Cyan wasn't quite sure when it was that she had fallen asleep the night before, but she must have at some point because a gentle nudging sensation was bringing her back to consciousness. She groaned uncomfortably as she stirred awake and her eyes flicked around the desk. The pen she was using had fallen from her hand, and four sheets of paper from her sketch pad were laid out beneath her, along with a stack of several dozen more pages covered in handwritten notes. The jostling grew more intense, but she managed to restrain herself from swatting at it, at least until she could look at who it was. Her neck creaked from stiffness as she lifted it from the desk and she saw Vermilion with his hand on her left shoulder. He was still dressed for bed, apparently having just woken up himself.
"Morning." he said.
A quiet throaty moan of displeasure was all Cyan could manage as a reply. She glanced up at the nearby bedroom window and noticed that whatever sunlight would normally have fallen on her had been blocked out by heavy clouds.
"What time is it?" she asked
"7:30." he replied, and nodded towards the desk, "Have you been up all night again?"
She shook her head a little bit and yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Any progress?" he asked.
With a frown, she threw a look over her shoulder at the corner, where a half dozen balled up sheets of paper lay on the floor next to a trashcan.
Vermilion considered the pile with a rueful stare, "Still nothing? You've been at it for two weeks now."
She scooped up the pages on the desk in front of her and held them up before tossing them aside in frustration, "Take a few measurements, do some calculations, make some small adjustments, I thought this would be easy."
"Maybe you just need a break." Vermilion said.
She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure. It's not like this is the only topic we're covering in every single lecture or anything."
"Not today." Vermilion said.
She arched an eyebrow, and looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"The field trip?" he reminded her.
"...That's today?"
He chuckled and nodded.
Cyan swore as she leapt up and bolted from the room, nearly bowling Lyohniy over as she ran down the hall.
A little more than an hour later, the four of them had joined several dozen other students on a transport ship leaving the Atlesian airstrip and bound for the huge expanse of forested areas in the foothills of the mountains that rested on the outer edge of the Atlas territories which had come to be known as the Wilds. The ship itself was massive, more than twenty meters in length, with an observation lounge fixed to the ship's belly, nearly four meters across on the inside. The room was sparse on seating, containing only several long benches along the walls, but everyone seemed far too excited to want for them. Cyan watched from one of the enormous windows that ran the full height and length of the lounge as the terrain passed seamlessly from the city to rural areas sparsely dotted with houses, and finally to dense forests. She glanced up and found herself wondering what the view would be like if the skies would clear up a little.
Vermilion came up behind her and gently touched a hand to her shoulder, "Nervous?"
"No." she lied, and tried to look away, but couldn't keep the smile off of her face.
He returned her smile, and nodded, "Yeah, so am I."
The siblings turned away from the window as Lyohniy and Roan joined them from the other side of the lounge. Lyohniy was fidgeting restlessly, constantly stretching his arms and shoulders out, while Roan just watched quietly and listened.
"Sure wish they would tell us something." Lyohniy said.
"It wouldn't be much of a test if we knew what to expect." Cyan reasoned.
Vermilion nodded towards Roan and said, "You've lived outside the kingdom borders, right? What's it like?"
"Like anywhere else." Roan said with a shrug.
They all stared at him.
"But the Grimm?" Cyan protested.
"They are dangerous." he said, "But over time you learn to avoid them."
"Hmph." she said, folding her arms, "You make it sound so simple."
"You're right. It's not." Roan conceded, "Not everyone who tries it is successful. And many of those I lived with frequently admitted that they would rather be lucky than skilled."
"Why not be both?" a smug voice said from behind them.
They all turned to see a tall, immaculately dressed figure approaching from behind them. He had a lean frame, and neck length black hair, the front of which had been finely sculpted into a single slick lock that trailed over the right side of his face. His clothing concealed a physique that had been forged to perfection by state-of-the-art training equipment, and he strode forward with a confident swagger, as if the very act of walking were beneath him.
"A true Huntsman takes every advantage he can get, right?" he said with a smarmy grin.
"Jet." Cyan fixed the man with a repugnant glare, "Did you get lost trying to walk from one side of the lounge to the other?"
Jet continued to stare forward for a second or two, and then glanced downward, acting as if he had just become aware of her presence, "Mm? Oh, our new combat instructor. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you at first, down there."
"What, another joke about my height?" she looked down at her wrist, and then up at Lyohniy, "Is it last Thursday again? Or is my watch running slow?
Lyohniy snickered to and inclined his head towards Jet in greeting, who maintained his sarcastic grin. It was then that Cyan became aware of a sudden floral odor to her left that made her wrinkle her nose. Of course. Wherever Jet went, following right behind him was—
"Hello, Autumn." Cyan said, "It's so nice to smell you again."
A slender girl, perhaps two inches taller than her stepped into view and wrapped herself around Jet's arm. She was strikingly beautiful, her looks accentuated by copious amounts of cosmetics and finely manicured hands. Her hair was dyed an almost brilliant shade of golden orange. She possessed a lean and lithe figure that moved with the grace of a coiled viper.
"Oh, Cyan," she purred, "You're looking… well. Who does your hair? You should fire them."
Cyan resisted a subconscious urge to touch a hand to her hair and glared back up at Autumn, "Of course. Why bother actually being effective in battle if you can't also look nice while doing it, right?"
Autumn turned her lips into a snide grin and said, "And what would you know about either of those?"
She let out a positively obnoxious laugh and glanced around, apparently expecting someone besides Jet to join her. Apparently, she forgot the company she was in.
Cyan stared forward, feigning a look of dull perplexity, and then gradually allowed comprehension to play across her face, "Ohh, I see. Like humor… but different."
Jet made a mildly dismissive wave of his hand and said, "Well, before we get too bored trading barbs back and forth..."
"Oh I don't know about that, Jet." Vermilion said, still grinning, "I'm sure she could do this all day."
He glanced down at his sister, who flashed a wicked grin towards Jet and nodded several times.
"Regardless," he said, "I was hoping to speak with you about something."
Vermilion blinked in surprise, "With me?"
"Indeed." he continued, "I'm sure it hasn't escaped your noticed that the formation of teams has been something of a hot subject amongst the accomplished elite of the upper classmen."
"Well, I suppose I'll have to take your word on that." Vermilion said, inclining his head towards the two of them.
Autumn started chuckling and batted an eyelash in Jet's direction, "He's so modest, isn't he?"
This time Jet did join in the laughter, "You should give yourself more credit, Vermilion. There are any number of teams that would be lucky to have you. And if you haven't made a decision yet, perhaps you would consider joining ours."
Cyan's jaw dropped in stunned silence, but she made an effort to close it again before anyone could notice. Vermilion likewise seemed lost for words, "You mean... follow you?"
Jet shrugged, "I would be just as happy following your lead, if that's how things play out."
Vermilion stumbled over his words for a second time, "Well, I… I'm flattered, I guess."
"Then you'll accept?" Autumn said, flashing another of her winning smiles.
"I'll have to," Vermilion paused, seemingly searching for just the right words, "...give it some thought."
"Of course." Jet said in that effortlessly suave manner of his, "It's an important decision, after all. I just wanted you to be aware of all of your options. Autumn and I are going to the academy after we graduate next year, and I want you with us. I'd hate to see a future Huntsman of your potential be…"
He paused long enough to cast a sidelong glance at Cyan, Lyohniy, and Roan, then said, "…held back by anything. Best of luck to you, today."
Both he and Autumn directed a polite gesture towards Vermilion, and then excused themselves.
Cyan watched them go, her mouth now fully gaping from shock, "Un-be-lievable! Did he actually think you would agree to that?!"
Vermilion shook his head in disbelief, "Yes, I think he actually did."
"Sometimes I wonder which is bigger; his ego or his trust fund." Lyohniy observed.
They all shared a laugh again, except for Roan, who continued to watch the pair carefully as they began speaking with several of the other students.
"What do you suppose he meant by that?" he asked.
"About Vermilion being held back?" Cyan said with a scoff, "Who knows? The guy's a creep. Forget about him."
"Probably just trying to mess with us." Lyohniy said, and then affected a mocking imitation, "Best of luck, today. Tch, jerk."
Roan looked towards them, then back at Jet again and nodded, even though he didn't seem particularly convinced.
A chime sounded throughout the cabin, drawing everyone's attention towards the windows. A partially transparent image in the vague shape of a person was projected onto enough of the window panels that everyone could easily see and hear it. Cyan immediately recognized the gruff features of Instructor Jared. His normally wild hair was pulled into a mostly neat ponytail, but his expression remained as fierce as ever.
"We'll be arriving at the first drop point in a few minutes, so I'll keep this as brief as possible." he said, gazing forward into space.
Cyan could feel the anticipation building throughout the lounge as more and more of the students turned their attention to the message.
Instructor Jared continued, "For many of you, this will be your first time in the field. I know that some of you have never encountered the creatures of Grimm before."
Several students did their best to hide their trepidation at that statement, far more than Cyan would have initially guessed.
"But it's important that you gain firsthand knowledge what you will one day be facing, and the sooner the better. To that end, you will be following three professional teams on their patrol today. I'm sure some of you have already seen and met them."
Cyan turned her gaze towards the front of the lounge where a group of a dozen heavily armed individuals was standing. They looked young, perhaps in their twenties, but stood out to her because they weren't wearing any clothing associated with the school. Instead they were dressed in a variety of form-fitting, wildly colored outfits. One of them, a woman with a pink stripe dyed in her blonde hair, smiled and waved cheerfully as the students turned to look in her direction, earning her a nudge from her companion, a dour looking man in a green tank top with a trail of spiky brown hair flowing off of his head and tribal tattoos covering his arms.
Jared's voice grew more forceful, "They are not here to babysit you. They have their own mission to complete. You are here to assist them as scouts."
The projection shimmered and changed to a physical map of the surrounding area and displayed a number of red lines dividing it into different quadrants.
"You will divide into teams of four." Jared said, "Each member of the team that has not yet completed their graduation project will receive a standard-issue tactical rifle and Dust blade, for defensive purposes only. Each team will also be issued a single scroll for relaying the location of hostile contacts and emergency communications only."
The map vanished, and Jared's stern expression returned, "Once the ship has reached a drop point you will disembark along with the Hunter team you are assigned to work with. After executing your landing strategy, proceed directly to the coordinates indicated on your scroll. The moment you make contact with the enemy, you are to immediately relay the position and numbers to the Hunter team, and wait for them to arrive."
Then suddenly his features softened, "I shouldn't have to tell you how dangerous this will be, nor should I have to tell you to exercise extreme caution at all times, but I'm going to anyway. You will be graded on your ability to carry out this assignment, but you'll never see that grade if you're dead. Follow every instruction your Team Leads give you, and you'll be safe. Good hunting."
Jared flickered and vanished, and was replaced by the image of a digital timer that read 4:23 and immediately began counting down. It was as if the entire lounge exhaled a held breath simultaneously. Conversations resumed, though in a much more hushed tone that before. Cyan spun around to face the other three, and could see Lyohniy and her brother's eyes were filled with barely contained excitement. Roan stared out of the window, presumably making careful note of the terrain below them.
A woman's voice suddenly came over the loudspeaker, "Time until drop zone is now four minutes, will all groups please make their way to the front of the cabin. Repeat..."
Cyan felt the nervousness wash over her again, and shoved her hands in her jacket pockets to stop them from shaking, then glanced up at Vermilion and saw him staring at something across the cabin. She followed his gaze to see Jet standing a few meters away staring back at him. They continued to stare at each other for several long moments, until Jet nodded with another slimy grin, then raised two fingers to his forehead and sketched a mock salute before turning around and joining Autumn at the front of the lounge.
Vermilion then turned back towards the rest of them, looked down at Cyan and smiled, "Ready?"
A confident smirk spread across her lips, and she gave him a single nod in reply, then turned towards the other two. Lyohniy looked about ready to to leap out of the nearest window, but Roan maintained a puzzled expression on his face and seemed lost in thought.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
He stared into space for while longer, and then abruptly turned his head towards her, "What is a landing strategy?"
Simultaneously, Cyan and Vermilion looked at each other, eyes widened with apprehension.
Several minutes later, the four of them stood in line in a small compartment somewhere in the bottom of the airship, fully equipped, waiting for the vessel to reach the second drop point. She glanced at the weaponry she had been issued for the duration of the mission: a straight single-edged blade, just over half a meter in length, and an assault rifle with a standard cartridge load-out, autofire capable, and identical to the ones carried by Atlesian military, designed more for precision and discretion rather than brute force. Simple to be sure, but also effective in trained hands. The dim lighting, combined with her stature made it difficult to see much of anything, but Cyan could sense Roan lean down over her shoulder from behind her.
"We just jump?" he said, trying his best to disguise the anxiety in his voice.
She sighed, "Yes."
"And then we fall?"
"And we fall, yes!" she said, for what felt like the hundredth time, "Didn't you ace the practical knowledge exam?"
Roan frowned, and looked away, "Not entirely."
The ship shuddered and pulled into a hover, causing everyone to lurch forward. Cyan tightened her grip around the straphanger to keep her balance.
"What are you so worried about anyway?" Lyohniy said, "Your Semblance should make this a piece of cake."
Roan fastened a stern look at the taller boy behind him, "It doesn't work like that. I have to be able to see where I want to go."
Lyohniy cocked one eyebrow at him, "You can't see the ground?"
The roar of wind entered their compartment as a door at the opposite end slid open, and the line began to slowly shuffle forward.
"Not through that canopy. Nor would it matter if I could, from this height." Roan said, "I also have a limited range."
"No kidding?" Lyohniy said, tilting his head to one side, "How limited?"
"About twenty-five meters."
They reached the open door. Cyan peered outside to see the vast expanse of the forest sprawling out below her. When she glanced towards the horizon, the city and all it's comforts were nowhere to be seen. The pink-striped Huntress from earlier, along with her three companions, were scanning the surroundings, carefully monitoring the students that had just disembarked.
Cyan had to shout to be heard over the combined sounds of wind and the ship's engines, "Why don't you just use it when you fall within your range?"
Roan's voice remained as steady as ever, but his expression contained a considerable amount of panic barely held in check, "Because I also retain any momentum that I build up."
Cyan exchanged another worried glance with Lyohniy, and the two of them looked up at Vermilion, who was watching over the edge carefully.
The Huntsman with the tribal tattoos turned to the four of them and nodded.
Vermilion gave a half shrug, "I sure hope we can think of something before we reach the ground."
Then he jumped.
Lyohniy let loose a tremendous whoop and jumped as well. Cyan pushed away her doubts and stepped over the edge, allowing herself to fall face-first out of the open door. Roan gulped, then closed his eyes and followed them.
For the briefest of moments all time seemed to stop, and Cyan felt herself overwhelmed by a sensation of blissful serenity. The wind stung at her eyes, and it hurt to keep them open, but it served as a reminder that without practice she wouldn't have been able to open them at all. She twisted her head around and searched for the rest of their team. Vermilion had already flattened himself out; knees bent, back arched, and held his arms to the side, slowing his descent as much as possible. After observing his technique, Roan had done much the same. Lyohniy drifted lazily about, rolling through the open air, grinning from ear to ear all the while. Cyan angled her body slightly downwards, pointing it in a straight line and began to pick up speed. Once she joined the rest of them, she leveled out into a similar position. Then they took the few remaining seconds they had and began looking for a suitable place to land.
Her eyes searched the area below, noting the many branches devoid of their leaves, and settled upon a particular cluster of trees about fifteen meters to their ten o'clock. The hill that rolled out beneath them was on a gradual slope downwards, and there was some thick vegetation at the base of the trees down the length of the slope. Even without a perfect landing, it should help absorb most of the impact. The deafening roar of the wind would have made shouting to the others pointless, so she held her hand up to get their attention, and then pointed out the area to them. Vermilion saw it and gave a thumbs up, then began to dip his shoulder, slowly steering his fall in that direction. The rest of them followed his course in a reasonably tight formation. When Roan was close enough, she touched a hand to his arm to get his attention.
"Try to find branches to slow your fall!" she shouted, while pulling her Dust blade free from the sheath at her side, "Land feet first, and keep your knees bent!"
She pantomimed each action as she spoke, and while it was impossible to be certain if he had heard anything she'd said, he did nod in understanding and drew his own blade from its sheath. Cyan focused her attention back towards the leafless trees rapidly approaching in front of her. The words from the training echoed about her conscious mind: what might happen doesn't matter, focus on the moment in front of you.
Her gaze locked on a branch directly in front of her, and she reached her free hand towards it. The instant it made contact, she hardened her aura around her. It absorbed the brunt of the impact, and she glided in a half-circle around the limb, altering her trajectory sharply in the direction of the trunk. Her hand found another branch and she pushed to the side, hurtling at a forty-five degree angle downwards, and when she reached the trunk she plunged her blade into it. The wood split, and her momentum almost wrenched her shoulder out of joint, but she managed to shift her weight enough to slide straight down the tree. Upon reaching the ground, she pulled her blade free and tucked her legs, tumbling over and over in a forward shoulder roll. It wasn't until she brought herself to a stop that she finally exhaled her held breath.
Glancing upwards, she saw the others had met with similar success. Vermilion plunged into the first branch he encountered, artfully swinging his forward momentum towards a pair of enormous trees. He planted his feet firmly on the first one he encountered and leapt off of it, ricocheting between the trunks several times before landing in a crouch. Rather that utilize his blade, Lyohniy kept both hands free, pushing clear of the upper layers of limbs, and careening directly towards the trunk. He met it with a closed fist, springing his barrier around him, and used it to absorb the remainder of his fall before dropping into a perch on a branch directly below him.
Roan, on the other hand, wasn't quite so fortunate.
His blade fell upon the first branch he came into contact with, putting his entire weight on it. The limb groaned, bent forward, and, despite it's thickness, finally snapped. In a panic he flickered from view, and then reappeared, still upside down, a few scant inches away from the trunk. A grunt of pain escaped his mouth as he collided with it and continued his downward descent, bouncing ungracefully from one branch to the next. He hit the ground with a thud, and rolled several times until he at last he came to a rest inside a sizable shrub at the bottom of another nearby tree, and then groaned.
Lyohniy dropped from his perch, and they all rushed over to him. By the time they got there, he had mostly extricated himself from the prickly bush by crawling out from under it. He had a sizeable gash on his chin, and burrs from the shrub clung to his hair.
"Are you okay?" Vermilion asked.
He managed to nod weakly in reply.
"Not bad for your first time." Lyohniy grinned, and offered him a hand.
Roan glared up at him, but nonetheless accepted the hand and pulled himself back to his feet. Lyohniy frowned as he watched him stand and leaned around to look over his shoulder. Cyan saw immediately what he was looking at. A small metal shard fell from Roan's back, exposing part of the of the rifle mechanism, and a full third of the weapon barrel was bent into an odd shape.
"That's not good." Cyan observed.
Roan unslung the rifle and pulled the magazine free. After a cursory examination, he said, "Still intact."
Vermilion shook his head, "You should stow the rifle. It's too risky."
Roan nodded affirmingly, and held the magazine out to him. Vermilion took it in his hand and it disappeared into his belt.
"Here." Cyan said as she unstrapped the Dust blade sheath from her leg, "Take this."
Roan accepted the weapon and fastened it behind him at the waist. A quiet, repetitive, chirping sound drew their attention, and the group turned to face Vermilion, who pulled the scroll from his belt and opened it. Cyan could see a digital map, and what appeared to be a long string of numbers in the top corner.
"Our coordinates." he said.
"Looks like we're on the clock." Lyohniy said, "We should get moving."
"Who will be in charge?"
They all turned to face Roan, then looked around at each other. After several seconds of silence, Cyan tried to take a step forward and speak, but for some reason she couldn't and she wasn't quite sure why. Perhaps it was a result of a quick and unexpected self-examination. She could barely manage herself, after all, let alone the four of them. Or perhaps it was it was the sound Jet's cryptic statement on the airship still ringing fresh in her mind. She bowed her head and sighed.
"Maybe..." she finally said, "you should hold onto it, V?"
The admission left a sour taste in her mouth, and she hoped that she didn't look as grave as she felt when she spoke.
She gazed back up at her brother, who looked at the others for any objections. When none came, he regarded the device with a half-shrug, "Alright then."
The scroll disappeared back into his belt. Either he hadn't noticed her expression, or he didn't want her to think he did. She wasn't sure which possibility irritated her more.
Lyohniy was so excited he nearly jumped out of his boots, "C'mon, already!" he said as he unslung his rifle, "Let's go!"
Vermilion chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder, "Slow down for a minute. Roan, you've been out in the Wilds before. Why don't you take point?"
He gave a curt, wordless nod as his reply and Vermilion pointed him the the direction that the scroll had indicated was the correct one. Cyan shifted her gear so that it rode more comfortably on her shoulders, and marched forward right behind Roan. Vermilion fell in behind her, and Lyohniy double checked the sights on his rifle before taking up the rear.
"Oh, man." he said, "This is gonna be great!"
The excitement did not last.
"This is ridiculous!" Lyohniy shouted in frustration.
He paused atop a fallen tree as the group crested another ridge while directing his frustration towards the open sky.
"Stop complaining." Vermilion said to him.
"Four hours!" he said as he hopped down to resume the pace, "Four hours we've been wandering without a single sign of Grimm activity. Are we even still in Atlas anymore?"
"There are some people who would call that a good thing." Roan said, without averting his gaze from the path in front of him.
Cyan rolled her eyes and moved alongside Vermilion. He had the scroll back out, and was studying the map intently.
"He's got a point, you know." she said under her breath, "Shouldn't we have found something by now?"
"It's a patrol," he reminded her, "There are never any guarantees with the Grimm. You should know that."
A brief patch of static began to emanate from the scroll as the radio crackled to life.
"Team Lead to north group, check in." a gruff-sounding voice ordered.
"N1, all clear." a female voice answered.
"N2, all clear." said a younger sounding male.
Vermilion sighed and tapped the talk button, "N3, all clear."
The two remaining teams each answered in turn. The Huntsman sent an acknowledgement and the scroll again fell silent.
Cyan clucked her tongue against her teeth, "What a waste of time."
Her brother looked over at her, "The check-ins help keep us safe. Without them, it could take all day to discover if something happened to us. Maybe longer."
"That's not what I meant." she said, ducking under a particularly low-hanging branch, "We're supposed to be learning about the Grimm. What's the point of all this if we never even see them?"
Lyohniy's stride carried him on the opposite side of her from Vermilion, and he nodded in agreement, "I hear that."
Vermilion let out an exasperated sigh, "Well what do you want to do, then?" he asked, "I mean, besides ignoring our orders?"
"I didn't say that." she shot back at him, "There's an obvious flaw with this approach. What's so wrong with pointing it out?"
"It's irrelevant." Vermilion insisted, "This is a job. A dangerous job. Fun and excitement are rarely part of the description."
"Hey, cut her some slack, man." Lyohniy said, "She's just saying what we're all thinking."
Vermilion narrowed his eyes, "Actually, I'm pretty sure some of us are thinking about the task at hand."
Cyan pushed another branch out of her way and blew out her breath in a quick puff of annoyance, "Ugh, just forget I said anything, okay? I wasn't trying to start a… where's Roan?"
The group abruptly stopped, and looked forward to where Roan had been only a moment before, but he was nowhere to be found. Vermilion took a few steps forward, his eyes rapidly searching the area. Cyan stepped behind him, watching the places that he wasn't, while Lyohniy brought his rifle up to bear and remained on guard. She was almost about to start calling for him when he stepped into view from behind the nearby brush. He exhaled in relief and she could see he had a deathly pallor on his face.
"What happened?" she asked, "Where did you go?"
"To ground." he replied, "Why didn't you follow my lead?"
Vermilion blinked at him, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"And what's with you?" Lyohniy added, "I mean, you look absolutely…"
"Grim." Roan finished.
"Well, I was gonna say, 'petrified', but yeah, I guess that works."
"No." he shook his head, "Grimm."
They all froze, and for a few moments there was no sound save for the chill winter wind rustling through the trees.
"What?" Cyan said.
Roan's right ear twitched, and he snapped his head in that direction.
"Down!" he hissed and fell into a low crouch. The rest of them did the same, and began slowly making their way forward through the brush, following Roan's careful lead.
"One Beowolf." he said, "Ten meters ahead of us."
"Just one?" Vermilion said, cocking his head to one side, "It's alone?"
"Can we get closer?" Lyohniy asked, before Roan had time to answer.
"We are still downwind." Roan admitted with a grimace, "I suppose so, if we're careful."
They spent a few minutes carefully picking their way through the underbrush in an effort to make as little noise as possible. At the foot of a small ridge, Roan dropped to flat to the ground and continued forward at a crawl, and the rest of them did the same. After cresting the ridge they stopped and peered out from underneath a particularly dense bush into the clearing before them.
The creature stood roughly two and a half meters tall, and it's body was covered in pitch black fur that seemed to absorb the light rather than reflect it. Thick, jagged-looking protrusions of what looked like bone ran along the outside of it's forearm and elbows, with a small ridge running down the length of it's spine, and it's head was almost entirely covered by a milky white skull-shaped mask, from which two beady red eyes almost seemed to glow. It stood on it's hind legs, far too comfortably for Cyan's taste, and arched its back, pointing a maw full of glistening fangs into the air, almost as though it were stretching. They all realized in that instant that was sniffing at the air, and watched it casually lean its snout in the group's direction. For a while, no one dared to even breathe, and eventually the Beowolf dropped back down onto all fours and continued to pad slowly across the clearing.
"Oh, man." Lyohniy said in a hushed voice, and gulped once to settle himself, "What do you think it's it doing?"
"Who can say?" Roan whispered back, "Even after generations of fighting, we still know so little about them."
They sat there in silence for a moment longer, not daring to take their eyes away from the monstrous form.
"We should call this in." Cyan said, finally, "Shouldn't we?"
When she didn't receive a reply, she looked over at Vermilion. He wore an expression on his face that she had never seen on him before. His jaw was set tightly and his brow had curled into a knot. He stared so intently at the thing that it looked to Cyan as though he were attempting to burn it to a crisp where it stood using just his gaze. The fingers on his right hand had slowly clenched into a fist, held so tight that it almost seemed to be trembling.
"…V?" she said, leaning closer to him.
"Huh?", he blinked, and resumed his normal countenance, "Oh. Right."
She watched as he fumbled at his belt pouch and pulled the scroll free. What had happened to him just now?
He slid down the hill away from the clearing, followed closely by Cyan and Lyohniy. Roan elected to stay, keeping a close eye on the creature's movements.
Vermilion clicked the talk button and said quietly, "N3 to Team Lead."
After a brief silence, the scroll crackled back, "Team Lead. Go ahead N3."
He opened his mouth to speak but suddenly closed it again, paused as though in thought, and then said, "Nothing, sorry. False alarm."
"Copy." the voice said, sounding almost annoyed, "Keep the chatter light."
The scroll then fell silent.
Cyan's eyes went so wide they almost fell out of her head, "What are you doing?"
Vermilion gave her a wry grin, and nodded back towards the ridge, "Remember the lectures? Beowolves are always part of a pack. If this one is alone, more of them shouldn't be too far away."
"So what?" Cyan said.
"So," he said, "if we follow this one it should lead us right to the rest."
"Hunt the hunters." Lyohniy said with a smirk, "I like it."
"Well I don't." Cyan shook her head and replied, "First of all, you can't know that for sure, and second, even if you're right it could be days before it rejoins the rest of the pack. Or weeks!"
Lyohniy seemed to consider this, and looked back towards Vermilion, who rubbed his chin in thought, "Okay, we'll follow it for two hours. After that, if there's no sign of a pack, we'll call it in."
Cyan still wasn't convinced.
"Look," Vermilion said, "weren't you two the ones going on about how bored you were? This is a chance to make this something worth calling in."
She glanced over at Lyohniy who was watching her hopefully, then she sighed and said, "For the record, I still think this is a bad idea."
"Noted." Vermilion said with a triumphant grin, and the two boys quietly scampered back up the hill.
