Rain did seem rather common regarding the nature of the trees and it being centered right in the ocean So there was no cause for alarm if there was rain coming to the archipelago in the first place. For the sake of the mission, though…perhaps this was for the best they take a day off.

Lance had awoken naturally to the sound of rain pouring in around him, which caught him off guard when he realized that it was actual rain. He had been watching the skies and even felt that rain was approaching that night. And yet, he was still a bit perplexed by the sounds of water hitting the tarp. The avian sat up slowly, his wings unfurrowing and stretching out along with his other limbs as he let out a silent yawn. Looking around, he was alone- the sleeping bag and packing gear Pyrrha had were neatly put away and stored on the opposite side of the tent. The redhead herself was nowhere to be found, most likely outside and perhaps with the others.

…which also confused him a great deal. It was raining, right? What would they even be doing? And stepping out of the tent, he found his answers rather quickly.

To the left side, Penny and Yang were sparring together. The blonde had been wanting to test out how she would stand up to someone like the ginger. Her close-range tactics seemed to work rather well, even if it was a little infuriating that Penny wouldn't let her land even a graze. It was also a fun contest to see how fast her partner could move, too. Given how light she seemingly was, it made a whole lot of sense she could move out of the way super quickly. Even her weapons were light, which made batting them away easy but hard to dodge. And since Yang's semblance was about reflecting damage, it also got more interesting when the hits got a little closer to home. For Penny, it was a similar motive. She was certain that if team RWBY made it far enough into the upcoming tournament, that Yang would be the one who would represent the team during the final eight. And if Penny was ready herself, she would be there and hopefully be able to fight against her again. This was giving her a taste of what their styles would be like, how she might find a way to exploit her partner's weaknesses. Her dodging skills needed work, and calibrating her blades to go in unpredictable patterns would be the easiest way to force the blonde out of a tournament match.

It wasn't manipulative, of course. This was a way of gathering battle data through first-hand experience.

To the right side were the other two members of team SPYR- Ruby and Pyrrha. They had sheltered under a tarp held up by many strong branches and the trunk of a tree, the two sitting on a large mat. Ruby's weapon, Crescent Rose, was in several pieces spread out in front of the young huntress-in-training. Said student had various tools out as well, supposedly field-stripping her weapon and readjusting a few parts. Pyrrha sat with her hands folded on her lap and watched, listening to her colleague ramble on about the various parts and operations of her rifle-scythe. Ruby did make this weapon herself- just like everyone else at Signal Academy. The Mistralian had done the same with Miló and Akoúo, but it was never this convoluted and specific. And even though she didn't fully understand what was happening or how it all worked as a whole, the scarlet-haired woman was more than happy to listen to Ruby go on and on about her "baby".

It was so nice to hear someone talk genuinely about their weapon.

And in the center of it all was their leader, watching both pairs interact in ways he never thought could work for them. The firepit they had used last night was wet, the burned wood soaked in rain water for the past several hours at most. The ground was getting far more wet, pooling up in certain low areas. Even the trees themselves were crying along with the sky, giving out signs of their sadness with their drooping branches and leaves. Even with the sounds of effort, metal clashing, and one-sided conversation- the large amounts of water coming from high in the sky that hit the ground dulled it all out.

The avian Faunus would take off his ripped shirt and bandages, allowing his full torso to be exposed. He kept his pants and boots on, only leaving the top half of his body open to the elements. Lance then stepped out into the rain, letting the drops of water hit him all over. Each droplet hit his body softly, splashing even onto his wings. Once he had made it to the center of the clearing, his eyes closed as his arms stretched out and circled them back inward as if in meditation. A deep breath was uttered as his wings would gently flap, hitting multiple droplets of water on the way up and down. His eyes darted open suddenly, as he proceeded to punch forward with his left hand. His hand collided with a large drop of water, splattering it to collect with others that continued to fall nearby. The same arm and hand wound back as he readjusted his stance, performing an elbow strike out what was previously behind him. The very end of his elbow hit another droplet of water, splashing outward once again. His left foot raised and fired off a harsh side-kick, colliding with a lot more droplets this time.

As more time passed in the rain, each and every one of his limbs got a good amount of usage and action. His hands shifted into various strikes to hit various places, his kicks shot out in a strong blast or sweeped around. Even his wings would flap in certain directions as if he was dealing with an opponent behind him. Every movement he made had precision, each hit designed to inflict damage. To know that a raindrop would fall exactly where it needed to in order to be hit seemed to require such incredible discipline of the self and the understanding of the area around a person. And throughout it all, he was beginning to lose sight that this was just a short workout to start the day- he was letting his instincts take over, moving his body not by choice but by impulse. All of this effort drew the attention of his teammates, who stopped their rambling and hand-to-hand combat to watch their team leader beat up the rain. This was the first actual display of skill Yang and Penny had seen Lance do, with Pyrrha and Ruby being the only two with on-hand experience with his style.

As an end of his near five minutes of constant action, he launched himself up in a flip and boosted himself back down to the ground with his wings and his boots. The rain around him shot out downward in a huge splash or back up towards the sky, momentarily stopping the rainfall in that specific radius. The ring made from the blast had halted the rain for a moment when he landed, only to be met with the continuous downpour from before. The Faunus landed with his right hand curled into a fist lodged in the dirt, the opposite knee bent into a kneel. Ruby recognized it as a superhero landing, and was audibly letting out a long squeal when she realized it. Lance, himself, was breathing light pants and kept his stance. He had really gotten into it and didn't even notice he was going that intensely.

As he stood up and looked up into the crying sky, Ruby couldn't hold back her enthusiasm and started to clap vigorously. Lance perked up from his zoning to see his teammate applauding, which was followed by the other three clapping along with the ravenette.

"Guess I went a little overboard, huh?" He would respond with a nervous chuckle.

"You looked pretty out of it," Yang joked as she and her partner moved in closer to their leader. Penny had unfurrowed an umbrella and held it over the both of them to protect them from the rain. "But you got the blood flowing- and that's the important part."

"Your heart rate has been raised by a significant margin," the ginger added. "This intense cardio will help keep you active throughout the day, as long as you keep activity elevated."

"I'll keep that in mind," the brown-haired Faunus replied with a nod. He was suddenly hit with a weight on his left side, clinging to his arm specifically. And looking there was Ruby herself.

"YOU LOOKED SO AWESOME!" She squealed, hugging onto Lance's arm tightly. Once he had noticed it was her, the avian lifted one of his wings up and angled it to shield the younger huntress from the rain coming down upon them. "YOU HAVE TO SHOW THE OTHERS YOUR MOVES WHEN WE GET BACK TO BEACON!"

"Mmn- might have to ask Glynda to make that an assignment," Lance jokingly remarked, which seemed to put a little bit of sourness in Ruby's expression.

"I do have to say, it was quite impressive how well you performed." Pyrrha had walked her way through the rain, using a small tarp to shield herself. She looked really silly holding such a heavy sheet above her head. "I'm sure professor Goodwitch would love to have you perform for her classes some day."

"Maybe that'll be your analysis assignment before the tournament starts," he responded right back. "Since I won't be participating due to my…lack of an official team. Who knows- maybe I'll be a half-time extra in the singles bracket or something. Me versus the entire first row of losers."

This got the team laughing at the concept. Four of the strongest single members from various schools fighting one single opponent with a track record of being a harsh competitor. The thought of four divided fighters trying to coordinate on the fly without knowing their chemistry before Lance eliminates them was rather entertaining. Especially considering he technically represented two schools: Shade and Beacon.

"Can you imagine how many jokes Port and Oobleck would be making if that happened?" Yang would ask aloud, who was the one laughing the most out of all five. "I can just imagine Oobleck saying 'Those cheep tricks won't work on Mr. Flyus'!"

This got a few laughs from the others, mostly a hefty chuckle from Lance and a little giggle from Pyrrha. Ruby just groaned and rolled her eyes while Penny looked to her golden-haired teammate in confusion.

"Only to meet with another one of 'You can't pull a move so fowl in this ring'," Lance would add onto it. Yang was really laughing now and Pyrrha was giggling a lot more.

I can't believe she infected him with it too, Ruby would think to herself. She loved her sister's jokes, but sometimes they could be a bit corny.

"No no no- thi- think about how they'd respond to you axekicking one of your opponents so hard it breaks their aura: 'That one looks like it'll take some longwinged'-"

"Tweetment!" The two would say in tandem, now letting out hearty laughs on both sides. Pyrrha was even letting her normal laughs come out, with Ruby unable to hide a smile and a few giggles of her own.

"Perhaps with a few quick punches, Lance might see to magically make someone's aura disappear," the crimson-haired woman added on next. And on queue the Faunus and the blonde said it with her:

"They'd call him Hoodini!" "They'd call me Hoodini!"

Now everyone except Penny was really laughing. It was doubly funny because the famous magician Hoodini was actually an owl Faunus. It was by the end of that joke did the ginger put it all together.

"Oh! So that explains why you make the jokes," she'd say aloud in the midst of the laughter. Only Ruby really heard that audible realization.

"Penny, you only just now figured that out?"

"I was unable to fully register the true meaning behind the sentences being said. I will have to remind myself to watch for certain pronunciations and phrases the next time we make jokes."

Even with all the time spent with Penny thus far, said ginger still had a lot to learn about human behavior and herself. Ruby was glad to be her friend, to help her see the world through better eyes. It felt like she was a part of a bigger family…maybe even more than family at times.

While the other islands seemed to house forest trees and large bushes with settlements on them, this last small island seemed to remain completely untouched and wild. The rain had cleared up by this point, having moved out closer to the sea. This prompted three of team SPYR to head out and search the final island to hopefully get their mission fully accomplished. Even as they approached by boat, the unkempt look of this last section of land showed this part was not mettled with. The plants scattered amongst the muddy ground were dying, so were the trees. Their blacks and browns melted into the dull brown-green waters that were covered in scum and algae. Despite how gross the surface was, the branches of the dead or dying trees did their best to lean in and take a sip. Some even managed to dip in, perhaps explaining further why they died and left it all to the reeds and typhas. Insects a plenty surrounded the area, the hums of each one making a ruckus as the wind picked up to swoop them away. Frogs, some birds, a snake- perhaps even an alligator could be seen patrolling the wet shores and maneuvering past logs or lilypads. It was a cacophony of noise- a constant screech of all those animals sounding more like an industrial drill being forced into one's ears.

The worst thing about it was the smell. It felt like stepping into a fresh compost barn, complete with newly-brought manure to complete the whole feel. A humid stench could make one wretch, and each large bubble bursting open from the surface stank something fierce.

So when the female trio of team SPYR found themselves along the shoreline of this swamp, each member was audibly gagging.

"I take it back- fish smell way nicer," Ruby complained, holding in rising puke.

"Ugh, this smells worse than Zwei's turds…" Yang concurred in disgust.

Pyrrha seemed to be the only one of the trio to not say anything. She did plug her nose and did her best to paddle with one arm despite not having a verbal reaction. They were along the northmost coast by this rate, simply observing the elongated mass of moss and mud from a decent distance. Still, it hurt to even try and breathe through their noses given how bad the smell was.

If the noise and smell were bad outside, it was far worse from within. All the plant life around them kept the humidity from truly escaping despite how dead everything looked. Swaths of gnats and fireflies circled around them, occasionally one of the three having to wave a hand so they wouldn't get a face full of insects. A mosquito almost landed on Ruby, making her leap back a bit and rock the boat. The sudden balance and ripple change of the water nearly knocked the three out of their dinghy, but stability was quickly obtained thanks to Ruby's use of her semblance to put more momentum in the other direction. The three gave their nervous laughs before continuing on the stretch of water.

There wasn't much to see to take note of on the way through. Just dead trees, muddy grass, bugs everywhere- a few frogs, the sound of a bird being silenced by a crunch. Overall, this entire place felt just off. No sign of civilization despite all of what they saw the past two days of working together. Even the Amosians using this place was a bad idea- and so did Atlas. No metal, no freshened wood. Even the animals themselves felt like they shouldn't belong- always moving on from their previous spot and never retracing themselves. Even one of the alligators the three observed didn't heed them any mind. Perhaps it didn't actually see them, didn't think it was worth the risk of trying to eat, or that it just didn't care. With the feathers sticking out of the corners of its mouth, it was better to assume it was already satisfied.

But just as they were about to head back out to the open ocean and make their way to the main island, Ruby spotted something. A motorboat.

"Guys, stay low!" she whispered loudly, ducking down so just the top of her head was visible. Pyrrha saw it next followed by Yang, both in shock at what it was. It was parked along a small wooden bridge sitting just along the water, leading to a house on stilts that led into the water as well. Along the bridge was a person. Someone was patrolling this area and none of them had even noticed until now. It was just the outline, but it was certainly someone- which prompted all three to duck down further to stay hidden as they moved. The best they could do was quietly signal to one another to steer the boat to a low-hanging tree as to hide in its vines. They only managed to get two rows in before they had to brace the roots to stop them completely.

And as they parked, they watched and listened.

"Find anything?" called the man on the bridge towards the house. From a balcony along the main floor, another man walked out and called to his presumed partner.

"Nothing," they said in response.

"Damn, L.C's not gonna be happy about this."

"So what? It's a freaking swamp, man."

"So what? We haven't found jack out here! On any island!"

"That's not true. We found the digger."

"We put a scratch mark on it. We don't even know if it works!"

As the two continued to bicker back and forth, the forest seemed to grow restless around them. Birds squawked more often, insects moved around more sporadically. Even the smaller critters moved faster along the water and land. Yang and Ruby watched intently as Pyrrha rested on one knee, carefully keeping the boat in place. The vines made it hard to see what either of the two were doing since they blocked out parts of the house and bridge.

A breeze seemed to kick parts of them out of the way, causing a faint russell that made both sisters look at each other and around. …there wasn't a breeze. What moved those vines?

Pyrrha would soon find something else of interest as she sat there. A branch nearby her head faintly creaked downwards and caught her eyes. A snake was moving along it, dragging it down to meet eye level with the huntress. It was black with an orange underbelly, beady black eyes opening and closing slowly as it looked at the redhead with curiosity. It flicked its tongue out at her multiple times, which made her smile. It wasn't going to hurt her, at least not now. Then it yawned with his jaw stretching wide open, which actually made Pyrrha giggle. This caught the attention of the Xiao-Rose sisters, who whipped their heads around to see their teammate with a snake's head in the palm of her hand.

"What are you doing?!" the two quietly threw at her in unison, which Pyrrha responded with a finger to her lips and a small hush. Her attention moved back to the snake, its body slivering a little more onto her before attempting to recoil back to the branch. The Mistralian stood up slowly and helped it coil around that part of the tree again, watching as it left and the branch returned to its original state.

While the girls were caught in their own frenzy, the two men were at their boat again. One of them tried the engine for their craft and it sputtered- chopping the water weirdly.

"What the hell?" the one who pulled the cord cursed to himself, stepping out of the boat to see the backside.

"What? What is it?" the other replied in question, turning in his driver's seat to follow his partner.

Just as he turned, the water erupted next to him and an alligator shot out onto the inside of the boat. Its jaw caught the man's arm, the meaty sound of flesh breaking and the crunch of bones precluded his painful and terrified screams.

"MAC!" his partner wailed out as he got ready to hop onto the boat and tried to save his mate. Before he could, a snake leapt out from the nearby grass and bit him on the ankle- making him trip and hit his head on the side of the boat as he fell into the water. Mac was having his own trouble as he was pulled in too by the alligator, barely able to get a shot in on its face with his knife before he was tossed in.

As the thrashing and struggled swimming from both people, the trio of women sat in shock as their newfound targets were being attacked by nature itself. Mac and the unnamed second member were both underwater by this point, the ripples and air bubbles coming through showing their struggle to fight off something. The unnamed member comes up first, his neck somehow being broken by something beneath the surface. Mac's blood soon joined his, his body never resurfacing.

And along the side of the boat, they noticed a symbol in bright red. The monstrous skull of a wolf with three claw marks behind it.

The White Fang's official symbol.

It is here that the darker side of the story begins to bear its teeth. Answers are coming forth with each chapter from now on, so be prepared for those and more fights!