A.N.
Wow, so let me first say that I have gained immense respect for Kerry, Miles and everyone over at Rooster Teeth who create RWBY or any of their content. Coming up with this stuff is hard. It took me forever just to fill out the various Beacon Teams and come up with all their names. On that note, dear lord this chapter took forever. In between real life stuff and the release of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, my output on this has slowed dramatically. But, at last, it's done. So here it is, Chapter 2 of Darkest Before Dawn.
Disclaimer: RWBY, RWBY characters, the world of Remnant and all other associated material and ideas are the property of Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. I lay claim only to the OC that are presented and the story written. Everything else belongs to Monty Oum.
Chapter 2:
"Hope I didn't miss it," Noctis muttered as he entered through the large double doors of the circular building that was indicated as the auditorium. There was a large group of people congregated inside, milling about and chatting amongst themselves.
Noctis breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like he had managed to make it before the ceremony formally began. This was a rare opportunity. Supposedly, the headmaster of Beacon, Professor... Ozpin, was going to make a speech. Noctis stopped a moment and frowned. The staff of Beacon academy were all Huntsmen of great renown. Wanting to know who were to be their instructors, Noctis had read the staff profiles eagerly, naturally amongst them would have been the profile for the headmaster. Yet somehow, for the life of him, he couldn't remember Ozpin's first name. Surely Noctis wouldn't forget something as important as a first name, right? Straining his memory, Noctis tried to recall the information within the profile. Was it... Oscar? No no, that was a fairy tale. Was it... Tywin? Wait... that was from a television show. Groaning in frustration, Noctis rubbed his forehead. He seriously forgot the headmaster's first name. Thing were off to a great start.
"Noctis!"
The sudden sound of his name ringing through the auditorium snapped Noctis from his contemplations. Looking up, he saw Ferrus standing next to Iola who waved gently at him. Brightening, Noctis worked his way through the crowd to the pair.
Iola smiled warmly at Noctis, but Ferrus eyed him before chuckling. "A much more subdued entrance this time," he said.
Noctis appraised Ferrus with a dead pan expression. "You're not going to let that go, are you?"
"Nope," Ferrus replied, without a single shred of hesitation.
Noctis rolled his eyes and sighed. Than, a thought came to his mind. "Say, Ferrus, Iola," Noctis said, as the two of them looked at him in response. "Do you guys know what the Headmaster's name is?"
"Headmaster Ozpin?" Ferrus replied.
"What about his full name?" Noctis went on.
"Oh, that? It's..." Ferrus said, starting confidently but suddenly stopping. "Umm... it's... what was it again?"
"You don't remember?" Iola asked. Ferrus shook his head prompting Iola to continue. "It's... it's... oh my. I seem to have forgotten as well."
Noctis waited a moment as Iola and Ferrus stared blankly at each other. "Really?" he said, "Neither of you remember?"
Ferrus turned to him and shrugged. "I guess I didn't think it was too important."
"I could have sworn I read it somewhere in the directories, though," Iola said, "But... I just can't seem to remember."
"I can't remember either," Noctis added, "Although I know I read his staff profile before I came to Beacon. Why can't I remember his name than?"
Ferrus shrugged. "Why are you so interested?"
"Well, no real reason," Noctis said, "I just recalled that the headmaster was supposed to make a speech at the welcoming ceremony. Than I realized I couldn't remember what his full name was."
"It is somewhat interesting that none of us can seem to recall his name," Iola said, "Although to read the staff profiles before coming to Beacon. That was awfully diligent of-"
"YOU!"
A sudden outburst from behind made all three flinch and turn to see what the commotion was about. Noctis took one look at the figure in white to recognize the situation. It was Weiss again.
"You are lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff," she said harshly at the same red dressed girl from before. For some comical reason, said girl was currently being carried in the arms of a taller blond.
"Oh my god, you really exploded," the blond said in a incredulous voice.
"It was an accident! It was an accident!" Red said as she dismounted from Blond.
"Hmm, I wonder what is going on over there" Iola said.
"Seems like there was an accident," Ferrus replied.
"Oh good, Ferrus. I had been concerned about your hearing lately," Iola said teasingly, "What I am wondering is what kind of accident. The lady in white is certainly making a big fuss."
"I remember. It was a dust accident," Noctis said, "I saw while getting off the plane. The girl in red accidentally detonated some dust."
"Detonated some dust?" Iola said, sounding concerned, "I hope no one was injured."
"They're both here, aren't they," Noctis said.
"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy-to-follow guide to Dust application and practice in the field."
"What a mouthful," Ferrus said, "Wait, Schnee Dust company. Aren't they the largest producers of energy propellent in all of Remnant?"
"Yes," Iola said, "Now that you mention it, she looks a bit familiar" She took a moment to examine Weiss as she continued to accost the girl in the red hood. "And she is wearing the Schnee Dust Company logo. Is she related to them?"
"Yeah," Noctis said, slowly as he considered his options. Should he hide the fact that he knows Weiss? Probably not a good idea. He and Weiss were students at the same school. They were bound to cross paths sooner or later. When they did, it would look suspicious if he acted as if he didn't know her now. Besides, she's the heiress to a massive company. Not strange that people knew of her. "That's Weiss Schnee. She is an heir to the company."
"Weiss Schnee. That's why she looked so familiar," Iola said, "I attended a concert by her recently. She has quite the lovely voice."
"Doesn't sound so lovely to me right now," Ferrus said, "More like the spoiled princess."
"Shush Ferrus. Don't be rude," Iola said, "Although you seemed to recognize Weiss pretty easily, Noctis. Do you know her from somewhere before?"
"Oh well, not personally," Noctis said. But a sudden knot formed in the pit of his stomach. This wasn't the direction he wanted the conversation to go. He didn't want to lie to his friends, but he wasn't ready for this yet. He wasn't so naïve as to think he could hide it for his entire school career but having it revealed before the first term even started was a bit too much. "We've met before when we were younger."
"I see," Iola said, "Interesting. She is the heiress to the most powerful company in Remnant. How would you have had a chance to meet her?"
"Oh ah... well..." Noctis began, stammering slightly as he went. This girl, Iola, was perceptive. But before he could continue, a soft cough over the speakers followed by a slight feedback ring drew everyone's attention and saving Noctis from having to figure out a response.
"*Ahem* I'll keep this brief," Professor Ozpin had began his welcoming speech. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge—to hone your craft and acquire new skills—and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose—direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready." Professor Goodwitch said, stepping up the mike as Professor Ozpin stepped away. "You are dismissed."
"Well, for a welcoming speech, that wasn't very welcoming," Ferrus said, scratching his head.
"It may not have been welcoming," Iola said, "But it was practical. I am pleased to see the Headmaster is obviously an experienced hunter." Having said this, however, Iola looked curiously at the stage. "Albeit a bit distracted."
Noctis nodded. This was good. Knowledge can only get you so far. In the end, experience is the always the best teacher. Looks like the choice to come to Beacon was most definitely not a mistake.
"Well, at least that gets the welcoming ceremony out of the way," Ferrus said, "To the ballroom! It will be like a big slumber party!" And with that, he literally bounced away.
"Ferrus? Wait up," Iola said, "Someone has to keep you from making an fool of yourself in front of the girls!"
Noctis tapped the bottom of his Sabatons pensively as he considered his armor piece. They had been the source of his troubles aboard the dust plane and he had decided to figure out a way to fix that problem. Admittedly, though, he was a bit preoccupied with something else. The remainder of the day after the welcoming ceremony had been a fairly quiet and subdued affair. Noctis, Iola and Ferrus had gone to grab a quick dinner in the Beacon cafeteria before retiring to the ballroom where the rest of the first years were bunking for the night. While Noctis disengaged his battlesuit, Ferrus had gone off to "scope out the possibilities" as he put it and Iola had asked to be excused to the ladies room. Left alone amongst the sleeping bags and the futons, Noctis finally had some time to go over and process his first day at Beacon.
Overall, not a bad start. It seemed that he has made two friends, met others and gotten a good grasp of what life was going to be like here in Beacon. The announcement about the initiation made Noctis a bit apprehensive but that was why he was here. Noctis has had plenty of combat training prior to his entry into Beacon. But they had all been carefully constructed training exercises. There was no substance to his previous experience. He wanted to get a chance to actually experience what combat would be like, to see what it truly entailed to be a huntsman and not just read it out of a text book. He wanted to take that first step. And it seemed like Beacon was going to give that chance to him.
Shaking off his nervousness, Noctis turned his thoughts to a few other matters. Lucis. As he predicted, Noctis had not seen Lucis at the welcoming ceremony. In fact, after their encounter, Noctis had not seen Lucis at all for the remainder of the day. Concerned, Noctis had asked Iola if attendance at the welcoming ceremony was mandatory and Iola had said it was, but the staff don't take attendance or anything. Missing it wouldn't have any consequences. But the fact still remained that the entire purposes of this ceremony was to get settled into Beacon and to meet the rest of the student body. They were training to become Huntsmen, teamwork was going to be important in the future and meeting the rest of the first year students was a crucial step in developing good interplay. Noctis could understand that Lucis might be a solitary sort of person. But Beacon operated in teams. If he couldn't even handle being in a crowd, how would he be able to function as a team member?
A soft faump sound next to Noctis alerted him to the presence of another besides him. Ferrus had returned and sat with a soft groan onto his sleeping bag. He didn't seem to have scored, but he didn't seem too bothered by it. To the contrary, he actually seemed rather cheery.
"No luck?" Noctis asked, seeking to make some conversation.
"Nope," Ferrus replied, but there was no bitterness in his voice. "There are plenty of attractive ladies out there though. I had been chatting with this cute little girl with blue hair, but I think she already had a sweetheart. Oh, and there was a really well endowed blond with frizzy long hair checking me out. But than again, I think she was checking everyone out."
"Hmm," Noctis said in a noncommittal tone, "You don't seem too bothered with your lack of success."
"Noctis," Ferrus said, feigned shock in his voice "I only said I was going to scope out the possibilities. I never said I was going to try and bring one of back."
"What?" Noctis said, pausing a moment, "Normally, employing the idea of scoping something out, they imply that they will go after it as well?"
"Noctis, Noctis, Noctis. Why do you have to take things so literally?" Ferrus said, rolling over and flopping himself onto his back. Crossing his arms behind his head, he continued. "I'm just trying to be friendly. Besides, it takes longer for people to warm up to you. I am not so vain as to believe I am that attractive." There was a poignant pause which drew Noctis's attention. Turning to Ferrus, Noctis was rather surprised to see a gloomy expression pass over Ferrus's face. "Besides... I don't think I am very well suited for love."
Noctis studied Ferrus a moment. It was strange to see him, who had been so upbeat and laid back the entire day, suddenly look so gloomy. "Ferrus? Are you alright?" Noctis asked. "What do you mean by you aren't suited for love?"
"It means he is just too shy to actually go after a girl," Iola said, returning with a small bag of what Noctis could only guess were her toiletries.
"Ah, Iola," Ferrus said, "Ever you wait until the worst possible time to reinsert yourself."
"But you make it so easy," Iola said, stepping gracefully over to her futon and taking a seat. "You guys ready for the initiation tomorrow?"
"Oh yeah," Ferrus said, "Time to show the mighty hunters of Beacon what I can do."
"Careful, Ferrus," Iola said, "The last time you were that excited at Sanctum, you got so keyed up that you spent the entire expedition chasing a wild boar through the woods."
"Hey, it was dark. I thought it was a Boarbatusk," Ferrus said.
"It really wasn't that dark," Iola said to Noctis, "He was just so eager to score his first kill that he ran off without looking."
"Well it's not like you did any better," Ferrus said, "You were so concerned about everybody's safety that you kept everyone fenced into one area. You can laugh at my attempt to kill a harmless pig, but I was the only one who even drew my weapon that day."
Iola stiffened just a tiny bit before retorting quietly, "I was only trying to protect them."
"Yeah, protect them from a good grade," Ferrus added, "Everybody failed that first hunt. We had to do extra combat drills for a week."
Noctis chuckled quietly at their story, but deep down, he felt a little twang of wistful yearning. To have such stories to tell, it must be a wonderful way to reminiscence.
"Well, what about you?" Ferrus said, "Where did you attend combat school."
"Oh," Noctis said, "I didn't go to a combat school. I was... home trained."
"Home trained?" Ferrus said, rolling over to look at Noctis with interest. "Really? That is impressive. Only a rare few can get into Beacon without instruction from one of the combat schools."
"I guess you can say that I had very high quality training," Noctis said. With more emphasis on the training than the high quality, he added mentally afterward. With a sigh, he placed his sabatons back with the rest of his battlesuit and rose from his sleeping bag. He would deal with his battlesuit later. "I'm going to grab a drink. You guys want anything?"
"I'm good, thank you," Iola said while Ferrus simply shook his head and waved him off.
"I'll be right back than," Noctis said and turned from the ballroom.
The corridors of Beacon had grown quite dark by that point. The sun had set a while ago and most of the hallway lights had been turned off. The only source of illumination was the moonlight shining in from the large windows that decorated the outer wall of the hallway. It was not dark enough to make traveling through the hallways difficult, but it was enough to make them seem a bit creepy.
The lunchroom had closed long ago. The food lines were shuttered, the food carts had long since been cleaned and packed away. The food aisles were bare, the tubs that normally held food items gone. There was, however, a single stand still out, bearing jugs of iced water, a few covered plates of fruit and a few ingredients to make very light sandwiches.
"Convenient," Noctis commented, as he approached the stands and poured himself a glass of water.
Cold water proved remarkably quenching for a thirsty throat. Noctis had not realized how long it had been since he had a drink. Downing his first glass, Noctis poured himself another cup. He was about the dip the liquid into his mouth again when a sudden noise drew his attention again. There was a click and a momentary but loud creak. Noctis started and almost spilled his drink. Setting the glass of water down, Noctis turned and looked towards the source of the sound.
"Hello?"
No response. Creeping forward down the dimly lit hallway, and growing ever more nervous with the perfect horror movie surroundings, Noctis reached out with his senses and tried to get a fix on whatever could have made that noise. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. The hall was as empty as it had been when he had first arrived. Every piece of furniture, the sofas at the small lounge area ahead and the evenly spaced pedestals with potted plants and other decorations, were the exact same place as they had been before. Noctis could sense no one. And that was the fact that made him the most jumpy. How could he not sense any presence nearby? Somebody had obviously made that noise. Where did they go?
Then, a new sensation. There was something different. Just a bit further down the hall, one of the windows had been opened. Approaching as quietly as possibly, Noctis found the open window and gently tugged at the wooden frame. It creaked slightly in the exact manner that he had heard just moments ago. This was the source of the noise. But who had made it? It couldn't have just been the wind unless wind here at Beacon knew how to work latches. That was the only explanation for the click he had heard.
Glancing out into the gloom of the night, Noctis could see that there was a walkway directly below the open window. The walkway lead away from the building into a small grove of trees a short distance away. A though came to Noctis. He narrowed his perception, focusing on the forest in front of him and tuning out the rest of the building. The hallways besides him faded away. He had a momentary flash of perception of the ballroom, with the milling of many dozens of bodies before that too faded from his mind's eye. But with the loss of his surroundings, the forest before him grew into greater focus. He could now sense the individual trunk of every tree, feel the slow breeze of the wind through the branches and see the fall and flutter of almost every single loose blown leaf. He could also sense... something. He couldn't get a fix on it, but there was something there, something that tickled just slightly on the edges of his senses. It was like a cloud on a mid summer's day. The second you turned to look for it, it was gone. Most importantly, it was not a wholly unfamiliar feeling.
Noctis sighed softly. This couldn't be a good idea. But he couldn't help himself. He had to go see. Stepping up onto the lip of the open window, Noctis gave one more look around himself to make sure no one could see him before he leaped down into the darkness below.
"Okay, I really ought to start second guessing these decisions," Noctis muttered, as he tried once again to take in his surroundings. Upon hitting the ground after his leap, and cushioning the impact with his aura, Noctis had made his way quickly into the forest before him. The full moon was up and shining brightly in the sky so travel was not difficult, until he had hit the grove. The canopy obscured the moonlight and all of a sudden, travel became quite a bit more hazardous.
Taking a deep breath, Noctis reached out with his senses again. Closer now to his objective, the sensations became a bit more clear. There was somebody here. However, much to Noctis's chagrin, he still could not get a fix on the person's location. It was like seeing a silhouette out of the corner of the eye. It was definitely there, but fleeting and gone the moment you looked closer. Noctis had never encountered such a presence before.
"Hello?" Noctis said, "I know you are out there. Come out."
Nothing answered him besides the whispering of the breeze and hiss of the leaves.
"I'm sorry if I am intruding. I just... wanted to talk," Noctis called. "Please come out."
A sudden flash! The image of a pair of ocean blue eyes with wild ferocity behind them. The hair on the back of Noctis's neck stood up and he sudden felt a surge of pure adrenaline. For a brief but intense moment, Noctis was consumed with an irrational urge to run from the grove, to flee as fast as he could as if he were being pursued, being hunted by something savage, something primal.
Whirling around, Noctis looked up wildly and finally saw, there outlined against the moonlight, the figure of the person he was looking for. With this, the shock of adrenaline faded and the irrational urge to run disappeared.
"Oh!" Noctis gasped, clutching his chest. "There you are. Ugh..."
A moment of silence passed as Noctis panted and waited for her heart rate to come back down.
"How did you locate me?"
Noctis paused for a moment before looking up at the figure above. "I sensed you."
"Sensed? Elaborate?"
"Well it's my..." Noctis began. But a thought occurred to him. During their last conversation, they had done so like this. Noctis had been on the ground and the other had been in a tree. This wasn't a very comfortable way to hold a conversation. "I'll tell you. But only if you get down from there. I'd rather not have to crane my neck up like this the entire conversation."
Noctis waited a moment, allowing the pause to pass between them. He had already grown accustomed to the usual moment of silence that followed each exchange. Then, a flurry of movement. The figure before him leaped from the branches and landed in front of him.
"There, much better. It's nice to see you again, Lucis," Noctis said as he finally regarded his young companion from a much more personal distance. Lucis had not changed his clothing from before. He was still in his day attire of vest and shawl. The only difference that was immediately obvious to Noctis was the large canteen that he had hanging from his shoulder presumably filled with water he just got from the cafeteria. His expression was a bit harder to see in the darkness, but Noctis could tell that he was still staring at him with the same stoic, neutral expression as before. However, at this close range, one feature that Noctis had missed before became pristine clear.
Lucis had a pair of black wolf ears peeking from the hair on his head.
"You're a Faunus?" Noctis said.
This prompted a slight response from Lucis in the form of a tightened lip and a slightly narrowed eyes. Noctis, knowing the sensitivity of such a subject to some, quickly corrected himself.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly, "I meant no disrespect. I just didn't notice last time we met."
Lucis seemed to relax slightly from Noctis's words. When he spoke, it was with the same stoic, even voice as before.
"How did you find me?" he said.
"Ah, that was the deal," Noctis said, "It's my semblance. It's called Aura Vision. I can use my aura to sense my surroundings." Noctis paused a bit before frowning. "Although, it's really hard to sense you even with my semblance. Why is that?"
Lucis averted his gaze just slightly, betraying a shred of discomfort for just an instant. "I wouldn't know," he said, his voice slightly quieter than before.
"Alright," Noctis said, recognizing that he was broaching a subject Lucis didn't want to talk about, "We all have our secrets. Let's move to another topic." Lucis returned his gaze to Noctis which he took as a sign that Lucis was okay with that idea. "What are you doing here? The first years are to gather in the ballroom."
"I dislike crowds," Lucis said, after his trademark pause.
"Dislike enough to spend the night outside?" Noctis asked incredulously.
"I prefer the outdoors," Lucis replied. "I... enjoy maintaining sight of the sky."
"Hmm, I guess I can understand that," Noctis said. "But to spend the night out here too?"
The pause in Lucis's response took a bit longer this time. When he did speak, there was a subtle change in his tone. He sounded just the tiniest bit curious and maybe a little bit concerned.
"Why do you keep seeking me?"
"Hmm?" Noctis said, "What do you mean?"
"Why do you keep coming to find me?" Lucis said.
Noctis regarded Lucis's inquiry a moment before shrugging. "Why not?" Noctis said, "You were one of the first few people I met upon coming to Beacon. I thought we could make friends? Besides, you helped me out during the welcoming ceremony."
Lucis's eyebrows furrowed. "Unwise" he said quietly, "You should not seek my companionship."
"Not wise?" Noctis said, "Why would it not be wise?"
Lucis shook his head and didn't answer the question. "Sustain your distance. It is more advantageous for you," he turned away from Noctis, apparently prepared to leave.
"Hey," Noctis said, quickly. "If I am bothering you when you'd rather be alone, please just let me know. I will leave you in peace. But it's a bit presumptuous for you to decide who I should make friends with for me, don't you think?"
Lucius turned and looked over his shoulder back at Noctis. His gaze was curious and perhaps even a bit surprised. But when he spoke again, his voice returned to his normal, even tone. "You should return. Curfew approaching. You would not wish to be denied re-entry."
And before Noctis could answer, Lucis leaped back up up into the trees, quickly disappearing amongst the darkness of the leaves.
Noctis stared at the location where Lucis vanished. "Denied re-entry?" he muttered to himself with a small grin. He hadn't noticed how weird Lucis's choice of diction was. But on the other hand, he was also a bit hopeful. Lucis hadn't said he was being bothered. Raising his voice to a more audible lever, Noctis called, "See you at initiation than." With his farewell done, he turned and headed back towards the school building.
"So, sleep well?" Ferrus asked as he keyed in the combination to his rocket locker.
"Quite, actually," Noctis replied as he regarded his own storage unit. Rocket lockers. There's an idea he had never considered before. To an extent, it sort of made sense. Why not have a common storage device in the school that can be accessed anywhere while out in the field. Still, the idea of attaching a rocket to a locker felt a bit... outlandish.
"Good. We will need our strength for the initiation today," Ferrus said, opening his locker and pulling out his weapon, a spear with a flat, spade head. "Got to perform our best!"
"I'm more concerned about the team formations," Iola replied as she strapped her weapons, a thick bladed gladius, to her belt. "Supposedly, initiation is where we get sorted into teams."
"Any idea how they sort us?" Noctis offered.
"Several. Rumors have been rampant about that subject," Iola responded, "But I've heard about as many theories from about as many people. Seems like no one really knows the truth."
Noctis was well aware of this. He had been trying to keep the concern about team formation out of his mind ever since he had arrived. Hunters in training at Beacon live and are educated in teams of four. These teams were formed during initiation and would stay with a student for the duration of his or her time at Beacon. But no one seemed to know exactly how the teams are formed, a fact that was starting to make Noctis worry. Depending on how that worked out, his years at Beacon could be either extremely enjoyable or utter hell.
"These teams stay with us for our entire time here, right? Anybody in particular I should look out for?" Noctis said, trying to make conversation in order to distract himself.
"I'm not sure if we can actually pick our teammates," Iola said, "But there are a few notable character in our year. For one, Pyrrha Nikos is taking initiation with us. The four time champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament ought to make for a formidable teammate." She closed her locker, her preparation completed before going on. "I also heard Asteria Delos was also admitted into Beacon this year."
"Asteria Delos," Noctis said, the familiar name rolling off his tongue. "Wait, the princess of the Delos royal family?"
"That's the one," Iola replied.
"Interesting, though, don't you think?" Ferrus chimed in, "A princess at a school for hunters."
"Princesses can be huntresses," Noctis replied, "Give the repute of the Huntsmen, it's not that unusual for upper echelon society to send family members to Hunter academies. Anyone else?"
"Well, since you mention high society, we can't forget Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee dust company," Iola said and Noctis tensed just slightly. "Oh, I also heard that there was a prodigy in our year. A girl who was admitted from Signal Academy a full two years earlier than normal."
"Two year?" Noctis said, this catching his interesting, "You mean there is a 15 year old here?"
"Aye," Iola said.
"Impressive," Noctis muttered, "Do you know her name?"
"I think she was called Ruby," Iola said, "Ruby Rose if I'm not mistaken."
"Ruby, I think I know that name," Ferrus said, "I saw her last night in the ball room. She was with her sister."
"I hope you behaved yourself," Iola said, "She is a prodigy scouted personally by the headmaster himself."
"Why Iola, you wound me," Ferrus said, mock drama dripping form his voice, "Are you implying that I am prone to misbehavior?"
"Don't even joke about that, Ferrus," Iola replied dryly, "It's not funny."
"Oh ye of little humor," Ferrus said, finishing his preparations as well and closing his locker with an audible clang. "Seriously, though. What do you think are the chances of us getting on the same team?"
"Us? You mean you, me and Iola?" Noctis replied.
"Yeah. Why not? We seem to be getting along fine," Ferrus said before pointedly turning his gaze to Iola, "...mostly."
"You say that as if I'd actually want to be stuck with you for 4 years," Iola said dryly as she returned Ferrus's stare. "There are plenty of better teammate candidates I can think of besides you. Which reminds me. There is one last notable first year. Supposedly he comes from a long line of well renowned Huntsmen and his grandfather was even a great hero during the war. His name is Jaune-"
Iola was interrupted by a loud thwack sound which reminded them of a wooden spike impaling into a wall. Turning as one, they saw a young man apparently pinned to the wall by a xiphos blade through his hoodie. It was actually a familiar face.
"... Arc..." Iola finished. It took a moment for Noctis to realize that she was finishing his name.
"Jaune Arc," Ferrus repeated slowly. "I heard of him last night too. He... does seem like hero material."
"Doesn't he? Wait..." Noctis said. He turned to look at the pinned youth. "You mean that's Jaune Arc?"
"Yup," Ferrus answered.
"Wasn't he the guy puking on the airship?" Iola said.
"Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."
The intercom. It seemed like the time had come.
"And so our story begins," Ferrus said.
Beacon Cliff. A steep embankment that overlooked the vast and expansive Emerald Forest. A natural barrier, the height and steepness of the cliffs provided the perfect buffer to the creatures of Grimm that infested the forest below. This geographical configuration made this location perfect for a Huntsmen academy, easy defensible but with the perfect training area nearby.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
Noctis took a breath as he tried to settle his heartbeat. Headmaster Ozpin was speaking to the assembled first year students, each of whom was standing atop some sort of mechanical platform. The platforms were a slight cause for concern, but were quickly forgotten given the reality of the situation. He was finally here, about to, for the first time, participate in a real life exercise. And it was making him nervous. Coming to Beacon to get some first hand experience with being a Huntsmen seemed like a good decision to make at the time. But now, standing here atop the cliff, the consequences of that decision was become much harder to ignore. This was no training exercise. He was about to face real life Grimm in a real life forest with real life danger. The possible of injury or even death was now very real.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates, today."
"What? Hooohhh..."
Noctis was slightly distracted by the peal of distress coming from down the line. But he managed to tune back in to catch what the Headmaster was saying.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interests to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."
"Oooohhhh."
Noctis ignored that one.
"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Noctis caught the sound of glass shattering from down the line. A curious sound but one he did not dwell on. He was too busy being flabbergasted at the Headmaster's declaration. Eye contact? Really? That was how they were going to decide something as momentous as academy teammates? Of all the unprofessional ways to go about it, this had to be a top choice. The headmaster was basically leaving team assignments to chance.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die."
Inspirational, Noctis thought dryly. Random partnering and chance of horrific injury.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item as well as your standing and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
More good news. Chance of horrific injury upgraded to gruesome death. Not to mention the goal of this graded fetch mission was to bring back a 'Relic' from a temple at the end of the path. As far as descriptions go, that one was pretty sparse on details and of very little help. Beacon Academy was obviously a fan of the sink or swim teaching technique.
"Yeah, um. Sir?"
"Good! Now, take your positions."
The potential question was pointedly ignored and all the rest of the students adopted ready positions. Noctis followed suit, placing one foot behind the other and bracing himself against the pad he was standing on. He had a sinking suspicion about what was going to occur but chose to go along with it as no one else was choosing to question this setup. Looking up the line, he caught a momentary glimpse of Ferrus and Iola, both of whom were similarly ready on their respective pads. For a brief instance, Noctis wondered where Lucis was. But he quickly put that out of his mind. Better to focus on his own problems for now.
"Uh, sir? I got... um... a question."
There was a loud fuwamp sound and Noctis turned to see Weiss sailing away into the forest below. Yup... suspicions confirmed.
"So this landing strategy thing, uh, what is it? Like, dropping us off or something?"
In the time it took to ask that question, four more students were catapulted off the cliff into the forest. The latter two of which were Ferrus and Iola. Ferrus, who had caught Noctis's eye, gave him a wild grin before he took off. Following Ferrus's gaze, Iola had looked at Noctis and had smiled reassuringly before she too vanished in a blur of pale purple and white.
"No, you will be falling."
The Headmaster sounded almost smug with that response. You seem to be enjoying this a little bit too much, Headmaster Ozpin! Another student off into he forest.
"I see. So like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"
Noctis didn't have a chance to hear the answer. He barely had time to catch the end of the question before his turn had come. A soft click and a slight twitch beneath his feet were the only warning he had before he felt a massive pressure from below and a sudden and powerful rush. Only through instinct did Noctis find the time to push his feet off of the plate and launch himself into the air.
The wind howled in his ears and the tree tops rush by below. It took Noctis a split second to orient himself. He looked down at the forest, both rushing by and flying up to meet him. Okay, alright. He could handle this. He had received deep strike and tactical insertion training before and had practiced unassisted aerial drops as part of that training. Granted, his launches were usually quite a bit more controlled than this. But he could make this work.
After a few more seconds in order to determine that he still had some time before he had to prepare for landing, Noctis devoted a few moments to look around for the other students. His eyes were immediately drawn to the white speck he guessed was Weiss. Being so heavily white, she contrasted extremely well against the dark background. She seemed to be leaping from glyph to glyph, using them as platforms to slow her descent. Nicely done. A bit more investigation allowed Noctis to locate Ferrus, soaring along in front of him. As he watched, he saw Ferrus shoot out what appeared to be some kind of rope which he used to hook onto something within the forest. He looked ready to pull off some kind of cool maneuver, but Noctis had to take his gaze away to look for Iola. He only had so long in the air.
Noctis located Iola an instant later, gracefully flying along a bit behind Ferrus. Her robes and sash flowing out elegantly behind her as she went. Just as Noctis was about to turn his gaze away from Iola, he saw her pull out her Gladius. Guess she had some landing strategy as well. It was time to prepare for his own.
Reaching behind him, Noctis extracted his shield, the massive bulwark he called Gullspang. He looped his arm into the strap and gripped the hand grip tightly. Registering his touch, the shield unfolded, panels extending and locking into place to expand the massive bulwark shield from it's carrying size to it's full combat size. Than, with his right hand, he reached up and grabbed the top edge of the shield in the slot where he would normally fit his rifle when firing in order to give the shield some stability. Than, he lifted the shield in front of him, revealing it's full size to the oncoming slipstream. The gush of fast moving air buffeted the shield, momentarily threatening to tear the massive bulwark from his hands. But Noctis kept a firm grip, maintaining his hold. He began to use the massive shield as an air break, tilting it slightly in order to control his trajectory down into the forest.
It was a trick he had picked up during his aerial drop training. This should both slow his descend and give him the stability he needed to find a good landing spot. That was another thing he had learned during his training. He needed to find a good place to land. With the bulk of his armor, he was not going to be particularly agile. He needed to make sure he didn't go through an area that was too thick with trees, lest he wanted to produce some unintentional firewood upon his landing. After a few more moments of scanning, Noctis located a suitable area to aim for. It was a clearing in the forest without much canopy and featuring nice and flat ground. Even better, it looked near the area where Ferrus and Iola were headed last he checked. Tilting his shield slightly to the left, Noctis angled his descent towards his target location.
Everything was going smoothly until a slight aberration distracted him. Over the howling air rushing past, Noctis thought he heard the loud report of a cannon come from behind him. Checking his trajectory one last time, Noctis tightened his grip on his shield and looked behind him. There, riding on what appeared to be successive explosions, was the girl from last night. She was easy to recognize with her wild, but flowing long blond hair. She appeared to be firing explosions from her gauntlets behind her and using the resulting force to continue propelling herself forward.
This proved to be a problem because this girl was propelling herself towards him.
"Whoa!"
It was useless. The girl was wearing shades for whatever reason which must have made it hard for her to see Noctis's all black silhouette against the forest. And there was no way his voice was going to carry enough to alert her before she crashed into him, which would do neither of them good. Gritting his teeth, Noctis made the fateful decision. He turned his shield full on sideways into the wind, freeing up just enough room to miss the projectile girl as she shot past at astonishing speeds. And, just as luck would have it, the girl fired another explosion from her gauntlets just as she was level with Noctis. The force of the explosion propelled her onwards. In mere seconds, she was gone and out of sight, leaving nothing more than an exhilarated whoop on the air. The force of the explosion also caught fully onto Noctis's shield blowing him away. He tumbled for a second, his pose lost to the sudden force before he managed to right himself in the air. Unfortunately, just as he righted himself, he had descended into the treetops.
Noctis took a split second to curse fate before he put that incident completely out of his mind. He had no other choice as any distraction would have seen him smash face first into a thick, solid tree trunk. One such trunk whizzed past at frightening speed. Another came up towards Noctis and he could see that he was not going to miss this one. Raising his shield at an angle, Noctis used his bulwark as a sort of deflector, skipping off of the tree in a shower of bark and wood splinters. Leaves brushed against his face and he raise his arms to fend off a few whipping branches before he saw another tree coming towards him, this time head on. Gritting his teeth and hissing through them, Noctis raised his shield again full on and smashed into the tree trunk. There was a loud boom. Splinters peppered the air, whizzing past his face as he smashed bodily through the tree. The force of the impact rang against his shield. His aura enhanced grip weathered most of the impact, but he still felt a small twinge of pain in his right elbow.
The rest of the descent was easier. Another tree come at him from an angle. He once again used his shield to skip off the trunk, repeating the maneuver immediately with a second tree. Each time he did, he managed to skim off another chunk of momentum. A third skip dropped his speed enough to the point where he thought he could safely land. After smashing through some more foliage and branches, Noctis finally came upon the forest floor. He went in head first, tensing every muscle in his body and wrapping himself tightly in a thick sheet of Aura before smashing his shield into the ground. Despite all his bracing, the impact onto the forest floor still rattled his body to the core. His lungs protested against the hit, contracting forcefully for a moment as if he had been punched and Noctis felt his teeth chatter against each other as the force of the impact snapped his jaw shut. But, unlike his last impact, there had been no pain. Having landed basically shield first, Noctis was now skidding along the earthen ground on his shield, the friction slowing him as he went. When he had slowed sufficiently, Noctis tucked in his shoulders and allowed himself to lean forward, turned his forward sliding momentum in a surprisingly spry roll from which he landed on his feet in a kneeling position. He slid a bit more on his knees as the very last of his momentum bled away. When he had finally come to a halt, he had left a skid mark on the forest floor that was at least a dozen meters long.
Sighing slightly, Noctis rose from to his feet. Not a bad landing. He examined his shield and saw that it had held up remarkably well. Aside from some minor cosmetic damage and a bunch of wood chips lodged into every crevice, the bulwark was basically unharmed. The injury to his arm from the direct impact with the tree was also negligible. It was the tiniest bit sore but would do nothing to hamper his movement. And, Noctis guessed that fate had finally had enough fun with him and given him a break, he had not crashed into anything during his dozen meter skid along the ground.
Alright, now that he had executed a remarkable successful landing strategy, it was time to get on with the mission. First step, would be to meet up with Ferrus and Iola if he could. He may not be able to choose his partner, and he certainly wouldn't necessarily end up with them even if he found them. But at the very least, he would like to complete the initiation with those two. The intervention from the flaming blond had knocked him off course, but he had managed to maintain a good grasp of his direction during his landing. So, he had a general location that he knew Iola and Ferrus had headed towards. Picking that direction out, Noctis set off through the trees.
After a few minutes of travel, the adrenaline of his flight starting to settle, a bit of nervousness returned to Noctis. He was really in the thick of it now. This was a Grimm infested forest. It was nothing like the training exercises and the simulations he had gone though. This was the real thing. He was liable to really get hurt in here. With that thought, he reached behind for his battle rifle, named Dreyse, before he thought better of it. The forest was quite dense here. The length of his battle rifle would not be to his advantage. Thus, despite his inexperience with melee combat, Noctis instead pulled out his sword bayonet, which he named Gras.
The going was slow. The bulk of his armor slowed him down as he weaved his way through the trees. He felt both clumsy and obvious. It felt like every movement he made caused him to knock against a limb or clatter loudly against a rock. More importantly, Noctis felt loud and that fact was making him nervous. It was not long until every step he took, Noctis expected some massive Grimm to come barreling through the the undergrowth intent on mauling him. His grip unconsciously tightened on the hilt of Gras and he became more acutely aware of Gullspang's weight. Every sound seem magnified as he trekked through the woods.
He was starting to get a little jumpy now. It had been a while since he landed. Surely a Grimm should have detected him by now and come after him. The fact that all was peaceful was actually starting to bother him a little. Than, a noise from up front. Noctis jumped slightly at the sudden noise before crouching lower into the undergrowth, focusing his senses forward. Now more focused, he could definitely hear movement ahead. And he could hear snorting and scuffing, like the sounds of an animal digging in the dirt. Noctis through back to his education regarding the Grimm. It was not normal behavior to hear them to be foraging amongst the plants. Grimm exclusively consumed the flesh of humans and fauna. But he wasn't going to take that chance. Slowly, Noctis advanced, taking extra care now to not make too much noise. Remarkably quiet for a man so encumbered by armor, Gras raised and ready, Noctis peeked through the underbrush at the source of the noise ahead.
It seemed that his initial analysis was correct. It was not a Grimm. Just a normal wild boar up ahead pawing around the foliage. Breathing a soft sigh of relief, Noctis paused for a moment to allow for the tension to flow away. As it did, he was struck by a bizarre desire to laugh. He was way too uptight. How much training had he received during his youth? Sure it may have all been exercises and simulations, but they still had to be worth something. He was not helpless. And he needed to relax. Being so tense was actually not going to help him through this initiation.
Noctis was about to turn and sneak through the underbrush so as to not alarm the wild animal when another sensation came to him. And this sensation smashed into Noctis with the force of an air dropped bomb. It felt like suddenly being push to the edge of a whirlpool of darkness, the abyss opening up before him, swirling as if trying to draw him in. There was a momentary burst of vertigo as Noctis swayed on the edge, feeling as if he were about to fall into the black depths before him. It took him a few moments to fight down the sudden sensations of fear and anger that blossomed in his chest.
Gasping a few times, Noctis looked up just in time to see a dark form crash through the tree lines, bounding frenziedly towards the foraging boar before stopping in front of the startled creature. The creature pounded the ground before him with both his palms before rearing himself up to his full impressive height and unleashing a piercing roar into the forest.
The throat tearing vocalization left a ringing quiet in it's wake. The leaves nearby seemed to shiver in response and in the distance, large flocks of birds seemed to take off in alarm. The unfortunate boar stumbled in it's effort to escape, literally tripping over itself as it turned away from this sudden menace and fled into the underbrush beyond. It's squeals of distress quickly faded. Noctis did not hear the boar's egress however. The roar of the massive beast had deafened him. Shaking his head to clear the ring from his ears, Noctis finally took a close look at the creature that had crashed onto the scene. He saw a massive, towering form, stocky and low to the ground and perched on two powerfully muscled massive arms. It's posture was slouched and hunched over and it's body was the deepest color of dark black. The only difference were it's face, on which was a red and white mask resembling a skull and a long streak of dark blood red running down the length of it's back. And it was this red streak that gave away it's identity.
This creature was a Grimm, a Redback if Noctis remembered his studies correctly, a species which resembled massive Gorillas. Having driven off the offending boar, the massive beast surveyed the surroundings with blood red eyes peeking from behind the white Grimm mask. After a few sweeps, the beast lifted it's nose and sniffed the air.
The creature must know that Noctis was here, a thought which chilled his blood and sent shivers down his spine. This was the first time he had seen a Grim first hand and the first time they had been exposed to his semblance. The effect of this encounter had been staggering. The sheer darkness of the creatures presences, the void created by it's lack of aura and the wellspring of pure negative emotion it emitted had almost been too much for Noctis to bear. His trainers had warned him about this before, cautioned him to be especially careful about using his semblance in the presence of Grimm. For opening their senses and using them to examine a creature of Grimm could prove toxic to people with Aura Vision. If he had been a little less careful, Noctis could have been severely poisoned by the miasma of the Redback.
Fortunately, Noctis had managed to pull himself back from the edge in time. And of further fortune was the fact that the Redback didn't appear to have noticed his hiding spot. It was searching the surroundings, sniffing the air and looking through the underbrush, so the monster must have detected his scent. But it seemed that Noctis was sufficiently hidden from view. After a few more minutes of searching, the Redback seem to grow frustrated. It began hooting loudly, leaping restlessly on the spot before his hoots grew into full blown screams and it began to pound the ground around him. Than, in a final motion of anger, the giant creature of Grimm tore a nearby tree from the ground and tossed it away.
There was a tremendous crash followed by the splintering of wood and loud chaotic rustle of leaves. When the noise settled, the creature gave a final agitated snort before slowly making his way from the clearing. Disappearing amongst the vegetation, the sounds of it's passing quickly faded out into the forest. Noctis waited a moment to ensure that the creature was truly gone before finally breathing a sigh of relief. A part of him wanted to use his semblance, to look out with his Aura vision to ensure that the hideous thing had truly retreated. But he knew better than to try. With time and some training, a user of Aura Vision can grow accustomed to seeing Grimm with their semblance. But it was a gradual process and Noctis wanted to give his body a chance to adjust before he exposed himself to a Grimm again. Besides, he didn't need to use his semblance to gleam some reassessment that the Redback had truly left. The sounds of the animals had returned. The birds which had fallen silent at the massive monster appearance were once again starting to sing which indicated to Noctis that the Redback must truly have left.
Standing from his hiding place behind the bushes, Noctis trekked a wide circle around the clearing and continued on his way. He made sure vector himself away from the direction the Redback had vanished in and resumed his search for Iola and Ferrus.
Ferrus had sailed effortlessly into the Emeral Forest, Iola not too far behind him. As he approached the tree tops, he had taken his long spear, Amentum and fired off the weapon's special function. The spear tip had exploded from the end of his spear, lancing into the forest below dragging a length of chain behind it. Ferrus's aim had been good and the sharp tip of the spaded spear tip had embedded itself solidly into a tree trunk. Using the tree trunk as an anchor point, Ferrus had swung himself around in a wide arc, using the centripetal forces to transform his downward momentum into sideways momentum. When he was at the crest of his arc, he tugged firmly on Amentum, releasing the spear tip from the tree and drawing the sharp end of his weapon back into his spear.
Ferrus had repeated this maneuver two mores times, skillfully weaving through the branches on his third swing before he was finally low enough to the ground to land. With a loud whoop of exhilaration, Ferrus made his landing allowing the substantial amount of kinetic energy he had build up during his swings to carry him sliding forward on his two feet. He allowed himself to continue forward like this for a few moments, his expression and posture not unlike a skate boarder going down a steep slope before he ran out of space. Kicking off of the tree he was about to run into, Ferrus agilely flipped off of the trunk, landing and bouncing off of a nearby rock followed by a large tree root. Than, finally, he tucked into a roll upon hitting the ground again, the movement enough to finally expend the last of his forward momentum. He stood up quickly, pulling both feet in tightly next to each other and raising his arm above his head, posing as a Olympic gymnast would at the end of his routine.
"At least a nine," he declared proudly, than snickered at himself and shook his head. That was fun, but he had just landed in a dark forest full of Grimm. It was time to get serious.
It had been a good thing Ferrus had made this resolution. For no sooner had he turned to set off into the forest did he find himself face to face with a large, fearsome Beowolf. For a comical moment, both man and beast seemed to regard the other, each betraying an expression of surprise. Very quickly, however, the Beowolf's visage darkened. It's eyes narrowed, it's lips upturned and it revealed rows of sharp, slavering teeth. With a bark, it lunged, swinging it's claws in a wide arc. In a flash, Ferrus reacted, leaning back out of the way of the swipe and turning his dodge into a backwards cartwheel. Landing back on his feet, Ferrus saw that the Beowolf had already lunged at him again, another clawed swipe coming at him squarely in the face. But Ferrus had more time to dodge this attack and simply opted to enact a small leap backwards, soaring beyond the range of the second swipe and giving himself some distance between himself and the Beowolf.
The creature of Grimm gave a loud, piercing howl before charging at Ferrus a third time. It's clawed paws scratched the earth as it propelled itself towards the young man, it's mouth open, teeth bared and saliva drooling from it's lips. Ferrus saw the ravenous monster approaching, but held his ground. Lifting Amentum into a two handed grip, Ferrus waited until the Beowolf was within range before executing his lighting fast attack. It was a perfect strike. In a flash of steel, the spaded head of Ferrus's spear entered the Beowolf's open mouth. Penetrating the pallet of the Grimm, the sharpened tip pierced it's skull before breaking through out the back of the Beowolf's head. There was a moment of stillness before the Beowolf seemed to slump against Ferrus's spear. With a 'hmph,' Ferrus gave Amentum a tug and pulled the weapon loose. The Beowolf's carcass fell harmlessly to the ground.
"One down," Ferrus muttered under his breath.
No sooner had he done this before he sudden heard snarling and growling coming from around him. Looking around, Ferrus saw more Beowolves emerging from the bushes and foliage. He was surrounded. The howl of his recently vanquished Beowolf must have called others.
Despite this predicament, Ferrus smiled. "And many more to go," he muttered, finishing his previous thought. He stood upright, bringing himself to his full and rather impressive height. Lifting Amentum in one hand, he held the weapon straight out in front of him pointing the tip at the largest Beowolf he could find.
It was clearly a challenge but the Beowolf in question made no indications of understanding. For a few moments, it merely continued to growl and snarl at Ferrus, biding it's time as the rest of it's pack got into position around the young man. In response, Ferrus stared back sharply at the Beowolf in front of him. Gone was the careless and free expression that usually graced his features. Replacing it was the hardened expression of a seasoned warrior, a visage of intense focus and fortitude, the look of a man who was ready for battle.
The Beowolf Ferrus had so propositioned to did not make the first move. Instead, it merely gave a loud bark. Appearing almost like a signal, a Beowolf from behind Ferrus charged the young man. Almost immediately, however, Ferrus reacted. Slinging his weapon upwards and resting it on his shoulders, Ferrus fired Amentum's spear tip at the charging Beowolf, striking the shocked sounding creature straight through the chest. The spaded spear tip sank deep into the black flesh of the creature before emerging out the other side. Hearing the loud whimper of distress coming from behind him, Ferrus cracked a wild smile. Quickly placing his other hand on Amentum's shaft, Ferrus gave a shout of effort as he heaved the spear over his head, using the chain connected to the spear head to pull the newly impaled Beowolf off it's feet. Than, pulling the weapon in a wide arc, Ferrus swung the inpaled Beowolf in front of him, smashing the body solidly into the large Beowolf he had challenged.
There was a crunch of smashing bodies and another loud whimper of pain. The force of the impact threw the larger Beowolf to the ground. It also dislodged the impaled Beowolf corpse from Amentum's spear tip. With grin of satisfaction on his face, Ferrus withdrew the spear tip back to the shaft and slung the weapon back over his shoulder.
"That's two," he said, staring pointedly at the large Beowolf in front of him. "Your move."
The large Beowolf scrambled softly on the ground for a moment before righting itself. It growled loudly at Ferrus, clearly unhappy with the way things were progressing. It gave another loud bark of an order and the two Beowolves next to it now charged forward. Ferrus narrowed his eyes in response as the two monsters approached. As the first came within range, Ferrus two handed his spear and swung the weapon over his shoulder in a downwards slam. There was a sharp ping of steel on flesh as Ferrus bodily smashed the first Beowolf into the ground. Than, in a smooth follow up motion, Ferrus lifted the spear and pointed the tip of his weapon at the second oncoming Beowolf. With another loud bang, Ferrus fired his spear tip yet again at the charging creature of Grimm. This time, however, things were slightly different. Instead of firing his spear tip attached to a chain, only the spear tip itself launched from the weapon. Upon impact with the second Beowolf, the sharp spear tip still bit deeply into black flesh, the force of the hit knocked the creature onto it's back. It twitched a few times before laying still.
"Alright, enough with the minions, already," Ferrus growled, slinging his now tip-less spear back over his shoulder.
The Beowolf did not oblige. It barked again, this time releasing a series of loud and frustrated sounding cries. Ferrus heard the sound of scrapping coming from behind.
"Ugh," Ferrus sighed before lift this weapon on his shoulder and pointing where the spear tip would have been back behind him.
There were a couple of dull, metallic sounding booms as two thin, needle like projectiles fired from the shaft of Amentum. One such needle shot towards a Beowolf that was charging at Ferrus from behind, hitting the creature in the eye before piercing it's way clean through the skull before shooting off into the forest beyond. The penetrated Beowolf stumbled briefly in it's charge before falling bodily onto the ground. The second needle struck another Beowolf, this time in the shoulder. Meeting more substance, the needle failed to completely penetrate and became embedded in the beast's body. However, the force of the impact spun the creature around in the air like a rag doll before slamming it back onto the ground.
Having disposed of two oncoming attackers, Ferrus grinned jubilantly as he twirled around, wielding the shaft of Amentum like a baseball bat. There was a sharp crack as the metal shaft met a third Beowolf's snout. There was a sharp yelp of pain as a few teeth went spiraling away as Ferrus continued the momentum of his swing, twirling Amentum back over his head and unleashing a powerful downwards smash onto the head of the Beowolf, smashing it into the dirt before him. Finishing with his spear pointing at the Beowolf's head, Ferrus let off another flechette round for good measure, pinning the Beowolf's snout into the ground before turning to face the last Beowolf charging at him from behind. His weapon in a position to neither fire or swing at the last oncoming Beowolf, Ferrus was forced into a few evasive maneuvers. Easily dodging two swipes from the charging Grimm, Ferrus was forced to raise Amentum in order to block the third attack, which was a headbutt. Surprised slightly by the unexpected maneuver, Ferrus grunted slightly as the Beowolf's charge hit home. He took a step back to regain his balance. The Beowolf seized this opportunity to open it's maw and chomp down tightly onto Amentum's spear shaft.
"What the..." Ferrus stuttered before being jerked bodily forward as the Beowolf suddenly began to thrash with his weapon, worrying and shaking it like a dog with a bone. By reflex, Ferrus grabbed Amentum with both hands, refusing to let the weapon be wrenched out of his grasp.
The two struggled there for a moment, although struggle slightly over stated the amount of effort Ferrus was putting in. He simply allowed the Beowolf the drag him around, not allowing it to twist the spear shaft from his hands, but not really trying to fight it either. Furthermore, considering the lopsided grin Ferrrus had on his face, it almost seemed like he was enjoying the ride. It was not until the last Beowolf leader charged Ferrus from behind that Ferrus finally acted.
Twisting Amentum harshly, Ferrus wrenched the spear loose from the bite of the first Beowolf, shattering several teeth in the process, before twirling the shaft like a bo staff, using the momentum to smash aside the second charging Beowolf leader. Than, he flung Amentum's empty spear tip up into the air. As he did, there was a soft crinkling of metal as a sturdy chain emerged from the tip. Grabbing the chain in his other hand, he looped the around neck of the first Beowolf that was still reeling from the pain of a mouthful of broken teeth. Tightening the chain, Ferrus was rewarded with a choked whine before he dragged the Beowolf along with him until they were next to the corpse of one of the fallen Beowolves. Reaching down, Ferrus extracted the flat, leaf shaped spear tip that had remained embedded in the Beowolf corpse since he launched it there earlier in the fight. Upon his touch on the spear head, the sharp metal tip began to morph. It was as if something had liquified the originally leaf shaped spear head. The metal flowed upwards along the edge towards the tip, causing the spade shape to narrow and extend. At the bottom of the spear head, where Ferrus had grabbed it, liquid metal gathered, forming a more solid cylindrical shape. When the morphing was complete, the spear tip had changed into a small straight edged dagger.
Throughout this whole process, Ferrus had continued his movement, twisting his body towards the still chain bound Beowolf, Ferrus used the energy of his spin to unleash a powerful slash at the beast's throat. The sharp edge of the newly formed dagger sliced deeply into the black flesh of the Grimm. The Beowolf stiffened for a split second before gagging at his suddenly slit throat. It writhed for a moment against the chains that bound it, making clawing motions at it's neck before the energy fled from it's arms and they sagged to it's side. Than, the entire beast simply toppled over.
Ferrus sighed as he untangled the chain from the Beowolf's neck. With a soft flick and a metallic crinkle, the chain retracted back into the spear shaft. Smiling in satisfaction, Ferrus twirled the dagger in one hand as he once again hoisted Amentum's spear shaft over his shoulder with the other. He looked back at the now solitary Beowolf leader.
"Check," he said simply.
The Beowolf growled, evidently not yet ready to admit defeat. But it also evidently did not become pack leader by being rash and impulsive. The Beowolf paced back a forth for a few moments, glowering at Ferrus and considering the young man. Ferrus had rather easily dispatched of his pack and the alpha Beowolf was now being careful. Ferrus eyed the Beowolf, his gaze alert and attentive but he didn't appear tense. After a few moments passed with the Beowolf throwing him little more than glares and grows, he appeared to become a bit impatient.
"Well?" Ferrus said, holding his arms out, "Come on? I'm being graded."
It was common knowledge that Grimm do not understand human language. However, the Beowolf's response almost seemed to cast doubt on that assumption. Almost as if answering Ferrus's beckon, the Alpha Beowolf choose this moment to charge the young man. Ferrus's own response was quick and decisive. With a quick flick, he pointed Amentum at the charging beast and left off a shot. The thin flechette round zipped form his weapon, aimed at the Beowolf's head. However, the Grimm was obviously expecting such a response from Ferrus. The instant he snapped off a shot, the Beowolf immediately dodged to the side. Despite the immense speed of the flechette, the shot missed the Beowolf's face and sailed harmlessly over it's shoulder.
Ferrus's eyes widened. "Clever girl," he muttered before diving to the side in an evasive roll. The move allowed him to duck down below one of the Beowolf's wide swing. Ending his roll on his knees, Ferrus twirled the dagger formed from Amentum's tip in his hands. As he did, the metal once again seemed to almost liquify, flowing as if molten to reform into the flat, leaf shaped spear blade. With a fluid follow up motion, Ferrus slotted the spear tip back into Amentum's shaft before hoisted the weapon up on his shoulder not unlike the way one would hold a bazooka. An another dull metallic thrum, the spear tip fired from the shaft. This time, it was once again attached to a sturdy metal chain.
The shot was well aim, flowing straight towards the back of the Beowolf's chest. But once again, the Beowolf seemed to be expecting the attack. Whirling around, the beast lashed out with a clawed hand, swiping at Amentum's blade tip from the air and batting the projectile away with a loud metallic clang. The chain crinkled loudly as the force of the hit pulled it wide into a metallic gray arch that sprayed out beyond where the Beowolf was standing. Howling in what seemed to be triumph, the Beowolf charged Ferrus again, claws raised to maul the youth.
Ferrus was not perturbed. This Beowolf was clever, but Ferrus didn't get to where he was today by being stupid. Flicking Amentum's shaft, Ferrus twisted the still airborne chain in front of him causing a loop of the metallic links to fly out from him. With another flick, Ferrus guided the loop of chain down around the Beowolf's neck before yanking the chain tight. The loop tightened around the Beowolf's neck, drawing out a pained yelp and causing the beast to stumble in it's charge.
Ferrus smiled. "Fool me twice," he muttered before grabbing Amentum's shaft tightly with both hands. With the loud clinking of chains sliding against metal, the chain coming from the spear shaft began to withdraw. Using the force of this, Ferrus allowed the weapon to pull him along towards the still stumbling Beowolf. Slamming a palm onto the Beowolf's face as he finally met the creature in mid-air, Ferrus flipped up over the beast's head and landed on it's back. As he did, the chain continued to withdraw, eventually pulling the spear tip back to Ferrus. He grabbed the spear tip out of the air as the chain detached with a metallic pop and withdrew the rest of the way into the spear shaft. Flipping the speartip in his hand, causing it to once again morph into a dagger, Ferrus lifted the weapon above his head. Before he could bring the weapon down to finish off the Beowolf, the creature of Grimm gave a loud howl. Suddenly, dozens of sharped bone spikes erupted from it's back.
"What!?"
The was an unexpected development. Beowolves, even Alpha Beowolves, have not been know to retract and extend their spines. Ferrus's reflexes saved him. If he had been a split second slower in leaping off the Beowolf's back, the spikes would surely have impaled him. That being the case, Ferrus was still not completely able to dodge the spikes. One of them still managed to catch him in the chest. Luckily, the spike hit Ferrus's curiass and scrapped off without doing any damage. However, the force of the hit knocked him off balance and he landed on his back with a loud thud.
Before he could raise, the Beowolf Alpha was on him. A clawed hand grabbed the wrist holding the dagger and pressed it onto the ground. Grunting from the impact, Ferrus looked up to see the Beowolf open it's maw and descend on him. He lifted Amentum's shaft and pressed the weapon horizontally into the Beowolf's mouth, using it has a bar to keep it's teeth off him.
The situation had deteriorated rather rapidly. With the full weight of the Beowolf on his wrist, there was no way he would be able to pull the dagger free. His other hand was busy keep the Beowolf from tearing his throat out. And with Amentum positioned in such a way, there was no way Ferrus could push the Beowolf off him or bring the Flechette Cannon to bear.
Ferrus grunted as the Beowolf, annoyed by the presence of the metal pole, reached over with his other hand and grabbed the weapon shaft. This was problematic. The Beowolf had to claws to use against his two arms. Unfortunately, Ferrus didn't have anywhere near the bite strength of the beast on top of him. At the rate things were going, Ferrus was progressing towards a very unpleasant and bloody conclusion.
There was a sudden whistle through the air. Ferrus caught a sudden streak of bright, gleaming silver before the Beowolf sudden jerked with pain. Then, there was a loud bang followed by a harsh concussion. For a second, Ferrus suddenly felt as if something was pressing him into the ground. Than, the force lifted leaving a ringing silence in it's wake. Ferrus had just enough time to gather his wits before the Beowolf fell bodily on top of him with a soft thud. Confused, Ferrus looked over to his side at the Beowolf face and was surprised to see a dull, lifeless blood red eye staring back at him. The Beowolf Alpha was dead.
Heaving the carcass off of him, Ferrus examined the vanquished beast. Much to his surprise, Ferrus noted that the Beowolf's back had a charred and blackened appearance, as if they had been hit by some form of small explosive. In the center of the damage, Ferrus saw a short but broad triangular shaped dagger. The hilt of the weapon was smoking slightly.
Ferrus sighed. He recognized that weapon.
"Needing saving already?" a voice behind him said. "Not off to a good start, are we?"
"Shut it," Ferrus said, turning to face a smug looking Iola. "You saw what happened. The Beowolf cheated."
"Cheated?" Iola said, "That is your excuse? This isn't a game Ferrus." Her voice suddenly became grim and serious. "There are no rules, no referees. You do everything you can to win. Because if you don't, you pay for it with your life. So next time, Ferrus, promise me you won't take anything for granted on basis of some misplaced belief that being a Huntsmen is fun."
Ferrus lowered his gaze as Iola spoke. It wasn't as though he was not aware of what had just happened and how close a brush with death he had just had. If Iola hadn't showed up when she did, there was little doubt that the Beowolf would have killed him. And despite Ferrus's flippant behavior, adrenaline was still surging through him making his heart pound in his chest and his stomach soft and queasy. Ferrus understood perfectly what had just happened. And he understood Iola's concern.
"I promise," Ferrus said, his tone even and serious now, "I'll be more careful from now on."
Iola's expression lightened. "Good," she said as she strolled to the body of the Alpha Beowolf and extracted her Pugio dagger. "Than let's get going. We are partners now and I fully intend to keep your incompetence from getting me a bad grade."
Ferrus sighed softly as Iola speak. Well, back to business as usual.
"Oh please," he said, "Take a look around. You killed one Beowolf, I killed eight. If anything, I'm the one pulling our average up."
Iola turned and strolled backwards as she spoke. "Quality over quantity," she said simply. Than she turned and dashed off into the underbrush.
Ferrus shook his head as he pursued Iola into the forest.