and play nice and make friends, but right now, he was in no mood to let someone come and berate him.

"...Maybe the fa-" Artemisa would find the rest of her tirade muffled in a moment, as Silme stepped forward to meet her, clamping his large hand over her mouth as he glared down at her with an open sneer.

"Not in the mood and don't care for whatever you have to say, Tiny. I'm sure you were a big shot where you came from, to feel like you can just barge in like that, but this ain't there." With no small level of force, Silme pushes the girl away, teeth gritted as he felt the stares being thrown his way.

Yeah. . . yeah that must look really bad huh. . . fuck it. Fuck them. Fuck me for being an impulsive idiot. Silme couldn't help but kick himself internally as he reflected on where he was, but he wasn't backing down now. It was her fault for suddenly sticking her nose where it didn't belong. Why did she even have to come bother me? What did I even do!

" . . .I'll talk to you later gearhead." Silme doesn't turn to address Midori as he grumbles, simply moving to walk away from the whole scenario if he could, his face still curled up into an angry grimace. "Prob best not to be seen hanging around me for the first day here."
@FrogRFlowR@Eisenhorn

---

Heather sat among a small circle of her peers from Sanctum in the quadrangle of Haven academy. She’d struggle to call them friends as none of them were particularly friendly towards her. They viewed her as some charity case, needing to be plucked from the bowels of mediocrity by their graces. Still, it was better than being perceived as some sort of weird loner. The girls had insisted on meeting early to grab some coffees to go before heading up the laborious stairway, now perched to observe the flood of prospective students. They eagerly exchanged gossip as a few persons of intrigue passed through the gates.

“Is that the Al Mond heiress?” One girl said, her cheeks flushed with bewilderment. “Do you think I should ask for an autograph?”

“Desperation isn’t a good look for you, Olive.” Another giggled, the group chiming in to offer their own equally vague and uninteresting opinions on the matter. They made little effort to include Heather in their conversations. It would seem they were just as content to keep her on the periphery of the social circle as she was to remain there.

Don’t make waves, Heather. Those were the last words she heard from her Aunt Camelia that morning as she departed. They had certainly dampened her spirit somewhat. Her aunt was never one to shy away from praise or offer support, but she had made her disapproval of Heather’s ambition to attend Shade apparent ever since she expressed an interest in the entrance exam.

“Hey Heather, look over there.” Gwyn, the ringleader, pulled Heather from her train of thought, drawing her attention to a silver haired faunus who they were all too familiar with. Silme. He’d garnered quite a reputation for his violent outbursts and callous attitude.
“You know,” Another girl began, sneering sidelong at Heather whilst talking to her friend beside her in a whisper loud enough for the group to hear. “I thought allowing her admission was just the Headmaster being generous, but if they’re letting him attend then clearly whoever’s in charge has a screw loose.”
“Do you think the school has some sort of benefits program for troubled youths? Maybe they’re trying to rake in the Lien.”

Heather dug her nails into her palms, staring down at the grass whilst the gaggle of hens cackled away.
Don’t make waves. Don’t make waves. She repeated the words again and again, bringing herself to her feet with as much poise and dignity as she could manage in the face of their jabs.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to take a walk.” Heather snapped, staring daggers at the girls. They took little notice of her departure, their attention drawn to another student. She practically stormed off from them, reassuring herself with the same mantra that had gotten her through Sanctum.

I will not let that woman define me. I’m here to become a Huntress and that’s what I’ll do. No two ways about it. The affirmations failed to invigorate her as they normally would. No amount of manifesting positivity could hide just how nervous she was. She found herself leaning against a tree in the courtyard, slumping down into a seated position with a forlorn sigh.

“I’ll be better off if I never have to speak to those nasty, vapid cretin’s again.” She cursed aloud, turning her head to the side to notice that the tree in question was already being occupied by another girl.
Startled to her feet, Heather’s cheeks went beet red. No doubt the gray haired girl had heard her and the idea of airing her business to a complete stranger by accident was mortifying. She’d need to think fast.
“Wh-what I mean to say is, uh, what a lovely day we’re having isn’t it? Truly splendid.” Truly splendid. Who talks like that anymore? Today was her chance to redefine herself among people who had no idea who she was. She’d hoped to have a bit more class than to out herself as a nervous wreck and a dweeb to the first stranger she met.

Location: Haven Academy

Mentions: @FrogRFlowR@Raijinslayer

---

"Well you make a good point, maybe I should go with a cylinder, maybe a sphere? Not sure how easy gripping and carrying a sphere would be though!" Midori didn't even seem to be bothered by the remark, making a joke out of the whole thing, although that was all cut short by another prospective student, with brilliant red hair and she seemed to think Silme was causing him trouble? Oh he wasn't at all, but before Midori could get a word in edge wise, Silme took matters into his own hands, well hand in this case, and didn't really let the poor girl get a word in edgewise before heading off. Midori did call after him, subtly placing himself in the way between the young woman and the silver haired faunus as he departed.

"It was good seeing you Buff, I'll catch up later. Don't be a stranger!" The young man waved after Silme regardless of whether he'd see it or not before spinning on heel, offering the red headed girl a smile, probably looking slightly upwards at her given he was, well, pretty short for his age. He didn't mind, and it didn't bother him at all, but it was just the way things were. He extended his hand as he spoke to her now, part of trying to keep things from getting out of hand so soon after getting here, last thing anyone wanted was a fight breaking out after all!

"Sorry about that, he's really not that bad, he's just rough around the edges. First days nerves must be getting to him, I hope you understand? Never mind that all those awful things people keep saying when they think he isn't looking or listening aren't helping either. My names Midori Yoake though, it's nice to meet you! I know how that probably sounded but he wasn't giving me any trouble, I do appreciate what I assume was your concern though. Guessing from his remarks your not exactly from around here?" Midori was doing his best to try and smooth things out, as friendly as he ever was regardless of whether or not she shook his hand or not. He wouldn't be offended if she didn't, not everyone went for that sort of thing after all. His tone was also chipper and upbeat, as was his stance as he casually rocked from one foot to the other, almost like it was hard for him to ever stay in place or stay still for terribly long.

---

If Silme wasn't too focused on his own anger, he'd notice immediately that the strength he used to push Artemisia away was met with a surprisingly similar level of resistance by the red-haired girl standing in front of him, who took the shove and barely took a step backward despite the Faunus being bigger and looking larger than herself. Although even if she did not physically react too much, her mind was running wild.

Cutting her off from speaking was bad enough, but his whole deamenor was way off. Acting like a big shot, her? Did he even listen to himself talking? Acting like he could say whatever he wanted, walking like he owned the place. Artemisia's mind was burning as she was losing control of her emotions again. She took a step towards the Faunus, now himself walking away but was stopped by something. A voice? She looked slightly down to see the student from before - smiling, with his hand extended.

"... it's nice to meet you! I know how that probably sounded but he wasn't giving me any trouble, I do appreciate what I assume was your concern though. Guessing from his remarks your not exactly from around here?"

Now cut off from the source of her anger, and taken aback by the surprisingly jolly attitude from a guy Artemisia thought was being bullied, her anger slowly faded. And as that wave receded, the rest of the information Midori gave her began to sink in. Her eyes went from him to the Faunus once again, but also to the other students around them staring at the silver giant with either disdain, anger or disgust. She heard some comments about him and almost felt sorry for the tall jerk.

As quickly as the storm came, it left Artemisia's eyes. Midori's smile was matched by Artemisia's, who then shook Midori's hand with just a bit too much strength.

"Not all that bad, huh?" she said as she readjusted the duffle bag she was carrying over her shoulder "Seems to me like he was being a real jerk, but then again maybe I barged in too hard. And, well, now that you mention it I guess he's not the only one being an ass." she told Midori, clearly reffering to the students whispering among themselves about either Silme or any other gossips of the day.

"The name's Artemisia Argent, by the way. Sorry if I came in too hard I'm uh... I'm kind of like that. Glad I ran into you and not more of his kind, though, I'll tell you that much. Never mind all that, though!" She said as she turned to the Academy's gate, taking the sunglasses from her shirt and putting them on as she looked up at the structure. As she looked back to Midori, she raised them on her forehead. "This is what we're here for after all, right? I bet you're just a stoked as me. Oh and I'm from Atlas, by the way." she finally answered as she turned and pointed to the Atlas crest on her military jacket's right shoulder.

Location: Haven Academy

Mentions: @FrogRFlowR

---

Midori maintained his smile while putting himself firmly in the path of the lady he was addressing. Sure, he knew full well how infuriating being treated like that could be, but he really was trying to keep any trouble from kicking up on day one. Before the initial speeches and talks were done no less! No, no, he was going to do what he could to keep the peace, they were all here for the same reason after all! She seemed to be cooling off, relatively speaking, as he watched her gaze wander slightly. Probably processing his words, good, she wasn't the type to heat up and just, well, keep on cooking. That was a huge relief, the little tells were there that he didn't have to potentially brace to avoid being bowled over by someone fresh on the war path. Silme had been pretty rude, sure, but poor guy was the target of a lot of nasty words himself so he was going to stick up for him best he could. Even if that was just stopping a fight from breaking out so soon. She seemed nice enough as well, so no sense letting her run off into trouble so soon!

"Oh it seems that way, I know, but its reactionary. He's being treated awful, so it's only natural to react accordingly. Trust me, even with my less than plentiful dealings, he's really not that bad! I think you missed some context but, hey, you meant well so that's nothing to fault." Midori was the picture of a friendly, cheery young man, grinning even as she shook his hand a bit too strongly. His was surprisingly calloused, sturdy but not anywhere as overtly strong, plain indications of a craftsman of some variety prior to trying to be a huntsman. He seemed to be paying close attention to what she had to say, eyes practically flaring with light as she mentioned being from Atlas, all but bouncing where he stood with excitement. Sure, the odds of her having even ran into his mom, let alone recognize her, were slim to none but someone from Atlas attending here? He was practically ecstatic to have ran into her. Pretty much polar opposite of the response she got from Silme.

"You came all this way from Atlas, really?! Mom is working abroad over there right now Red, sorry nicknames are easier for me hope you don't mind, working with some of the weapons manufacturers over there to help with designs! Oh of course I'm stoked to try to be a Huntsman, its been a dream of mine ever since I got a hand on one of their weapons, and then when I heard about how they lived? Doing good for so many people, no matter the status or origin they came from? I did everything I could to make it here, literally, and there is no way I'm going to let anything get in my way of reaching my dreams! How is Atlas, by the way? I've heard it is far more uptight and regimented, not sure how some people could even live in that kind of life, let alone thrive!" The mention of Atlas seemed to practically set Midori's motor mouth off, rambling and prattling with a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He was taking the fact she was from abroad not as a concern but an opportunity to potentially hear about his mom, or more likely learn about the land she was working in!

Location: Haven Academy

Mentions: N/A

In due time the various newcomers and prospective students were properly ushered into the great hall, and Midori's excitement only grew. It was finally time to hear from the Headmaster, and there was a name he'd heard thrown around quite a bit once his interest in being a Huntsman began. Goldi Lockhart, apparently incredibly focused and cold, a figurative ice queen. Well he couldn't say whether he believed it or not, rumors were nasty things, despite how many peddled them, and he was more interested to see how the Headmaster carried themselves before making his own judgement. Way he figured, she earned her place as the first and foremost in raising the next generation of Huntsman and Huntresses, regardless of demeanor, that wasn't something you sort of accidentally fell into. The murmurings and whispering finally died down once everyone spotted the Headmaster and she began speaking, and had Midori's rapt, and full, attention. This was going to be a moment that lived in his memory for the rest of his life, one way or another, and he wasn't ever going to let himself forget it.

She began by reiterating how hard this life would be, something he'd been hearing time and again, over and over, from people trying to dissuade him, and all they ever did was steel his resolve further. This was no exception, sure it was going to be hard, but what worth doing was easy? If this hadn't been worth doing he would have given up long before standing here, and anyone else who was standing here should be thinking the same! Still, something caught his eye about her stance and gaze had lingered, pausing just long enough for him to wonder who had caught her eye. He hoped it wasn't Buff, poor Silme couldn't catch a break if he was already being singled out by the headmaster. He needed to figure out something that would stand up to the sheer abuse his friend put anything built through, he had ideas but it wasn't like he could do anything with them right now.

The solemn remark that she would be burying many of them and that, well, she would have to write home to their guardians about their passing would have been sobering for most, but Midori didn't let it dampen his spirits. It was going to be hard, sure, but from the few he'd interacted with, well, he wasn't going to let the idea of so many of the people around him living their last days get to him. No, he'd see the dawn and he'd most certainly see it alongside plenty of the others here too! Sure, they were inexperienced and new to the lifestyle, but what good was an initiation that killed off too many potential recruits? It was poor design to throttle supply that much, and he wondered if it was as much an effort to scare off those who weren't as committed or certain in their decision. A smarter man might worry he'd be proven wrong come the next day, but well, for now, Midori remained confident in not just his ability to pass the trial, but that of the others he'd dealt with. Silme and Artemisia could probably do this with one hand tied behind their backs, so he had a lot of work to do to get up to their levels!

As soon as the speech had begun, well, it was already over and they were being told to report to the hotel. Checking his pamphlet, Midori indeed found the voucher good for tonight at the Celestial Swan. That was...serious money for someone like him, and even if they weren't going to spend the night there, getting any time at all to spend there would be a grand experience! He grinned once they were dismissed, and decided there was no point just taking off alone, might as well find someone to walk and talk with! Maybe he'd end up tracking down Silme or Artemisia, or maybe a new friend. That would be nice, new friends were a welcome addition, especially since maybe he'd be lucky and meet a future teammate! With that he practically bounded off, seeing who he could end up running into and chattering their poor ears off. Running into was going to be figurative, but given the high energy the young man had, well, literally could be a possibility too.

_{Mentions: @TGM}

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Despite being a joke, there almost was some truth to the other student's words. Mistral was a bright place, well lit, at least on the upper levels where they were now. Back home in Kuchinashi, there were many dark, unlit areas where less-than-desirable individuals lurked. Regardless, Azure's face remained smiling as brightly as the lights in the city around the students. Her hands gently squeezed her suitcase and weapon case, casting a wonderous glance at the entrance to Haven Academy's interior, before fixing her gaze back at the taller student with a little laugh. "Yup, it's your last chance," Azure replies with a nudge.


During the opening speech, Azure's excitement did not die out - it grew, even if the speech was a touch sombre at a few moments. She did not know too much about Goldi Lockhart other than the most obvious bits and pieces; Azure knew that her father saw Goldi as a target. It wasn't about money or a bounty, he had told her. It was about making the gang even more known that it was. Already, Last Ones Out already performed various large criminal acts - The burning down of a few homes, attacks on various police departments, the festival kidnapping - but to attack a headmaster would boost their reknown. At one point, Azure would have agreed with such an act. But now, hopping up and down on the spot with a beaming smile resting on her lips, she wasn't a part of that life any more. Cleaver had changed her mind on the matter, and had assisted her in going to Haven to make her the Huntress that she now wanted to be. Until she had completed Haven Academy, she was a student. After that, she could take any path she wanted, even if that meant going back to her father.

Though they were given access to a hotel, Azure wondered if she was going to get any sleep. Her mind would be running all night, envisioning what tomorrow could bring. The hunting grounds sounded particularly interesting, though Azure wondered what the students would be hunting. It seemed obvious that it would be Grimm, however she wondered if there would be some kind of twist involved. Or, perhaps she was just overthinking things. As Goldi concluded her speech, Azure patted herself up and down to make sure that she had remembered her pamphlet, and was relieved that she had.

Finally, Azure turned back to the taller student that she had been hanging with ever since they had started to talk outside. "Tonight is going to be fantastic!" She exclaims, resting her chin on her hands. "There's just so much to take in!"