[IC] RWBY - Only the "Finest"

[Plank Sinatra]

"Ayy-yooo! Leave it to you to turn a right good penthouse into a fookin' soup kitchen on the first afternoon, Noël." From the other room, there came a large smacking sound, as Brennan Griese high fived the doorway with two hands. The flight had clearly made him restless; every step of his had a quote-unquote subtle energy to it that rang in the air. "What'd you slap yourself together this time, darlin'? I hope it's fricasseed Mistralian young, or I'm gonna sulk me way through dinner."

Walking into the kitchen with his carry on still slung over his shoulder, Brennan made a show of looking delightfully surprised and slung his left arm around Noël's neck. The team captain tightened it playfully and let the carry-on bag slide onto the floor without reverence. His eyes were locked on the plate at the end of the table, with the large glass of milk, extra potatoes (!) and the most perfect slab of meat since infant Brennan himself.

"Well, ayy now, I suppose that's actually not the worst meal man ever slapped to a fookin' plate! Close. But you stopped yourself right 'fore the bottom of the barrel."

He picked up his bag again and set it on a spare section of the countertop, unzipping it and pulling out a grey t-shirt he'd purchased while spectating the last Vytal Festival. It read 'ATLAS WILL INDOCTRINATE YOUR YOUTH,' complete with a foreboding-looking airship branded with 'INDOCTRINATE,' and was one of Brennan's favorite shirts to lounge about in. Though he had put on a good bit more muscle since he had joined Atlas; it had begun to feel a bit more snug whenever he put it on, and now that they were back in the familiar fairgrounds where all of Remnant flocked once every two years, it might be time to size up again.

"So what the fook was that thing you put on the end of your text?" Brennan asked, unbuttoning his dress shirt with his back to Noël. "Looked like a perforated spleen. Or a sinister whoopie cushion."

[Forsythe]

"Well, by your logic I should now headbutt you and ruin somebody's food with your face. Fortunately for you I have class which you seem to lack. Not to mention consistency. How is it that you find it worthy of physical assault when someone insults your species and yet are doing much the same with just a different target group? Irony at its finest, I say." What she thought was more along the lines of Shut the hell up you gaping @#$%^& or I'll beat the tar out of your worthless hypocrite self!, however Commander Ryan has drilled enough self control into her not to explode on the first trigger.

Still, annoying as he was this person was the most interesting thing today yet, so as he left Mikoto followed, making no effort to hide her doing so hoping to be a bit of a spiteful annoyance. She could guess well enough that the guy was a hunter trainee, but she observed trying to peg the school he was attending. He and the shop owner seemed to know each other, and the noodle stand was local business. First name basis, in fact. "So, you attend Beacon?" she hazarded a guess.

[Lugubrious]

Echo Marine, Tawne Adagio

@crimmy@krayzikk

Scarcely had half a minute passed before Tawne and Echo stumbled across their next adventure. Catering to specific clientele, identified by its members’ typical formidability and audacity, an odd metal shack had been erected not far from the line of food stalls. Signs plastered all over identified its purpose clearly, for in enormous comic sans they declared, HUNTERS AND HUNTRESSES – ARE YOU FIT TO SAVE THE WORLD? PROVE IT WITH THE VYTAL CHALLENGE! Intrigued by so bold a statement however obvious the ploy, and by the strangely fascinating contours of the building itself, the Atlesian students approached the metal shack. In a luxurious fold-out chair by the shack’s door reclined a man in black, whose diminutive stature and great fan of red hair naturally drew their eyes.

Simultaneously he noticed them, and in an instant he expertly sized them up as members of his target audience and therefore potential customers. Like a hat he put on his charm and sprang, catlike, from his chair. Adorning a wide, cheeky smile, he offered them a theatrical bow. “Good morning, lady and gentleman! Mr. Cordovan Phlox, at your service. I hope you’ll excuse my showmanship; I never could resist acting the goof. No doubt you’re not here for me, though. You’re here to disabuse me of the foolish notion that you’re not, in fact, fit to save the world. Well, here’s how you’ll do it: inside my little stall here is a testing chamber. Simply step in, and the trials will begin. Nothing dangerous, I assure you, just a fun distraction. And all for just five smackeroons! What do you say, folks?” He crossed his arms and looked sideways at them.

Tawne and Echo shared a look. Both were having trouble suppressing their merriment at Mr. Phlox’s manner and uncanny similarity to the legendary leprechaun, though Tawne suffered more in this regard. He did not allow it to keep him from replying immediately, however. ”Oh, absolutely. Bring it on! I get the feeling it’s me lucky day.” Phlox grinned and pulled open the door, and Tawne stepped inside.

Suddenly deprived of anything to do, Echo leaned against the shack and looked around. As picturesque and full of life as the festival grounds were, nothing stood out to her until she happened to lay eyes on a nearby bench and the two girls there. It did not take an excess of intuition to make the assumption that both were huntresses, though definitely not Altesians. Eager to meet other travelers, Echo made her way toward the bench, made sure she looked companionable, and greeted them. ”Hiya. I was jus walkin’ around, and I saw your hair,” she indicated Tearlag. ”And I thought, that’s incredible. So I thought I’d say hi. Are y’all competin’ in the tourney?” She slipped her hands into her pockets, seemingly not at all worried about any potential awkwardness in this sudden meeting.

[Crimmy]

Teàrlag Cirsium

It wasn't really hard to notice Umeko approaching. The Atlesian steel she carries around everywhere always makes my skin tingle with electricity. It's probably from whatever stuff they jam into that try-hard Jetsons aesthetic of theirs. Might be more conductive or something, gives a path of least resistance for all these sparks to travel through. Still, I thought she'd been scoping out the competition herself; she and the others seemed pretty excited for this entire tournament thing. Except ... she's got shopping bags? Oi, it's not like I wanted to do this myself, but geez if you actually wanted to show off in front of everybody for your one second of fame don't get me to do the legwork for you.

I shift my body around a bit so it doesn't hurt to look at little miss mecha lass behind me. She's got those expensive sunglasses, huh? Never really understood why folks'd pour that much money into sunglasses. No bang for your buck, and you could use that money on something that won't break if you drop it. Pretty daft, really.

"You'd be a dunderhead to want your face on merch," I mutter in reply. Think of all the t-shirts people would wear with my face on it. I'd have no freedom at all. I'd be a public figure, and you'd have crazy paps hounding my every move. Couldn't even laze around without people bothering me because they want their own fame and fortune. I'd just be some sorta money tree for people to grab at. A resource, not a person.

Not that it really makes much of a difference in the end, to be frank, but I don't want to be a figma to be lusted over by collectors.

...

That's freaky stuff.

So, team DEVL, huh? That's a name, I guess. Dunno if Umeko even has the style to jag. So what if the "White Devil" gets overshadowed, it's not like this competition really matters, anyway. Just another biannual festival about a war my granda fought in. Just do the entire fighting thing, I guess, look good for Shade Academy, and then go home so I can visit the karaoke bar. Not that I care about it or anything. I just want enough stamps for the free soda.

...

A phantasm from two decades ago's approaching.

Huh, that hair's seriously poofy. And blue. And she's gigantic.

Wait, my hair's incredible? Coming from a girl who walked outta the 70s?

I mean it's not like I don't appreciate the praise or anything but uh-

Wait who even asks people questions like that when they approach them?

Oi that's creepy.

"Yes," I grumble out.

---

@Lugubrious @Krayzikk

[Krayzikk]

Kawaguchi Umeko

@pyroman, @Crimmy

"Yep!" Umeko confirmed cheerfully, head pivoting to regard the newcomer brightly. Poofy blue hair, wide build, and friendly expression. Not someone she remembered seeing around before, but not someone she was likely to miss in the future. Hair like that, she'd be visible from orbit. The student of Shade shifted a little so she could keep both her less-than-talkative teammate and the newcomer in sight, folding up her sunglasses in her left hand so she could see colors a little more accurately. Echo's hair, as it turned out, was even brighter without the shades. "Gonna take a wild guess and say you are, too. You look real strong!"

"Where you from? Not Shade, we'd know if you were. Not getting a Mistral vibe. Atlas? You look like someone they'd want to recruit." She leaned a little further over the bench, supporting herself by resting her crossed arms on the back of it, and regarded her (she guessed) fellow countrywoman with a bright grin. "Don't mind Tear, here, she's never very talkative."

"And apparently doesn't quite get the wonders of merchandise, either. You have any idea the kind of cash I could make offering to model my own merch for Vale Style Co.? Or Atlesian Accessories?"

[pyroman]

Burgundy felt honored to be called the man's number one customer, especially since she had only been in Vale for a month or two. Sweet talk or not, she still did not like the condescending words of Silme. Who was he to say that she wouldn't be much of a fight!? She was Burgundy Slate, The Voice of Atlas and the leader of the second year Team BEAT! She could vibrate at such a tone to drive him wild, but at the cost of other faunus being treated to the same torture.

She shifted in her seat, almost growling at him for his words. If they fought, she might get disqualified, and her team would be furious with her. She grumbled, ordering another bowl and eating at a more humane pace this time around.

[Raijinslayer]

Silme Raana

Silme clicked his teeth at her refusal, feeling equal parts of disappointment and pride for getting the red haired black hole to back down, even getting her to eat more like a human as well, which was a bonus. As he was about to keep moving on, however, he found his ears to be assaulted by the biggest load of shit he'd heard in his life, courtesy of the Faunus who'd warned him of the police coming his way. Turning to look at her with an incredulous look on his face, as if he couldn't believe that she'd spoken such bullshit with any degree of seriousness, and gave her the amount of respect such belief called for.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot all about the immense hardships that the police has gone through in their pursuit for equality and equal representation in society. Truly, it is harsh of me to call them inept, I would want to hurt their feelings. The police are a downtrodden people, and it's simply putting salt in the wound to insult them as such." Silme voice took on a tone of mocking regret as he gave a low bow to the girl, before rising up to give her an excellent view of his middle finger salute as he gave her his true retort. As he spoke, it was very clear that he was restraining himself from doing something drastic, from his ears to his the way he was basically snarling at her. His eyes were alight with rage, but he knew that now wasn't the time, nor the place. "Sit and spin, you fuckin' brain dead bitch, because what you just said was completely and utterly ridiculous. You're comparing an insult to the police, calling them inept and powerless, which they fuckin' our when it comes to Hunters are expected to face on a regular pace, to a bastard perpetuating a long and painful history of Faunus oppression? Are you a fuckin' idiot or something, to even think of trying to compare the two, or just naturally ready to assume the fucking position like that other piece of domesticated trash over there!?!?! I should give you the same goddamn treatment as I did him, but I'm not about to make life worse for Samuel just because someone decided to teach you such a bullshit philosophy. I can tell just by looking at you that you have some half-decent training, which means that it'd end with more than a broken nose and messed up bowl, so take that as the closest thing to a compliment you're going to get from me. Now get the hell out of my face before I severely fuck yours up."

Silme, having said what he needed to say, and repressing his urge to put his fist through this girl's face repeatedly and violently, turned to walk away, ignoring her question because fuck her and everything she currently stood for. If she tried to push the issue, he'd ignore her, and if she tried to put her hand on him, she'd be met with a solid fist to her face immediately afterwards, and if it hit, she'd feel it because he wasn't holding back at all. Whatever the case, Silme would be want to be as far away from the dumb bitch as he possibly could. Oh yeah, I'm really being prejudice against the police, *tch*. Dumb bitch can't handle the fuckin' truth that, when it comes down to it, the police aren't scary, hell, the military aren't that intimidating either when you get down to it. A Hunter is better than them all individually, and only reason that the police and Military still exist is because the Hunter's are focused on the Grimm. If it wasn't for Grimm, the I'd love to see the police try and stop a Squad of Hunters from doing whatever the hell they wanted.

@Forsythe

[Forsythe]

@Raijinslayer

Mikoto clenched her teeth, fighting the urge to grab the offending finger and rip it our of its socket. But other than that gave no sign of tensing up. Mentally though, she was already in combat mode. True, Paddy told her to stay put, but if it was self defense it would be perfectly fine. She would just have to provoke him to be the first one to get physical, which honestly didn't seem so hard. "Spoken like a true primitive. And I wondered why they think of us so low, but with people like you still breathing it is starting to make a bit more sense." she shot back in equally mocking tone.

Her right arm slid down form behind her back and hung along her body, resting over Quilltact's hiding place and ready to draw if necessary. Her eyes sized up the pathetic excuse for a man next to her. Mikoto was pretty certain she could put him to the ground if it came to it. Taking a few faster paces, Mikoto walked past this Silme before turning around and walking backwards, her red eyes pointed at the guy's. "And how do you suppose the oppression started, hm? The humans though themselves superior. Seems exactly like what you are doing. It came to bite the humans in the ass. Are you certain you want to go down this road?" she asked, one eyebrow raised and toying with the thought of casting a sheet of ice under this mongrel's feet.

[Lugubrious]

Echo Marine, Tawne Adagio

@crimmy@krayzikk

The under-her-breath murmur of the purple-haired girl did not, no doubt to her chagrin, penetrate the steady hum of the festival-going crowd to reach Echo’s ears. Fully prepared to lean over and request, with as much non-irate courtesy as she could muster, the response again, Echo paused and changed focus when Umeko replied instead. The headband-clad girl’s infectious smile prompted one from Echo, who reciprocated her silent appraisal. Umeko clearly held a knowledgeable affinity for fashion, combining stylishness and functionality with an affable manner that totally contrasted her dull-eyed companion as far as Echo could tell. An affirmative nod confirmed Umeko’s guess, sending her sensational bun bouncing to boot. ”Mhm! Strongest chick around, most like.” She glanced at the quiet one, wondering why one might be recalcitrant having inserted herself into the middle of a fairground.

Her attention soon returned to Umeko, and in short order she could color herself impressed by her new acquaintance’s powers of observation. Again she nodded, still contaminated by Umeko’ amicable grin. ”Yep! Atlas born an’ raised.” The other girl’s comment on Tearlag’s nature clarified Echo’s pondering somewhat. ”Oh. No worries. There’s a sayin’ I heard: those who speak don’t know, and those who know don’t speak. In other words: fear the quiet ones. I’m sure y’all are gonna make a big splash in the tournament.” Her focus wavered a touch while Umeko delivered her next remark, but Echo thought she got the essence of it. ”You do kinda look like the modelin’ type. Guess if ya wanna start up some merch, you’re gonna have to win big at the fights. Hey, maybe I’ll get an action figure or somethin’. Wonder who’ll get somethin’ first: you or me? Hm.”

At that moment, the metal shack burst open. Out of it stalked Tawne, his glasses in his hands and a mightily pissed look on his face. Multicolored powders blanketed him head to toe, giving him the impression of an abstract art piece. Mr. Phlox, who’d been standing by the door with an almost eager demeanor, furrowed his eyebrows in what might have been mock confusion when Tawne threw him a sourly indignant look. ”You little bastard. Forget ‘challenge chamber’! That was some sort of twisted humiliation box. If I had been wearing my good clothes, I’d-a slugged you right now.” Looking closely, however, a skilled observer might detect traces of concealed mirth in his eyes. After a moment, Tawne snorted. ”You better trick lots more people, and a lot worse than you tricked me. What’s your deal, even? You hate hunters or something?” Phlox clasped his hands together and inhaled, but Tawne cut in again before he could speak. ”Wait, no, sorry. Couldn’t give a crap about your backstory. Carry on…prick.” Grumbling, the living rainbow looked around, and upon spotting Echo he made his way over.

”I wish I thought of something like that. Most academy hunters are so full of themselves, they could use being knocked down a peg by some goof like him.” He put his glasses back on, and through the powdery coating examined Umeko and Tearlag thoroughly. An incredulous look sailed Echo’s way. ”Making friends? Echo, how could you? You broke your eighteen-year-streak. ‘Scuse me, ladies.” With no further warning, Tawne whipped around. Like a top he span rapidly in place, and the powder carpeting him showered off onto the ground and, if they did not move, the girls. Echo, at least, managed to step away far enough so that only a shoe changed color. Even after, however, his hair was a ridiculous blend of blue, green, yellow, and orange—not that he could tell. ”Ah! I feel almost…normal. Anyhoo, who’s youse?”

[pyroman]

Burgundy listened to Silme's monologue and Mikoto's additions quietly. Her skirt shifted slightly, seemingly blowing in the light breeze. She was more than aware in just how far the Faunus have to go to reach equality. Silme was using his freedom to stomp on the world Faunus were trying to make equal. He did have points, Burgundy accepted that, but such aggression was the way to handle the situation. Talk like that would make the humans fear the Faunus and hate them even more than they do now. Now was the time for the Faunus to show how good they could be in the world.

With little to say to Samuel or the two teens, Burgundy placed her money down on the table for all the food she had eaten and walked away. Her teammates were doing who knows what, but she knew that they would be fine. Silme, though speaking fervently about how long thee Faunus had to go, didn't seem to respect the freedom that they had now. He had the freedom to say what he wanted, no matter how bad it was, and using his freedoms like that was rather disrespectful. the Faunus were still hard at work for true equality and recognition, and hopefully there would be a little more building of relations before the inevitable turn for the worse.

[Krayzikk]

Kawaguchi Umeko

@Crimmy @Lugubrious

"You looked like the Atlas type." The Atlesian-born Shade student commented, about to respond to the rest of Echo's statements when a... Rainbow disaster, suddenly entered their sphere of influence. She watched the goings-on between this disaster and the apparent cause of it with a mixture of confusion and something approaching curiosity, but she wrinkled her nose in distaste when the rainbow dust threatened her attire. The faintest application of her Semblance brought the encroaching cloud into a clean, stable orbit around her. Rather than reach her it moved smoothly around her, cloaking her in a thick, vaguely spherical rainbow cloud. It broke off its orbit a few moments later, the change in trajectory sending it to disperse harmlessly behind her, but she still brushed off the sleeves of her jacket as though it had reached her.

"I am Kawaguchi Umeko, and my teammate and I were just talking with Echo. I don't I met you, Mister...?"

[Raijinslayer]

Silme Raana

Silme's gait slowed to a halt as he turned to look at the girl who was obviously itching to start something with him. He wasn't stupid, he could taste the set up in the air. But at this moment, he couldn't give a crap about that, because right now, he wanted to kick this little cadet's ass all across town. He'd turn around and continue walking in silence, but his course would change, taking them a little bit away from the festival grounds. If Mikoto decided to follow him, they'd arrive in a beaten down looking clearing in the back alleies of this concrete jungle.

He'd step out into the middle of the area, turn around to glare at the cadet, before gesturing towards her with a hand. "I don't think further debate will solve anything, so let's just cut to the chase. Also, since you'rr a dumbass bitch cadet with no idea what she's talking about and can't see the difference between disliking the police and being a racist asshole, I think you should go first. That way, when I fucking curb-stomp your flat-chested, holier-than-thou ass, you can't say I didn't give you a chance. So come on, bitch, let's do this already."

Silme slid into a fighting stance, resisting the urge to fucking charge her and smack her idiotic face into the dirt. But he wanted to have an idea of what he could be dealing with. This was also the reason he didn't have his Scarlet Ravagers out, as he didn't to give her any idea about his fighting style either.

@Forsythe

[pyroman]

"Oh?" Port looked away from the camera to one of the production assistants and one Miss Goodwitch. She was one of the newest additions to tha staff at Beacon Academy, but she had already earned a reputation as a no-nonsense teacher.

Oobleck looked to the side as well, listening in to what the new professor and assistant had to say. With lightning speed, his head whipped back to facing the camera. "Ladies, gentlemen, huntsmen, huntresses, and all students participating in the tournament, the main event of the Vytal festival will be beginning shortly." He took a gulp from his thermos, speeding him up even more so than before. "Please all huntsmen and huntresses in training, make your way to the arena center so the first match can be decided."

[Crimmy]

Teàrlag Cirsium

Oi Umeko, you're going to sell out your own body for a bit of dosh and suffer an eternity of people watching your every move? It's a daft idea lass, don't do it. I mean it's not like I care or anything about whether or not you want to or not, but that's a real unwise decision that you'll have to deal with. Becoming a slightly bigger cog in the gears of capitalism and forever trapping yourself in the minds of the people. Even if you want to be forgotten you can't! Some bloke on the CCT-Net's going to be reviewing all the Kawaguchi figmas and the merchandise! People are weird and crappy like that. They always make things worse.

And she's already chatting up the chick with the 80s hair. I glance over at their conversation. They're really animated already. So this is ... self-proclaimed self-strongest chick? Not sure if anyone's really strong at all, but guess I'll take her word for it. And get her name. Maybe. I don't know her name. Umeko why aren't you interrogating deeper we need her name if you want to be a star.

Big splash, as the 80s girl says. I don't care for that but I'm being dragged along and it's a chore to deal with bothered teammates.

...

Oh wow that guys looks like a disaster. Must have had shit luck huh. 80s girl's teammate? Looks like it. Her name's Echo? Great, I guess Nura could go search it up or something and -

The powder carpets my entirety.

Oi it got into my eyes you nincompoop!

I open my mouth to speak to this idjit lad. Then the powder gets in there. Ack it's disgusting. I cough, sending colourful spittle everywhere.

And the matches have started.

Great.

I don't even get to change.

[Krayzikk]

Kawaguchi Umeko

@Crimmy, @Onarax

"Well, guess time's up. C'mon, Teàr. We'll see you two later!" The Atlesian native stated cheerfully, squeezing the other member of TSUN's shoulder while she circled around the bench to start walking, hinting at her that it was time to leave. She gave the competition a quick, friendly wave before she turned her back, heading towards the arena. They were going to start picking the matches, now, and she planned to put some names to faces real damn quick. Her smile faded only slightly once she was out of Echo's sight, though it seemed a little more predatory now. She shifted her bag to her other hip casually, brushing a finger over its release mechanism.

Her hand slipped up to the edge of her 'headband', fingering the power switch and uttering a name softly under her breath. The helpful ringing in her ear signaled the call's start, and the click heralded either her target, or an answering machine. Either one would do. "Nura, I've got the boss. Find Silver, would you? I haven't seen her anywhere, and it's pretty irritating. She needs to get her ass to the stadium."

"Met a few competitors, too. If you see a guy in the gaudiest rainbow glitter you've ever seen with a girl that has hair visible from orbit, you've seen them too."

[Forsythe]

Silme & Mikoto

An amused smile appeared on Mikoto's face. "DO you really think that someone from law enforcement would let you goad them into an assault charge and being disqualified out of the tournament where they're the first non-hunter permitted to attend? Tsk. I knew you're, you know-" she made a gesture around her head, "-not all there, but my you really are rather special!" Despite the guy being someone she would gladly made into dust and he seemed to have a bit of a neutral zone in his head, Mikoto found herself rather enjoying the situation. It was certainly the most exciting thing to happen today.

"But I would certainly like to crush your stereotypical beliefs. So If you really think you have more bite than bark, I'll be staying at Beacon for the duration of the tournament. I'm sure we can go 'training'." she suggested, her voice doing the air quotes perfectly. "I'll be attached to team..." she fiddled with her scroll to find the file with her instructions, "MASK, that's it. Do come find me." She finished with a challenging grin.

"Assault Charge?!?! What kind in the name of all hell makes you think I'm gonn- wait a minute, did you say your an actual cop."Silme's anger fueled response died off ever so slightly as he realized how close he could've been to gettin' put ih the jail for assaulting an officer. [i]Thanks to her being a little smartass bitch, I just dodged a bullet. *Tch* I'll have to find this bitch later later on when I don't have such a recognizable mug ready to get put on some wanted posters.//i] "Huh, no wonder you got you panties in such a twist. The police due tend to be like any other gang when it comes their members getting disrespected. Makes your comments even more laughably deplorable and biased then before. As for seeing you in the tournanment, well, . . . . did you say your on Team MASK?"

When the gears finally started moving in the guy's head, Mikoto gave him the slow clap. "Well duh, bias is the condition for argues like these. If the Faunus didn't care for themselves there would have been no war." Shithead. she added in her mind. This guy lived in his own world that shared no laws of logic with the rest of them. "Now, what was it about you knowing gangs? Should I put a surveillance detail on you?" she grinned. No sense telling the guy that she couldn't do much more than call her teacher and ask him to look into it.

Mikoto was certain however that they would meet again. This guy seemed to be shaping up like everything she decided to fight against. It starts with big ego, ends with a house burning and a child orphaned. Unforgivable. "Yeah, that's what my invite said. I take it you know them? I'm not sure how it's supposed to work, don't they already have four people? If your headmaster thinks I will sit this out on the bench he has a scrollcall coming." Frankly, if all hunters had superiority complex like this man, Mikoto would be happy to show them wrong.

"And there you go compaeing the two again like the brain-dead bitch that you are. And go ahead and do it, bitch, I've got nothing to hide from you or your friends down town. Might even give them a few pointers on how to actually be, I don't know, useful." Silme responded, and waited for her to answer his question. Once she did, he found himself stuck between breaking something(like her face) or laughing at the absurdity of the situation, and decided to go with both, .etting out short barks of laughter, before turning around and launching anearby dumpster across the way with an aura-powred kick, causing a bunch of trash to get tossed along the ground. His tail was flicking about in a highly agotated manner as he turned around, his face form a cheeky smirk as he began to walk away, hands in his pockets. "You could say that, and I wouldn't worry about the spot, I heard one of their guys dropped out of Beacon like a little bitch. Patnetic, really, if he could handle what this school got to offer, he really wasn't cut out to be a Hunter. And I guess we'll see if who ever trained your ass was worth whatever sexual favor your flat-ass paid him with."

There was a twitch in Mikoto's eye. Faster than a human should, she had her weapons in her hands. Pointing the wand at the flying trash bin, she played a couple of tunes on her dagger-flute. The container stopped mid-flight and with a swing of Mikoto's arm returned promptly to its place with a metal thud. While she was preventing the littering, she also sneaked in a few notes that flash-froze the ground under this asshole's feet. Spirits, she wanted to deck this guy so badly. But she would settle on making every second of his life an annoyance for now.

Hearing the summons over the loudspeaker, Mikoto sighed. "Looks like we'll have to see whether you're all talk or actually have something to back it up on the field. And puh-lease-" she said, giving her - perfectly shaped, mind you - bum a playful slap, "-You're just jealous because you can't have any."

[greywolf375]

Amari looked at her scrolls map briefly, memorizing the spot that she wanted the team to meet at, as well as the name and face of their newest teammate, one Mikoto by name. She then opens the texting app on her scroll, first texting Silme, "Sil, its time to meet at the coliseum and meet our new teammate. Meet me in X prep room." And then texting Mikoto, saying "Mikoto,it's time for the team to meet up. Come to X prep room. that's where we are meeting." She sent those two messages within moments of each other, and they would likely arrive at about the same time, barring any interference. The subject line says, "Team MASK Meeting Location"

After she finishes sending the messages, she quickly gathers the rest of her gear into a duffle bag, which she slings across her shoulder and skates off, her shoes becoming her skates as the dust in them activates. She revels in the wind rushing through her hair, and across her face, as she speeds over to the meeting location, arriving first. "Now to wait for my teammates. I hope that Sil and Mikoto don't end up at each other's throats... that's how we lost our previous member..." she says to herself, sitting down to wait, making herself comfortable in the prep room.

@Raijinslayer @Forsythe

[Plank Sinatra]

"M o r g a n !"

The iron tones of the Atlesian captain must have carried somewhat harshly over his Scroll, because Brennan was trying his hardest to speak in as clear and unaccented a voice as he had ever been heard to command. Thumb, index, and middle fingers on one hand gripped the Scroll steadily, while his other hand was crammed into his pocket. Brennan himself had lifted his head to the sky wolfishly and was watching it, beholden, for any signs of astrological activity. He loved the first sight of the moon in the late afternoon - loved seeing it in all its shattered glory earlier than anyone else, trying to piece it back together the way that you imagined rearranging broken glass. Ever since he was a boy, he had dreamed of being the man strong enough to reforge the moon.

Even though he was supposed to know better by the age of nineteen, the quest for that strength had been part of the reason he'd enrolled in Atlas late rather than never.

It was one of those perfect late afternoons that Brennan loved to watch from the aluminum crust of Atlas, and the fact that Vale so easily replicated it meant that maybe the podunk little kingdom had more natural beauty than he gave it credit for.

Brennan would have enjoyed it a lot more if he wasn't agitatedly watching the skyline for the other half of his team.

"I won't call you a fourth time. If you don't get here where I can see you in the next ten minutes, I'm going to put a Dust crystal in a train whistle and have Tarik ram it up your arse and blo--" Brennan trailed off and directed his gaze down from the sky, to the realm of the mortals he walked with. He blinked a couple times, almost bewildered, and turned to Noel behind him. His other hand cupped over the Scroll's speakers, insulating Morgan from hearing any further.

"Noel, lass, where's Tarik?"

"He took the locomotive!" his teammate said cheerfully.

Brennan's eyes opened fully, and slowly his strong jaw went a little slack.

"He took the lo--we're--the matches are--!" he sputtered, before gesturing angrily at the Amity Coliseum and the ground it was built on with his Scroll. "This stadium fucking flies!" The Atlesian visibly collected himself and uncovered his Scroll.

"You there, Morgan? Rescind that threat. If you're not here in ten minutes, I'm going to hogtie your ankle to Veblen Good and go fly fishing for Tarik using your fookin' body!"

"Yeah, Morgan!" Noel echoed. "You better get here on the fly!"

"Shut up, Noel."

"O-kay."

[Lugubrious]

Echo Marine, Tawne Adagio

@crimmy@krayzikk

Through with his spinning and intent on seeing the results of his very intentional powder shower on the new girls, Tawne paid special attention to both Teàrlag and Umeko when his multicolored haze wafted their way. Immense gratification tickled him into snickering when it not only splashed against the purple-haired chick, making her into a stunning example of abstract expressionism, but got into her mouth at the same time and prevented any immediate rebuke. A good prankster, Tawne mused, always seizes the moment.

Eager to continue the art show, he turned a keen eye to Umeko, but found to his complete consternation that every grain of vibrant powder to drift her way coalesced into a clump that somehow went around her, saving her admittedly stylish clothes from even a single stain. Tawne made no comment, instead shifting his eyes to the nearest speaker as Professor Oobleck’s announcement came through, but in his mind he thought, I wasn’t looking for anything but a little mischief, but it looks like I might have found something. There’s no way that all that powder could have just revolved around her like that—it must have been her semblance, or maybe even dust in her clothes. She’s nothing like me, though, so it can’t be spinning. He glanced at the huntress in question when she introduced herself following the summons. “’I don’t I met you’? I think you mighta forgotten a word or two in there, Kawa. Can I call you Kawa? Thanks.” The next moment, Tawne’s gaze returned instinctively to her rainbow-colored teammate, for the realization that she would be fighting looking like that gave him a sneering grin.

The next moment, the four acquaintances split off to find their respective teams. Tawne returned Umeko’s wave, albeit in the rigid fashion of only turning his wrist slightly. ”Adieu, adieu!” He turned to Echo, regarding him with the same unpleasant smile inspired by the sight of Teàrlag. Acting in subconscious unison, the two most aggressive members of BEAT began toward the floating coliseum, trusting there to be a convenient airship dock in their path to ferry them up, up, and away. ”Havin’ fun getting’ all chummy with the competition, Ech?” With crossed arms, he wondered whether or not his companion’s aim had been pleasantry or espionage.

Echo shrugged, reeking of nonchalance. For the past half minute she’d been manufacturing a message to her absent allies Burgundy and Albus:
Subject Line: Ready for a BEATdown?
Body: Tawne and I are going up to the arena. We’ll stick around the main entrance. Meet you there.

Pressing send, she replied, “Kawaguchi’s kinda full of herself. Seriously, she thinks she’s gonna get merchandise? Pah. The other one, Teàr I think I heard, is the quiet type. They’re like polar opposites. Not bad for only a minute or two of time with ‘em, but it ain’t enough to keep us from smashin’ ‘em flat if we fight ‘em.” Just then, she caught sight of an airship dock taking up civilians and challengers alike to the arena above. Directing Tawne toward it, the two set off.

[pyroman]

"Up to the.... Up?" Burgundy looked at her scroll in confusion, reading the single message from her teammates over and over again to make sure that it wasn't a typo of any sort. Due to the lack of asterisk followed by a word or set of words, Burgundy could only assume that Echo did, in fact mean, up.

When the announcement about the tournament happening soon rung aloud, Burgundy wondered where the arena was and how she was going to get there. Like the pristine Atlas, she assumed that there would be some sort of metro or immediate transport system that would allow her to get there in an instant. Like Atlas, she assumed that it also would have been a closed circuit, staying away from the walls of the city, but still reach out far enough to get where one needed to quickly. However, she should have known better. Vale was obviously much more in touch with its natural side than Atlas was, and she shouldn't have expected such an advanced travel system to be fully implemented into the city. Especially with the failure of Mountain Glenn, she shouldn't have even thought about that being a possibility for Vale.

Burgundy wandered around, looking about for the stadium. Soon enough, right there in the sky, was a flying fortress similar to Atlas' own airships, hovering in the sky.

"Up."

She found a means to get there soon enough, taking one of the public bullheads with the festival-goers to get there.