A pair of hunters stood on a cliff that overlooked a group of four humans cowering against the attack of four Griffons. The slighter one, a female moved to jump down, but the male stopped her with a simple grab of her wrist. The female, amber eyes blazing, turned to face her partner. "Don't start this again Glacier. They need our help." The light brunette ripped her wrist free of Glacier's hand. "You can help me, but don't try to stop me." Without waiting for Glacier to reply, the female jumped from the cliff edge.
"Tawny!" Glacier shouted, watching the female jump from the ledge. Grumbling angrily to himself, he followed the other into the fray of battle. Pulling his weapon free of his holster, he took aim with the high caliber rifle and fired several shots at first one of the Griffons, then switched to another one when it approached, effectively drawing two of the four away from the cowering humans. Pathetic. Honestly, if the citizens were going to live on the outskirts of their cities, then they deserved to die if they didn't know how to defend themselves. He kept switching between the two Griffons to keep them at bay, but when the distance between he and the Grimm grew slim, the white haired male changed tactics. Instead of firing at the closer of the two, Glacier instead switched to the farther one, keeping it away from him while he dealt with its buddy. The Griffon closed in, and Glacier's weapon switched forms, the rifle separating into two separate weapons, two khukuri knives. When the Griffon neared, he stabbed the first one down, hooking into one of its wings. The creature screamed, but didn't land, and even more importantly, didn't crash. Glacier smirked as he used both blades to climb forward off the wing of the creature, to better set his balance. Once he made it onto the back of the creature, the white haired male dug one of the blades into the back of the Grimm, and used the other to shoot at the other Griffon that circled above.
He risked a glance at Tawny, just to make sure the female was doing alright. Tawny hated it when her teammates treated her like something to be protected, but Glacier knew just how capable the young spitfire could be. She may have been the smallest amongst their team, but what she lacked in strength and durability she made up in agility and flexibility. Watching Tawny fight was like watching a dancer perform a dizzying dance full of flips, jumps, and rolling dives. It was a lethal dance, but it was a dance all the same, and no one performed it better than Tawny. Her rapier moved elegantly through the air, each strike of its thin blade accurate.
It was time to end this aerial assault and finish these creatures off where he had more of an advantage. Glacier ripped the khukuri knife free from the Griffon's back, another yell of both anger and pain assaulting his ears from the beast. He aimed both knives at the head that protruded from the back like a gigantic horse, and took aim. The blades of both weapons parted down to the center, the top half sliding up while the bottom slid down. The chamber now free, Glacier held the trigger to the weapons in, and bullet after bullet tore from the automatic pistols into the Griffon's head. It didn't take many for the creature to die, and soon both Grimm and Huntsman were in a downward spiral.
"Hang on!" Tawny pointed two fingers at him, and a white symbol appeared just before his chest, a similar shape appearing on the ground. His speed slowed, the power of Tawny's semblance repelling both he and the two glyphs against each other. When his momentum died, both symbols disappeared, and Glacier's speed started rebuilding, but Tawny had slowed him down enough that when he landed, he landed safely. Once on the ground, Glacier glanced back around. Both of the Griffons Tawny had been fighting lay on the ground, their bodies disintegrating into nothingness.
"Tawny!" His voice was a command, though no other was given. The two of them had been partners long enough to know what the other was planning without needing to say anything. The copper haired female nodded, pointing two fingers at Glacier's weapon, which had by now transformed into its third form, a double bladed partisan. The same white symbol that appeared on Glacier earlier was now on the partisan, and the female pointed her two fingers at the Griffon, which was starting to descend on them by now. A replica of the very same symbol appeared on the Grimm's chest, only instead of being white, this one was black. Glacier's weapon sped towards the Griffon, piercing directly into its chest. The symbol on the Griffon's chest flipped over, changing from black to white, and the weapon tore through the back of the creature's neck, repelled by the symbol. It flipped from white to black again, and the partisan changed direction once more, this time sliding through the back of the neck and emerging through the Griffon's chest when the symbol was flipped once more.
The Griffon's piercing scream was cut off abruptly as it died, falling from the sky while its body disintegrated. Glacier smiled. He'd always found Tawny's semblance useful, especially as her control over it grew. When his partisan was returned back to the ground, he picked the weapon up and it separated back into its original khukuri knives, which he sheathed against each of his hips.
Tawny offered him a kind smile, her eyes shining in gratitude. Though her earlier words had been unkind, Glacier knew she did not mean a single one of them. Tawny preferred to have him fighting by her side, the two of them were so flawless when they fought beside one another. Glacier made up for her shortcomings, and she always had his back, tempering his recklessness with a cautious use of her own abilities to make sure he avoided whatever trouble Glacier found himself in that time.
"Thank you Glace."
"Anytime, doe." She rolled her eyes at his pet name, but laughed all the same at the words of endearment. Tawny turned back to the scared humans, who were staring up at the hunters in awe. The youngest of the group, no older than twelve, had eyes blown wide. "Wait a second, I know you two! You're from team Granite!" But he seemed to only now missing the two members of their team, and looked around. "Where's Roan and Neel? I thought they were part of the team too." Glacier scoffed and turned away.
"Not here."
Tawny glared at him, then turned back to the child. "Why don't we walk you home? I'm sure we can handle any monster that comes out of the woods tonight." The blonde child smiled, and grabbed Tawny's arm, leading her back towards his village. Glacier followed at a slower pace, really not in the mood to deal with the child's insistent questions that Tawny seemed all too willing to answer.
Neither hunter heard the cry of the Nevermore until it was too late.
Roan started when he heard the door kicked open. The male jumped from his bed, grabbing Jaded Pyre from his dresser as he carefully stalked through the shadows of his home, eyes searching for the intruder, weapon held at the ready to defend he and his two children, should the situation call for it. Roan did not know who thought it was a good idea to stalk into his house during the middle of the night, but it would definitely be the last time tonight. He may not be actively taking missions, but that did not mean that Roan still did not know how to fight. And he would prove that to whoever thought to thieve from him.
First he peered into his daughter Crystal's room to make sure the younger girl was alright, but nothing stirred within, not even her. But then again, Crystal was notorious for her heavy sleeping. She'd be able to sleep though a Goliath smashing down the house, he was sure. Cole was different. His son was a light sleeper, and the moment he closed Crystal's door, the boy was beside him, staring up at the male anxiously. Roan smiled down at the young child, holding a hand up to his lips to command silence, which Cole obeyed. "Go and stay with your sister. Make sure she's safe. No matter what you hear Cole, you do not come out unless I tell you to. Go." Cole slipped into his sister's room, and Roan continued his search.
It was the spare bedroom he found the intruder in. Roan stiffened when he noticed who stood there, but forced himself to relax when Glacier turned to face him. "What happened?" Because he knew something had to. Glacier never came here, and the fact he was now, well, it definitely wasn't good news he brought. "Where's Tawny?"
"Dead."
His voice was so detached, so emotionless when he spoke, and Roan was utterly still for a few seconds as the words wrapped themselves around his brain, but his brain didn't seem to want to accept the words as reality. "How?" The word was breathless, and Glacier was silent for a long time that he didn't think the white haired male had heard him. He opened his mouth to repeat, but closed it when Glacier started his explanation.
"A Nevermore. She insisted on helping some humans who were under attack by Griffons. We killed them, and she was too distracted by a boy that she missed the Nevermore until it was too late." Glacier's voice took on the quality of his namesake, and it sent chills running through Roan's body. At Beacon, Glacier had been a capable leader, cold and detached, but efficient. Glacier had changed after school, and it tore their team apart. Eventually, they went their separate ways, but Tawny wanted to stay with Glacier. Roan had been upset, but she was convinced she could fix him, like he was some broken being that she could meticulously piece back together. Glacier pulled something from the inside pocket of his jacket, something Roan recognized instantly. It was Femme Fatale. It was Tawny's sword.
Roan collapsed into an armchair, his hands covering his face. What Glacier said was true: Tawny was truly gone. Her smiling face was etched just behind his eyes, taunting him. He could picture everything about her in that moment: her long copper hair, her light green eyes, her sweet smile.
"It was the humans' fault. She died protecting them because they can't protect themselves." Roan's head shot up at that. Glacier had been saying the same words for years, and he'd been trying to get the Council to pass mandatory classes to train hunters, if only to protect their villages. Each time, he'd been denied.
"She was a huntress, Glacier. You know how much that meant to her."
Glacier's eyes turned sharply to him, blazing angrily. "She wouldn't have died tonight if those humans hadn't been so defenseless!" The male was seething. "We train to fight Grimm, too many of us die because everyone else is too scared or too lazy to pick up a damned sword and defend themselves! Why do we have to fight and die in their places!?"
"Because that's what Huntsmen and Huntresses do, Glacier. That is what we signed up for, and we knew what we were signing up for."
"I'm going to put a stop to it. That's the very least I can do for her."
"You know that is not what she would have wanted, Glacier."
"How could you know what she wanted! You left six years ago. You were her brother, but I was the one who always did your job. You're a coward Roan, a bloody coward. I will put a stop to this. And if you get in my way Roan, I swear I will cut you down." Roan didn't have a chance to reply, Glacier had already turned and was striding from the room.
I am not happy with the confrontation between Glacier and Roan, but it's almost 3 AM and I wanted to get this up tonight. So here's how this SYOC will work: I'm looking for seven characters to complete two teams. The deadline to turn in applications is August 31st. Applications will be by PM only, that way I can get in touch with you if I have questions for you. A blank form of the following application is found on my profile.
Oh, and if anyone's interested, here are the name meanings between the characters mentioned in this chapter:
Glacier: A large landmass of ice. Ice is white, therefore, the name makes you think of the color white.
Tawny: An orange-brown or yellow-brown color.
Roan: A type of color that's mixed with other colors, usually chestnut, black, or bay mixed with white.
Neel: An Indian name meaning sky blue
Granite: A light colored igneous rock
Cole: Middle English meaning swarthy, coal-black, and charcoal
Crystal: A solid material that forms a crystal lattice. Usually light in color, it brings the color white to mind.
Name: Include full name and any nicknames they may have/other people have given them
Reasoning: All names must be a color, relate to a color, or make you think of a color. If you're having difficulty, I wouldn't mind receiving PMs and I'll do my best to help.
Age: Age 17 is preferred. The main teams will be in their first year.
Gender: Male or female. If they identify as a different gender than what they were 'born as' state that as well.
Species: Human or faunus.
Sexuality: Hetero, homo, demi, pan, asexual, etc.
Region: The region they were originally born in. The story will take place at Beacon Academy in Vale
Physical appearance: Include general height, weight, skin tone, hair appearance and color, eye color, any scars/tattoos/birthmarks, and anything else that pertains to your character. I want to visualize what they look like in my head. If your character is a faunus, include that here as well.
Look alike: Alternatively, if you know a character that you want them to look like, you can list it here instead. They can be either a celebrity or an anime character, since RWBY itself is animated.
Battle gear: What they wear into battle. This does not have to be armor (most characters actually don't wear it in the series).
Normal wear: If it's different than their battle gear, describe it here.
Sleep wear: What they wear to bed.
Swim wear: What they wear swimming.
Formal wear: What they would wear to a formal event, like a dance.
Likes: At least 5.
Dislikes: At least 5.
Strengths: Personality strengths, not fighting strengths. Minimum of 4, keep it balanced with weaknesses.
Weaknesses: Personality flaws, not fighting flaws. Minimum of 4, keep it balanced with strengths.
Overall personality: An in-depth look at your character. Detail is key here. At minimum, it has to be a paragraph with five complete, detailed sentences. I want to portray your characters accurately and I can't do that without details.
Family: List their names, occupations, and a brief view on their relationship here.
History: Tell me about your character's past.
Weapon: Name, transformation, and general description of its various forms, and the limitations of each (ammo count, dust containers, etc.) Most weapons have both a melee and a ranged form.
Semblance: Name and description of your character's semblance, should they have one. If they do have one, describe it in detail, give examples of uses, weaknesses it has, etc. If you're stuck on ideas, do some research. Look up different powers various characters have in different things (anime, movies, tv, etc.). Another good source would be to google "list of superpowers" and click the first wiki page.
Fighting style: Your character's fighting style. This must make sense with both the semblance and the weapon. For instance, Yang is a brawler, and her weapon is gauntlets and shotguns, both are meant for shorter range and heavy hitting, while her semblance makes her stronger with every hit she takes.
Strengths: Fighting strengths. At least 4.
Weaknesses: Fighting weaknesses. At least 4.
Quotes: At least five good examples of dialogue for your character. How they interact with friends, something they'd say in a fight, what they'd say to someone they didn't like, etc.
Theme song: Optional. If there's a song that seems to fit your character, please list it here. Sometimes songs help give insight into your character.
Plot ideas: They don't have to be anything major, I'd just like a few ideas of what you would like to see done with your character. Please keep in mind this is no guarantee it will happen, these are merely just suggestions.
Other: Any additional information you wish to tell me can be posted here.
And that's that! It's long I know, but I want detail about these characters. I look forward to seeing some amazing characters submitted!