"Landing strategy," Quote un-quote.
"Awesome," Alicia Redstone muttered beneath the wind whipping her pale sun starved face and tugging stray lengths of coppery hair out from her tight braided pony tail.
"Grandpa Port didn't mentioned anything like this…"
Thrown into the Emerald forest from a cliff. Good luck buttercup don't crash and die.
But the voice of her father's father seemed to come back to her. Repeating one of the more useful lessons from his repertoire
"Don't panic,"
Right.
Taking her long curved Dust dagger out Alicia focused her semblance and conjured a glyph. The legacy of a long past fling one of her mother's ancient relatives had with one of the Schnee spawn of immemorial. Catching herself vertically against a tree trunk before she splattered into a million pieces in the emerald green branches. It sure as hell didn't feel like she had just gone from stupid fast falling to zero in less than a second. More like jumping down one or two feet to a soft landing. She flipped herself down onto one of the thicker branches at the top.
Out of imminent danger Alicia allowed herself a moment to take stock of the situation. Surveying the vast expanse of the Emerald forest from her lofty perch. Taking a moment to try and straighten out her black leather jacket.
"WOOH HOO!"
Alicia ducked reflexively as a flash of yellow followed by several explosive blasts bounced over her head, moving in a direction that was definitely not the way to the temple.
She scowled, "Seriously had anyone bothered to look on the way down?"
A few seconds later the young Huntress mentally kicked herself. Recognizing how she herself had been about to panic. But now it was plain to see there was a distant clearing in the forest and vague grey objects standing tall from the top of this tree. Almost straight north east if she didn't get side tracked.
"Speaking of keeping on track," Alicia said to no one in particular. She started to hop from branch to branch down the canopy.
Jaxon kept a running commentary going in his head of his landing strategy.
"Spring off the branches, slowdown from terminal velocity to manageable, tuck and roll on the ground, jump up good to go."
Except for the Boarbatusk whose foraging path Jaxon had landed in.
The daemon pig snorted in shock at the lion Faunus that had dropped from the sky and squealed in rage. Its killer instincts kicking in, charging forward the Grimm tucked into its signature rolling attack coming to smash Jaxon over and maul him to death with its tusks.
The Faunus only smiled. "Oh please, these things never learn…"
Jaxon considered his two options, up close or long range. Confident that he could do both admirably
Taking his thick Mistral style spear with a long painted yellow blade tapered to a point off of his back, Jaxon grabbed the folded pistol grip, flicked it down and pulled back. The blade shifted down, bare unpolished dark metal scraped against metal attacking his sensitive hearing. The slight movement uncovering the rifle barrel and taking the position of a bayonet. Other parts moved for minor technical reasons but the last shift put the stock into position at his right shoulder.
"Now we're in business," He thought to himself with a smile. Taking aim as he crouched and started to slow his breathing, waiting for the Grimm's rotation to give him a shot at its eyes.
"Nearly there…"
And a spinning blur of steel smashed into the boar's left side. Its roll losing all semblance of control sprawling to a stop, the Grimm twitched once and died in a limp heap right at his feet. An ax sunken into the side of its head. All dull black steel except for the dark brown composite grips.
A deep male voice called out from the shadows of the trees. "Hold your applause everyone, shows' not over yet."
"Oh, this guy sounds like an asshole." Jaxon groaned. He stood and sighed in resignation remembering he was going to get stuck with someone sooner or later. Looking again at the brutal chopping weapon embedded in the Grimm's lightly smoking flesh,
"If they could throw like that they might not be so bad."
His mystery "savior" stepped out of the shadows grinning like an idiot. Jaxon couldn't even hide his surprise. His fellow student was another Faunus, only his heritage was upward curving pointy horns on the sides of his head. Tan at their base slowly shifting to a glossy black hue out and down till the narrow points were about level with the corners of his mouth.
His dark grey eyes were bright with excitement. But his attitude made Jaxon's stomach churn just a little. He never could stand people who acted like everyone was their friend. It made him feel like they were trying to hide something.
The axman's brown hair was buzzed down evenly to about a quarter inch all over his head. His new partner wore a grey tank top under a blue sleeveless vest made of some thick material. Exposing his tanned arms, sculpted and bulked from hundreds and hundreds of hours doing every imaginable exercise with his signature weapon. Finally brown pants and grey hiking boots completed his outfit.
Jaxon shouldered his rifle, giving a little huff as he did. "So for your encore you will?"
'Pass this bull shit entrance test of course with my new buddy…" The bull Faunus paused in almost comical confusion. "Eh… what's your name?" He asked
"Jaxon Peridot."
"Good to meet you I'm Co'Balt." He answered hooking a thumb back at this bulging chest.
Jaxon raised an eyebrow, "Is that your last name?"
"No it's my one and only name." Co'Balt snorted in light annoyance. "Blame my parents, fricking traditionalists."
Co'Balt planted his foot on the now semi solid shoulder of the Boarbatusk. Levering his axe out of its head. The weapon wasn't simply just an axe however. The single thick straight edged hacking blade was mounted under the stock of an autoloading shotgun. The results of his many attempts to modernize something similar to those old blunderaxes he had seen before.
He quickly sized up his new partner
Jaxon was only about an inch, or two taller than himself. Although his rounded Faunus ears added to the illusion.
He was dressed in a sort of dull yellow long sleeve sport jacket, popped collar, opened at the front. Along with a black V neck underneath, finally sporting some beat up blue jeans and brown combat boots.
Co'Balt couldn't help but chuckle, if Jaxon was a lion Faunus could only describe his hair as accurate, or maybe racist, a messy mane of dirty dark yellow hair running down to his shoulders. His almost cat like brown eyes staring unblinking at Co'Balt.
The bull Faunus had a slight moment of regret. Thinking maybe he should have let Jaxon take the boar, see if he could use that rifle. But Co'Balt had been brought up knowing it was always nice to make a good first impression. Saving someone from a Grimm ranked pretty high in his book.
As the awkward silence grew and precious moments were wasted Co'Balt scratched at his head trying to put on a friendly smile.
"You wouldn't happen to have any idea where you're going would you?"
It seemed Alicia's luck just wasn't good at all today. Still ten meters up in the air and she noticed that those rocks surrounding the trunk of her tree were not rocks at all. But the backs of three sleeping Ursai.
Which would have remained oblivious to her presence. If she hadn't accidentally knocked a dead branch right down on top of the biggest one's head.
Now all three of the beasts were up and circling the tree. Clawing their way up as high as they could, but betrayed by their bulk and sliding back down. Growling and moaning at their prize just out of reach.
She had a few options, all of them bad that she could tell. Jump down and somehow fight them all at once. Make a few impossible leaps through the tree tops and attempt to lose them, unlikely. Or see if they eventually lost interest.
Which was not only impossible she knew from what her Grandpa had told her of humanity's implacable enemy. But would probably take the rest of the day leaving her stuck up this damn tree when night fell while the rest of her class passed, got teams, good grades. And she stayed here and failed.
Thinking no one would even really notice she never made it back from the forest. Grandpa Port would come looking for her, although that little family life line would only get her so far if she didn't pass this test.
"Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die."
Alicia steeled herself and set her knife's revolving Dust selector to Burn. Trying to psych herself up to jump and attack.
Someone decided to make her choice a little less dangerous for her.
Whistling air and a loud wet crunch heralded the arrival of one of her fellow would be Hunters. One of the Ursa trying to climb the tree suddenly roared in pain and fell back onto its side, howling and writhing on the ground.
A javelin had punched straight through the middle of its back, severing the spine, and most likely puncturing a few of its vital organs. The other two Ursa turned around and stood up on their hind feet to face this new threat, forgetting about the girl in the tree.
Her savior charged through the trees swinging a long length of chain in his left hand and holding a massive fighting knife in his right. The giant swung the black chain at the Ursa closest to him on the left. Smashing it into its face stunning the beast, shards of bone and specks of blood turning back to shadow as they few from its face,
The Ursa reared back roaring in pain and surprise, paws swiping at its face. Kad jumped forward closing the distance between himself and the bear.
Alicia could barely follow the speed of his attack.
Hacking left, cutting through its stomach. Gutted in one stroke. Back hand right, slashing its throat to the bone. He kicked high with his left leg into its armored chest and sent the dying Grimm sprawling to the grass and dirt.
He spun clockwise and whipped his chain low at the second Ursa. The sharpened steel cracked into its upper right leg and shattered the thick bone. Kad had let out a little more slack this time so the chain spun around its injured leg a few times. He pulled back and bent the splintered fragments at a painfully unnatural angle where no joint should be. The Ursa roared and tried to lurch forward, arms reaching out for Kad.
Seeing no need to get close, Kad flung his knife with a quick flick of his wrist and buried it a finger length in the Ursa's forehead.
Alicia jumped down from the tree, hazel eyes wide at the carnage this guy had caused so quickly.
Three Ursa down in ten seconds flat.
His orange coat threw of a glow like the rising sun. Contrasted by the black combat outfit hugging his bulky frame beneath it. He had a kind young face and captivating eyes that flicked around like they were trying to capture everything they could.
"And wow he's tall." Alicia noted with a little flutter of her nerves. She had never seen such a giant before.
His javelin made a gross sucking sound as he pulled it out of the back of the first Ursa. Kad flicked it once to send the worst of the gore on its way to smoke and oblivion. Then twisted the middle to open the lock and fold it in half.
How this girl had ended up in the tree Kad didn't know, but he appraised his new partner quickly.
She was tall for a girl almost five ten if he had to guess. Her red brown hair was pulled back and braided in a ponytail starting at the base of her skull. Not on the top of her head like he had seen a lot in Vale. She wore a black leather jacket with dark maroon stitching, zipped up about halfway over a grey blouse. Neither of which completely reached her waist, exposing slight stretch of skin at her middle. Finally black pants similar to what Kad was wearing, and red laced combat boots completed her outfit.
She tried to smile, holding out her petite hand. "Hi, my name's Alicia. Thanks, I thought I was gonna be up there all day."
Kad returned her friendly expression, and they shook in the Hunter's grip. At least in Alicia's case attempting to grasp the other's forearms like they would when helping up a comrade.
"Well I was passing through and it seemed almost criminal to leave you stuck there." Kad said, releasing the hold and returning his javelin to the holster on his back.
Alicia smiled shyly, brushing a stray red brown hair away from her face. Sheathing her knife Dust knife on her left hip. The weapon had a revolving chamber able to select several types of Dust, and apply them with a long and thick curving blade.
Kad figured she had to be fast if she fought Grimm with just that knife. Without any real reach, knife fighters had get in close do damage and get away fast. But he did consider she probably had other means of keeping things out of arm's reach.
Alicia decided to take the first step and break the silence.
"What's your name?" She asked.
His voice rumbled as he nodded down. "Kad. My name is Kad."
Alicia glanced to her right and then back up to the giant. "It looked like a straight shot northeast to the temple from up there."
"How far?"
"Um… I don't know. Not very."
"Well then, let's get moving."
A/N well this was going to be longer but i decided to make team introduction as smooth as possible. Did you really expect me to crowbar Kad onto an existing team or something? Reviews appreciated as always, thank you for taking a look.