The Origins of VHLT - Part 2…
Beacon was a prestigious academy for budding huntsman and huntresses and had some pretty stringent entrance requirements. As such, the population of the school was far lower than other academies, usually averaging about four dozen new students a year.
Because squeezing forty-eight people onto only a few small launch pads was a difficult affair (that and there were only so many chess pieces to go around), initiation was typically done in batches. The mass of students was separated into four different groups and expected to launch at different times, each aiming at a different cardinal direction of the emerald forest where the colour-coded chess pieces would be hidden amongst the expanse of old ruins.
It was in one of these "batches" that the four future members of team VHLT found themselves, each standing on one of the twelve stone pads.
The "V"...
Despite the impending high-speed launch, Vermillion felt perfectly fine about her chances. That's not to say that she didn't feel slightly nervous about sailing through the air like an off-course cannonball though.
There was the high chance that she could screw and smash into the ground. Her aura could probably tank the hit, but if it didn't then she would be a fine red paste.
'Dying during the Beacon initiation, how embarrassing,' Vermillion pondered to herself.
The tall redhead took a moment to brush off her clothes and gear. Her large bastard sword was stored in a sheath that was slung safely around her back. The leather cord of the sheath crossed from her right shoulder to her left hip - binding down the panels of her unzipped red jacket.
Vermillion's blade was secured in its sheath and would remain there until it was truly needed. A long, long time ago she had dubbed the blade "Wyvern", but the name only came about because the weapon was closely tied to her semblance. While it appeared as an ordinary sword, the metal of the blade had been fused with finely-ground fire dust, giving the metal incredible heat retention. Before taking it into battle Vermillion would rub the blade up in sticky oils that were highly flammable; it was a tedious process that gave Vermillion the ability to quite literally set her blade alight.
"Hey…"
Vermillion snapped out of her internal musings and turned around to face the person addressing her. The speaker was located on the stone slab right next to her; and although Vermillion wouldn't say it aloud (not to a stranger, anyways), the girl next to her looked like she needed to pee - like really badly.
"Hi?" Vermillion blinked in confusion. The tall girl tilted her head when no immediate response came.
The girl on the slab next to her was short - very short, just barely breaking the five-foot range. She was clad in a golden sweater, a skirt, boots and several pieces of hard fitting leather armor. A golden stabbing sword dangled off of her left hip and there was a small pouch on her belt, but Vermillion wasn't sure what it held.
"I-" The girl started but then didn't finish. She had big green eyes, like two emeralds, and her long golden hair shrouded her pale face. "I- D- Y-you're…"
"Uhm," Vermillion cleared her throat. Perhaps the girl's awkwardness was contagious? That was the only explanation as to why Vermillion was suddenly feeling so antsy. "Are you… like, alright?"
"F- Fine," the girl gave Vermillion the most unconvincing smile she had ever seen. The redhead was instantly reminded of her little brother, Burgundy. Every time he tried to lie or fib this stupid nervous smirk would spread across his face.
"I think we both know that's a lie," Vermillion chuckled, watching as the smile dropped off the girl's face. "Relax… I think we're all a little bit nervous…"
"Y- You don't look it…" The golden haired girl replied in a wavering tone.
Oh man… was she quivering? She was!
The golden haired girl was bouncing from foot to foot, her eyes wild and her limbs in seemingly constant vibration. Vermillion watched in fascination as the girl's quivering and shaking would slow to a lull… only to speed back up again! Then it would go back into a lull… then it would speed up again!
Vermillion reached into her pocket to withdraw the peace offerings she had been saving. "Hey…"
The golden haired girl perked up at the sounds of Vermillion's voice.
"I uh…" Vermillion shook her hand around in her coat pocket as she tried to extract its contents. "Don't suppose you'd like a cou-"
Vermillion didn't get a chance to finish as the stone slab beneath her feet blasted her into the sky.
For a few moments, Vermillion felt discombobulated and very confused. Only seconds before she was planning to offer a complete stranger cough drops of all things, now she was hurtling to her doom…
The redhead sighed and wormed her hand out of her coat pocket. Below her stretched out the wide expanse of trees that was the Emerald forest. It was a nice place and Vermillion appreciated the view, but all good things had to come to an end.
Sticking her hands out in front of her and straightening her body, Vermillion began to channel her semblance - pyrokinesis. Flames manifested around her hands and arms, but Vermillion didn't mind the heat; the redhead channeled the flames into her palms and pushed it outwards, creating two jets of flame from her hands.
Vermillion's landing technique was to essentially turn her hands into thrusters. She couldn't fly with her semblance - she didn't have nearly enough thrust to lift herself off the ground. However, Vermillion could create just enough thrust to slow her down if she was falling.
Slowly, Vermillion began to lose some speed. She was still approaching the forest canopy at a lightning fast pace, but the muted whistling of the wind past her head told Vermillion that she was going slow enough.
The redhead smashed through the top of the forest canopy and collided with the ground, landing in a crouch and rolling so that she wouldn't tumble. The impact released the accumulated energy of her semblance and exploded outwards, drenching the nearby greenery in a wave of white-hot flames.
Vermillion carefully got back to her feet and dusted herself off. All around her the forest was alight; the canopy she had smashed through was glowing bright with embers and flames licked the ancient bark of the nearby trees.
But as landings went… not bad…
The "H"…
Honey was scared of a lot of things… public speaking, snakes, clowns…
Heights…
As fears went, heights weren't at the very top of the list (clowns held that exclusive dis-honour). But having the knowledge that she was about to be catapulted off a cliff filled Honey with dread and anxiety.
She also had to pee… very, very badly.
Honey's need to pee was likely caused by her adrenaline semblance. Having the chemical constantly fluctuating inside your body tended to have lousy side effects. Honey was pretty sure that she was doing a good job hiding it… but the urge to squeeze her legs together was getting stronger by the second.
The golden haired girl looked up from her feet and caught a glimpse of the forest below. What seemed like thousands, if not millions of trees stretched out towards the early morning horizon.
Honey heard some shifting next to her and looked to her left. On the slab next to her stood a girl Honey had never seen or met… and she was everything Honey wanted to be…
The girl was tall, really tall; she easily broke the six foot range and towered over the other students on the cliff. Her glossy red hair sparkled in the morning sunlight and was tied back in a very simple ponytail.
And her face! Such regal features… she looked like a queen overlooking her kingdom…
But the straps on her weapon's sheath…
'Wait a moment…'
Honey narrowed her eyes to study the sheath strapped to the other girl's back. One of the leather cords responsible for holding the weapon in place looked terribly frayed and close to snapping! If she was launched and wasn't holding onto her weapon then there was a chance that it could fly loose!
What kind of person would Honey be if she didn't point it out!? They were about to be dropped into a life and death situation!
Honey parted her dry lips to notify the girl.
"Hey…"
Honey moved her tongue to say more but the body part did not obey her. Her tongue felt dry and was pressed upwards against the roof of her mouth. Of all the times for her social anxiety to kick in! Why now!?
The tall redhead turned to view Honey. There was a look of shock and surprise in her piercing blue eyes. Honey's nervousness was replaced by the oppressive feeling of intimidation; the redhead's eyes were like two individually carved ice glaciers and her black pupils like needles.
"Hi?" The redhead cocked her head in confusion.
"I-" Honey desperately stuttered out. Could she say her name maybe? No… that wasn't the purpose of why she got the redhead's attention; it was to warn her about her damaged sheath!
"I- D- Y-you're…" Honey stuttered out, she could feel her face reddening by the second. For what was the twenty-eighth time in the last two days Honey was forced to use her semblance to calm herself down.
"Uhm…" The redhead relaxed her lips and viewed Honey with concern. "Are you… like, alright?"
Honey drew in a sharp intake of breath so that she could give her answer.
"Fine."
'But it's not fine! I'm not fine! Your sheath isn't fine!' Honey internally screamed at herself; it was the things she desperately wanted to say but couldn't.
"I think we both know that's a lie," the redhead chuckled aloud. Honey felt herself wither and redden further at the noise. For what was the twenty-ninth time in the last two days Honey was forced to use her semblance to calm herself down.
"Relax," the redhead soothed. "I think we're all a little bit nervous right now…"
Nervous? About what?
Honey turned her gaze back towards the cliffs and a wave of realization crashed over her.
She was about to be launched off a cliff, it was an initiation so this was all a test, if she screwed up her landing then she would die horribly, if she stuck the landing but got ripped apart by grimm she would die horribly, if she got paired up with another person as her partner then she would get all flustered and embarrassed, but what was the point in worrying about that when she was flustered and embarrassed at the present moment? But what if she completely tanked the initiation and had to go back home to her parents and tell them how she failed they would be so disappointed and they would give her disapproving looks and chide and scold her and… and…
Honey squeezed her legs tight together to ward off the feeling of impending urine. She desperately activated her semblance again for the thirtieth time in two days, repeatedly battling down her spiking adrenaline levels.
"Hey…"
Honey turned her head and grit her teeth in concentration. She cracked open one eye to find the redhead fishing around in her pocket.
"I uh… don't suppose you'd like a cou-"
The redhead never got a chance to finish. Her stone slab blasted her into the sky like a cannonball and she disappeared in a flash of red. Honey watched in terror as the redhead sailed off into the distance alongside the other students who had been launched.
Honey was the only one who hadn't been launched yet…
"H- hold on!" Honey cried out to the watching teachers, a wiry man with a shock of green hair and a portly gentleman with an imposing moustache. "Wait-"
But it was too late… Honey too was sent off into the clouds.
Although she would never admit it to anyone who asked, an undignified scream did pass through her lips as she sailed through the air. Her worries about failure and her need to urinate disappeared from her mind - the self-preserving, animalistic part of her brain was taking over.
With practiced motions Honey's hand flew down to grasp the pommel of her sword, "Scipio". The golden haired girl drew the blade in a flourish and turned the grip in her palm so that the blade was pointing outwards.
Unlike many of her peers, Honey's landing strategy was based purely on luck. An excess of adrenaline could improve her reaction time but would not save her from a nasty fall. Furthermore, the rifle built into Scipio's length would not provide enough force to counteract her building momentum.
Below her, Honey spotted a particularly large looking oak tree. She angled herself so that she was more or length on a crash course with it's mighty body.
Honey crashed into the trunk of the tree and Scipio's blade bit into the wood. Her aura flared up around her legs to protect her muscles and joints from the worst of the impact. Huffing and panting, Honey continued to put force on the pommel of her blade until she had created a stable anchor point for herself.
Taking a moment to breath and relax her adrenaline levels, Honey peered around the area. She was still very high up, but the smaller trees near the base of the oak could be used to climb down.
Noticing a branch on an adjacent tree that was large enough to support her weight, Honey activated her semblance for an adrenaline rush. She ripped Scipio from it's anchor point and leapt across the distance, quickly tucking Scipio into its sheath and snatching the branch in a matter of moments.
Like a monkey, Honey leapt from branch to branch until it was safe enough to fall to the ground.
Honey stood up from her crouching position and dusted off the sleeves of her golden sweater, which were plastered with leaves and twigs. She was about to make her way into the forest when she felt a tingling urge churning in her lower gut.
'Right…' Honey frantically squeezed her legs together again. 'Maybe there's a bush around here or something?'
With a not-so jubilant skip to her step… Honey wandered off to find a place where she could relieve herself...
The "L"…
Out of everyone on the cliffs that morning, Lavender was the most at ease. The purple haired girl had a tried and tested method of how to land safely; in fact, Lavender could pretty confidently say that she enjoyed using her landing strategy.
Never keen to sit still, Lavender practiced some simple warmups as she stood upon her stone slab. She gently bent her knees and lowered herself - feeling the muscles in her legs tense - and then bounced up just as quickly into a standing position.
It wasn't anything intensive but it helped get her blood flowing. If there was one thing Lavender had learned in all her years of dancing and training - it was that not stretching beforehand was ruinous. Simple warm-ups would ward off the worst of the cramps and aches that came with complex physical motions.
Luckily for her (and everyone else who was out and about that day), the previous day's sunny weather had carried over. The air was comfortably warm and the few sparse clouds did little to block the blue skies above.
Lavender craned her neck left and right, getting a quick look at the other students who had lined up along the cliff. They were a fairly diverse looking bunch. At the very end of the row stood a tall redhead; to her right was a girl with beautiful blonde hair - like liquid gold.
The blonde was shaking like she had just seen a ghost… but it looked as if the redhead was trying to comfort her.
'That's very nice of her,' Lavender thought to herself, already developing an appreciation for the redhead.
Lavender had a pretty wide circle of friends back in Argus. Having to leave them behind saddened her greatly but Lavender just couldn't pass up the opportunity to go to Beacon.
The ballerina tore her gaze away from the redhead and the blonde. She turned her head in the opposite direction to peer at the students on the opposite end of the row. Most of them shot Lavender small nods or waves…
Save for one…
It was another girl, whose pixie cut of bright blue hair made her stick out from the pack. She had a very stern face, with a sharp chin and a prominent nose; that's not to say that she wasn't very pretty, however.
The blue haired girl was crouched down on one knee and loading shells into a blocky looking shotgun; it was a rather ordinary looking weapon, not nearly as extravagant as Lavender's spool of garrote wire.
Somehow, the blue haired girl sensed that someone was watching her. She turned her head to make brief eye contact with Lavender, but looked away just as quickly. Lavender watched in disappointment as the blue haired girl turned her attention back to her weapon.
How disappointing…
"If I may have your attention, students!" One of the teacher's overlooking the initiation called out. He was a tall and wiry man with a shock of green hair and wide-rimmed glasses.
Lavender turned her head to listen intently.
"Your instructions are to locate several relics that have been hidden in the Emerald Forest and ensure their safe return to the school!" The teacher took a swig from his large coffee mug and continued: "furthermore, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years! Are there any questions!?"
Several hands shot up into the air.
"Good luck!" The green haired teacher pursed his lips and whistled, ignoring the protests of the students who had put up their hands. His compatriot, a rotund man with a walrus moustache, pulled an ancient looking stone lever and then took a few steps back.
The moment the lever was pulled the first of the students - the blue haired girl - was launched off her respective pad. Lavender watched with interest how each student down the row was blasted off into the sky.
Finally, the student next to Lavender was sent off into the clouds.
Lavender tensed her legs and tightened her grip on her garrote wire. In a rush of air and motion she too was sent off into the sky.
As she sailed high above the first canopy Lavender opened her mouth to taste the fresh air. She was pretty high up - high enough to where she wouldn't have to worry about bugs.
Down below, Lavender took notice of a particularly large tree. It's trunk was gnarled and thick; and was suitably wide enough for her landing strategy to work on it.
Tucking herself in so that she was more or less on a direct course with the tree; Lavender flicked back on arm and unraveled her spool of garrote wire. The tense purple wire fluttered in the wind cone behind her and Lavender cautiously waited a few seconds until she was in range. Once she was able to determine that she was in range, Lavender spun her body in the air to fling the wire in an arc.
The length of wire secured itself to the top of the tree and curled around it's width; the end of the spool got locked underneath the length of wire, creating a secure anchor point for Lavender to use. Lavender spun around the tree, as if her garrote wire was a twisting ribbon.
The purple haired girl stopped abruptly when her wire ran out of slack. Placing her feet against the tree, Lavender pushed off and tugged with her wrist; the action unraveled the anchor point and the wire came loose.
In a flash of purple, Lavender used her teleportation semblance to safely reach the ground.
The purple haired girl took a moment to regain her balance. She peered upwards at the tree she had just used, taking note of the long slices she had cut into the bark.
With a slight grumble Lavender began to wrap the wire back around its spool.
The "T"
Teal never felt more at ease than when she had her shotgun in her arms. The blue haired girl loaded shells with soft, practiced hands; she lived for the gentle "tap-tap" of the loading bay flap and the sharp clicking noise when she racked the pump.
It was cathartic to her…
Teal's gun was the only weapon she had ever used during her training; mostly because it was the only weapon she could afford. A long time ago she had purchased the gun from a shabby back alley dealer. Teal hadn't asked him where he had got it from, and the dealer hadn't asked how a young teenage girl had scraped up enough money to afford it in the first place.
It was that "ask no questions" attitude that made Teal a repeat customer. Sure, there was something morally dubious about buying from an arms dealer, but Teal had been too poor and too desperate to really care.
A blast of buckshot and some interference from her semblance was all that was needed to put down Grimm; for Teal, that was enough. Her shotgun was not anything impressive to look at and it didn't have a dumb name to go with it.
A weapon was a weapon… nothing more and nothing less...
The blue haired girl reached up her hand to extract two more shells from her loading belt, which had been secured to the belt loops of her pants. Teal turned her shotgun sideways so that she could begin slipping shells into the side-mounted rack.
The other students along the row quietly muttered to themselves - but Teal paid them no mind. Their lives, names and ultimate goals honestly didn't matter to her.
'Become a huntress, get uber-rich, cut off your parents and retire on your own private island,' Teal's ultimate goal echoed around inside her head.
That ultimate goal was the one thing that kept Teal going. Deep down, Teal knew that there were other people who had been dealt far worse hands than she - which in some way was its own separate motivation for her.
Suddenly… Teal felt herself freeze up a little bit. Her hands froze where they were; the shell clenched in the fingers of her right hands sliding against the side of the shotgun's receiver.
Teal could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up…
Someone was watching her…
Teal snapped her gaze to the right to peer down the row of students. Whoever was staring at her would probably look away, not wanting to get trapped in an awkward staring contest.
To Teal's surprise and shock… the person didn't look away.
It was the doll-girl! The one in the amphitheater who had smelled like flowers! She was standing with her legs straight and poised; her hands were wrung together and were pressed against her stomach.
The doll-girl gently observed Teal with her big purple eyes. Her pale lips had been drawn together into a tight line.
Teal quickly snapped her gaze away, it was a sign of weakness that she had no choice but to display. The blue haired girl's mouth suddenly felt very, very dry. She didn't know why her mouth kept feeling dry all of a sudden… but it kept happening every time the doll girl was within her field of view.
Although Teal refused to admit it… the doll girl was pretty attractive…
But Teal didn't have time for relationships or crushes…
'Become a huntress, get uber-rich, cut off your parents and retire on your own private island.'
"If I may have your attention, students!" A warble-y voice called out.
Teal slid the last shell into her shotgun's rack and turned to face the speaker. The speaker was a wiry man with uncombed hair and a sloppily tied tie.
"Your instructions are to locate several relics that have been hidden in the Emerald Forest and ensure their safe return to the school!" Spoke the incredibly disheveled teacher. Upon first seeing him Teal couldn't help but wonder if a hobo had snuck onto Beacon campus - such was the state of his appearance. "Furthermore, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years! Are there any questions!?"
Teal felt her heart stop… her hand was the first to shoot up in the air.
"Good luck!" Called the hobo-teacher, blatantly ignoring all of the hands that had shot up. He pursed his lips and let out a very loud whistle. A portly man with the stupidest moustache Teal had ever seen responded to the whistle by cranking an ancient looking stone lever.
And so… Teal suddenly and without warning found herself flying through the clouds.
The blue haired girl cursed the two jackass teachers and squeezed her gun against her chest. Below her, the leafy green forest canopy whipped by with intense speed. If Teal landed on any of those trees she would be completely screwed… her landing strategy required contact with the ground and only the ground.
Thankfully, Teal's descent put her on course towards a small clearing. The blue haired girl spun in the air so that her head was pointed towards the ground. She racked the pump of her shotgun to chamber a round and placed the weapon parallel to her chest - with the barrel sticking up past her head.
As she felt herself nearing the ground, Teal squeezed the trigger of the shotgun. The buckshot exploded from the barrel and the resulting recoil slowed her descent, as well as tilting Teal's body so that she was now falling on her back.
Teal impacted the dirt and gravel - still at high speed - and grit her teeth. She activated her semblance, controlling the vibrations in the surrounding area. By controlling the vibrations of the soil beneath her, Teal radically reduced the friction her body was experiencing. She slid along the ground like it was an ice rink and slowly reduced the influence of her semblance to come to a controlled stop.
Teal watched as her blue aura shimmered a little to protect her from the worst of the cuts and slices. She very shakily got back up to her feet and looked behind her, taking note of the massive groove she had carved into the soil.
Still though… as landing strategies went it wasn't the worst. But her clothes would need a good wash to get the dirt stains out…
After taking a moment to dust herself off, Teal racked the pump on her shotgun and disappeared into the brush. If what the hobo teacher said about partners was true… Teal couldn't end up with a bad one...