VI.

Haven: Initiation (I)

Rai couldn't stop looking back from his scroll and to his assigned partner. It was a little jarring, he thought, how different the appearance was to the description. Mostly the part that said "male". He furrowed his brows at the maybe-girl beside him as the airship glided along to its destination, and he just couldn't figure out what to think.

The name wasn't much help either, but he supposed he couldn't judge when it came to names. When push came to shove, Leonie came off as more of a boyish name—same with her nickname—and for all he knew, this could be the opposite case for his partner. Rai tilted his head as he looked them up and down again, though. If Peony Briar was actually a boy, then this was by far the prettiest and most delicate-looking boy Rai had ever seen. And that wasn't Rai feeling anything special about that, he was straighter than a ruler—it was just hard to ignore how unreal this person looked.

Sort of reminded him of a model, actually. Or a doll.

Peony looked at him, seeming to notice the staring, and smiled politely up at Rai. Not a word was said about the staring, or the confusion on Rai's face; Peony just went back to watching the forest approach in the distance, their initiation drawing closer. Just a bright smile and that brief acknowledgement of Rai staring.

Rai pursed his lips. To hell with it, if they were going to be partners, he had to know the bare basics about Peony.

"Hey, so—"

"It took you longer than I thought."

He was taken aback by the chirp Peony let out. Rai gawked at Peony, and all the while Peony turned back to him with a softer, almost relieved smile now. Like Peony had been waiting anxiously for Rai to just say anything.

"I, uh." Rai cleared his throat and shrugged. "It was something I had to process."

Peony gave him an almost sly smile. "What? A boy in a dress? How scandalous of me, then."

"Oh, no, there's nothing wrong with—"

"I know, I know." Peony gave him a light shove, and Rai almost relaxed. For as delicate as he looked, Peony wasn't someone uptight or quick to anger. It wasn't like Rai couldn't handle someone like that on a team, but it was just easier to have someone who didn't clash with him. His only concern now was how well Peony could fight, or if he could even keep up with the much larger Rai. He was even smaller than Leonie, for crying out loud, and she was barely average in height for her age. "I'm just playing around. I know it's a little weird, but I like it. I think it suits me more than anything else, actually—pretty clothes and longer hair."

Rai looked him up and down. Well, now that he mentioned it, Rai's earlier comparison to a doll was sort of right. Put someone like Peony in armour… No, that was too much of a dissonance between looks and clothes. As weird as it felt to think it so seriously, girls' clothing suited Peony more than what boys wore nowadays.

"Yeah," Rai said finally. He crossed his arms across his chest, and he gave Peony a playful smirk. "Just hope that's a skirt suited for combat more than aesthetic."

He got a chuckle out of Peony. The pink-haired boy curtsied as he replied, "I'm impressed you even know combat skirts exist."

Rai snorted, the banter actually feeling almost natural. Maybe this Peony guy wasn't so bad. "I'm Rai," he said, only to remember that Peony already knew that. "I mean. You can call me Rai, not the full name."

Peony nodded in understanding. He brushed some dirt off of his skirt and rocked back and forth on his feet, committing the name to memory and testing it out himself. Finally, Peony nodded and looked back up to Rai with a big smile.

"Then you can call me PB if Peony is too much of a mouthful," he chirped. "Lotta people do, and it's easier to say two letters than to accidentally say 'peeny' or something, right?"

"Peeny" got a snort out of Rai. Yeah, he could see how people could slip up and make a bit of a joke out of his name for the both of them. "How 'bout Peebs?"

Now it was Peony's turn to snort. He didn't decline the name, cheeks turning a rosy colour as he tried to hold his breath and keep his laughter at bay.

"S—Sure," Peony whimpered, failing at holding back his laughter. "S'your funeral if you say something worse by accident."

They basked in the chuckles and tension slowly began to ease. Ah, Rai lucked out on such a carefree partner. And he was cool with nicknames as long as Rai owned the consequences! Now he just had to think of something for Peony that would top leggo my Leo.

"So," Rai started again after a while. They were surely closer to the forest now, and he had to get serious. Sort of. "How are you with combat and surviving overall, Peebs? Think it's sinking in how close we are to actually getting out there and fighting the Grimm."

Peony nodded fervently in agreement. He rocked back and forth on his feet again, eagerly waiting for the doors to open around them. "I'm a big boy," he reassured Rai. "I'll be fine."

"What a relief. And here I thought I might lose that bet I made earlier."

That got Peony's full attention then. "A bet?"

"I said I could totally finish this in one day," he bragged. Peony's expression didn't change, but it was obvious the boy was surprised at his bravado. Well, when Leonie said she could do it in a set amount of time, he had to top it without hesitation! Did he regret making the time limit twenty-four hours? Maybe a little. But it wasn't impossible. "A full twenty-four hours to pass, and I like my odds."

The cheeky smile on Peony's face at least agreed with Rai's tenacity. "Oh? Because you have an amazing, beautiful, brilliant partner like me to help you?" he crooned.

Help? That was funny. Peony had a nice sense of humour.

"Yeah, no." Rai gestured vaguely to Peony, half-grinning at the smaller boy as he did so. "You do your own thing, I'm not so pathetic that I have to get help to win an easy bet. Wouldn't want to get your cute little ensemble you got going on ruined because I go a little too rough trying to carry us both to the finish line."

The airship began to slow, the doors opening as an announcement rang out for everyone to prepare for their initiation. Rai double checked his bag, making sure he had his supplies with him at least, and when he looked back to Peony, he couldn't help realising how quiet the boy was. Hell, he probably upset him with what he said—but look at him, what part of Peony made anyone think he could keep up with someone like Rai? Obviously Rai was the one who was going to be doing all the work. He couldn't even see a weapon on Peony as everyone prepared to jump from the airship and into the forest below.

Peony was looking up at Rai with wide eyes. In one hand his bag was held by its straps, tightly secured and clearly filled to the brim. His other hand, rather innocently, cradled one side of his face like a young girl would when she was daydreaming.

"Why don't I join the bet?" Peony said. Though he had asked, it was clear by his tone that he had no intention of being turned down.

"Oh? You want in?" Rai gave him an uncertain look. Yeah, he definitely upset him. Ugh, maybe Rai jumped to conclusions too quick about Peony being the type of person to get along with him. It was hard to tell with that stupidly bright smile on his face, though. "Why? It's not like I set the limit for an easy time, and Leo's competing just as hard with her partner over this now."

Peony tilted his head. The pair were closest to the airship doors, and the wind whipped at Peony's hair as he gave an almost… smug look to Rai when he said that. Like he caught Rai in a trap of some kind, but Rai wasn't sure what.

"But you just said it'd be easy," Peony cooed. He inched closer to the open door, and Rai furrowed his brows. "Don't tell me you're worried about being carried to the finish line by little ol' me?"

"Wh—No. I don't need to be carried—"

"Then it's settled. Just don't conveniently forget when I win, 'kay?"

Before Rai could get a word in edgewise, Peony leapt from the opening and began his descent to the forest. Rai let out a shout, surprised that Peony had just jumped so recklessly, and he followed suit with a groan. Ugh, a teammate who couldn't handle a little ribbing was the worst.

Knowing her luck, she'd never find her partner at this rate. Haven had been absolutely crowded with people trying to find their own, and Linn wound up being knocked around more than she'd cared to; by the time the call to board the airships came, she really had no clue where to look for Greyson Mandragora and just hoped she'd meet him in Kousa Forest during the week.

Sadly, and perhaps predictably, a lot of people had the same primarily-black ensemble in their photos. And since Greyson didn't have anything to make him stand out for even the little Linnea to see, she was left hoping he, at least, gathered what her winds would look like from her own photo. It wasn't like she hid them when it was taken, and even just a bust of her would show off the feathers. Linn pursed her lips as she watched the others around her bustle about and prepare to leap from the airships. She could hardly see beyond the crowd surrounding her, but it was obvious as everyone began to filter out at a snail's pace that things were moving along.

Or at least they were supposed to be.

When one of the applicants cried out that a Ravager had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, everyone began to panic. And then some began to question it—why the Ravager looked wrong, not quite like a Ravager should. Linn could hardly see above everyone else, but they were all backing to one side of the airship and, to her dismay, slowly shoving everyone out the other opening.

She… wasn't confident that she could glide from this height safely and not get a cramp in her wings.

"Uh—" Linn tried, pushing back against one applicant who was almost sitting on her. "Hey—Back up—"

Her attempt to stay on the ship only got her pushed further to the other side. Linn groaned, trying not to whine, and readied her weapon and bag as her feet scuffed against the floor. Some of the applicants that fell had ways to get down, and others were less prepared than even Linn was. She gritted her teeth, fumbled with Silver Talon for a moment—as soon as she could see the sky past the wall of people in front of her, Linn pulled the rapier's hilt from the blade and shoved it through the nearest gap.

The flare sailed through the air for a few seconds, blinding everyone when it flashed briefly before it began its slow descent into Kousa Forest. Everyone had paused, at least, and now everyone was aware of just how close they were to shoving more people off the ship in their panic. Linn let out a relieved breath, especially when someone gave a shout that the Ravager was focusing on the flare rather than the ship.

"Whoever shot that flare," a shout from the other side of the ship rang out, "screw you for not warning us first! I've got spots in my vision!"

Linn reattached the hilt to her rapier and sighed. No good deed went unpunished, she supposed.

The applicant who'd been almost sitting on her during the ordeal patted her on the shoulder. When Linn looked up, she was met with a thankful look and a whisper of, "Thanks, girl. Nice thinking."

A compliment? Linn turned her face to the floor of the airship and wrung her hands together in front of her. Her face was heating up just from the compliment alone, even if it was just telling her thanks. "It… It was nothing," she mumbled, clearly embarrassed. "Thank you."

Even with the compliment, though, the issue of the Ravager was still apparent. Linn looked to where the flare had drooped, to where the medium-sized Grimm flew on her side of the ship. It wasn't quite an adult, but the spines along its back were a sign it was close to its full size. Linn frowned. What was a Ravager doing all the way in Mistral? Weren't they native to Vacuo or something? And its wings… Weren't they supposed to have red wings rather than the dark, glowing purple this one seemed to give off?

Linn tilted her head to the side and frowned. It wasn't like the pilot was freaking out, either. Was this part of the controlled environment? She'd heard of people and families who could summon Grimm they'd defeated—like the Schnees in Atlas, especially Nicholas Schnee of the SDC? Linn glanced around at the other applicants. Maybe this was a prank being pulled by one of them.

Part of Linn couldn't help feel some kind of familiarity when she thought about it, though. She'd seen a Semblance like this before, summoning Grimm that weren't quite right, and a Mandragora being at the school meant that maybe this was the famous combat student and up-and-coming Huntsman everyone talked about.

Linn frowned. But wasn't the person known as the Shadow Monarch a girl? Could it be during her hiatus she took last year, she began to transition or something? Linn blinked. Oh, wow, she'd be super lucky if her partner was actually the Shadow Monarch. Wait, she'd have to make sure to use the right pronouns, then. It should be easy, since she never met him prior, but still… What were the odds of that happening? It was pretty dang cool, actually.

And then an announcement sounded out over the speakers, drowning out the rush of wind and the concerned chatter in the airship: "Could Linnea Elis please join her partner on the Ravager? He says he's been looking for you on all the other ships too."

"Me!?" Linn said without thinking. She was too preoccupied by the shock that the Ravager was here for her to notice the hand on her shoulder tighten its grip.

"Sorry, girl," the applicant who'd thanked her said, solemn now. "But you're gonna bring some real Grimm here if you don't get your butt to your partner and make the Ravager go away."

As soon as they said it, it seemed as if three other people joined the applicant as they shoved her roughly past the thin layer of people blocking the airship door. Linn was in shock for a moment, her bag dropping to the floor, and she barely had any time to stretch her wings and fall into a glide as the wind began to batter her back. The moment she tried to stretch her wings, the air forced them forward and she whipped herself in the face with the expanse of feathers.

What was wrong with them!? She was just standing there, and the Ravager wasn't attacking them! All it could've taken was for Linn to just jump off and glide over instead of being pushed! She squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to scream. At this rate she was either going to crash into a tree and have her aura decimated or she'd get caught by one of the actual Grimm in Kousa Forest! Was this even allowed? Couldn't someone get into trouble for this?

She forced her eyes open, hoping to make some kind of recovery or even just see if the student who pushed her felt any remorse. She prepared herself or a painful, very unhappy landing.

Her fall didn't last long, thankfully. As soon as she was pushed out of the airship, the Ravager glided over as it bloated and shifted in form. Almost like it was trying to pick a new form, adjusting to the size it needed to be, before finally taking on a mass of mud no larger than Linn's fist. The body that began to fall with her from the air let out a shout as he flung the mud up at the airship; Linn heard a chorus of squeals echo from the open door before a body crashed into hers—one Greyson Mandragora, his grip on her secure as he began to kick his feet out and fire rounds from his shoes to break their fall.

She clung to him for dear life as soon as she realised what was going on, tucking her wings in as best she could. Greyson, to his credit, was focused on her as he carefully timed each round from his shoes.

"You okay?" he called over the rush of wind battering them.

Linn nodded, hair whipping her face. "I'm fine!" she called back. "I didn't think they'd push me!"

Another rough firing of rounds, closer to the trees this time.

"Did you shoot the flare?" Greyson asked further. Linn nodded again. "And they pushed you out?"

"Same guy who complimented the flare!"

Barely, just barely, over the wish in her ears she could hear Greyson scoff with the most offended tone. "What an asshole!" Greyson decided.

They broke through the trees, and Greyson wasted no time careening towards a thick branch for them to land on. Linn relaxed her grip some once he finally came to a halt; Greyson, it seemed, was less eager to let go of her just yet as he looked back up towards the sky. It was hard to see through the branches and leaves, the massive dogwood trees that made up Kousa Forest blocking out even the sun from this height already. Greyson let out a hum, adjusted his grip on both his bag and Linn, and then he looked down at her with his brows furrowed.

"You want me to punch that guy?" he asked her earnestly.

Linn blinked at him, stunned. "I—No, please," she insisted hurriedly. Yeah, she was shoved out of the airship, but she didn't want Greyson fighting someone over it! And it worked out okay, right? This was fine. Fighting wasn't necessary. "It's fine. I'm okay."

It earned her a pout. "Fine…" Greyson looked back up to the trees again, still holding onto her, and let out an unsatisfied sigh before looking down to the ground. It was a steep drop, definitely something to use more rounds in his shoes with, but Linn was a bit more confident in her ability to glide down from here. The branches weren't clustered together compared to above them, and she wasn't exactly freefalling the wrong way now either. This was… a bit more ideal, in a sense. Even if she didn't have her bag and her supplies with her.

Oh.

Linn let out a pained sound, and immediately Greyson began to fuss and set her down on her feet in front of him. He was huge compared to her, but that wasn't the problem right now. She ignored the way he squatted down to meet her at eye level when he spoke, instead waving him off as her wings ruffled with annoyance. "It's fine," she insisted. "I just—I wasn't holding my bag when I got pushed."

Greyson's brows rose as he tilted his head. "I know."

"You… know?"

"It's why I threw Goop in there. It'll meet us down here with your bag, hopefully."

Linn stared at him. Goop? Was that the thing he threw into the airship? Didn't he do that out of spite or something because Linn was pushed? People were screaming and everything. Wait, no, what even was a Goop? She saw him summon a Ravager, but she had no clue what a Goop was. Was it a type of Grimm, or…?

"Oh. Goop is my Semblance," Greyson explained. "Not just Goop—I just call it that. All the others get called what they are, and I don't… actually know what Goop is supposed to be. But it shapeshifts and stuff."

This was a lot. Linn blinked at him. What in the world was he even talking about? The more he spoke, the more he sounded like the Shadow Monarch was meant to operate, but Linn was still certain the Shadow Monarch was a girl.

Oh God. The Shadow Monarch went quiet for a while before rumours began to circulate that she'd go to a Huntsman Academy. Was Linn being disrespectful right now? If Greyson was that Shadow Monarch in transition? Wait, no, don't make assumptions. There was surely an explanation for this. An explanation that wouldn't make her look… Well. Idiotic, for a start.

"R—Right," she finally managed. Greyson let out a relieved breath, nodding as he stood back up to his full height. Now she was able to address the height, stunned that she had to look so high up at him. Linn was short, sure, but Greyson was still tall compared to the other tall people she'd come across. If they stood side by side, people would surely assume she was a child rather than a teenager. "What, um. What's the plan?"

Greyson rolled his shoulders and fixed his own bag. As soon as she'd asked him that, something broke through the trees and descended in their direction, still at a falling pace but slow enough to stare at and catch if need be. It was her bag, the handle encased in a black substance that extended out into an almost parachute shape above; she could see a small set of dark violet eyes on the parachute's inside, and when it seemed to spot the duo the parachute began to morph until a small, paddle-shaped appendage stuck out behind it. With a strong flap of the appendage, it began to drift in their direction.

"We get your bag and get to the ground," Greyson said simply. He held out his hands, waiting for the bag to get in reach, and as soon as it was he yanked it from the black parachute blob. In tandem with Greyson grabbing the bag, the parachute melted into a muddy substance and slithered down the front of the bag, all the way up Greyson's arm and nestling into his neck as it perched on his shoulder. Goop, Linn assumed; and as she stared at it, Goop stared back with its wide, glowing eyes.

He handed the bag to her, and Linn took it with a thankful nod.

"I can, uh," she mumbled. "I can glide down from here."

Greyson nodded. Goop vanished from sight, probably being dismissed entirely by him now. Even when she did get a look at it, she supposed he was right—there wasn't really any knowing what Goop was supposed to be.

"We'll set up camp first," Greyson went on, nodding to himself as he seemed to think out loud, "and then… Look for the Grimm?"

He looked to Linn for approval. Surprised by the expression on his face, Linn could only nod at him.

At least their meeting didn't go as badly as it could've.

"So according to the message everyone was sent," Forte mumbled, "we have to catch a… Lapin?"

"Oh, those things?" Kelron held up a branch for her to walk under. Considering how tall he was, though, it wasn't necessary. She was… Ugh, this was the worst thing to say, but. Compared to seven-eight Kelron, five-six Forte was boob height. And boy did he have enough of a muscle mass to call his pecs boobs.

"You heard of them?" She ducked her head anyway and shook the thought from her mind. No. Inappropriate. Even if she was displeased that they were bigger than her own. The hell did people even feed this guy before he came to Haven?

Kelron shrugged when she asked him that. He followed behind her and continued to look for a spot to set up camp—just somewhere to call a home base before they went out looking for their prey. "Little buggers are hard to catch," he said. "Fast, and strong too. Need that right amount of agility and, uh…" He thought for a moment. "…core body strength? I dunno, you just have to be fast and not get kicked into a wall if they attack you."

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

He gave her a huff of a laugh. "I mean, yeah, but these are more annoying than dangerous. They don't attack unless provoked and just like to cause grief over dying crops. You see them everywhere in small towns with farms, I hear."

"Huh…"

A look crossed his face, a sort of dawning revelation he wasn't too pleased about. Or at least Forte thought he wasn't. It was hard to tell, honestly. Even from his photo he seemed like such a stoic, serious guy and despite his easy-going attitude about the Lapin Grimm, he was hard to get a read on. Was she really this bad at reading people? Who was she kidding, of course she was. She lucked out with that Peony back in the lift striking up a conversation with her and complimenting her dress.

Actually… What did she even talk about with a big guy like Kelron? He seemed sorta like one of those… jocks? He definitely carried himself with a confidence Forte didn't have. And she couldn't exactly hold it against him—again, she was tit height compared to him and he was built like three of her standing side by side. Ugh, no, she was focusing on the weird stuff again. Bad Forte.

Maybe she should've hoped super hard for Peony to be her partner.

"Here's a good spot."

She was startled out of her dismay when he dropped his massive bag onto the ground. Forte blinked, looked around quickly; he'd found a small clearing, just big enough for the two of them to fit a tent or some sleeping bags. She followed behind him closely, wary not to trip over his bag, but Kelron was focused on a nearby tree towards the back of the clearing. She watched him, setting down her own bag, and noticed rather quickly that the earth underneath her felt almost loose. Like it'd been dug around in too often to settle.

Kelron knocked on the tree he approached and let out a laugh, triumphant. "Lapin come through here," he told her. "Look at these dents. They've been using these trees to jump around and avoid other applicants in the past. Probably each other, too."

True to his word, the tree had a large set of splinters and dents in its base that, when Forte got closer, made the tree look more warped than stable. Now she knew why they were such a pain to be kicked by. If a single Lapin did that much damage to a tree, who knew how long aura would last…

"Then…" Forte pointed nervously back to where their bags were. Now that she thought about it, it was weird that the grass didn't grow as much around this area.

Kelron nodded with a massive grin. "Old burrow," he confirmed. "Someone filled it in, but they've come through here out of habit. We might get some visiting when it gets dark."

Forte wrung her hands together. "Then we… set up camp?" she asked slowly. Kelron nodded again.

Setting up camp was the easiest part of the time together, honestly. Neither of them spoke much, just got their things ready, and Kelron wasted no time bundling some sticks up between them for a campfire later on. It was still only morning, still too early to call it a night or anything of the sort, and eventually Forte just found herself sitting on her sleeping bag with her brows furrowed. Kelron munched on what had to be his breakfast, oblivious to the uncertainty in front of him, and it made her all the more self-conscious that she was making this weird.

Kelron glanced over at her when he finished his food. His expression was still hard to read for her, but the stare was enough to let Forte know that he had something to say at least. She pursed her lips and gave him a sidelong look, wringing her hands together again.

"What's wrong?" Forte asked, nervous. She could kick herself for letting the nervousness creep into her voice, but it felt like she was under a spotlight and being interrogated without actually being asked anything.

Kelron swallowed the last mouthful of food. In a simple tone, he said, "You aren't much of a talker, are you?"

It was a reflex when she muttered, "I'm sorry."

"I'm not upset over it," Kelron told her. He shrugged and stretched his arms over his head. "I just noticed you weren't saying much. So I wanted to check if you preferred not to."

He was wondering that? Ugh, she really was making a bad first impression on him. What if he thought she was snooty or something?

"I—It's not that I prefer to be quiet," she said slowly, staring at her hands as she spoke, "but more like I… It's better for some people when I'm quiet, I guess. I'm not good at conversation."

Kelron's brows furrowed again. Still unreadable. What was going on in his head? Forte pursed her lips even more and shrank into herself. She should really have hoped for Peony as a partner, since she got to know Peony right before the initiation started.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of staring, Kelron announced, "Introduce yourself to me."

Forte gawked at him. Kelron repeated the request with an astounding confidence.

"I—I'm Forte," she squeaked. "But—But you got my information—"

"It's nice to meet you, Forte. I'm Kelron." Kelron brushed off her argument and continued on with the weird small talk. "I never said earlier, but I like your weapon. Reminds me of those old microphones people used to use back in the day."

He noticed Howler? Forte's cheeks began to burn as she reached for the collapsed weapon out of reflex. People usually assumed it was just a regular mic that she carried around. He probably knew better than to assume that little of an applicant to an academy.

"Thank you…" Forte gave him a weak smile. "It… It has a built in speaker for my Semblance. And it can be used as a flail, I guess…"

Kelron's expression brightened. "No way, mine too!" He practically dove for his bag to fish out the massive weapon within.

Forte couldn't help but smile a little more confidently. She was having trouble getting a read on this guy, but… He seemed pretty friendly overall. Maybe she didn't tank that first impression. Maybe she didn't need to hope for someone like Peony to be her partner.

And so, as they waited for night to fall and for the Lapin to pass through, they continued their idle talk at Kelron's prompting.

And that's the next Haven chapter! We got some intros, and however many chapters left to introduce the other pairs! ALSO! I've been commissioning team portraits on tumblr and right now the Beacon OC teams are done! So if you wanna see MMLN and CSAL together, go to renren-writes on tumblr! I'll be getting Haven teams commissioned next once the teams are announced!