Last night was normal to Kalinin, to say the least. It started off normally enough: Had dinner at the mess hall, gathered at the gymnasium right after, killed some time with a Scroll game before lights out, joined a grid of sleeping mats, bags, and the occasional tent. Those jerks. And then everyone went to bed. Nothing really out of the ordinary other than people sleeping in tents indoors. Seriously, who does that when there are other people sleeping in the same room?
It was the morning after that things got weird to her. Bertha barged into the gym, looking like death warmed over her and then held the funeral right after. Making mention of that would probably be a bad idea, considering her more than hostile attitude, she's clearly out for blood. Kalinin was glad not to be the one receiving that ire or at least assumed she didn't.
After changing out of her nightwear, an oversized white shirt with red dots scattered in no particular pattern and red shorts, and putting her night things into her bag and, consequently, her locker, she went to go get breakfast in the mess hall.
The short one managed to snag a plate of eggs and toast for a light meal. The irony of food choice was not lost on her but was lost on anyone that didn't know her well. Finding a seat was easy this late in the morning and Kalinin managed to find seats available next to the guy who was obviously a vampire, who decided to wear a t-shirt instead of a thermal sweater. Odd choice considering the weather was being a bit more chilly than usual; probably not a local or something. Across from him and diagonally to Kalinin was a brown-haired person who was probably a girl if what little of their figure Kalinin could see past the covering has anything to say about it. The stranger's hair was a closed umbrella and also wet. She probably didn't dry her hair all the way after a shower or something. The girl's clothes reminded Kalinin of a cloudless sunset.
Kalinin gave a quick wave to to Schwalb and took a seat after given a return wave.
"Either of you know what happened to the girl who took a dirt nap?" Kalinin asked before buttering her toast.
"I think you just answered your own question," the umbrella responded as a cereal-loaded spoon passed into her hair. Yet, not a drip of milk touched or stayed on her hair.
"True, but I mean how or why?"
Schwalb put a finger up and interjected, "I'm sorry, who took a dirt nap?"
"Oh!" Aichi chirped after swallowing, "The strapping woman from your hometown! Bertha, if I recall correctly. She apparently attacked another student for taunting her and lost. Anyway, we should hurry and do what we must before Initiation, hmm?"
Aichi pulled up a holographic clock using her Scroll to emphasize what little time is left.
"We're still going to talk about this later, right?"
"Of course."
The trio began digging into whatever they have opted for as a meal and went their separate ways to prepare for the Initiation; Kalinin still wondered how Aichi ate without moving all that hair in the way, but that was a mystery to be solved another day. Instead, she went back to the locker room to gather her gear.
A short while later, she, as well as the other students, found themselves on a Bullhead; while blindfolded. Needless to say, Kalinin did not take this well; she winced at every tilt, turn, stop, and sway the vehicle made and had to use all her willpower not to remove the blindfold too early. And also to not jump off the Bullhead immediately.
Someone, presumably the headmistress again, hard to tell with them having to yell over the Bullhead, informed everyone that this year's Initiation will involve us exiting via falling out of the Bullhead into designated but randomly chosen points at Lime Lake Labyrinth and finding our way back to the Bullhead on the other side.
The lake had long since dried and a combination of natural and manmade canyons transformed the place into its maze-like state with only one walkable exit. How it was reached was fair game to any method as long as four conditions were met: No one was allowed to climb over or severely tamper with the walls, we were to partner with the first partnerless person we made physical contact with, we were to retrieve an item that was revealed once everyone has landed, and we were to exit the maze in fours if the remaining number of students allowed for it; however, who we exit with does not necessarily make a team. Additionally, there were Grimm that had made the canyons their home and should be dealt with when encountered.
For all Kalinin cared, although the instructions were stowed away for later, she would solo fight a Deathstalker with a butter knife if it meant getting out of the Bullhead sooner; unbeknownst to her, some of the other students were already getting her wish granted to them. Lucky them, in a way.
As soon as the Initiation started, Zuckers planned on kicking Seiten's ass. Not because of being buried alive, mind you; the brunette was mostly acting in self-defense and Zuckers respected that. And Seiten had the courtesy to leave her attacker's head out of the dirt as well as in the shade while Zuckers was incapacitated. The reason for her bloodlust was because the shield-user's line of questioning and behavior the previous night was clearly a test; she had to have known Zucker's reason for coming to Shade or she wouldn't have asked about the former's association with Messer: She knew about the assignment. For that she had to be silenced. Not by having her killed, the Academy was sure to have ample surveillance, but by beating her into submission.
On a related note, did Seiten tell Messer of the assignment? Zuckers was certain of it; why else would Messer had ran off? That wink must had been a signal to leave. What having left would accomplish, Zuckers was uncertain, but she was determined to find out.
And if the increasingly frequent pauses of the Bullhead and the flashes of sudden breezes indicated anything, she was going to find out soon. Zuckers' blindfold was removed and her view was comprised of the headmistress' visage, who then stepped back after showing the blindfold in her hand.
Looking at her face, one wouldn't think of her as anywhere above middle-aged, but her hair told another story. She wore a simple braid that rested on a shoulder with bunches of silver and grey strands adorning what would had been completely orange hair. She smiled and placed a finger on her own lips to ask for silence. After confirming Zuckers wouldn't speak, the headmistress abruptly nudged Zuckers out of the Bullhead with an immaculately polished boot.
Zuckers' Scroll beeped and a quick peek of the screen alerted the falling woman where to land in the labyrinth until the Initiation officially started or else be disqualified. Zuckers stowed away her Scroll and whipped out the large metal cylinder that was as long as the owner's arm, was as wide as her head, and was strapped to her back. She pulled at a slot along one end and out from came a handle that locked into place with a click. A firm grasp and a quick twist of the handle caused both ends of the cylinder to open. It was still a seconds to the ground. Zuckers positioned herself to a nosedive and wound up a punch with the arm holding the cylinder. It was when she was about to make contact that she swung.
There was an explosion at the landing zone.
And Zuckers rolled out of it with a bead of sweat, but without a scratch. The cylinder turned out to be an oversized rocket launcher as white smoke wafted from the end closer to the wielder's shoulder.
A dozen Beowolves approached the huntress-in-training, likely attracted by the noise.
Zuckers flashed her attention to her Scroll, the Initiation had yet to start. She grumbled and prepared to fight until the start; the Beowolves had already made their approach with charges or leaps. The muscled woman fired at the closest groups, blowing away more than half with ease. The first Grimm that managed to be reach Zuckers were met with a side swing of the rocket launcher, the longer end arcing to the Beowulf. The collision ended with a satisfying splat of the Grimm's head. The remains of the group met similar fates as they attempted to attack
Once certain, no Grimm were standing, the rocketeer brushed off any dirt on her person and replace a cartridge at the end away from the handle. The moment of isolation vanished when Zuckers' Scroll beeped again; the Initiation had officially begun and the items to be found revealed.
Once reading what the items were, the blond cursed, "This is-"
"-too easy," Aichi claimed to no one, "Finding a cased tarot card should be a breeze. Just gotta make sure I find to partner with someone I like."
And with that, the brunette pulls out her Scroll and sets her shield on the ground, flat side down; it whirred to life and drilled into the dirt underneath. Once it reached around ten feet, the shield repositioned itself to one side of the hole and drilled forward. Aichi hopped into the resulting hole and maintained pace behind the shield.
Nothing of interest happened on the walk aside from the occasional Grimm find its way into the tunnel, but the tight spacing made dispatching them an effortless task as a flick on a Scroll and a turn of the shield-drill. Aichi did have to dig small venting holes and check her position every now and then, but that was about the greater extent of her efforts.
It wasn't until a good half-hour that something finally happened; the brunette was digging her latest vent that she had heard an explosion. She surfaced and looked beyond her shield to find the source of the noise: It was long, a little-bit-tan, and handsome standing off against a pair of Ursai. If the lingering black smoke and the dozen or so knives littered around the area was any indication, there were more Grimm earlier. Schwalb didn't seem to be making any moves against the Grimm and instead chose to stand as far up the maze walls as legally possible, probably tired from fighting. The Ursai themselves paced underneath, presumably waiting for the boy the come down or for a new target to arrive.
Aichi smiled at her good fortune and decided to help the statuesque lad before her. She dove back underground and tunneled her way underneath one of the Ursai. The curtained woman then tapped away at her Scroll and from her shield flew out two small spiral drills. The drills then shot through the ground and bored their way into the Ursa's head and chest, slaying the beast; they then maneuvered their way into the second, repeating the process. Aichi decided not to reveal herself just yet, wondering why the boy decided to stick around and rest when he could have just left by running along the wall.
Once the fallen Grimm had began dissipating, Schwalb walked down from his position and went to pick up a pair two pieces of glass on the ground. As he reached down for them, the ground beneath it gave way, taking the pieces with it; and a hand, an olive and dainty hand, shot through the resulting hole. The hand grabbed his and pulled him in, throwing off any semblance of balance; the boy shut his eyes and braced for the oncoming impact with the ground.
To Schwalb's surprise, the ground around his face was softer than the rest… and smelled like shampoo? The confused huntsman-in-training slowly opened his eyes to the sight of Aichi's, her hair out of the way of her face. Hers were closed though, enjoying whatever sensation the owner was experiencing. To top it all off, their lips were locked together in a one-sided passion. Mutual passion, as he started to enjoy the sensations coming to his mouth, chest, and the hand still holding his classmate's.
Aichi broke the kiss and the handholding and pulled herself out of the hole, all the while brushing off dirt from her person. At least, if there were dirt on her person in the first place. How that was possible when she had been underground for only her knows how long is an unsolvable mystery.
The woman asked, no, quipped, "Are these your cards, partner?"
She revealed the two pieces of glass in her hand, encased within either of them a tarot card, an ace and a two of cups.
A/N: Sorry, Schwalb. You'll get more story focus soon (eventually).
I'd like to think I'm getting more comfortable at writing the narration habits that occur depending on the character focus, correct me if I'm wrong.
Anyway, it was come to my attention that I will be needing to populate Shade eventually. I already have the faculty squared off and there is also Teams NDGO and BRNZ for fellow students, but it doesn't hurt to have options. So, if you have any Shade Academy student OC teams you'd be comfortable sharing with me to use here and there, that'd be fantastic. Just be warned, that does not guarantee I will be using your OCs if you submit any. But that'll be a bridge to cross later.
And just for the heck of it, anyone who can guess what the naming theme of Team KABM is by let's say before chapter 5, will have their OC team be a recurring and involved cast for the rest of the story. The team comp and everything that comes with it must still be approved by me.
I'll be giving three hints: 1) Schwalb and Bertha being from the same hometown was influenced by the theme. 2) The spelling of everyone's names were altered to avoid the theme being too blatant. 3) Incidentally, the countries associated with the name origins bring to mind early World War 2 alliances/pacts.
And, if it helps, a recap of the team members full names: Kalinin Kesvena, Aichi Seiten, Bertha Zuckers, and Schwalb Messer.
And as usual, reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.