"Dialogue" "Thoughts and inner monologue" emphasis or spooky words
The thing they don't tell you about travellings to different Reflections is that you never really know where you're gonna end up, might be a huge castle in the middle of the void or even a beautiful and haunting white forest, the possibilities are endless in a way... just so happens that one of those is falling from the middle of the air into what appears to be a lush green forest. "WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS AHHH-" Cassandra managed to muster before diving straight into the ground head first with a loud thud, her upper body now sinked into the earth and her legs wiggling in the air.
"So this is what Hildbrand meant when he said it's more comfortable than it looks, I thought it'd be colder" The Eikon Slayer said while pondering her situation, in truth she wasn't worried about her current predicament, with a quick exertion of force she burst forth from her earthen prison and found her footing once more on the grassy floor, the wind brushing against her face and the small crumbs of dirt being shaken off. Now that she looked around more carefully this was quite the beautiful forest, similar to the lush green trees of Yok Tural aside from the weather being more on the chillier side and not as humid.
The trees were plentiful and went as fast as the eye could see, the chirping of birds, the rustling of the grass and the smell of unfamiliar wild life filled both her lungs and heart... no she had to take a step back, she promised Y'shtola she'd try to return as soon as possible, so she tried to spot the Rift up in the sky and found that it had disappeared. Well that wasn't a good sign but it wasn't panic worthy, she just had to find an Aether rich area and plant the Crystal there, but before she could set on a path a shadow lunged at her aiming for her neck. The courageous Paladin rolled to her side and summoned her trusty sword and shield, slashing at the unknown creature's neck and killing it.
"By the twelve I can't afford a moment of rest can I? What even was that...'' she said in a curious tone, no doubt interested by the creature and it's aggressiveness, and now that she took a good look at it the creature appeared to be a monstrous black wolf like creature, bones sticking out of its body and covering its face like a protective visor. "Aren't you a big one, wonder what you taste like? Maybe I could serve you with some cooked veggies or may- damn it!" She cussed as she saw the creature of shadow turn into ash before her very eyes, which made her oh so sad, one of the best parts of going somewhere new was the different types of game and food she'd be able to enjoy... sadly that wasn't the case"
Once again our affable Elezen encountered more hostile creatures, ones that shared the same appearance as the Wolf of Darkness she saw before, as well as what looked like giant scorpions, Bears, Giant Two headed Snakes and even what massive birds. "Now this is what I was looking for! I haven't been able to warm up in a while so this'll be perfect, just a warning before we start... I'm not keen on holding back." And with that the Terror of Thordan rushed towards the creatures while a fire burned within her heart, lit anew by promise of a new adventure and the chance to once again to become the hungry beast she held back.
/
Today was supposed to be just another Initiation day in the long history of Beacon Academy, with the exception of a couple of future students which were particularly interesting (Ozpin's mind immediately thought of a certain Silver Eyed girl), Ozpin had prepared his speech to the students, watched in secret glee as they found out about the secret criteria for the formation of partners and his favorite part... the jump pads, oh how he loved those, though it took a while to convince Glynda that they were not only an effective method of starting the Initiation but safe enough that they wouldn't leave any unpleasant stains that would turn Emerald Forest into the new Forever Fall. That was a Grimm thought... heh.
Imagine his surprise while he and the rest of the staff were watching the Initiation with great interest (he meant what he said when the students could die during the test, but by the gods he would do everything in his power to not have lives cut short) when the Security Cameras around the forest caught site of a normal authorized figure, suddenly a large crash hit the ground and when the dust cleared him and all of the teachers could see... a pair of legs? And they were wiggling so that meant they were still alive, which was both good and bad news, good in the sense that he wouldn't have to wonder why a dead body suddenly appeared in the forest and bad due to the possibility of an unknown and likely dangerous figure being near his students.
After a moment the ground around the figure burst and out of it leaped a tall female figure, her skin was brown and her hair looked to be black with green highlights, she was wearing a red shirt with a popped collar, jewelry hung around her neck and pair of back slacks that matched her leather shoes. From the looks of it she wasn't sure where she was, her expression was one of confusion but not fear, that must mean she was capable enough to not fear in the face of the unknown or foolish and unaware of it, she appeared to look upwards as if searching for something and wore a disappointed look upon not finding whatever it was.
Ozpin looked towards his faculty and gleamed that they had similar opinions of the stranger, suddenly his attention was pulled back to the scroll showing the footage as a Beowolf leapt at her back, the mystery woman turned around in a flash and materialized a sword and shield slashing cleanly through his neck and ending it's existence.
"She killed it in a moment, she is quite the huntress to be able to do that at such speeds, the way her weapons appeared too was quite unusual, not like any semblance I've seen, it appeared to be magick... no what am I'm thinking the only ones who'd be able to do such feats are me, the maidens and her., and I know that none of the other Maidens died aside from Amber the poor girl." Ozpin mused about the woman who had popped into existence, his thoughts running a mile a minute, a mix of rational and calculated thoughts tainted by the bitter tang of regret that comes from one as long lived as him.
"Ozpin! We need to go there now!" The voice of his most trusted friend in recent year rang through his years, Glynda Goodwitch shouted to get his attention and motioned to the screen, the stranger appeared to be fighting a veritable legion of Grimm all by her lonesome in an impressive display of strength and martial prowess. But he didn't have time for this, he checked the other security feeds as fast as humanly possible to ascertain the safety of the students, confirming that all of them had collected their relics he ordered the rest of the staff to retrieve them and bring them to the Auditorium, while he, Glynda and Profes-...Doctor Ooblec rushed towards the site in hopes of finding the mysterious figure still in one piece.
Running to the nearest Bullhead and heading to the coordinates of the security camera was simple enough, now all he could was hope, hope that they were okay and willing to talk, their performance sparked some ideas...
/
"How did I miss this, the singing of my blade in the wind while cutting through flesh, my heartbeat in my ears and the feeling of having vanquished a foe... how sweet was this song and I thank you for letting me indulge in it. You put up a good fight but you weren't a Sin Eater that's for sure... Now that I think about it, you guys do kind of look like reverse sin eaters, not exactly Voidsent, a weird mash of the two..." The bane of Alexander said to no one in particular, she was so used to having company she developed the habit of sometimes voicing her thoughts out loud.
Plucking her sword from the ground and looking around to the aftermath of her playtime she saw how a good 100 or so yalms around her were covered in that same ash she saw before, slowly disappearing and leaving her by herself once more. Soon after that a buzzing noise was heard much like the hum of Imperial Aircrafts made when approaching, the noise got closer and closer and finally culminated in the appearance of a flying vehicle landing in a clearing, emitting the oh so smallest trace of Aether of its turbines as well as the smell of Ceruleum.
Three figures exited the aircraft soon after, three Hyur to be exact, a blonde woman with fair skin and slender physique who was almost as tall as Cassandra and who wore a white blouse with a black and purple cape that draped down to her lower back which lead to the tight skirt hugging her hips. Next to her were two man, one who looked like he hasn't slept in a while, his movements twitchy but alert as he took in the scene around him, his clothes implied that he was an Explorer of sorts (who knows maybe he is a kindred spirit in the art of adventuring), in his hand he carried a thermos filled with what looked like coffee by the smell.
Last but certainly not least there was one whose presence made our hearty Adventurer slightly more intrigued, an older gentleman wearing an entirely green outfit, from his coat to his boots and even the scarf on his neck, all of it was green... the only exception being his spectacles (which in Cassandra's opinion were very stylish, she'd have to ask him about those later...) and the cane which from the way he held it could be used as a weapon.
They all stared at her waiting for her to do something, be it speak or act, Cassandra knew this so she chose the former and used her incredible diplomatic skills, developed from hours of listening to Alphinaud speak to political figures of the utmost importance and respect. "Anyone feel like grabbing a bite to eat?" After those words whatever tension had built up melted like an Ice Sprite in Ala Mhigo, to be fair Cassandra could totally listen and nap at the same time ok... no matter how much the other Scions said otherwise.
Ozpin and his compatriot certainly did not expect telling by the sigh Glynda gave and the inquisitive look on Oobleck's face. "If you would be okay with it, we could head to my school, the cafeteria must still be open... so if you could follow us into the Bullhead we'll quaint ourselves on the way there." Ozpin, ever the diplomat, smoothly said, while not the start he expected, it was certainly better than the more violent alternatives. He motioned towards the machine and gestured for his colleagues to enter, both had somewhat astounded expressions on their face from the events taking place.
"Of course, I could eat a whole Chocobo right now! Oh boy forgive my manners here, the names Cassandra Armstrong, adventure and assistant Inspector extraordinaire" said the confident Elezen, extending her hand to the green stranger. What is a Chocobo...", all of them sans the Elezen thought, although innocuous that small detail puzzled, especially due the casual tone she had while saying that.
"Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy and connoisseur of hot cocoa. I'm glad to make your acquaintance Ms. Armstrong" Ozpin responded as he shook the firm hand of the tall woman in front of him. He then walked to the Bullhead and looked towards Cassabdra doing the same, all of them sat down and soon the Bullhead took flight. The two others introduced themselves in a similar manner to the Adventurer taking notice of her pointy ears, after that Ozpin once again initiated a conversation while the Bullhead flew to the Academy.
"So Ms. Armstrong, what brings you to the Emerald Forest at this day, certainly you are not looking for enrollment, you are above our maximum age for it." The headmasters joked hoping to gleam some information from the small talk. "Ms. Armstrong you should know that you are trespassing on government property, so we'd like to know how and why you arrived in the manner you did, as well if the authorities need to be involved" said Glynda in the same tone she used with unruly students and troublemakers galore.
"Truly?! I didn't know that the forest was owned by anyone, thought it was just random wilderness and as for the enrollment, I'm not one for formal study and like you said I think I'm a bit too old to play schoolgirl." She paused after saying that to regain her thoughts and return to the main inquiry.
"As for the how and why, I'll be honest the how of is too complicated for me to explain, it involves a lot of Aetheric theory that just passes over my head, as for the why I am here... well that's way easier, my friend required a guinea pig for her experiment involving cross-dimensional travel to another Reflection, I followed her instructions and ended up here in the middle of what I assume to be nowhere, I have a way back but it'll take a while to set it up" Cassandra finished her explanation, her audience surprisingly quiet like they haven't ever seen someone from another reflection...SHIT... our dense hero realized that her life is so utterly abnormal that she hadn't considered the possibility of them not even knowing of Aether.
"..." The silence of the three was heavy and carried with it a lot of doubt, especially from Goodwitch, she was barely holding herself back from accusing the trespasser of trying to fool them with the most inane and imbecile claims she's ever seen. Then she looked towards Ozpin, who held that same friendly smile and kind eyes towards the dark skinned woman, that same aura of trust exuding out of him like he didn't doubt her words for a second, that same trust he lends to every soul that walks through Beacon Academy's doors. So she quieted her thoughts and let her faith in Ozpin speak for itself, unless he tried to make an outrageous decision like trying to divert part of the budget to his cocoa again.
"That's quite the claim Ms. Armstrong and as much as I'd like to hear more about it I'm afraid we're almost at our destination and I have some important matters to settle, so if you'd like Ms. Goodwitch here could show you the way to the cafeteria, take your time and I'll meet you there to discuss things further in my office. How does that sound?" The Reincarnate explained.
"Yeah sure I don't mind, leaves me time to take a breather and see some of the sights" Cassandra justified to her new acquaintances. The Bullhead then landed with a soft thud, with Ozpin and Oobleck going towards what seemed like an Auditorium or something of the sort, Glynda quickly and efficiently guided the Chosen one of Hydaelyn to the cafeteria to return once again to the Headmaster side and help with what she heard to be some sort of ceremony.
Now alone with her thoughts and large amounts of free helping of different kinds of food, Cassandra took a moment to internalize everything. "Let's go through this in parts, first things first, I could barely get a read on any Aether around here.. it's still in the air but in way smaller quantities than the other Reflections, she could feel a hint of what seemed like Dynamis too mixed in, especially from the people due to their sundered souls if I were to guess. As for the spot to put my Aether Crystal, that tower I saw could be a good place, just need to check I'd they're okay with it, and as for the people I met so far.. They seem friendly enough if a bit stern, which is fair since I barged into what appears to be some kind of testing ground for a combat school. What really gets me though is that Ozpin fella..."
The Warrior of Light internalized and processed these thoughts and out all of them one thing in particular kept nagging her... "Why was his soul denser than the others... could he be an Ascian?"
AN: This came out earlier than expected, the beginning is a bit of a slow burn that's for sure, but I'm trying my best to not blow my load too early here in regards what I'm most excited for. As much as I like going straight into cool stuff I think it'd be unfair to all the characters and setting to do so, but at least we're in Remnant now and our dear WoL has even met some of the wildlife and a few important figures, hopefullly you guys are enjoying reading these as much as I am writing it. Eventually some FFXIV elements may seep in but for now it'll be just Cassandra there, also don't expect too many detailed combat descriptions for now since I'm still getting the hang it.
In regards to reviews:
Mkfhad: Totally agree with ya, the WoD has just faced too much stuff to be even a bit intimidated by whatever happens in Remnant, but I don't find that necessarily a bad thing due to how Dawntrail set the example for how we involve ourselves in such problems. Also I'm a big fan of having the problem solver hanging back and just letting others grow and letting their sillier side shine, much like Dante in DMC4 letting Nero have the spotlight in spite of the fact he could solve the problem super quick.