Out of all the assignments that were given throughout the semester there was one that stood head and shoulders over everything else including finals. This assignment was so important that many courses considered it their true final test with the proper final exam itself being seen as merely a way to improve one's grade if necessary and it made sense to treat it that way; The assignment in question was a practical real-world mission led by a vetted Professional Huntsman connected to the Academy who would serve as both the guide and the instructor grading the students… This was field work and that made it infinitely more valuable than any written exam.

How the assignment worked is that over the semester the Academy would look through the many job offers that Huntsmen would receive and pick ones out that were appropriate for the students. They would then contact both the client and the Huntsman in order to get their consent before ironing out the details and providing proper compensation. Then when the time for the assignments came the students would select from the list and be provided with all the necessary information to contact and arrange a meeting with the Huntsman who would explain how things were going to work. The Huntsman would have full authority during the mission and could fail the students at any time and send them back to the Academy, but there were also guidelines and provisions in place to prevent abuses of authority. The assignment would be considered complete when the missions were done.

As for the missions themselves, they were incredibly varied just like how the roles that Huntsmen played in society were vast and multifaceted. One mission could be providing security, another could be delivering a package, the next could be emergency services after that could be a purge, and there were many more. The point of the assignments was to give the students real-world experience and connections in their chosen fields while also providing them the opportunities to branch out in ways that could only be for their benefit. The further the student was in their education the more missions they would be expected to go on during the semesters which meant more opportunities to try new things.

In addition, the missions were graded on difficulty which was determined through a variety of factors as determined by veterans within the field. As a student's education progressed the types of missions that they were allowed to take would change in kind, a first-year student would not be allowed to take a mission graded for a third-year and a third-year would not be allowed to take a mission graded suitable for a first-year. This was to try and protect the less experienced students from meeting tragedy by biting off more than they could handle and to keep the more experienced students from becoming complacent or from hogging missions meant for less experienced students, however, exceptions could be made for either case.

When the assignment period begins an announcement is made to the entire campus, the first-years are directed to Kiosks overseen by faculty and are led through the process of applying for a mission. All missions including ones that they are not allowed to take are displayed in order to give them an idea of what's to come and to give them milestones to aim for. Meanwhile second years and above are allowed to use the Kiosks but are encouraged to apply through their scrolls and ask the faculty for help when needed.

As for arrangements, the responsibilities for those are split between the faculty and students with the burden of responsibility shifting towards the student as they progress in their education. By the time someone is in their fourth year they are expected to be able to handle any and all arrangements on their own without the aid of the Academy including expenses, though the Academy provides many opportunities to earn fair wages while honing skills. All missions if completed will result in the student earning money and the Academy will not detract a single lien for anything.

The Academies exist to serve the kingdoms and to nurture students in their journeys to become defenders of all. They are not a business, making a profit is not and will never be the goal or a major concern.

"Come on guys, we're going to be late!" Ruby ran into the main Lobby of Beacon which now had many Kiosks set up so that students could register for the practical assignment. She had woken up extra early today, only ate one bowl of cereal, drank some black coffee, had her clothes already picked out and laid out, and even mapped out the shortest route from her dorm room to the lobby. And all of this was made possible with the help of the rest of her team and even their friends at Team PRAN who were more than happy to chip in.

Yang laughed as she ran alongside her little sister, "Come on sis, what are the chances that someone cou- what the!?" She slowed down to a walk as she entered the Lobby area, there were already lines for the Kiosks. "I'd expected that there would be others who had the same idea as us but, this many?"

Blake looked around and soon spotted rolled-up sleeping bags propped up against the wall, "At least some of them slept here in the Lobby. They probably haven't even had breakfast yet."

"We should have considered this possibility," Weiss said while pinching her nose. "We should have done rehearsals and reran the numbers… no matter, now we got to play the hand we've been dealt." She paced around glancing at the different lines trying to determine which one was moving the fastest.

Pyrrha then walked into the Lobby followed closely by her own team, "Good morning everyone! What are… you," She spotted the lines. "How did they? When did they?!"

"At least some of them slept here," Blake answered while guiding the champion's eyes toward the sleeping bags whose number was noticeably less than the people in the lines. "I have no idea where the others came from."

Nora then cried out, "I knew we should have set up camp here! Ren and I even bought the ingredients to make s'mores and had a karaoke machine ready to go!"

There was an oddly sad look in Ren's eyes as he glanced around the lobby, "We had tents ready and were going to make a campfire, Jaune and I chopped the wood."

Yang sighed, "That does sound fun, but there is nothing we can do about it but pick a line and wait." She started to walk towards the shortest line but was stopped by Weiss. "What's wrong?

Weiss held up her scroll for Yang to see, there were several timers displayed and it only took Yang a moment to notice that the number of timers was equal to the number of lines."That line might be shorter but the people there are taking longer, they probably think that they can take more time because the line is shorter."

Weiss then pointed to another longer line and as she did the person at the front of that line finished and stepped away for the Kiosk so the next person could use it, "That line is longer but the people are going faster, that's the line that we should be taking."

Blake then pointed out the obvious flaw in her logic, "That's assuming the rate remains the same. What if there was a team that hadn't yet figured out what kind of mission they wanted to do? We'd get stuck waiting for them to make up their minds."

Ruby then chimed in, "Let's just pick a line."

Pyrrha agreed, "She's right. We should just pick a line and stick to it, most of us don't even have to be here. We're first years, and we are only allowed to go on a mission as a team so only the leader of the team needs to be here and that means Ruby and I. Everyone else should just get food and coffee from the cafeteria and come back here so we can without leaving the line."

Yang nodded in agreement, "That makes sense, Ruby I know you already had cereal but is there anything else you want?"

Ruby thought it over for a second, "Well I would like some strawb-!"

"Excuse me but may I ask what you are all doing here?" asked a familiar voice from behind Ruby.

Ruby turned around and saw Ozpin, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help the students register for missions… are you all here for the practical assignments?"

"That's right!"

A confused look appeared on Ozpin's face as his eyes glanced toward the other members of RWBY and PRAN before returning to Ruby. "Forgive me for asking Miss Rose but why? Team RWBY, SSSN, PRAN, and CFVY are all exempt from having to take the assignments this time. As far as the Academy is concerned, the work you've done with the police has already resulted in a passing grade, you've even been paid. Are you sure you want to take on an extra assignment?"

For a few moments, they all stared at him silently, and out of embarrassment, the truth of the matter was that they had entirely forgotten about that little detail but who could honestly blame them? People tend to forget such insignificant things especially when dealing with otherwise heavy topics, doubly so when your life's on the line… But it was still embarrassing for them and only became more embarrassing when they recalled the planning that they did to get in line quickly, which failed, and the research they did to figure out what kind of mission they even wanted to do.

"I have a question," Nora said to Ozpin while raising her hand.

"Yes, Miss Valkyrie?

"So what happens to us? We won't be going on the assignments and classes are suspended during this period, are we just supposed to sit and wait for things to pick up again?"

"If that's what you want then you can do that but there are other options." Ozpin pulled out his scroll and sent Team RWBY and PRAN an email containing a detailed list of their options. "To keep it short there are extra lessons you can take to learn something that isn't covered by the main curriculum. Miscellaneous jobs you can take around the campus that aren't missions but have decent enough rewards for the tedium involved. You're also allowed to return home as long as you come back in time for classes."

"Hard pass on that last one, Ren and I are homeless." Nora casually said as a deeply concerned look appeared on the faces of all her friends except Ren.

As for Ozpin he nodded in complete understanding, "If I remember correctly you and Ren were very interested in the free housing that's provided to Huntsmen on the frontier."

"That's right," said Ren before adding. "Nora and I were already planning to work as guards for settlements, if we can make a living out of that then all the more reason to do it." Maybe if my village had Huntsmen it would still be standing.

Ozpin scratched his chin, Gylnda will be pissed at me but there are a couple of missions I could push their way. Missions that would prepare them to become my next line of guardians, missions that they are connected to. "Well then, if you're interested I might have a suggestion. A couple of missions that should be perfect for your respective teams."

Everyone looked at the headmaster with great interest and curiosity but it was Ruby who was the first to voice her thoughts, "What kind of mission?" she excitedly asked.

Ozpin warmly chuckled at the sincere bundle of energy before him, "These missions should be of great personal interest to you all. But don't accept it yet, I'm going to forward you the information and I want you to talk amongst yourselves first before you make up your mind."

Ozpin knew that Glynda would find out, she was his secretary as well as the future head of the Academy, and every single approval he gave was something that would soon cross her desk. She would find out and she would confront him about it without fail. This had happened plenty of times before and it would happen plenty more times in the future… but this time was different.

"Ozpin. May I have a moment of your time?" Glynda's voice was sharp, her stare icy, and in her hands was her scroll.

"Now? Can it wait until after my shift is over?" Ozpin used his hand to motion around the Lobby and at the students who were still in line. "It would be right to leave them on their own and it's only another hour before-"

"I've already arranged a replacement," Glynda looked over Ozpin's shoulders.

He followed her eyes and quickly spotted the campus forgemaster Professor Mulberry standing off to the side watching the students attentively. He watched as Mulberry noticed that a student was staring at the screen of a Kiosk and walked over to them, they talked for a few seconds and he pressed the screen for the student. Ozpin didn't know what Mulberry did but whatever it was must have worked since the student was now thanking the professor.

Glynda spoke again, "Now if you will follow me, we have an urgent topic to discuss." Her voice and stare were unchanging and uncompromising, this was not a request, this conversation was happening now.

"Very well then, lead the way."

To Ozpin's mild surprise, she led him into a nearby empty side room, it was the kind of place that existed to be used as needed and this time it was going to be used for a private conversation. Under normal circumstances she would wait for him to be in his office before confronting him, it was a professional courtesy as well as a means to keep certain secrets as secrets… the fact that she didn't wait meant this really was urgent but not necessarily something that needed to remain a secret, otherwise there were other places that she could have taken him.

That meant there was one option, This is about the missions I helped RWBY and PRAN sign up for. I expected that she'd confront me but I didn't think it would happen so quickly… did she suspect that I would do this? She has been confronting me rather often, not that I can blame her. With that thought, Ozpin braced himself for what he knew was coming.

"Why did you hire Doctor Riviera?" Glynda asked.

"What?" Out of all the things that she could have said this was something that Ozpin didn't consider.

"Was it because Doctor Gris vouched for him? If yes then do you doubt his ability? Do you think Gris' judgment is being impaired by his relationship with Riviera?"

"I'm sorry Glynda, I don't mean to interrupt but I have to ask; Why are you asking me this?"

"I'm asking you because Riviera and Gris made it crystal clear that there should be a rest period after missions. But you have chosen to ignore the advice of your experts and you seem to be making it into a habit. So I have to ask why do you keep doing this? Do you think that you understand these subjects better than they do?"

"N-no, I don't."

"Then why do you keep ignoring their advice!? Why do you keep going behind our backs? Why do you even keep us around if you're going to ignore everything that we tell you? And those kids, do you think that they can just keep being exposed to one horrible thing after another and they'll come out fine? Have you learned nothing after all these years?"

"These are easy missions, things that will help them get closure!"

"You sent RWBY to Mount Glenn to find a possible White Fang base! Do I really need to remind you that RWBY is a team of First Years whose members include Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna? You sent two people on the White Fang's Shit List over to Mount Glenn to find their base!"

"Okay, when you put it that way it sounds bad-!"

"NO SHIT IT SOUNDS BAD!" Glynda took a step back and took a few deep breaths to try and reign herself in. "My apologies sir, I let my temper get the best of me." The look in her eyes made it clear that she really wasn't sorry, "I just want to know what was your plan there, what are you hoping to accomplish."

Ozpin went to sit down but to his disappointment found that there was nothing to sit on, this particular side room was truly empty. It's as empty as any excuse I might have will be, it's best to be honest. "I gave RWBY that mission because of Blake Belladonna. Who better to find the White Fang than someone who's a former member of that very branch? Besides, all they have to do is find any trace of activity there. Once they do, the mission is complete and they will be on a bullhead heading back to the Academy while Ironwood sends in troops. Doctor Oobleck will be there to keep an eye on them."

"And if something goes wrong? Such as them running into the White Fang, maybe even running into Adam Tarus himself? Or what if they just get bogged down by Grimm? How about a landslide or something collapsing on them?"

"Glynda please, I know you're worried but these girls ar-!"

"Those girls are first years going on a mission normally reserved for third-years and higher!" There was an unsettling pause before she continued again but this time she sounded exhausted, "Ozpin, we go through this every single year. You find students that have potential and put them in situations well out of their comfort zone to make them grow, so they can reach deep inside and find something that they didn't know they had… and the ones who don't, well, they become tragedies."

"And I remember every single one of those tragedies and I-"

"Then why do you keep creating more? How many more kids need to die before you stop?"

Ozpin didn't answer, he didn't know what to say or even if he should say anything. The truth of the matter was that she was right, his methods while creating some truly exemplary Huntsmen had also led many into early graves. Even his successes weren't without tragedies… but war was war and these kids had to be ready…

Glynda then spoke up again, "And I haven't even addressed the mission that you sent PRAN on… are you sure he can handle it? Are you sure they can handle it?"

"I… can't imagine that they will struggle. It's just a seek-and-destroy request from a town and all reports suggest that it's a Beowolf."

Glynda gave her superior a withering look before sarcastically saying, "Yes it's just a Beowolf that just so happens to have several eyewitnesses who claim to have seen someone shapeshift into a Beowolf! Doesn't that sound familiar?

"Those people were known druggies and even if it's true, then that just gives Jaune an opportunity to learn more about his condition."

"Or it will make him fearful of eventually turning into a monster as well."

"That's what we have psychologists for!"

"Psychologists that you are constantly ignoring…" Gylnda sighed and pinched her nose before confessing something that had been on her mind for who knows how long, "Honestly I would have quit this damned job a long time ago if it wasn't for the existence of Salem or the fear of what you'd do without anyone willing to call you out on your bullshit and even then I fear that I've been far too lenient…"

"Glynda-"

"Don't. Don't say anything now. I'm far too angry with you at the moment." She walked over to the door and placed her hand on the knob and then sighed before turning back around to face Ozpin. "There is another matter that we need to discuss and no, you're not in trouble."

"And yet it doesn't sound good either."

"It's not…" Glynda turned back to the door and opened it before walking out as Ozpin followed her. "We need to talk elsewhere."

"My office then?" Ozpin answered about to make a turn towards said office only to watch as Glynda walked past the turn and headed towards the front doors.

"I'd prefer off campus."

Ozpin frowned his eyebrows in confusion, "Off campus? Glynda, what is this about?"

"It's about the ongoing investigation on the Rally. Some tests were conducted and the results… this isn't something that should be said here on campus."

Ozpin could think of a few reasons for this secrecy and none were good, "Lead the way then."

Glynda wordlessly walked ahead as Ozpin followed from behind, he didn't ask questions as he didn't believe that they were necessary at the moment. Glynda would tell him when it was the right time and that was all that mattered, he trusted her, and she had never failed to earn that trust. Except you don't really trust her, do you? You don't trust anyone yet demand that they trust you with their lives… Ozma you cowardly hypocrite.

Ozpin frowned as those old voices remerged in his brain, they belonged to people he knew better than anyone else. They belong to people he disappointed more than anyone else. And they belonged to people that he could not argue with because they also knew him better than anyone else… The difference was that they were for the most part long gone and he was still here.

"We're here," Glynda finally spoke, the pair were standing in front of Bullhead which was parked apart from the others. "We can talk once we are inside."

Ozpin examined the Bullhead for a moment and quickly noticed that it wasn't a public Bullhead, it was from a private transit company. Glynda must not want to risk anyone from the Academy overhearing this. He climbed aboard and sat down as the doors closed and the vehicle came to life and flew into the air towards downtown Vale. "So what's the problem?"

"Professor Thumbelina Peach is possibly compromised."

Ozpin's eyes widened in shock, "Compromised!? Whatever do you mean by that?"

"I said possibly compromised. We're not sure yet but the possibility is… we might want to consider the worst case."

"Explain."

Glynda reached into a storage compartment built inside the Bullhead, pulled out a sealed folder, and handed it to Ozpin. "That is the lab results of a substance I found inside Iris Marilla's apartment."

Ozpin opened the folder and skipped right to the lab results, "Rage? You found traces of Rage inside of her apartment?"

"Yes. It was discovered inside of a safe and more was found inside of a closet that was converted into… she turned into a place where she could indulge in Rage without suffering from the heightened sensitivity. And it gets worse."

"How does it get worse than this?"

"Do you remember the Raid? The one in the abandoned apartment turned into a drug den?" Glynda waited for an answer and continued once she saw Ozpin nodding his head. "Do you remember the sniper?"

Ozpin quickly realized where Glynda was going with this and it sickened him. Iris had failed initiation but he had faith that she would return and when she became a courier instead, he was disappointed but he respected the decision. But this… this was something that he could have never imagined and couldn't help but wonder if he had played a part in it. "No… it can't be."

"I'm afraid that is where the evidence is pointing. She was seen in the area and thanks to the lab results we now know that she had both motive and opportunity. And as a would-be student-"

"She would have been able to kill a couple of cops and use their weapons… that also explains why she has seemingly disappeared. At least until Penny spotted her back at the Rally." Ozpin sighed, "If only she didn't suffer from that glitch at that exact moment. There's no way it was a coincidence."

"That's something else we're looking into, we're trying to find out if Penny had any contact with Iris before then."

"And how is Thumbelina involved?"

Now it was Glynda's turn to sigh, "It's just a hunch on my end for now but the woman was strangely uncooperative when we visited her niece's apartment. An apartment that was too expensive for a courier to own."

"Unless that Courier was delivering things that couldn't go through normal channels, not legally. But what do Iris' life choices have to do with Thumbelina? The two don't even like each other."

"And that is why I don't think Thumbelina was trying to defend her niece. I think she was trying to cover her own tracks."

Ozpin slumped on the chair and groaned, "By the brothers, I'm going to need a drink."

"So do I. That's why we're headed downtown. It's about time for lunch and there's a certain bar that I've been wanting to visit for a while. Care to join me?"

"Yes."

Team PRAN's room was abuzz with activity as they packed their bags and made lists of everything that they still needed. With Ozpin's help, they contacted the Huntsman in charge of the mission and he was more than happy to work with them. However, they only had three days to prepare for the mission and were leaving so early on day four that there wouldn't be time for any last-minute additions. They had supplies that they needed to purchase, mission files to read, and a map to study. Those last two were things that they could get started on during dinner and they could take care of the shopping the next day unless there were complications and there always were.

"Why are Lighting and Fire Dust still so expensive!?" Nora cried out in frustration as used her scroll to check the prices.

"There is still a Dust shortage," Pyrrha pointed out as she double-checked her weapon maintenance kit before packing it inside her bag. "Fire and Lighting Dust specifically, the White Fang stole a little bit of everything but they hyper-focused on those two types, it's more than a little worrisome."

"Aren't those the types that are most frequently used in weapons?" Jaune asked.

Nora answered, "Yup and it's honestly not too hard to see why. Both types are incredibly common, easy to synthesize, easy to mix, and produce a lot of energy. It's not just weapons, it would be honestly harder to list things that don't use either or both of those two Dusts. Even our Scrolls run on Electric Dust and it would be impossible to build the device without both Electric and Fire Dust."

"And yet you just use them to make bombs," Ren said, completely deadpanned.

"Because bombs are awesome!" Nora proudly answered before slightly deflating, "But right now I only have enough Fire Dust to make three extra grenades and enough Electric Dust to make two Shock Bombs… maybe I can make more Ice Bombs? Ice Dust is usually pretty cheap."

Jaune then pointed out, "Should you even be making bombs at all? We're going to a farming community, we don't want to damage the land."

"Alright then, let me check the map and files. Ren can you-?"

"I'm already on it," Ren answered, moving over to Nora's case and placing her things inside. The ease with which he did it suggested that this was something that he had helped out with many times in the past and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Nora was just as capable and practiced with handling his things.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha walked over to Nora to help her with the readings, "You focus on the map and I'll read the file out loud for everyone to hear."

"Thanks!"

Pyrrha opened the file on her scroll and looked through the pages and the first thing that caught her eye was a very detailed map of the town. To start with the town was named Autumn's Hills due to its proximity to the Forever Fall and due to its defining geographical feature. The town was built and spread around several steep hills connected by bridges, an artificial river created by a dam ran underneath the bridges and there were plateaus that served as farmland. In addition, the map contained hard data about the town, population, soil composition, weather patterns, etc, etc. All those details had the potential to become important if they weren't already, but they could wait.

And then Pyrrha found what she was looking for, "The first reported sighting of this thing happened about three months ago, it was a foggy night and a watchman claimed to see a figure on the banks of the river. There is a map included that lists all the sightings and marks where each one was, every sighting was by the river."

"That's weird," Ren commented as he inspected his ammo. "People said that it was a Beowolf, so why is it constantly appearing by the river? If it was a River King then it would make sense but a Beowolf?"

"Maybe it's trying to find a way up the steep hills, on foggy nights they can be incredibly slippery," Jaune suggested

"Was every sighting during foggy nights?" Ren asked Pyrrha.

She quickly looked through the list of sightings, "No. But every single time the witnesses didn't have a good look at the creature, sometimes it was too dark, sometimes it was too far, sometimes there was something in the way, and once the witnesses were high but it's usually a combination of things."

"Is it the same spot on the river or is it popping up in different places?" Nora asked, Maybe I could make some sort of slip grenade? If we're going to fight Grimm on steep terrain then I might be able to force it to fall into the river and freeze it with an Ice Bomb.

Pyrrha checked the map, "No. It's always a different spot, is it looking for something?"

Ren then suggested, "Maybe it is looking for a weak point in the defenses? And if that's the case then we might be dealing with an Alpha."

"But if it's an Alpha then why is it working alone?" Jaune pointed out. "A Grimm that old would have already learned the importance of numbers."

"It could be an adolescent, old enough to have some caution while still being young enough to try and do things on its own." Nora suggested before asking, "Pyrrha, I know that you said that no one got a good look at the creature but can you read the descriptions that they gave of the Grimm anyway? Maybe there is something there that will help us narrow the field."

Pyrrha looked through the file, there were plenty of testimonies and photos but none were very helpful. The testimonies were vague at best which wasn't the fault of the people, the sightings were at night and not everyone was lucky enough to have night vision. The photos on the other hand were surprisingly bad, cameras were improving all the time and that included the ones that came with Scrolls. The idea that not a single person there could take a good photo was… strange.

But then she came across one that promised to be a little more helpful, "This sighting happened about two weeks ago, it was sunset and a group of people hanging out behind a barn claimed to have spotted someone out in the fields. To be specific they are talking about a field on the southern outskirts of the town, I'll point it out on the map later. Either way, according to them no one could recognize the person so they followed from a distance until it started getting dark, and then they called out to them."

"Why did they do that?" Nora asked.

"They thought that he might be a thief since they couldn't tell who he was. They tried to get his attention because he was getting close to the edge of the plateau, they claimed that they were afraid that he was going to slip and fall down."

"Weren't there any fences?" Jaune asked.

"It doesn't say, though the map does show that all of the farmland was fenced up. But there does seem to be a little bit of space between the fence and the edge."

Ren, like the others, was forming a mental image of the situation. There were holes but he was sure that they would be filled once he finished packing and looked at the file himself. "Then what happened?"

"The person fell. They rushed forward to try and see if they were okay but then saw the burning eyes of a Grimm looking at them from the bottom. The witness then sounded the alarm but no one found the Grimm or the body of the person who fell, they didn't even find blood. BUT they did find footprints in the field, traces of mud where someone might have climbed over the fence, and more footprints past the fence."

Jaune finished packing and opened up his scroll to read along with Pyrrha, "So someone was there and they did fall… but then they just disappeared?" He sat down next to her, "Which page is this?"

"Interview section page 10."

"And here it is, thank you… There is a note here that says that the guys who saw the mystery stranger were known troublemakers, how do we know that this isn't a prank?"

"The last page of the summary section includes additional notes, apparently their reputation as troublemakers meant that the sheriff had been keeping an eye on them. According to her they were well behaved that week, she believes them."

Nora and Ren finished their packing and got out their scrolls as well, "I'm going to use projector mode to display a map of the town. Nora, can you turn off the lights?"

"On it!"

Soon the brightest light in the room came from the projector on Ren's scroll, it was displaying a map of the town into the air for all to see. On that map were dots for every sighting and next to those dots were a number showing the order of sighting. "That's weird, the order is all over the place."

"How is that weird?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nora and I grew up in a settlement that eventually fell to Grimm and moved to another one that had occasional attacks. Whenever there was a Grimm smart enough to probe for a weakness there would be a discernible pattern. The Grimm would start somewhere that looked promising and spread out being careful not to check the same spot twice. But this one isn't doing that."

Ren pressed a few buttons to highlight the dates next to the dots on the map, "This Grimm is just jumping all over the place! There is no pattern whatsoever."

"That just lends credence to Nora's suggestion that we're dealing with an adolescent," Jaune quickly pointed out.

"That's true," Ren conceded as silence descended on the group.

The problem was that they just didn't know enough, sure they had descriptions, photos, maps, and testimony but none of that was a real substitute. No amount of words on paper could replicate talking to someone face to face, listening to the tone of their voice and what words they emphasize, or how their face shifts when certain subjects are brought up. No photograph could ever be an adequate stand-in for going to the town and experiencing the supposed slipperiness of those hills firsthand and searching for spots a Grimm might try to climb.

And of course, there was another big problem: They were just first years combing through material that was put together for the eyes of an established professional. Sure they could read it and understand the words but that didn't mean they understood how it was supposed to be put together, they didn't know how to order the information or determine what was important and what wasn't. It wasn't their fault either, that kind of knowledge came with experience and guidance, the first-year practical mission was meant to be an introduction to this particular skill set.

"So now what?" Jaune spoke up, breaking the silence.

Pyrrha answered, "Well I guess we go back to what we were doing before this distraction, preparing for the trip. We finished packing what we already have but what about everything we still need to buy?"

Nora then got up, "I'm going to go over to team RWBY and see if I can buy some Dust from Weiss. Is there anything you guys want?"

The others thanked her for her consideration but turned her down, Nora expected that. With the exception of herself, no one on team PRAN used Dust for anything beyond standard ammunition. So she walked right out of the door… or at least that was what she would have done if it hadn't at that exact moment swung open and hit her face.

"WHHHHYYYY!?" Nora cried out as she rolled around on the floor, had her Aura been up it would have blocked the damage but at least it could still heal the injury.

"I Am So Sorry!" Weiss was standing at the door with a sturdy case in her hands, "I should have knocked but Ruby told me that I didn't have to because you guys wouldn't have locked the door so I shouldn't bother! But that was wrong!" Weiss was now just rambling apologies and that drew the attention of the rest of her team.

"Weiss, what did you do?" Ruby asked.

"I hit Nora with the door!" "She hit me with the door!" Weiss and Nora answered at the same time.

"Why did you hit her with a door?" Ruby asked as Yang and Blake peeked their heads inside the room to better see what was unfolding.

"It was an accident!"

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Nora said as she stood up from the floor with Ren's help. Her face was still a little sore but she felt well enough to ask, "By the way Weiss, since you're here can I borrow some Dust?"

"That's why I was coming here!" The heiress answered, holding up the case. "I bought extra Dust so I could give you guys some!"

"Well that's weirdly convenient," Jaune muttered to himself.

"It's not convenient for me!" Nora said in response to what she had overheard Jaune's muttering. She then walked over to Weiss and graciously accepted the thoughtful gift, "Thanks, Dust prices are getting ridiculous."

"It's the least I could do."

Jaune then walked over to Ruby, "Hey, since you're here why don't you tell us about your mission? I heard that it's an intense one."

Pyrrha stood up, "That's a wonderful idea, in fact, we should share our plans over a nice meal."

Blake was quick to agree, "The cafeteria is going to serve soon, it would be a good opportunity to ask CFVY for some advice since they've done this before."

No one had any objections.

It was a beautiful new morning in Autumn's Hills and Sheriff Silvia wanted nothing more than to ignore the sun's rays peeking through the window so she could sleep in and under normal circumstances that's just what she would have been able to do. But alas that wasn't an option these days with rumors of a Grimm running about. So she pulled herself out of bed, grabbed her cane, and began to hobble her way toward the bathroom.

Suddenly there was a loud tapping at her window followed by familiar-sounding shouting, "SILVIA! SILVIA! WE NEED YOU! THERE'S A BODY!"

The sheriff quickly spun around and identified the person at her window, it was a teenage boy by the name of Stefan Bluegrass. The kid had a habit of getting into trouble but it was purely out of boredom, a harmless prank every now and then and he always helped out the prankee later on. He was a good kid and right now he was anxious and as she got closer she could see that he wasn't just stressed. By the time she reached the window she could see all the telltale signs of fear all over every inch of his face, he was terrified and that put a pit in her guts.

She opened the window, "What happened?"

"I-I-I was out on the field with my pa when he noticed that a bunch of birds were starting to gather just past the fence. He asked me to look and- and- and."

She stuck her arm out of the window and placed it on his trembling shoulder, "Breath. Just Breathe."

Stefan took several deep breaths, "I-I-It was awful. The hill was red, it was everywhere."

"Everywhere?"

"There were pieces everywhere. I wouldn't have known if it was a person if there weren't pieces of shredded clothing around."

"Do you know who it was?"

"No. Pa is checking with neighbors trying to find out if anyone has gone missing. He even planned on checking if anyone was camping outside of the town."

Silvia nodded, "That's good. Go help your Pa and I'll be out in a moment to check the scene."

She could see that just behind Stefan were other townsfolk, they were all moving in one direction and it didn't take a genius to figure out what had caught their attention. "I'll be able to find the scene of the crime on my own."

"You think it was a crime?"

"It's just an old phrase, don't take it so seriously Stefan, not even before I get a chance to investigate."

"O-okay."

She watched as the young man ran off to find his father before closing the window to focus entirely on getting ready for what was now almost certainly going to be a long and memorable day. And she was out of the door only a minute or so later still in her pajamas, but with her hair moved out of the way, her glasses on, a pair of boots over her feet, her stomach completely empty, and morning coffee unbrewed. It was all going to have to wait, this job of hers was mostly ceremonial but she was still the sheriff and that meant something.

But when she arrived, she gagged at the sight. The only thing that kept her from throwing up was the fact that there was nothing in her stomach to throw up but that didn't stop her from trying. Sheriff Silvia Blackthorn was an old woman who had spent nearly her whole life living in towns, villages, and settlements and during that time she had seen plenty of bodies. She had seen enough that she could tell the difference between someone killed by a Ursa and someone who had been killed by a Beowolf… this was neither. This was unlike anything that she had ever seen and it was everywhere…

The hill was red.

Author's Notes: The next few chapters are going to be focused on the missions and will be switching back and forth from RWBY and PRAN's perspectives… this might be a little tricky to pull off.