The sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky overlooking a vast forest of emerald green. A breeze played across the treetops, toying with the leaves until it met the face of a large cliff and was diverted. Much of the flow simply turned, following the rocks along left and right, but the warmer air had loftier ambitions and crawled up the face of the cliff until it reached the top and was swept away by a cold wind. There, a young man stood at attention, straining to hear the final words from the headmaster standing further down a line of students. The gust of wind whipped past him, ruffling his short brown hair and stealing the words of the silver haired man before him. Fortunately, the instructions were clear and simple: Find a partner and acquire a relic from the temple in the forest. Further explanation was hardly needed. However, there were still two small problems;
"You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die"
Of course this wouldn't just be a relaxing hike through the woods. That's not the life he or any of the others stood alongside him had chosen. They were to be Huntsmen and Huntresses. The first, and last line of defense against the forces that have sought mankind's downfall since time immemorial. The creatures of Grimm. These primordial beasts, however, were less an issue to the boy than his more immediate concern.
"Are there any questions?"
...
"Good. Now, take your positions"
The Boy looked down at what he expected would be his greatest challenge of the day. On his torso, he wore a set of armor comprised of a thick leather cuirass with many overlapping strips of metal sewn across it. His legs were guarded by simple plates of strong steel, segmented at the knees so as not to impede his movement. On his arms, he wore a pair of vambraces. The one on his right was a simple hardened leather affair without any thought spared for aesthetics, but on his left arm was a burnished metal guard exquisitely crafted to resemble a large army ant, its mandibles locked open. All of this gear added up to one unavoidable problem; He was heavy.
Beside him, one of the plates upon which each student stood activated and flung a stranger high into the air. He was suddenly reminded of the words he'd once had from the pilot of a Bullhead airship he'd once met.
"Flying is easy kid. It's landing that'll getcha." He'd thought it was a joke at the time given the cocky grin it had been delivered with, but thinking back now he could practically hear the tightness in the pilot's laugh.
He didn't have long to worry about this however, for no sooner had He staggered his feet and bent his knees into what he could only assume was the proper position for being launched into the great blue abyss, he felt a great weight press against him as he accelerated suddenly and found himself hundreds of feet above the verdant green forest. Flailing his arms in great circles, he tried to keep himself upright. Right now, the only thing slowing him down was the air buffeting him and he expected to need all the help he could get. The forest, and more importantly, the ground, grew nearer every moment and he knew he only had one shot.
"Moment of truth. Let's hope your aim's improved"
He thought as he crashed through the top layers of leaves and his aura flared a deep olive green as several thin branches bent and cracked against him. When he'd cleared the canopy he scanned around for half an instant, finding the thickest, sturdiest looking branch ahead of him and lashed out at it with his left arm. The bronze colored ant attached to his forearm sprung to life in an instant. Its head shot forward, trailing a thin chain along behind it. The mandibles embedded themselves deep into the wood of the branch, and the boy felt his shoulder strain against the anchorage as his momentum now swung him quickly forward. The arc of his swing brought him fairly close to the ground, no more than fifteen feet or so. At the apex of the swing he made his move. A quick twitch of muscle and the mechanism within the vambrace was released. The ant's head let go of the branch, retracted and reattached to its body. Now untethered, the boy shot through the forest like a cannonball. All the force that Remnant had exerted to pull him to the ground was now being directed against the trees. Branches and boughs battered and scraped against his armor as he flew by, and often through them. Each hard impact greeted by another flash of soft green light. When finally he reached the ground, He tucked his knees to his chest as much as his armor plates would allow and braced his head in his hands. He bounced once before sliding and rolling to a slow crunching stop, digging a shallow furrow through the loamy earth as he passed.
"Graceful as flying elephant" The boy muttered, His voice rumbling in a deep tenor. He lay there for an instant, relieved to still be breathing before he remembered where he was. Groaning, he got to his feet and reached his left hand across to draw the weapon at his right hip.
"Ribs aren't broken" he mused when the action elicited no pain. He quickly checked the oversized revolver in his hand for damages. The weapon had earned him no small number of "overcompensation" jokes back at Signal, but there was no denying that it did the job. Over 10 pounds, a foot and a half long, and loaded with high caliber rounds, it was unreasonably heavy, utterly unwieldy, and kicked like an angry horse. Perfect for this sort of work. The boy brought the gun to bear and turn a slow circle, scanning the brush surrounding him for signs of hostility. Once content that he wasn't in immediate danger, he drew his Scroll from a pouch on his belt and hooked it onto his right armguard. The display lit up, showing his current aura levels in a simple bar. Currently the indicator was flashing yellow. "Son of a…" he mumbled as he looked up at the hole he'd torn through the forest canopy. "Fell harder than I thought. Haven't been in the yellow in a long time". He rolled his shoulders a few times to shake out the tension in them before he grasped the barrel of his gun in his right hand. Upon touching some hidden mechanism, the barrel extended and the end sealed off. The bottom of the grip flattened and widened into a broad, beveled edge. With a flash of steel and the sharp rasp of metal sliding against metal, the large firearm shifted into a single bladed war-axe. The boy hefted the axe a few times, the weight more comfortable in this form. Swinging the axe a few times, he began cutting his way through the underbrush, making his way northward.
For half an hour the armored youth marched, having found an old path cutting through the trees. He heard occasional gunfire in the distance and the cries of some of the Creatures of Grimm in the woods around him, but none had accosted him. Suddenly, a loud roar upset a small flock of nevermores in a large tree on the path ahead. Several howls sang out in response and the boy felt more than saw swift shadows dashing through the trees on his flanks. The path ahead was rising slightly and he decided that whatever was making that racket, he didn't want to be on the low ground when it found him. He stomped up the slope, hoping to get a look at what may have been coming his way. Just as he reached the top of the slope, a small pink blur shot past him and darted into the woods. He spun on his heels, taken aback by this "surprise attack". Just as he planted his feet and took up a stable stance, he realized his mistake.
"Grimm aren't pink, you idiot" He berated himself as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "And nothing that small roars that loud…" It was then that he heard the heavy footfalls behind him. Spinning again, He saw that he'd emerged into a small clearing. The trees here were spaced further apart than those he'd been walking amongst earlier and this allowed for much more freedom of movement about the area. Freedom that a small pack of beowolves were taking good advantage of. Five of the beasts were spread out in the small arena, eyeing the newcomer. A sixth beowolf, larger than the rest and adorned with many bony ridges along its back and forelegs, was crouched on the far edge, a low growl rumbling in its throat.
"Retreat?" He thought quickly "no, they'd overtake you. Just don't let yourself get surrounded"
Steeling himself, the axe wielder charged to his left, just as the pack decided they'd found their prey. The nearest beast sprang forward, its long forelegs raised high, hoping to crush the young man underfoot. The young Huntsman-to-be caught his foe's attack on his left arm, aura flaring bright around the impact as his axe swept up from below and bit deep into the beasts belly. He let the creature slide onto its side as he spun to his left, digging his heels into the soft earth. He reached for the blade of his axe as it quickly changed back into the large revolver. The second beast had already closed on him. A haze of olive green enveloped his legs as it struck. Sparks flew from his armor as the monster's claws raked across his side, but for all the force of the blow, the boy did not move an inch. In the moment after the impact, He managed to snap the barrel of his gun under the beast's chin and pull the trigger. Wisps of black smoke were drifting from the corpse before it even collapsed.
Returning his weapon to an axe, the boy looked up to find all four remaining creatures bearing down on him. The smallest of the monsters leapt ahead of its pack and was met with the sturdy blade splitting its jaw. Behind the beast, the pack Alpha had reared onto its hind legs and was swinging it's foreleg in a fierce swipe, but the young man could already tell that the creature had misjudged the distance and would miss its target. His mistake was assuming the he himself was that target. The monstrous claws struck the flank of the runt and flung it aside. His axe, still lodged in the creature's skull, was wrenched from his hand as the great beast lunged forward. His feet dug into the earth as he tried to sidestep the beast, but he'd hardly moved before great claws knocked him to his back. A bright flash of green light obscured his vision as the monster crashed its paw into his chest, hoping to crush the life from him. The beast lowered its face to his own and roared its fierce, unknowable hatred at its enemy.
The young man swung a fist overhead, striking the beast on the bony mask covering its face. The Beowolf hardly seemed to feel the blow as it shifted its weight forward. It plunged downward, jaws agape, teeth ready to rend flesh from bone. The boy crossed his arms in front of him in a vain attempt at defense, and so he did not clearly see the purple blur cross over his head. The weight on his chest was lifted and when he parted his arms to look, there was a deep crimson gash carved into the creature's black flesh. To its side stood his savior and the boy would have to admit, she was certainly not what he'd expected. A small girl, White hair hanging down almost to her waist that transitioned gradually to a light pink. She wore an intricate set of armor that covered her legs and midsection. The metal was light purple with complex trails of pink throughout, the same pink as her hair. On her legs, segmented metal plates were complemented with blades from her ankles to her knees, culminating in sharp spikes. Her chest, arms and hands were covered with light purple fabric all the way to her fingers. Bright red lines emblazoned the cloth on her arms.
One of the remaining beowolves howled and charged the newcomer. She nimbly sidestepped the monster's clumsy overhead and struck her small fist into its arm. Angry fire bloomed from the point of impact, knocking the creature off balance. In one fluid motion, she spun on her left foot and kicked through the beast's ankle, severing its foot. The creature flailed wildly, howling its pain before toppling over forward, only to be met with the girl's spiked knee. The alpha glared at the girl and the boy used the distraction to lift his leg to his chest and kick upwards, knocking the beast away. He rolled to his feet, clumps of grass and dirt clinging between the strips of his armor, as he looked around for his weapon. He found it sitting in the grass a short distance away, the beast it had slain already disintegrated.
He took off running towards it, dirt shaking off of his armor and dust puffing beneath his feet as he pounded across the field. The last survivor of the lesser beowolves leapt into his path to intercept him, but he didn't slow his charge. The monster snarled at him and stood tall, holding its claws wide in a threatening display. A grim smirk tugged at the edges of his lips. A dozen trees hadn't stopped him on his descent into this forest, what chance did this scrawny pup have? The boy flung himself into the beast, tackling it to the ground in a heap of meat and metal. He rolled as quickly as he could off of the creature, hoping it had been dazed for even a moment as he lunged past it. Landing mere feet from the haft of his axe, He dragged himself forward with his left arm, extending his right to grab it. Re-armed, he rolled onto his back and lashed out blindly at the snarling shadow as it quickly loomed above him. He felt the familiar tug on his wrist as metal sliced flesh and cracked bone. The black form crumpled lifeless onto the dirt beside him.
He crawled to his feet and casts his eyes around for the young girl who'd helped him. While he'd been busy retrieving his weapon, she had squared off against the alpha, now the last of its pack. The creature had reared up to its full height and beneath it, she truly looked tiny. Barely coming up to the beast's knee, the girl held her ground, hands held defensively in front of her face as she darted side to side, dodging beneath the Alpha's wide swipes. She lunged forward, getting past the creature's guard and began a flurry of fast jabs to its legs, small explosions punctuating each impact. The alpha lifted a leg and tried to crush its diminutive opponent, but she gracefully spun to the side, the stark white plates of its bony armor missing by inches. Completing her spin, she rammed an elbow into the back of its knee, the accompanying blast staggering the monster as it dropped to all fours.
The beast clawed quickly forward getting some distance from its assailant. The girl held her ground, batting aside rocks and earth that the creature's claws dug up and flung into the air. The monstrous creature growled at the tiny brawler and crouched low, head near the ground. A sharp crack tore through the clearing as a small tree nearby exploded into splinters. Moments later, a heavy impact smote the beast's flank. The armored boy was running back into the fray, slowly firing his large handgun, but only hitting the mark every other shot. The monster turned to face him and began to charge. The boy stopped, weapon already changed back to an axe as his eyes dart quickly to the small girl who was already running to catch up to her foe.
When the Alpha reached the boy, the olive green haze had already enveloped his legs. It struck quickly with its left foreleg which met the boy's right vambrace and was deflected to the side. The boy struck quickly, hooking his axe behind one of the creature's white leg spikes. The creature tried to pull away, but found that it was stuck, locked in place by its connection to the unmoving boy. In raged, it struck with its free arm and was met this time by the mandibles of the burnished metal ant locking around yet another spike. The creature thrashed and howled, trying to escape the young boy's confinement.
A small series of taps were suddenly heard as the girl caught up to the creature and nimbly climbed its back, the metal of her boots loud against the Monster's armor plates. When she reached its shoulders, she jumped high, flipping over backwards to look down at the beast in the instant that she hung weightless in the air. As she began to fall her knees curled up into her chest, sending her into a short series of quick flips as she bore back down to the earth. The Alpha looked up and howled its fury at the small purple blur, before her bladed legs met its face.
The bony faceplate cracked loudly as the sharp metal sheared through the front of it, and sliced cleanly through the right half of the creature's jaw. She landed lightly on her feet between the boy, still straining to contain the powerful beast, and the beast itself, suddenly collapsing at their feet. It was the first good look he'd gotten at her and one thing struck him immediately. He'd thought her small earlier, but looking now, it wasn't just because she'd been next to the large creature. This girl couldn't have been five feet tall. Her skin was extremely pale, except for some pink at the end of her small nose. On top of her head, he could see a pair of small rounded ears, pink in the center and covered by short white hair, like those of a mouse. "A Faunus?" He thought as he disengaged from the beast, his axe held at his side as the ant's head flew back to his arm.
"Thanks for the assist." He rumbled as he stepped back from their kill. "That could have been a lot wor…" He paused. The girl eyed him with confusion for a moment as he glanced over her head. The alpha was still there. No black smoke billowed from it, and that was the only warning they'd get. The boy lunged forward, placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and threw her roughly to the side just as the beast made its final move. It lunged forward, batting the boy aside like a ragdoll as it leapt for the edge of the clearing. It turned for a brief moment and glared at them. A portion of its faceplate was missing, small cracks spidered across the rest of it, and half of its lower jaw was gone. It tried to growl at them, a strange gurgling sound, before bounding off into the woods.
The boy watched it go, waiting until he could no longer hear it thrashing against the distant trees before he shut his eyes for a moment, rolled onto his back and breathed deeply a few times.
"Oh my god! Are you okay?"
A voice called to him. It was a light sound, airy but full of concern and no small measure of fear. He opened his eyes to find the girl kneeling beside him, her pink eyes locking onto his own, earthy brown ones. How had he not heard her approaching? He looked at her for a moment before remembering her question. He propped himself up on an elbow and nodded his head.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little bit shook up. What about you? Any damage?"
Relief flooded across the girl's features before he'd even finished his questions.
"Oh thank goodness… They surprised me, and I took off running, and I absolutely didn't know you were there. I can't believe I led them straight too you, I put you in danger, and you could have gotten hurt all because of me!" Her speech was fast and frantic, barely pausing for breath as she sat back on her heels. Then she noticed the scroll on his arm and the solid yellow line, hovering around the 60% mark.
"Oh my god! You did get hurt! I'm so sorry, it's all my fault. Here let me help, please. It's the least I can do for getting you into this mess."
Before he could object, she leaned over him and stared straight into his eyes. Unblinking, she breathed deeply a few times and a light pink shimmer appeared around her body. The boy felt a strange tingling in his head, right behind his eyes. Unbidden, His own aura slowly fazed into being around him. Surprised, he caught a glimpse of his scroll. The small bar had returned to the green and was steadily filling until it had completely recovered. Only then did the girl shut her eyes, both of their aura's fading away.
The young man could feel the bruises and aches he'd acquired during the fight fading away as He looked up at the tiny girl sitting above him, a small smile drawing at her lips as she checked his recovered aura on his scroll.
"Amazing" He breathed quietly as he sat up.
"It's nothing" She mumbled "I mean, you can do that thing with your legs. Stops you from getting knocked around, right?"
"More or less" He said with a shrug. "But that's me using my own aura. You can somehow affect other people's aura? I'd say that's pretty incredible"
The girl blushed slightly and turned away. "The eyes are the window to the soul." She mumbled, remembering how an old teacher had once explained it to her. "All I do is shine a little light through it"
"Well, regardless" He said as he heaved himself to his feet "Thank you, miss…"
"Crystal!" Crystal replied quickly, suddenly realizing the need for introductions "Crystal Murial."
"Myren Aeacres" He said, with a small bow.
Just then, a small notification appeared on both of their scrolls. To each was added a small picture of the other, with their respective aura levels displayed beneath.
"Well then, shall we be off? We've still got a temple to find. Right, partner?" Myren said, looking down at Crystal as she slid her scroll back into a compartment at her back.
"Right" Crystal said with a quick nod before looking up at Myren with a sheepish grin. The pair began walking out of the clearing. The grass beneath Myren's feet trampled into the soft dirt, leaving deep footprints, while behind Crystal, the green blades slowly rose back up, forgetting about her passing soon after.