"Ooohhhh," Rowan blurted. Apparently he hadn't realized either. "That makes a whole lotta sense."

Cascara kicked off from the pillar, facing the team and drawing her rapier. "We're inside someone else's city hall, so try to limit the damage you cause. And... this should go without saying, but don't kill me."

Noxis took off toward Cascara before any of his teammates could utter a word in reply. He let a wild swing loose at her neck, causing her to sidestep halfway and block the rest with her rapier. She winced as steel clashed together, and her wrist twisted with Noxis's strike. Her eyes narrowed as a second flew toward her, and a gleaming wire produced from her weapon's needle-like point. With a spin, Cascara wrapped it around Noxis's hand and the weapon it grasped, and he was wrenched toward the floor.

She took advantage of his momentary defeat by flicking her rapier downward. Its tip separated in two and rotated before locking in place, forming a bow. The string trailing from the rapier's point was now pulled back at a full draw, and aimed at Caspian. He raised his armguard to defend himself, but there was no need. Lilly jumped in from his side, opening Elysian bloom to block her shot.

"Thanks!" Caspian recognized.

With a smile and a nod to her partner, Lilly twirled Elysian Bloom's handle between her fingers, making its cover spin. A cloud began to form around it, and skewers of ice shot toward the huntress. Cascara transformed her weapon back into a rapier to swat at the oncoming spears, and Rowan charged her from the side.

She leapt back from his first swing, raising her rapier to meet his second as red waves of aura crackled down his arm and into his hand. The attack flung Cascara back and into the ground. After narrowly dodging an attack from Noxis and ducking under a blast from Undertow, she leapt back at Rowan, trading a few swipes and blocks before he used the momentum of one attack to spin, and launch at Cascara with waves of red once again travelling from chest to arm.

The huntress twirled under his strike, and finished with a jab to Rowan's gut. He flung back with a yelp of pain, losing Sanguine Storm. Without a moment of rest, Cascara continued on to Caspian and Lilly. Caspian blocked her first rapier thrust with his armguard, turning and slashing with Undertow. He managed to land a strike, providing Lilly an opening to jab at the huntress as well. Cascara managed to riposte, jabbing her foe in the shoulder.

Caspian couldn't help but watch the two for a handful of seconds. Lilly struck with such grace, the tip of her rapier dancing with Cascara's as the two countered each other with the form and footwork of trained fencers. Jarring Caspian from the sight, Cascara sprung forward. She whipped Lilly's weapon to the side, and followed up with a slash across her chest and a jab to the stomach.

In an attempt at revenge, Caspian joined in again. His two strikes were blocked, and he raised his armguard to defend against Cascara's response. It was blocked, but as he turned to follow up with an attack of his own, he felt a cord around his wrist. He was thrown off balance, and his weapon was ripped from his hand.

Cascara raised her bow and drew toward Noxis as he sprinted toward her, semblance encasing his arms and chest as a red glow flashed in his eyes. She lowered her aim from his chest to his boots and let fly. The arrow, glowing bowstring attached, whizzed over Caspian's head. He heard Noxis exclaim in surprise and fall to the floor. The wire had struck his boot, instantly wrapping his legs together and binding arms to his sides.

Caspian hobbled along in a half-run, half-crawl toward Undertow, but Cascara stopped him. He hardly had time to wrench his dagger from the sheath in his armguard before she lashed at him with her rapier. Caspian swatted it away with the dagger, but was entirely outmatched.

After a few seconds, he too was defeated.

Caspian gasped for breath as he labored to sit upright. "So does this mean... we lose?"

"I'm not worried about the particulars of winning or losing," Cascara said, casually leaning back on a nearby pillar and putting away her weapon. "You kids did well." She looked to Noxis, who still furiously struggled to free himself from the cord at his feet. "The fight is over."

Noxis sighed, head resting on the floor of uneven slate tiles. "Let me out."

Cascara's hand rested on the hilt of her rapier and she pressed a button, freeing Noxis from his restraints. He stood with the others.

"I've been analyzing your combat ability since yesterday, and it's time to go over what I've found," Cascara announced. She nodded to Noxis. "There's no shortage of strength behind your attacks, and I can tell you're used to your weapon."

Noxis smirked, side-eyeing the others. He was making sure they heard what he did, Caspian figured.

"But you have almost nothing going for you in the way of form. Your swings are vicious and unrestrained. They have huge amounts of wasted energy behind them. If you can find a way to channel that energy, I'm sure you'll be successful." She looked to Lilly, ignoring Noxis's scowl and bristling tail. "You have the opposite issue. The form is there, and I admit you fight gracefully. This works well for dust attacks, but you're vulnerable when you're forced into using your rapier. It felt as though you were just 'going through the motions,' with no real intent behind your strikes."

Lilly nodded once, taking the critique in stride.

Next was Rowan's turn. "Your semblance allows you to hit harder at the cost of taking more damage, correct?" Cascara assessed.

"Yeah- wait, how did you figure that out?"

"It's rare, but some people have passive semblances. They're always active and don't tax aura. They can't be turned on or off," Cascara began. "I have one of these semblances. Quickened learning. I can recognize patterns and other aspects of fighting style faster than most, which lets me figure out a way to beat whoever I'm fighting. It was also handy when I was still in school." Her gaze snapped back up to meet his. "More importantly. Your semblance compliments your choice of weapon and fighting style. However, the way you use it is elementary. Consider bringing your semblance under control, activating it in a small burst when you attack, and deactivating it before you can take a hit. Your fighting style is also predictable, and it doesn't change between opponents. Make sure to consider other peoples' movements before you attack."

Finally, she addressed Caspian.

"Your form is there, in theory. It feels like you're trying to emulate your sister's attack patterns, but there's doubt behind every swing. Instead of following through, you hesitate, and pull your attack before it's finished."

Caspian pursed his lips and nodded, trying his best not to mull over her critique too much. He fought his hardest, but nothing she had said so far was entirely positive.

"There's no issue in learning from someone else. But I suggest you focus your training on developing your own style." Cascara smirked. "Also, don't be afraid to fight dirty. Your fists and boots are weapons too." She let out a breath to signal the end of her analysis, and looked back to the team as a whole. "Try not to be disappointed by what I told you today. You're still in the first half of your first year. There's plenty of time to improve. For what it's worth, you all have potential."

"She's awake."

The first thing Lazula heard upon opening her eyes was Snow's voice. She rubbed her eyes to adjust them to the daylight that poured in the window and pushed herself upright. Mrs. Kurayami was next at her side, pulling up a chair with a look of concern.

"Oh gods, how long was I out?" Lazula muttered.

"About an hour," the huntress informed. "I carried you back here, and went to inform the victim's family."

"That couldn't have been easy."

Mrs. Kurayami shook her head. "It was always what I disliked most about being a huntress." She offered Lazula a canteen of water and a dainty bowl of fresh beans. "If you are hungry, eat. We will be returning to our campsite soon."

Lazula took the meal, and thanked the huntress.

"Hey, what's going on with your eyes?" Laurel asked, holding the farmhouse door open for the rest of her team. Finally, they were headed back to camp, and back home.

"Who, mine?" Lazula questioned.

"Yeah. They're more colorful today than usual."

"I had noticed that as well," Snow added. "I see flecks of color in them sometimes. Today, your eyes look like a rainbow."

"Maybe it's because I passed out?" Lazula guessed. She raised her Holoband, flicking its camera function and turning it around to face her. Laurel and Snow were right. The hazel of her eyes could barely be seen behind the flecks of countless hues, glimmering like the sun's reflection on the ocean's ripples.

"What is happening to me?"

"About that," Laurel responded. "You sure you're alright? You looked pretty shaken up. And, you know. You fainted."

"Don't remind me."

"If you are upset about what you did to the wolf, I assure you it was necessary," Mrs. Kurayami added. "I saw many human bones at the entrance to its home. The victim was not the first, and very likely would not have been the last."

"Of course it was necessary," Lazula thought. But, demeaning as it was, feeling sorry for the thing and being shaken by the sight of blood was easier to explain than hallucinating across almost every one of her senses; seeing the horrific sight, feeling the cold on her skin, smelling the stenches of smoke and blood. Hearing nothing.

Lazula sighed.

The airship to take her home would arrive soon enough.