Neo gave her next target a once over. Some country bumpkin by the looks of him. Sure, the boots were nice, and the leggings were pretty okay, but he looked like he was wearing a green dress, and a short one at that. The goofy green hat wasn't helping either. But that wasn't going to stop her noticing how he held his weapons. A sword and shield - not that there was anything wrong with the classics, people wouldn't use it if it didn't work - sat comfortably in his hands. As young as he looked, he wasn't some newbie. Although, given she was here to stop him wrecking Cinder's plan by singlehandedly decimating the Grim population in the forests near Vale, that was a given.

Cocking her head to the side slightly, Neo locked eyes with him. Most people spoke up by now, but not this guy, not a peep. It was refreshing, some silence. Hard to get around Roman, he loved the sound of his own voice too much, not that she blamed him.

Shaking her head slightly, Neo focused back on her assignment. He was still just looking at her, barely moving. She shifted slightly, and just barely noticed him tense, ready to move. The sword tip shifted slight, shield moving to cover just a fraction of an inch more of his body. Waiting for her to make the first move.

Flashing the newcomer a quick grin, Neo dashed forward, parasol already moving. A quick stab through the throat to end things-

The shield came up, blocking her thrust, and was followed almost instantly by the sword, a quick slash she could feel as it only just missed her. Bending over backwards, Neo dodged under the blade, close enough to see her grin reflected in the metal. Tumbling backwards, Neo flipped her parasol around and dashed forward again. Feinting high, she hooked the curved handle around his ankle and pulled hard.

He backflipped, then rolled to the side, before springing back to his feet, shield raised. Neo just settled her parasol on her shoulder, waiting to see what he would do. He just stood there, eyes focused on her like she was the only thing in the room. It was the kind of look a girl could get used to. Neo gave her parasol a little twirl. She would let him make the first move this time.

He took a single step forward before leaping at her, sword raised high above his head. Neo blocked it almost lazily, but the combined weight of the strike and her opponent forced her to take a step backwards. He somehow landed silently, thrusting his sword at her like a King Taijitu and just as fast. The next handful of seconds were spent warding off possibly the fastest assault she had ever been under. Being the stronger but slower opponent was a new experience for Neo, but not one she disliked. She had just found the rhythm to his attacks, and forced a gap large enough to get her own attack in when he closed the foot-wide gap between them and shoulder checked her. She rocked backwards just long enough for him to grab her by the upper arm and bodily swing her at the ground. She twisted in mid air, bringing her feet under her and rolled, returning the favour.

She lay on the ground next to him for a moment, both of them stunned from the impact. Neo recovered first, getting to her feet and putting some space between them. He was on the ground a fraction of a second longer, rolling to his feet, blood running from his nose.

Wait. Blood? Neo had to take a second look, but that was blood. Had his aura been depleted the whole time? He had been fighting the Grimm for about a week as far as Cinder had been able to tell, so he must have been on his last legs. She was so distracted she almost didn't notice him pulling something out before he pointed it at a nearby tree. There was a quiet click as something shot out, hit the tree and then he was zooming towards it, vanishing amongst the trees seconds later. Neo gave chase, but he clearly knew forests better than she did.

Qrow was worried. He'd been out and about around Vale, just doing some tidying up, clearing out whatever Grimm managed to build up this close to the kingdom, making sure nothing got too big. Normal, everyday Huntsman things. But there were no Grimm.

There were signs of Grimm - prints in the dirt, claw marks in bark, small animals killed but not eaten, but not very many. It looked like someone else had been here and done a very good job, but that shouldn't have been the case. There should have been no other Huntsmen out here, they should have been away on assignments. That was why Ironwood was providing security. Then he saw the blood. He was pretty sure everyone was accounted for at Beacon, but he had snuck out for a few hunts himself when he was a student. But, while he couldn't say anything about it, and Ozpin probably wouldn't, Glynda would tear them a new one. Especially if they were still out here with a depleted aura. It wasn't a lot of blood, and seemed fairly fresh, so they probably weren't dead.

Qrow followed the trail, small as it was, till it ended at the foot of a massive tree. There was just the tiniest bit of blood on the trunk itself. Glancing up, he caught a glimpse of blond hair.

"Hey kid, get down here. We gotta get you back to Beacon before Goodwitch loses her marbles."

There was a pause, then the sound of twigs snapping and a little blond kid dressed in green dropped from the tree about a foot from Qrow, rolling away.

"You got a name kid?" Qrow asks. He nodded, but didn't say anything. "I'm Qrow, by the way." Still nothing. "Good work with the Grimm out here, but maybe stick closer to the school next time. Well, you must be tired. Let's get you back to Beacon, just stay close to me." The kid nodded and fell in step besides Qrow.

Qrow gave the kid - he really needed to find out his name - a look over as they made their way back to the school. The kid was young. He looked like he was about Ruby's age really, and he probably would have heard from her if there was another kid as young as her at Beacon, if not from Ozpin. He wasn't from Signal though, and there was no way he could have made it from one of the other combat schools to here by himself, not at his age. There were some villages outside the kingdoms, but if a kid had wandered away from any of them word would have went up, and they were all days away so there was plenty of time for someone to notice. And besides, none of them dressed like the kid did. He didn't think anyone did, and considering what some Huntsmen wore that was saying something.

Luckily, they weren't too far out from Beacon, so it only took a couple hours to get back. As tired as the kid had to be, he didn't lag behind or even stagger once, just kept going with the sort of dogged determination you really only see in people who walk everywhere nearly all the time.

Despite the lack of conversation, Qrow did manage to learn a few things about Finch. He wasn't new to cities, despite the clothes, but cars of all things caused a bit of surprise, one that was quickly gotten over. After that nothing but tiredness crosses his face as Qrow leads him up to Ozpin's office, having called ahead when they reached Beacon proper. Ozpin was behind his desk, mug in hand, Glynda on his right.

"Found this kid in the forests east of the city. He did quite a number on the Grimm out there. He one of yours?" Qrow asked.

"I have never seen him before," Ozpin said. "So it is very unlikely he goes to Beacon. I may be mistaken, however. Glynda?"

The Huntress was tapping away at her Scroll. "No, I don't recognize him myself, and I'm not finding anyone matching his appearance or weapons in our records. I'm guessing he's not from Signal?" she asked, glancing up at Qrow long enough to see him shake his head. "Hmm. From one of the other schools, perhaps? Here for the tournament? The lists we have should have held the names of every student coming here, but some do sneak over. What do you think, Ozpin?"

"I think I would like to know why our guest hasn't made a sound." The other adults in the room turned to face the blond boy.

"He didn't say anything on the way over here either," Qrow mentioned. "At first I thought he was just worried about being caught doing some extracurricular stuff, but I think he might be mute."

"That makes some things more difficult," Ozpin said, taking a sip of his coffee. "But truth be told I think this can wait until after the tournament. The singles matches are later today, and then there's the award ceremony. Yes, best leave this till tomorrow." Another sip. "But first, can you write your name for us?"

The boy blinked, then started rummaging around his person, producing a lot of pretty strange stuff. There was a boomerang, and going by the metal glinting on the edges not a toy one, a bow and a few dozen arrows, what looked like a handheld grappling hook, some sort of instrument, and then finally a letter. The kid held it like it was the most important thing he owned. He showed it to Qrow, tapping a word.

"Link. Your name is Link?"

The kid - Link now - nodded. Well, it wasn't like Qrow could throw stones in the name department.

"There should be an empty room, on the fourth floor of the east dormitories. Qrow, I'm sure you remember the way? And perhaps, while you're over there, you should stop by and see your niece? I'm sure Miss Xiao Long would greatly appreciate a visit from you."

Qrow knew a dismissal when he heard one. From anyone else, it would have rubbed him the wrong way, but Oz had earned it, so he tapped Link on the shoulder. "C'mon. That means they want us gone so they can talk about us behind our backs."

Five minutes later Link was passed out in his bed, still in his clothes. Closing the door behind him, Qrow decided he might as well go see Yang while he was here. He had planned to leave it for a bit, let her talk to her team, but if Ozpin thought it would help her, then it at least probably wouldn't hurt.