[Theloria Shadecloak]

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[attr="class","nikki101"]WE’LL RECLAIM OUR DESTINY

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[attr="class","nikki102"]WE’LL SET OUR FUTURE FREE

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[attr="class","nikki109"]This setup was basically a modified version of Headmaster Osgood’s famous initiation ritual from Beacon Academy with the stipulations changed to suit the purpose of evaluating whether trainees were ready to be given a longer leash when it came to mission assignments. The only student who automatically passed this stage was Ruqa Reyes, who was still recovering from the damage sustained to her prosthetics in the Argus Limited mission. This was done by unanimous faculty vote in light of her actions during that mission, and was something Shade was comfortable with.[break][break]

For everyone else, frankly, this was a stressful event and was supposed to be stressful. Shadecloak was dressed in her usual dress slacks, white dress shirt, and black vest. For her part, the faunus looked as bored as ever with her green eyes having the appearance of being rather disinterested like this was going to be some meeting about what color the school was going to be painted or something. While pacing for other individuals could be seen as a sign of nervousness or anxiety, that was not the case with this Huntress. Green bangs were brushed out of the woman’s face as she continued to pace, body language as self-assured as ever. [break][break]

Some people felt the need to project their confidence by puffed up chests or showmanship, but Shade was never that type of person. She was simultaneously the most introverted and hands-off teacher on campus, and that fact wasn’t exactly a secret. As such, seeing her leading this exercise would be a mild surprise if not for the fact that she was by far the best of the faculty at wilderness missions specifically. In her left hand she held what looked like a remote control for something, and that something was pretty obvious when the students filed into the area. Large metal squares were attached to devices obviously meant to toss the trainees up and out into the Haven Forest. The unique method of entry would not be a surprise to anyone, and they would have all been encouraged to have their landing strategies thought out in advance. [break][break]

”Hello, trainees.” she would start, spreading her arms wide in front of the metal contraptions that separated her from the students. ”Each of the platforms has a small notebook the color of your group and your name specifically on it. The notebook will also have a number on it, which is your practical class ranking thus far in the semester. Good performance in this test will likely raise your rank, while bad performance will lower it. The ranking was determined by weighing perceived teamwork ability against perceived proficiency in combat.” [break][break]

Green eyes would survey the students as the faunus took a deep breath before continuing: ”Lowest ranking goes first, largely so they can’t see where everybody else is landing. There will be a one minute delay between launches, and each one of these contraptions is assigned a different strength to make sure you are all good and spread out in the forest. You should have three doses of Dust on your person, and if you don’t then you’ll find that following directions and paying attention to guidelines will make your life easier in the future.” [break][break]

”Split into three groups, all of you share an objective to survive twenty-four hours in the Haven Forest. Aside from that, each of the three groups has additional objectives that they must complete in order to pass. Those objectives are written inside the front cover of your notebook so they can be referred to in case you forget or get knocked on the head. You’ll find that your scrolls don’t have signal here, which is completely intentional. The only number that will work is the emergency number also listed in the notebooks that will have a faculty member come to pull you out of the forest. Naturally, if you do this option you automatically fail. There’s a lot of Grimm in this forest off the heels of all that negativity when we burned down that bandit camp. Destroy them if you can and flee if you must. Running away from fights you can’t win is not only acceptable, but good practice. If we can get through this with no fatalities, that would make this go smoother than Beacon’s initiation usually went.” [break][break]

Participants were split off into three groups: Dandelions, Roses, and Orchids. Each of these groups had different objectives which were designed to help students deal with what were perceived to be their own personal issues. Aside from Carmim, every other student had a pretty obvious perceived deficiency except those who were too new to evaluate properly.[break][break]

Dandelions were the ones with confidence deficiencies. In other words, these were the students that one or more faculty deemed likely to cut and run when the situation went to shit. This is also where some of the newer students with less obvious issues went to be evaluated, as their conditions for passing this exercise were considered the hardest – partially because the skill level of this group was not assessed to be particularly high. Each member of this group wore a yellow band somewhere visible on their person, whether it was on their arm or head or leg didn’t really matter. [break][break]

Dandelions were known for falling apart at the slightest gust of wind, and students assigned to this group needed to prove that they were made of sterner stuff than that to continue. Their goal was to kill five Grimm at a minimum, and they could never travel in groups of more than 2, including themselves. Any monsters slain with the aid of more than one other person did not count towards their total, which meant that they were absolutely forced to pull their own weight. [break][break]

This also prevented them from resting in an area with a bunch of other students to leech protection and forced them to actually secure an area themselves and indeed camp in a location with active Grimm with not enough people to have a comfortable night watch schedule. It was a gut check, basically, to see if they could handle being out and away from the school and direct supervision of faculty at this point in their careers. If there were only beowolves and ursai in the forest, then Shade may have felt fine with forcing them to go solo… but the fact of the matter was that there were things far more dangerous than those in the forest and it was just safer for them to travel in groups of two at a minimum. [break][break]

It should have been stressed to them in their briefing that running from a threat above their league was perfectly acceptable and even encouraged – because just because it didn’t count toward their total if they received help or fled did not mean that it was a pointless endeavor. The ability to pick and choose fights you could win was a key trait in any huntsman, because there was nothing more dangerous than someone with that licensed overestimating their abilities and getting people killed as a result. [break][break]

Roses were the ones with personality deficiencies. In other words, these were the students that one or more faculty deemed likely to be as much or more of a detriment due to their shitty attitudes than they were a help due to their skills. This was the group where most of the students were above-average compared to their peers and had inflated egos as a result of that fact. Trainees assigned to this group wore a red band somewhere visible on their person – usually on the head, leg, or arm. [break][break]

Roses were known for cutting the hell out of anyone who tried to touch them, so students assigned to this group would have to prove that they were actually capable of being people as well as fighters. Their conditions for passing was to help a minimum of two other trainees accomplish their objectives, and to never refuse a group request for any reason. If anyone in their group ended up needing to get pulled from the exercise at any point, the Rose would have their number of trainees helped reset and would have to find two others to help in order to complete their objective. The failure of their group, then, was a failure for the Rose as well and would significantly hamper their ability to pass. This clause was put in specifically to avoid them sandbagging it once they had completed their main objective, because there was always a risk of having that progress ripped away from them in an instant. [break][break]

The third and final group were the Orchids, who were noted to have social deficiencies. In other words, these were the students that one or more faculty deemed to have trouble forming connections with others usually due to social anxiety or a reclusive nature without the aggressive nature of a Rose or the concerns about combat capability of a Dandelion. Trainees assigned to this group wore a pink band somewhere visible on their person, in the same common positions as the other groups with the same requirement to make it easily visible. [break][break]

Orchids were notoriously rare in the colder climates of Anima, and as such were sought after but hard to find. Their conditions for passing this exercise were to submit five pieces of backstory or personal information about trainees other than themselves. If there were any duplicate entries, then both would be null and void, so they had to be unique pieces of information. Information gleaned from Roses were worth two points instead of one, largely to encourage interactions to help trainees understand each other at a personal level better and to force people to open up a bit more. Additionally, Orchids must end the event in a group with at least one other person in order to pass in order to prevent them from getting their pieces of information and then fucking off alone to wait out the clock. [break][break]

Students were allowed three doses of the dust of their choice excluding Hard Light, and were furthermore allowed to bring a backpack filled with equipment and supplies like a sleeping bag or food or parts for a tent that would make the coming trial easier. They were only allowed what they could physically hold on their back, though, which was a guideline that Shadecloak would enforce if she needed to. [break][break]

”Passing this practical exam means that you qualify for lower level huntsman mission all throughout Anima and will be allowed to take weekend trips and earn school credit for those excursions. Failing to pass naturally means that you’re barred from taking on any huntsman mission without the direct supervision of a faculty member. Questions have already been answered in the group meetings, so I’ll get right down to it and start launching people now.” [break][break]

From then on, trainees would be launched into the forest in one minute intervals according to their given rank as that rank and their individual group was called out. This gave an advantage of information for the higher ranked students, as they could hear every person’s group that came before them. That, however, was not always the most useful. Roses, for example, were not told anything of the other groups including their names and certainly were not aware of their objectives unless they managed to converse with a friend on the way there. Orchids had the most information, being given an overview of each of the other two groups and their respective objectives. Dandelions were only made aware of the Rose team and their objectives, but were in the dark about the Orchids. As the trainees were launched, the voice of Professor Shade’s bored voice would announce each of them in turn. [break][break]

At this point, questions were somebody else’s problem and the professor would pointedly ignore anyone asking them in favor of continuing to launch trainees via remote control. They were given thirty minutes already in their respective meetings to ask questions, and if they were too stupid to take advantage of that opportunity than it wasn’t her problem. There were also cases where information was deliberately withheld from one group or another, and it would defeat the entire purpose to circumvent that right before the drop. [break][break]

”First off, Rank Twenty-two, Nikolas Burzanov. Rose.” [break][break]

”Rank Twenty-one, Aegle Verdant. Dandelion.” [break][break]

"Rank Twenty, Jacqueline Bariole. Orchid." [break][break]

”Rank Nineteen, Reynard Marshall. Rose.” [break][break]

”Rank Eighteen, Evangeline Verre. Dandelion.” [break][break]

"Rank Seventeen, Ryan Vas. Orchid."[break][break]

"Rank Sixteen, Ume Toyouke. Orchid." [break][break]

"Rank Fifteen, Solomon Moon. Rose." [break][break]

"Rank Fourteen, Nasrin Golbahar. Orchid." [break][break]

"Rank Thirteen, Holly Hock. Dandelion." [break][break]

”Rank Twelve, Niraya Platinum. Orchid.” [break][break]

”Rank Eleven, Paisley Prince. Rose.” [break][break]

”Rank Ten, Alexandros Skouria. Dandelion.” [break][break]

”Rank Nine, Kishka Burzanova. Rose.” [break][break]

”Rank Eight, Erytheia Hellebore. Dandelion.” [break][break]

"Rank Seven, Améli Celeste. Orchid." [break][break]

”Rank Six, Elena Thorne. Orchid.” [break][break]

”Rank Five, Argent Steele. Orchid.” [break][break]

"Rank Four, Rosalia Phoenix. Rose." [break][break]

”Rank Three, Qiu’li. Orchid.” [break][break]

”Rank Two, Colton Deraine. Rose.” [break][break]

”Rank One, Carmim Clover. Dandelion.”

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[attr="class","nikki103"]2150 words

[attr="class","nikki103"]EVENT

[attr="class","nikki103"]2150 TOTAL WORDS

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NOTES

Notes here

PHARAOH LEAP CREATES

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[Colton Deraine]

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Bravery is believing in yourself, and that's one thing nobody can teach you.

He was number two.

Well, three. Ruqa would’ve been number one if her arm had been repaired in time, and that wasn’t exactly a secret. Hot off the heels of the Argus Limited mission, she deserved it by showing up and exceeding expectations so hard. Contrary to what others might believe, Colton was never one to really lose any sleep over rankings. Rather than being upset at being temporarily knocked off the number one spot, he was instead more relieved than anything that the class wasn’t completely hopeless and he wouldn’t need to do all the work going forward.

Nikolas being at the bottom wasn’t a surprise. He was the only one who did so badly that he not only prevented Carmim from continuing to cover his ass but once off on his own failed so spectacularly the newly far-reaching internet made his fight with the bandit on the top of that particular train car into a god damned meme. Since the ranking took into account fighting ability as well as teamwork, it was no surprise that he was ranked last. Everyone else around that area might be completely useless in a fight, but having a teammate being worse than useless was both a feat in and of itself and meant that they were actively making the fight harder rather than letting everyone else just go at it alone. Middle of the pack in fighting ability, but absolutely the worst by far when it came to teamwork. A primary combat school stint would have ironed out those issues, but it was too late for that now.

Kishka being as highly ranked as she was, frankly, was Colton’s biggest cause for concern. The girl wasn’t bad, frankly, but it also was basically a statement of fact that she was the bare minimum skill and training-wise that Colton would feel comfortable being on a mission with and leaving them to their own devices. In other words, she was self-sufficient and capable on her own but that was really it. She wasn’t good enough to make a team stronger unless they were hopeless to begin with, and she was competent enough to not make even a good team weaker by being slotted into it. In an ideal situation she’d be the one near the bottom of a highly talented class – or at the very least bottom third. Having her as the halfway marker wasn’t ideal, and hopefully that would change sooner rather than later.

The only other ranking that Colton really took any notice of was that of the third-place entrant. The fact that Qiu’li was that high was disturbing for the same reason as Kishka. If he was third, then there was a big gap between second and third place here which wasn’t the ideal situation. In many ways, the former champion considered the barbarian an inferior version of himself. Transformation type semblances were great for covering skill deficiencies, which was absolutely the case with that disappointment. He would be surpassed and kicked down the middle of the pack soon enough when those skill deficiencies were exposed, and maybe then he’d actually get someone who could challenge him in close quarters. People like Carmim, Elena, and Argent were getting to the point to where Colton wasn’t dominant at range anymore and would likely surpass him in that regard sooner rather than later… but it wasn’t like his ranged ability was ever his best.

Being number two in the exercise and being number three overall didn’t bother Colton, largely because he didn’t consider Carmim or Ruqa to be threats in the long run. Unofficial rankings didn’t matter, and the only thing that anyone would ever remember would be Vytal Festival results. Once that time came closer, he’d turn it up and make sure he was the standout but other than that he didn’t really mind if others briefly took the spotlight away. It was a good scouting opportunity, if nothing else.

The goal was to survive for twenty-four hours in the forest and to complete some objectives. Roses needed to help two other people complete their objectives, which was easy enough. The fact that he didn’t know what the other teams had for objectives was irrelevant, because it was almost certainly something that at least half of the group could complete. Seeing as though half of the group was incompetent, that meant that their goals were likely pretty easy. In truth, the only annoying part of the exercise was the fact that he couldn’t refuse group requests and had to go out and find people himself.

Because of that fact, the brunette didn’t pack nearly as much as some of the other students. It was twenty-four hours and not a week this go around, and chances were those that overpacked would just get their supplies ripped up by Grimm fairly early on. Mobility, frankly, was much more important than packing in twenty more cans of food you wouldn’t eat. A smaller backpack with enough food for two larger meals and a few gallons of water were plenty in terms of food and drink. A sleeping bag and a tarp took care of sleeping arrangements, and that was really it aside from his scroll. Armor would be more of a hinderance than a benefit in this scenario, so he just left it in his locker.

For clothes he just wore the standard Haven Academy uniform consisting of a black jacket with a light gray outline around the edges, a white undershirt and a white band around the student's left arm. As for the actual launch, that wasn’t an issue at all because the teenager could simply flare out his shield once he had flown for a decent distance and fly out into the middle of nowhere to avoid people for the beginning stages of this scenario. Frankly, being yanked around by a bunch of idiots sounded less than ideal so he took a good stock of where people were being launched. The big advantage of going second to last was knowing the likely areas where most people dropped, which meant that he could steer away from the worst possible options pretty easily.

It wasn’t advantageous for him to get put into a group for the first hour or two anyways, so he was more than content with just flinging himself out far away from the most annoying members of this current class and just keeping to himself until hour two or three. Being yanked around by an idiot or a coward was not something high on the list of things he wanted to do with his time, so minimizing that risk was good for his mental health and his chances at passing. Being held at the school while others went on missions would be undesirable, so that outcome was to be avoided if it was possible.

※ 1142 total words ✎ 1142 words ✉ D rank semblance, D ranked martial arts, D ranked durability, D ranked weapon, E rank weapon enhancement, E rank stamina

MADE BY MIZO

[Alexandros Skouriá]

A xanthous notebook and matching thin strip of cloth awaited the boy on one of the broad metal launching platforms. On the former in an elegant cursive script was printed his full name, Alexandros Skouriá, and beneath this was only the number 'eight'. Without hesitation, the notebook was promptly placed inside the near-bursting confines of his usual, stuffed duffel bag, before slinging said storage swiftly over one shoulder. Miss Shadecloak had made it very clear in their brief one-on-one discussion that the participating students were to bring with them only a few crucial supplies for the 24-hour stint in the wild, and all of it was to be contained in a single bag worn during the launch. It would make for an interesting challenge -- this much he was certain of -- with the potential to play out in an almost infinite number of ways; there was no use in worrying or overthinking though, for the opening chaos of the initiation was itself a test which could not afford to be failed.

In preparation for the strange assessment, Alex had readied up a decent little assortment of oddities and comforts and supplies. Between his Semblance and well-developed environmental acclimation, any chill carried on the night air would be an annoyance at worst; this freed up space which may otherwise have been taken up by a sleeping bag or tent, and in its place other things could be stored for use later in the examination. All up, he had opted for one light-weight blanket, two towels -- one serving to swaddle and cushion some cans of flavoured chunked salmon and a travelling set of chopsticks, and the other doing much the same for a small mixed kit of basic medical and sewing supplies -- one ammo box to hold a single round of Lightning Dust alongside his standard munitions, a second ammo box converted to a compact portable stove (a trick learned from one of his father's old war stories), a full canteen of icy drinking water, a steel measuring cup with a makeshift lid, some teabags, and lastly a little cask of oil with a rag for maintaining Thrash out in the field. His other two allowed dosages of Dust, both of the Gravity persuasion, were loaded and ready in the brutish cylinder of the revolver at his hip. It was an unfortunate reality -- one faculty were keenly, almost smugly, aware of -- that the boy's landing strategy would claim one of these two particular speciality bullets, leaving him less to work with under the pressure of it all.

Alexandros was as ready as he could be.

As per the instructions doled out from the thoroughly bored teacher, he took the coloured band to his left arm and tied it in place just below the elbow. Out of the way yet still obvious, he figured, would be the best way to approach the matter. Alex hoped that everyone else would have figured much the same, for ease of identification would be critically important as the long day rolled on. He had been told ahead of time that another group of participants, the 'roses', were required to assist a fellow student when requested, and that this assistance could be the single thing separating both of the two groups from failure or success. However, in that moment it wasn't important; what mattered most was safely landing in the forest. Shadecloak dryly explained the purposes of the operation to the assembled crowd of students, with much of it being considerably standard given the circumstances. That was, until…

"If we can get through this with no fatalities, that would make this go smoother than Beacon’s initiation usually went."

Quite a heavy way to end a speech, but it was a point well worth mentioning. This whole endeavour -- all of it -- was real. Here, just as in the cruel real world, the punches would not be pulled. Haven was no place for cowards or weaklings, and everybody there that day knew it well. The Creatures of Grimm lurking below were hungry, and all of them were surely aware and waiting for the trainees to join in the fun on their playground. Injuries, maybe even open wounds, were the expectation for these sorts of trials by fire, and the occasional death punctuated the news as a poignant reminder that the world needed capable warriors and heroes to vanish the darkness, not children. Hope alone was never enough; strength, and skill, and the knowledge of how to apply them when facing down finality was that which a Huntsman or Huntress required, and a long-form practical examination worked as a vehicle for assessing these traits. A classroom could prepare them, but only reality could put that preparation to any sort of use.

His goal was clear: survive for a day, and kill five monsters -- nothing more. The only thing left, then, was time.

Click.

Twisting through the sky, eyes wide in a cocktail of fear and wonder, Number Eight soared on. The view was incredible; it was as if all of the world was his to see from on high, but the beauty would have to wait. Thinking quickly and shifting the mass of his laden bag, Alex oriented himself such that he was facing the direction of travel he moved in. The arc in which he was thrown by the launch was both high and long, sending him rather far out from the line of platforms. The height was a tremendously valuable asset, giving him the critical time required to pirouette about in the wind, but the sheer distance could prove an issue. Forward, he flew, just as quickly as the thoughts racing around his mind. Summoning up as much patience and calm as possible, he drew Thrash from the holster on his right side and readied up with both hands firmly on its worn-out grip. In order to execute a successful landing -- instinct and concentration coming together in equal parts -- one shot would need to be placed expertly.

Luck was on his side.

Approaching a gap in the trees, Alexandros used a final twitch of his upper-body to gently rock forward; arms extended, aim centred, and angle attained, he fired. The sound of the Dust discharging rang out like a clap of thunder across the theatre of green, and in its deafening wake a great number of birds took flight in retreat. The forward momentum he had carried with him was arrested almost instantaneously from the recoil, and for a brief moment he floated as the kick slowed his descent. This much, the boy knew, was damn-near perfectly done. Right through an opening in the canopy, to an empty clearing, was the sort of once-in-a-lifetime thing he needed to safely touch down, and it had happened without a hitch. Gravity taking hold of him again, Alexandros dropped to the world beneath and absorbed the landing in a deep squat. It could have been better, but it could have been far worse. The pain would subside -- it always did -- and the challenge would begin proper. Six others had already gone before him, and seven more were due after his own flight. Alex waited, low to the earth, and let out nothing more than a single heavy sigh of relief.

With nowhere left to turn his attention, Alexandros took a moment to wonder about it all. The choice of his group's name, 'dandelion', was almost certainly one chosen for its layered significance; those who couldn't keep up were not unlike their namesake, an invasive and unwanted weed, weaker than a whisper, which despoiled the garden of purpose calling itself Haven Academy. There would be no room for wilting flowers, and less still for cheap imitations. Try as they might to reach out for the Sun, he and the other little seedlings were troublesome; the three distinct possibilities were to fall apart and scatter, to survive yet blemish the others in bloom, or to truly grow heavenward unabated. All that was necessary was to prove himself, and the gardeners would not come to cut him down.

Get up, he rallied in his head, and fight.

--

WC 1364/1364

[Nikolas Burzanov]

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@ No one

1138 words

all these scars and yet i am fearless

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Disappointed, but not unexpected. That was Nikolas' thought when he saw the rankings of the students, with his name being clearly at the bottom. It didn't come as a surprise, nor did it illicit any reaction from Nikolas other than his usual distant silence. He was a hazard to anyone he was working with due to his recklessness, both with his high risk of friendly fire and his high risk of getting injured and therefore forcing others to risk themselves for his safety. That was a huge detriment as a huntsman since he was required to work as a team, in a cohesive fashion with the rest of his team. It also wasn't a surprise that he was put into the Rose team, the team made up of all the trainees with aggression issues. [break][break]

Nikolas had been discharged from the infirmary a few days prior and was hoping to pass the midterms in a better fashion than the train escort had gone. He had much to make up for, after all. But, this was where he would hopefully shine better, given that it was survival in the forest, and involved Grimm. Both of which he was familiar with. For his outfit for this trip, he wore a black combat shirt that was designed similarly to the fatigues that military personnel wore, with padding along the shoulder and elbow. Fingerless gloves covered his palm and supported his wrist, strapping over the end of his sleeve so no wrist skin was visible. His shirt was tucked into a pair of black tac-pants that had visible knee-pads, going down to a pair of black leather combat boots. Tactical rigging was visible on his upper body, both holding his shirt tight and acting as a mount for the small pouches which held ammo and dust. A red scarf peeked out underneath the collar of his shirt, being able to be used as a lower face-mask when needed, and a red band was tied around his left upper arm, a sign that he was part of the Rose squad.[break][break]

As he made his way for the midterms, he could sense the stares aimed at his direction. Some were mocking, some were wary. Most were negative. Nikolas was used to being the subject of negative scrutiny, albeit this time he knew he deserved it. Acceptance of his fault made it easy to ignore all the attention being directed towards him as he took his spot on the launchpads, Stahlblesk in hand and his pack of supplies on his back. He had a small backpack, choosing to pack light as always. Within it, there were things like protein bars, energy bars, beef jerky and a couple of bottles of both water and rehydration mixtures to replace the other minerals lost while sweating or such. It was the middle of summer, and some heat was to be expected. While the food he packed weren't necessarily filling, they'd provide the nutrients he needed to survive the 24 hours without being slowed down by a full stomach, and could be eaten quickly. It also culled the need to create fires to cook food, which would serve to be useful in stealth. Humans needed sleep. Grimm didn't, as far as he knew. He had also packed a small coil of rope, a hexkey for Stahlblesk and some minor first aid like gauze, disinfectants and painkillers. On his person, he carried ammo for Stahlblesk in pouches. He carried two extra cartridges of Błyskawica in one pouch as well, to be able to replace the lost charges out of combat should he use them in combat at some point. The three vials of dust were on his belt, as usual. One vial of Air dust, one vial of Gravity dust and one vial of Ice dust. A miniature compass rested on one of the straps on his chest, near his left shoulder.[break][break]

He ignored most of the other trainees in the starting area, aside from the few that he knew on a more positive note. He would give a silent nod to Argent and Qiu'li if their eyes met, a grimace at Carmim and a reluctant nod, a simple deliberate blink at Kishka. Aside from those few, the rest did not get anything from Nikolas aside from cold indifference. He stared down at the red notebook he had been given, to keep track of objectives and to write whatever else he wanted to inside of it. His objective was plain and simple, as a rose.[break][break]

One, Survive 24 hours. Two, Help a minimum of two other trainees complete their objectives. Three, Don't let any of his group mates fail, or he would have to start all over, and finally... Four, Do not refuse a request for grouping or help from other trainees.[break][break]

He closed his notebook and pocketed it with silence, waiting patiently for the allotted time to arrive. Finally, with the sun breaking over the horizon, the moment of truth arrived. He took a braced position on the launchpad, pulling his scarf up to cover the lower half of his face and nodded to signify he was ready, holding Stahlblesk in one hand, and a vial of Air dust in the other, which would help him land safely. A few heartbeats of silence and then...[break][break]

It was somewhat jarring, to be launched from a standstill to such a high velocity within the span of a breath, and it took Nikolas a second to get his bearings as he flew upwards in an arc. Luckily, his braced stance helped him maintain a proper form of flight rather than pinwheeling across the sky, maintaining stability as he soared up, up and then leveled, before beginning to fall. Being the first to go had some advantages, and he picked somewhere that was quite far from the launching spot, perhaps the farthest any trainee would go. He knew he had his objectives to fulfill, and he would do so... But he also wanted to fulfill his own personal objective.[break][break]

Five, Kill Grimm.[break][break]

The air dust activated as he neared the treeline, slowing his progress down in the opposite direction of his descent so he could safely crash through foliage and branches at a much easier rate, so much so that by the time he hit the leaves and outlying branches of the canopy, he had mostly arrested his momentum and could simply grab onto a branch to halt himself. From there, he slowly climbed down to safety, brushing off the negligible scratches and looking around to gather his bearings, the compass aiding him in the effort. It was somewhat nostalgic, being in the woods of Mistral once more, Grimm existing somewhere within this forest. [break][break]

With that said and done, Nikolas set off, on the hunt for both teammates to help, and Grimm to kill. [break]

ulla

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[Aegle Verdant]

The day had finally arrived, a day which Aegle had been dreading near as bad as she'd dreaded her first mission; Launch day was finally here. In Atlas, so her brothers had told her, mid-term examinations were a week long affair. Cadets were taken to the most inhospitable climes that lay within range of the Academy and left there, with little more than the clothes on their back and whatever they could carry. Those that made it back to civilization were considered to have passed the examination. Aaron had made the trek in a little under a day and a half, Vulcan in just over three. It'd been the trials, more than anything else, which had made Vulcan decide against graduating. It seemed barbaric, and Aegle had said so, but it was hardly the worst thing the Academies did to their charges. Vale lost students every year in their examinations, which were trials by fire rather than wars of attrition in the Atlesian style. She didn't know what sort of exam Vacuo employed, but she'd heard enough about the desert kingdom from Carmin to guess it was no less unpleasant.
That was the nature of the beast, after all. As Shadecloak had alluded to, they were, none of them, at Haven except to be tested, and the trials needed to reflect that. Each Kingdom emphasized different things to be sure but, after all, it was all to the same end; They were training fighters and survivors, so needed to test those two traits. The objectives they allotted each group were of tertiary concern beside those two points, at least regarding the Orchids and Roses, who must still needs survive the exam as well as complete their own specific goals. If an Rose helped two people and still lost a fight to a Grimm, their success in one regard did not cancel the finality of their failure in the other. Whatever the Orchids goal was, they would still need to make it a whole twenty four hours in a Grimm infested locale. Looking at her classmates, Aegle wondered how many had thought the same thing, or whether any of them had even considered it at all. Shadecloak certainly had, but it so often seemed like her fellow Trainees were numb to the possibility of death or dismemberment. Then Aegle thought of Carmin, and how frightened she'd been before her mission on the train, and she wondered if her fellow trainees were just better at hiding their doubts than she was. Perhaps, for all her confidence and bravado, Ruqa had confided in her friends too, before her turn to board the Argus Express. Perhaps, in spite of his cold and easy competence, Colton still voiced doubts to his loved ones, where there was no one else to hear. Carmin, who had outperformed even Colton on the train, everyone agreed, had been full with doubts after all, so why not everyone else? Just because Aegle couldn't imagine Haven's man of iron doubting himself did not mean he didn't.

'Bout t'be launched into forest, full up with slavering monsters,' Aegle thought, 'And here I am wonderin' how everyone else is feelin'. How inane can I be, honestly?'
But it beat the alternatives of worrying and checking her pack for the half a hundreth time. The former, she done more than enough of already, and the latter would not have changed since the last time she'd checked.
'Spare lightning cells, two canteens, rations, a rain slicker, spare bandages, suturing kit...' Aegle listed in her head, all the while drumming her fingers restless on her pack's strap. She didn't like to wear a pack; Her back was bent all wrong for the operation and her shoulders, one higher than the other, made it especially wearisome to wear both straps at once. She traded shoulders, as she'd been doing almost constantly since she'd put the thrice-damned thing on, and found it rested no more comfortably upon that shoulder.
'Flashlight, types fourteen and nine spanners, wire brush, spare actuators...' Something was digging into her spine. Grunting, and with great difficulty, Aegle reached behind herself to find out what it was.
'Ah, yes, and three different types of dust.' Aegle grimaced, tugging the pouch out to examine it more closely, despite having done so at least three times prior. She'd never been much good with Dust, if Aegle was being honest. Most trainees started working with the stuff around the same time they started building their first weapons, a seminal experience which Aegle lacked. She knew the basics and could, with a bit of concentration, turn a handful of fire dust into a spark, but had otherwise not had any real use for the stuff. Lightning dust was what she was most familiar with, and that only because it was what powered her brace. It had seemed exceedingly foolish to pack three vials of lightning dust though; The spare cells she'd packed should have been enough to keep her at full capacity for a couple of days at least, and she couldn't refill an expended cell in the field anyway. Therefore, in place of the dust Aegle was most familiar with, she'd squandered two of her allotted three charges on dust types she'd basically never used. It had seemed a cunning decision at the first, but a morning waiting to be flung into the wilderness had somewhat soured the notion. Fire had its uses obviously, and was perhaps the most straightforward of the four base colors to use, so she'd brought some along. Having decided not to bring three charges of lightning, it had felt especially foolish to bring only two and one fire, but Aegle had no idea what other dust could be useful. In the end, she'd done what she'd thought practical at the time. Water was vital to survival and, so she'd finally decided on water dust.
Looking back on the decision however, Aegle was sure she might have made a wiser one. Water was vital to survival, sure, but she had two canteens of water in her pack. What could be done with water dust that couldn't be done with just plain, mundane water? Feeling a fool, Aegle slipped the three neatly packed charges back into place on the side of her pack, where hopefully they would remain without causing her misloved back any further grief.

"Not long now." Aegle murmured, to no one in particular. They would be going soon and she, Aegle held little doubt, would be going first. She wondered if there was a reason for sending the lowest ranks off first. Sure, Shadecloak had proffered a reason, but Aegle had her doubts. The professor was duplicitous, and seldom did anything for a straightforward reason; Few could know that better than Aegle, who Shadecloak had once used to indirectly shame the man of iron himself.
'Mayhaps it's as much so the higher ranks see where we land as it is keepin' us from seein' where they land.' Aegle looked around again, the worry beetling her forehead belying the grin fixed on her lips, 'Mayhaps so the higher ranks know where to avoid landin', lest we anchors drag them down.'
Aegle felt that was nearer the truth than Shadecloak's own suggestion. While she didn't know what the Orchids were supposed to do, she knew what the Roses were after. Helping two people to complete their own objectives, whatever those might be, meant the roses that launched first were at a grave disadvantage, while those who ranked higher would get to pick and choose who they teamed up with. Since Roses could not refuse a request for help, and since their progress was reset if one of their teammates should fail, a wise Rose would do their best to avoid the worst of Haven's offerings. Namely, Aegle herself.
'And every Rose here is gonna know not to land within half a hundred meters of me.'
Aegle couldn't be too upset though. She'd been complicit, after all, in earning her place at the bottom of Haven's rankings. She deserved her spot as the absolute worst the Academy had to offer and could not, in good conscience, begrudge anyone who steered clear of her for fear of being dragged down with her. It was the first of the Roses she felt truly sorry for though; Without knowing the disposition of their classmates, of the people they were supposed to be helping, the first Roses would be at a marked disadvantage, even compared to lowly Dandelions like herself. Their red arm band and low rank would mark them as unsuitable to any of the upper rank Dandelions and, more than likely, the Orchids as well. After all, Roses were such because they could not work together or cooperate effectively, and a clever Dandelion, should she want to avail herself of a Rose's help, would need pay close attention to where the Roses landed, and what order they had landed in. Like low rank Dandelions, low rank Roses were a liability, and best avoided.
'What happens,' Aegle wondered, 'If everyone completes their objectives or fails before a Rose meets her quota?'
The answer seemed obvious. It made her feel doubly sorry for those Roses that went first, without any real idea of where their classmates were going to land.
'At least, if any of them get real desperate, they could come looking for me.'
Everyone would see where Aegle landed, after all.

Or so she'd thought. Instead of her being summoned first though, Aegle listened in stunned disbelief as another name was called.
Nikolas Burzanov. It was not a name she recognized, though it was strangely familiar for some reason. Twisting around, she searched a whomever it belonged to then spied, moving through the crowd, a slender figure with skin almost as white as her own, and made to look even whiter by his snowy head of hair. She watched him make his way towards the platform without really looking at anyone or anything, with eyes unfeeling and distant as silver stars. Except when he passed Kishka and seemingly made a point of staring right at her. Seeing her tormentor's expression, Aegle suddenly realized why Nikolas' name had sounded so familiar.
"Burzanov." She mused, watching him continue past, towards the launch platform. Only then did she see it, the slender red armband he wore.
'Red,' Thought Aegle, 'The first of the Roses.'
And, from the cold expressions almost universally directed his way, Aegle guessed he'd earned the title.
"I'm not the worst," She said quietly, disbelieving and bemused, "I'm not?"
He'd made it to the platform by then, and was preparing to launch. Aegle watched him, but still couldn't quite believe it. Looking around, she marked more than a few people paying close attention as well, not a one of them looking especially friendly. Had they thought the same thing as her? Were they waiting to see where Nik landed, all the better to steer clear of him? What had he done, Aegle wondered, to earn such universal enmity from his classmates?
And then he was gone, sailing high into the sky. Like those others Aegle had spotted, she too marked his flight, and took close note of where he'd landed.
'The first of the Roses,' She thought, 'Despised by all.'

She was scarcely paying attention when her own name was called. Finding out she second worst wasn't so much of a shock, not compared to finding out she was not, in fact, the absolute worst. She had other things on her mind though, thoughts not solely related to fighting and survival. Absurd thoughts, when you got right down to it, and maybe even a little crazy. Aegle grinned, as she took up her position on the launching plate, and it was a grin untroubled by a beetled brow, unworried in spite of the danger. She enumerated her objectives, never suspecting that Nik had been doing the exact same thing a mere minute prior.
'One: Survive. Two: Kill five Grimm...'
The platform heaved beneath her, and a giddy squeal tore itself free of her mouth as she was flung skyward. She twirled, weightless and, for an instant, forgot to be scared. The world opened up around her, unfurling like a great green carpet. As she rose to the apex of her jump, she almost thought she could see all the way to Atlas. It was, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful sights she'd ever beheld.
'Gods...' Aegle thought, laughing breathlessly, 'I'm alive.' Her eyes scanned the trees below, and she watched as a flock of birds took flight some distance ahead. She knew, somehow, that she'd not been thrown far enough. Her platform must have been tuned to throw her a shorter distance than Nik's, especially considering how vastly different their weights must be. It didn't matter. Nothing did.
Shrieking as she started to fall, unsure whether from fear or from delight, Aegle did her best to aim for that flock of birds. As she plummet back to earth, she continued to count.
'Three: Find Nikolas Burzanov.'
She emptied her lungs once, twice, thrice, four times, and was breathless as she came near to the trees.
'To hell with Shadecloak and her games. To hell with Haven and its rankings,' Aegle thought, shrieking, delirious with joy and terror, 'There's a Rose in this forest, and he needs help.'

Before she could think much more, the forest engulfed her.

words - 2,263

[Holly Hock]

For some reason this mission felt like poetry to Holly. Having been forced to spend weeks in a mosquito-filled rain forest was the start of your journey to become a huntress. What is the first major thing you do of note when you got admitted into Haven? Spend 24 hours in a forest. Again. Was her life just going to be all forest-related? She grew up next to a jungle, she survived for weeks in the jungle when she was barely a teen and afterward she spend who knows how many days training in it. Was she destined to become a weird wood hermit later in her life as well? To others this mission would honestly put them out of their element, but this WAS Holly's element. Not only would there be trees everywhere, but Holly was convinced that she honestly had it worst in her past. Compared to the jungle on Mato-Mato, at least this forest wasn't infested with mosquitoes, venomous snakes, or any other tropical delight. Sure, there were Grimm, and a lot of them but Grimm can be dealt with, or at least avoided. All of these thoughts plagued her mind as she filled her knapsack with the things she found useful. Dried fruits, water, a blanket, gloves, a beanie, a small first aid kit, a lighter and fatwood, a spare sawblade for her weapon, a compass, a wind-up flashlight, a whistle, 2 pens, and a spare knife. When all was packed it felt heavy enough, but not too heavy that it would be too cumbersome. The thrift store in the Wind-District served her well. As she didn't have much prior training with the use of dust, she didn't pack it. Holly considered if she needed to take with her extra supplies to build a tent or a shelter, but she was convinced she could toughen it out for at least one night. Her biggest obstacle was not knowing any of her potential allies. While she was convinced that she could do this mission on her own if she had to, it would have been nice to at least get to know at least one other person. Hell, even failing this mission wasn't the worst thing. She only just joined the academy so having a professor join in missions wasn't the worst. She could learn the most from those, couldn't she?

As such, Holly felt a bit out of touch with the other students when she was standing on her metal launchpad as she listened to Shadecloak. Her yellow band was tied around her waist, and contrasted against her yellow dress. While she had fallen out of trees more time than she could count, she was never shot into the sky like this. Being launched honestly frightened her more than the forest. Having only the barest of knowledge about her other students, Holly just looked at each of them and tried to size them up. The notebook said that she was rank 11, so that meant that there were 10 stronger students than her. Stronger how? She was certain she was the queen at forest survival. So, her sizing up was not so much on who was the strongest. She was convinced that everyone who was here was at least somewhat strong. Else they wouldn't be fired into a Grimm-infested forest without it being a crime. No, Holly was trying to read their faces. See if there was fear or confidence written on them. Fear attracted the Grimm, and as she needed to kill 5 of them before the mission ended, having a little bit of fright was actually going to be an advantage. As long as she managed to take out 5 Grimm, she was set. Being the new girl paid off, as this mission would be possible even on her own. If she could find a friend, this might even be fun... I wonder how this is for people who didn't had a dad who forced his three daughter to live in a jungle. It must suck. Because of all of this, Holly herself was rather relaxed, and the only uncomfortable glances she did had in the time she waited was down to that damn metal square below her. Not at the forest. All that the forest did, was beckon to her. Holly stretched her hand out towards the distant trees, and said her first words a moment before the earliest student was to be launched.

"Soon my love..."

And while Holly only listened somewhat attentively at Shadecloak when she spoke about the mission, she had her ears open and pen at the ready when she was calling out people. While others placed their notebooks away in preparation of being launched, Holly was taking notes as she wrote down names and groups as fast as she could. While Holly was not the smartest cookie, she found it odd that she was given a notebook. You write things down in notebooks. Maybe this would help her? At least it will help with learning names and faces. So, she better starts writing things down. Her handwriting were more scrawls than anything else, but it was enough for her to do in the allotted time. Whenever a student was shot away like a clay pigeon, Holly was quickly writing:

"Carmin, red hair, suit, strong, dandy.

Coltan, Brown, cocky, Roos.

Queli, blak hair, looks cool, Orchid. You'r orchid!

Archent, scales, SNAKE, Orchid.

Elena, nice brown hair, Orchit.

Eritea, blond, nice clothing, want to be frends, Dany

Kissa, brown and purple, cute, Roos.

Alaxandros, suit, dandy.

Parsley, PINK HAIR TOO, roos"

When number 10 was about to be launched, Holly placed her notebook away in her backpack as she prepared herself for this ordeal. She at least now had some more info. She knows that she could trust people who were either roses or dandies like herself. Orchids were a gray area. Who knows what they were tasked with doing? Maybe their goals went against mine? Better not to take chances.

And then the moment arrived when her name was called out. Number 11, soon to be forest queen. With Slicer tightly gripped in her hand, she was ready to make at least a graceful enough landing. The girl had remained mostly silent up till this point, yet when the spring activated, and she was trust into the air she let out a yelp of excitement and shock. Being flung through the air like this was horrible! She tried to keep her eyes open throughout the experience, yet the wind pressure made that hard to do for the girl. When she finally started to decent, she focused on the task at hand.

Land, survive, kill Grimm, find others. You can do this forest queen!

Extending the blade of Slicer to hurl it at a tree to break her fall, Holly had entered the fray.

-

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[Qiu'li]

[attr="class","popqiu"] ❝May the crimson leaves show me the path I must follow.❞ wc: 751 | twc: 751 Qiu'li

[attr="class","qiutext"] Qiu'li didn't understand what a 'midterm' was or what it entailed. From his perspective, this simply looked like any other exercise to him. While there had been chatter about the nature of this exercise, all he could really conclude was that this particular one had some extra significance to it. Independence from an instructor's eye. While that sounded appealing for many that desired independence, Qiu'li failed to see that as a real incentive. Why forego guaranteed safety in the event that something goes terribly wrong? Perhaps it was a lack of true understanding, but the raven-haired man decided to go along with it anyways for the sake of avoiding being outed by his fellow classmates for thinking strangely. It wouldn't have been the first time, anyhow. Qiu'li wore his usual attire that he would wear on any event that wasn't involved in the classroom. His worn, fur-lined robes, blood-red sash that wrapped around his abdomen, leather boots, spaulders, and arm-length gauntlets. In addition, he decided to pack lightly for the exercise, as they were informed that it would be an overnight excursion. Therefore, he brought his various tool that he had slowly relied on. Such tools included a number of impact smoke bombs, improvised caltrops, and heavy-duty wire, as well as a couple of other survival essentials such as matches, a canteen of water, a small secondhand utility knife, and a blanket. As Instructor Shadecloak began her explanation of the exercise, Qiu'li noted the existence of three teams, each given their particular names. Roses, Dandelions, and Orchids. Each with their own personalities reflecting the characteristics exhibited by the students that were placed into each category. As he searched for a platform with his name on it, he came across a notebook with a pink band wrapped around it and his name written at the top of it. Number three. Qiu'li wasn't one for technicalities; they were just numbers in the end, and numbers didn't define the person or their ability. Far from it. Well, now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. Opening the notebook and reading the objective given, it seemed like his task was... to do the one thing that he had the most trouble with: Communication. His lip twitched momentarily as he reach the primary objectives of the two other groups. One was to slay five grimm while the other was obligated to help the other two groups. His own involved finding five pieces of knowledge involving the other members. However, there were several problems he had with this. How in-depth did they want this? Would they fact-check this information? What if the other person lied? With so many questions swirling around, Qiu'li stopped momentarily to take a breath. Overthinking will get him nowhere, and the launching of students had already begun. Given that he wasn't particularly close with any of his classmates thus far, the direction he would be launched would be somewhere distant. He was unsure of what awaited him, but he had his tasks, and he was intent on completing them. Closing the book, Qiu'li awaited his turn, which felt a lot longer than it needed to be. There was only himself, Colton, and Carmim left by that time, which felt strangely empty. As he awaited the launchpad to send him soaring, Qiu'li took the pink band and wrapped it around his head, fastening it to his forehead to keep his unkempt hair out of his face. As he tightened it, Qiu'li felt himself take to the skies as he was hurled into the unknown. Fast approaching the trees, Qiu'li drew out his glaive, and braced himself. He had to time this right, or risk dislocating both of his arms in the process. His mobility had increased dramatically since his time in Haven began, therefore learning to dismount and land safely has all but become second nature to the raven-haired man as he angled his sword and fired it from his staff into a thick branch. He held on tightly as his weapon became a swinging vine and Qiu'li quicky dismounted from his weapon and tucked into a quick roll, using his shoulder to absorb the shock of the impact as he ended up high into the nearby trees. He would have to backtrack for his weapon, but at the very least, he made it out relatively unscathed. He looked around. He was in unfamiliar territory, yet in a familiar environment, though now wasn't the time to reminisce, he had a task to complete. -- Fènnù (+Strength +Agility +Projectile Sword Beam) | Rank D Lóngtóu and Panlong | Rank F Featherfall I (Leap) | Rank D Weapon Proficiency I (Martial Arts) | Rank E Dance of the Wild Winds II (Acrobatics) | Rank E Shadow Step I (Stealth) | Rank F Resilience of the Crimson Oaks II (Durability) | Rank E

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[Evangeline Lys de Verre]

tell me pretty lies

template by Punki of Adoxography

no tags -x- 834 words -x- like a deer in headlights

This was it! The big day! Evangeline was very very VERY excited for this! And also perhaps a little bit apprehensive. This was going to be a little bit scary, but Evangeline was dedicated to passing the midterms and earning her stripes as a true huntress in the making!



She woke up super early, and got to work on preparing herself. She worked on putting on her combat outfit first, consisting of the white and gold tabard-like top, the black shirt underneath and the black pants with the high-shin leather boots, with straps all around. To add onto this, she finalized with her newest acquisition; a black tactical vest filled with padding that secured her torso, which also came with a hood to hide her golden hair, and leather bracers. She fixed herself her backpack of supplies after that, a small messenger bag that hung across one shoulder, her quiver of bolts hanging across the other shoulder. Her violin bow was sheathed at her hip like a sword once more, and Lis Fleurissant was in her hand, almost thrumming with excitement.



She arrived at the location indicated on her scroll, wearing a yellow hair band with a yellow ribbon on it, to signify her Dandelion grouping. Unlike a lot of the others, Evangeline flitting around from person to person, greeting everyone with smiles and inquiries of their well being. She got into small talk with her BFF Carmim when she ran into her, stared wistfully at Qiu'li and gave him a shy wave, hugged her friends like Kishka, Reynard, Argent and Aegle and wished them luck, and even gave a cheerful hello and wave to people like Colton and Nikolas, although she was mostly ignored by those.



She was actually relatively surprised to find her name slightly higher on the rankings than completely last. She expected herself to be bottom level when compared with all the other stellar performers on the table. She was most surprised to find Nikolas on the bottom of the list. She always thought he was a dangerous fellow, and from how he looked, she still thought so. She then remembered the news about the Train Mission and how he had been the only one to have gotten severely injured by his reckless actions so she assumed that had weighed heavily against him.



She watched the three people before her getting launched into the forest, keeping track of where they landed. Her excitement had turned somewhat volatile, making her hands tremble and her legs feel like jelly. It was almost a bit difficult to walk to the launching platform and prepare herself. But she managed to do it, biting her lips as she did so, giving her friends still remaining a shaky wave, before bracing herself and nodding.



And then, she was flung into the air, the sharp taste of blood and pain instantly entering her mouth. She had forgotten to take her lip out of her teeth and had ended up biting down too hard on her lower lip as she was launched. Thankfully, she only broke skin and didn't actually bite her entire lip off, as she sailed high and up, head first. The wind was roaring past her ears as she reached for the one of the vials of dust she had brought for this class. Two vials of air dust and one vial of ice. She used one of the vials of air dust as she approached the ground, using it to slow her descent so she could land on her feet safely, her knees buckling from the force of it but otherwise uninjured. She had landed somewhere near the center of the forest.



She took some time to find her bearings, remembering her objectives... Her objectives...?



Her mind wasn't working. Words weren't coming to her head. Evangeline looked around. Trees. Trees. Shadows. The chirping of animals... Did a twig just snap somewhere? She whipped her head around, this way and that. Her heart was now pounding, adrenaline rushing through her system.



This was the first time she had ever been dropped into a danger zone all alone. No friends to get moral support from. And no idea of what was lurking in the dark. Even though it was bright morning, the shadows cast by the treeline surrounding her seemed infinitely darker as she stared at it. Terror began to dig its cold, cold claws into her system as she thought she heard something like a screech somewhere in the distance. Grimm.



Her breaths began to come fast and hard as she tried desperately hard to not panic, instead, looking around for cover. She ran off at a random direction, hoping to find some cover to hide safely behind where she could observe and find someone else to tag along with, imagined shadows hounding her steps and turning her run into an almost panicked sprint.



This was going to be a crucible for Evangeline, and it would either make her or break her as a huntress.

[Nasrin Golbahar]

Nasrin had been looking forward to this since she first applied to Haven. Getting to go out into the woods and do what she imagined a Huntress must do on a regular basis was extremely exciting, and was a welcome break in the endless monotony of the rest of her school life. Today Nasrin decided was a good day to wear something that covered a bit more of her body, it gets cold in the woods at night, right? So her uniform for this mission was a pair of warmer jeans with a bit of fleece lining on the inside, and a long-sleeved shirt with one of her favorite sayings plastered across the front in a graffiti-like style 'Carpe Diem', live for the day, and that was exactly what she intended to do. She packed her bag with three canisters of Gravity dust, a bedroll, some matches, a can of spray paint, a little bit of dried fruit and meats, and then finally a big ol' water bottle in the holder on the outside of the pack, along with a warm jacket that she draped over the entire backpack to help protect from water.

She of course carried Rascal with her on the walk down to the launching point, going over her landing plan in her head a few times. She had two. One was if she managed to find a solid clearing where she could land without risk of trees smacking her in the face, in that case she would try and land on Rascal and use the momentum to skate a ways into the woods before trying to get her bearings and find shelter. If a clearing wasn't available, then she planned to use Rascal as a battering ram to punch through the trees as she descended - hopefully slowing her fall and getting her a decently safe landing.

Nasrin walked with a bit of a hop in her step, the excitement she had bleeding onto the surface a little bit as she arrived at the launch area just as Shadecloak was starting her speech. 'Perfect timing!. Nasrin listed with one ear as the professor spoke, though was focused mostly on reading the instructions on the inside of her notebook. She had to talk to people? That was it? All this time waiting for a real challenge, something exciting, and all she had to do was get to know someone and survive the forest for a day? She groaned out loud, leaning her head back and looking up at the sky. It could be worse. She can at least wander around and maybe fight some Grimm before she finds anyone else.

And then people start getting flung into the forest.


Nasrin keeps a tally of how many people have gone so she is prepared for her own turn. As each person is launched she does a mental tally of her gear and her plan. Maybe she should think of a plan for /after/ landing? She would land, and then find shelter. She could use the shelter as a base camp maybe, use the spray paint to mark her path to and from it and then take whoever she finds back to it to interview them. That seemed a good plan, a safe plan. And it'd mean she could go out hunting Grimm without worrying she'd lose track of her resting place for the night.

Nasrin had her chain of thought rudely interrupted as she was flung from her platform up into the sky. She didn't think the wind would be this loud, it was a deafening pummeling against her ears so loud that she could barely hear herself think. But eventually she slowed, and the sound dimmed, and she found herself hurtling downward towards a large patch of trees with no clearing in sight. With a practiced ease she readies Rascal Heavy and positions it at an angle underneath her as she fell towards the treetops.

Contact was made and accompanied by a chorus of wood cracking as she brute-forced her way through all of the branches in her way. There were enough of them to slow her descent, and by the time she had forced her way through the upper three quarters of the tree cover she found herself without enough momentum to break the branches. Dropping rascal to the forest floor, Nasrin used her one good arm to lower herself from a branch and then let go to fall the rest of the way to the ground, right beside her shield.

Rascal was quickly turned back into its skateboard form and tucked under Nasrin's arm as she began her trek to find shelter.


-

779 Words

[Jackie Bariole]

On a scale of one to ten, depicting how much Jackie wanted to do this, she had stabilized at somewhere around a negative three or four, which put the midterms about even with an orthodontics appointment. What possible reason could anyone have for wanting to fling themselves into the wilderness, let alone a wilderness infested with Grimm? She certainly didn't have one. If Jackie had her way, she would have been back at the quad, testing the stability of her most recent concoction. Come to that, she'd have been back in Atlas, far away from this madness and any spring loaded mechanisms primed to launch her into the stratosphere. Did they have to fire them into the wilderness like cannoballs? What possible academic benefit could that have? She remembered her first year trial at Atlas; That had began with an hour long flight in an uninsulated bullhead. If she had ever thought that, two years later, she'd be looking on that flight with longing, she probably wouldn't have bothered making it back to civilization to begin with. Better to remain in the wilderness of Solitas than get fired into the sky like some glorified artillery shell.
"At least we won't have to walk back this time." She muttered; She had done most of the walking during their trial, even though Heidi could have covered the same distance in half as long, if that. It was going to be much the same during this exam, she knew. Fortune willing, Heidi wouldn't be making any appearances until Jackie had passed for her. Not that she was especially looking forward to it. 
"Five secrets." Jackie fingered her tome where it hung at her hip. The bulky notation scroll hung from her belt, as heavy as a brick, but she wouldn't put it in her satchel, not when she might need it at a moments notice to note down this detail or that. On her other hip, balancing the tome's weight, she wore Diprosopus, which was already loaded with two rounds of standard ammunition. Her objective was not combat oriented, but the Grimm wouldn't know that. Jackie grimaced. There shouldn't be anything much larger than a death stalker in Haven Forest, so she really didn't have anything to worry about. They'd been in fights with death stalkers before. Sure, Jackie had spent most of those fights trying to run away, but it had all turned out well in the end. 
Her grimace grew somewhat queasy, "Just... Try not to get covered in it this time."

One of the other girls was giving Jackie a strange look, and she realized she was talking to herself again. She smiled a queasy smile, offered a tiny wave, and the stranger turned away. Jackie dropped the smile and sighed immediately. 
"I don't know anyone here," She muttered, "Are they all really in our class?"
The stranger girl looked back at her, and Jackie shut her mouth, then went back to fingering her tome. Maybe she should put it in her backpack; What if it got damaged when she landed? Come to that, what if she landed on her back, and smashed the tome anyway. No, on her belt was the best place. She'd been over this. A sudden alarm flushed through Jackie then.
"Dust!" She hissed, padding her jacket urgently, "I forgot my dust!" Then her hand slapped down on something hard and cylindrical. She fished her hand into her jacket pocket and, from it, pulled three containers of dust. Two gravity, one ice. Now she remembered, she'd put her dust in her pocket...
"So I wouldn't forget I'd packed it."

Was it time to launch yet? Even if it meant getting flung into the sky like a clay pigeon, Jackie was ready to get it over with, if only so she could stop fretting. She pulled her satchel around and pawed restlessly through its contents, checking and then rechecking that she'd packed everything she would need for a night in the woods.
Bugspray, check. Water bottles, check. Granola bars, check. Sleeping bag... Jackie rummaged deeper, then rummaged again.
"Where is it?" She hissed, "I'm sure I packed it. Where... Oh, right." It was hanging from the bottom of the satchel. Was there a word for feeling relieved and consternation simultaneously?
"Ambivalence, maybe?"
Jackie resumed her examination of her supplies. Toilet Paper, check. Hand disinfectant, check. Bugspray...
"Already checked that..."
Flashlight, check. Flares, three, check. Spare ammunition... Jackie rummaged, rummaged again, took a deep breath, then checked her pockets. Check.
"And the tamps and cartridge holders, check and check," Jackie closed her satchel and looked up, "Is it time to go yet?"

It wasn't. It was another ten minutes before Shadecloak even made her speech, during which time she rechecked her equipment twice, put her tome in her satchel, took her time out of her satchel and put it on her belt, put her spare dust in her satchel, then put that back into her jacket pocket. By the time the first student was launched, she was too busy searching her satchel for her ammunition to notice. 

They had to call her name three times before Jackie noticed. By the third time, Professor Shadecloak had not sounded pleased.
"Ah, yes. Yes, I'm coming." Jackie squeaked. The professors all terrified her, though Shadecloak less than the others. She half jogged up to the launch platforms, a sheepish look on her face.
"Do I just pick any one?" She asked. It was the only question she asked; The impatient look on the professor's face dissuaded her from any more.

Jackie was just stepping onto the launch platform, trying to find the best way to stand upon it, when she realized that maybe a skirt had not been the best choice in attire. 
"Can I put some pants first?"
She didn't have a chance to ask anything else; She was too busy shrieking her lungs out somewhere around the stratosphere.

---

words - 990

[Reynard Marshall]

Reynard hurriedly packed all of his equipment. Of course the one day that actually made a difference and he would go and sleep in. He tore his room apart cramming survival gear into a pack. A knife, a pot for cooking, a fire starter, a camping hammock, some rope, a compass, a tarp, a small first aide kit, his set of dust doses (one gravity, one fire, and one ice) and of course a couple full flasks of really hard liquor he made. It was good for serialization as well as drinking so why not? He made sure the pack was securely packed and threw it on before sprinting out his dorm slamming the door shut behind him as he went. He sped out of the dorms and down the halls speeding toward his locker where his weapon was stored, he grabbed it, and was on his way toward where the midterms would be started.

After a considerable amount of running, Reynard made it to where the event was held just as Shade was wrapping up her speech. Reynard was sure he would regret missing some of it but he was already given an idea of how the midterm would be held in the previous meeting so it couldn't hurt too much. Besides Reynard was more worried someone would notice he was late. The teen slipped in among the crowd and waited for the instructor to finish her speech. While he waited to went through his gear one last time hastily making sure he had everything in order it all seemed right and if he forgot anything he had no one to blame but himself.

As the mass of students went in search of their platforms Reynard sighed in relief. No one important seemed to notice his tardiness. He gave a grin at the perceived victory and chuckled as he scanned the ground for his spot. After a short sweep he found it closer to the front of the ordeal. It seemed they were in some sort of order based on group or rank. Rey couldn't be bothered to figure out which. He looked to the platform eyeing the notebook and red armband placed atop it. He reached down and collected the items shoving the notebook in his left breastpocket before tying the armband around his left arm. He walked onto the platform and braced himself watching as students ahead of him were launched one by one.

For a sickly moment Reynard was unsure of the launch would come. He watched Jacqueline go flying off into the air and held his breath waiting for the moment when he too would fly into the air. Seconds went by and just as Reynard was starting to relax a bit suddenly the world lurched down away from him as he was ejected into the air. At first he flailed about but before long he straightened himself in the air. He wasn't sure where this ride would take him but he busied his mind with figuring out how the best way to land would be.

Words: 511

[Solomon Moon]

The air moved gently as Sol stepped forward to meet the steel platform that would soon throw him out into the wilderness beyond. It smelled thick with the rough spongy texture of forest, a dry scent hinting towards the Autumn that was approaching. The sun felt like a warm blanket, heated over a fire and rested upon the bare flesh of his face and neck. The sky was clear and limitless overhead, populated by whisps of the whitest clouds the young lordling had seen outside of Atlas' breathy peaks, as thin bands of sunlight spilled down like falling tracer rounds...

Sol's skin shivered as goosebumps rose in a wave up from his left wrist and coiled around his shoulders like a languid noose. A sharp intake of breath followed as he waited for the moment to pass, trying to find something to look at other than the streaks of searing yellow glare that fell from a gasping cyanotic sky. His heart hammered in his chest like a machine gun at a last stand, skin drowning in cold sweat, a sickly sweet taste like gunsmoke rising into the back of his mouth. He couldn't seem to catch his breath, and wondered if it was something in the air.... That sickly sweet scent, that dry smell? Gas? Thunder in his head, artillery fire, engine roar, suffocating, starving, drowning.

The shining metal face of the platform seemed to swing up to meet him, and Sol was certain that he was about to find himself face down, certain to the very roots of his being, with every nerve of his body that he was about to become aware of some grievous injury, was about to find a hundred holes in his chest, or a length of metal sliding out of his guts. He was certain that this was the end, certain that doom would come at any instant, until he saw his right hand, shod in a white glove that disappeared up into the cuff of his fatigues, reaching out and plucking the notebook that was the platform's only feature off of the polished metal face. The limb moved seemingly of it's own accord, divorced from his mind by a barrier that not even the most cunning technology could bridge. He saw the name printed neatly in flowing script upon the front of the book. It was his name. Solomon Moon. Beyond was his own face, reflected off the shining steel, single golden eye staring back at him. 

There was no blood on his jacket, no blades in his belly, no shrapnel in his flesh. It was just the forest camouflage fatigues he'd brought from home when he came to Haven. A canvas jacket, pockets bulging discreetly with the possessions that would help him survive the next twenty four hours, over a plain white sleeveless shirt that was slightly damp with sweat, musculature showing through. His tactical pants were similiarly unmarked, and his boots still shining with the polish he'd given them that morning.

That seemed enough to break the spell. A panic attack. That's all it had been, no matter how real it had seemed, no matter what had triggered it. Just a panic attack. It hadn't even lasted that long either it seemed, just a momentary lapse, as the Professor, Shadecloak, was scarcely into the third paragraph of her needlessly long-winded address. The lapse had left him feeling anxious and impatient. He turned his attention to the notebook that would serve as his briefing for the duration of the mission.

He'd been assigned to a support role it seemed. "Rose" He chewed on the word, glancing over the brief list of instructions itemized on a page marked with a strip of red ribbon. It seemed deliberately fashioned to chaff, or perhaps imply that he was some sort of precious flower whose thorns pushed others away. It was trite and that fact, the assumption of his character, chaffed far more than being compared to a shrub. No doubt the faculty had some sort of file on him, and no doubt some pencil-necked analyst had looked at Sol's record and classified him as an antisocial type. Sol wondered how it would look to hand over the records of his company, and see the look on that poindexter's skinny face when he realized that every soldier in the employ of Sol's family had a record just as black, just as bleak. Nothing was special, no one, not even tragedy. In this world, especially not tragedy.

Sol looped the ribbon around his right arm, midway between elbow and shoulder. It briefly called up similes to the photos of Atlesian Secret Police he'd seen in historical texts on the Great War. He frowned at that, and pushed the thought away before it could rupture.

His mission seemed pretty clear. Support at least two other teams in their respective missions, and survive the night. Conditions of failure were calling for medevac, or failing to complete his primary objective. It disappointed him slightly, but this was only the first mission, at least for him, so perhaps they would get more complicated at some point. The most challenging part would be to make his objective fit in with the objectives of the other groups. Dandelion seemed straightforward, and if he could pick it would be what Sol would be attempting, while Orchid seemed pointlessly obtuse, made the more so by how cooperation with a Rose would credit more towards their objective. Sol wasn't sure what to make of that, and decided to chock it up to some pencil pushing civilian who knew enough of the right people that the academy had to follow his inane suggestions.

The first platform launched. It made a sound like a rifle slide being cocked, only a hundred times louder. Sol was secretly proud at not flinching at the sound, but that pride vanished a moment later as the bottom of his stomach seemed to erode and spill his guts into a cold void beneath. He watched the poor soul as he was catapulted gracelessly into the distance, and had the sinking sensation that soon the poor Sol being launched out to his doom would be himself. It seemed that all the things he'd been fighting not to think about, the peril, the struggle, the possibility of failure, all ambushed him at once, launched at him by the firing of that platform.

The next platform fired. Sol swallowed, sweating again, and conducted a last minute inventory of what he'd brought with to help him survive the next twenty four hours, suddenly deathly sure that he'd forgotten something vital. It didn't take long. He hadn't brought much, only what could fit in the pockets of his pants and jacket. The weight of his sword clipped to his belt was enough to tell him it was there, so starting at the lowest, he patted his pockets in turn and felt the shapes of their contents through the canvas, visualizing them in his mind as he did so. Many of the items had the familiarity of long use, having been staples of his turn-out gear since as long as he could remember. He felt no more sentimentality for them than he did for himself.

Thigh Pockets: MREs, enough for three meals on one side, ammunition, all canisters of fire dust, on the other.

Waist pockets: A clock, and a fold out multi-tool, including a knife on one side, a cylinder of matches, and compass on the other.

Jacket pockets: Two liter bags of water on one side, a compact first aid kit including a reflective foil blanket and a tarpaulin on the other.

Left lapel pocket: the journal his therapist had told him to start keeping, small and nondescript. In spite of the disdain Sol felt for the latter artifact, he also felt terrified at the thought of losing it.

Right lapel: His scroll, Sol removed the device, emergency contact already keyed into the face so he could dial it with a single press.

It didn't feel like enough.

Sol peered into the distance, as another student was flung out to what might easily be their death. He took a deep breath, feeling his time approaching, impatient. No man lived forever, and this would be a beautiful place to die.

A smile touched his lips, but not his eye as he tossed his scroll over the ledge upon which the platforms were mounted. 

A click like the cocking of a rifle, a bang, and he was gone.

[Rose Phoenix]

❝I Was Lightning,

Before The Thunder❞

437 w./ 437 w. total

E strength| F stamina| f Acrobatics| f Dust

e semblance| F weapon| 

So this was to be their midterm exam was it? Rose honestly had no idea what to expect, having never spent time in a civilized society before. So when she joined the class in listening to Instructor Shadecloak, the Vacuo native simply crossed her arms and paid attention. She wore the standard Haven white shirt and slacks, but kept her own pair of boots for any rough terrain and vied for her red leather jacket to keep her warm during the night. She hefted a large pack over her shoulders that carried the essentials such as food, water, rope, and tools for survival.

Knowledge was the most important thing in a combat scenario. Though, as she listened, Rose raised a curious brow at the instructions. Separated into three groups, eh? The prospect of Grimm in the forest had only slightly piqued her interest though. They were most likely smaller ones that posed little threat to someone like her, so she stepped up to her plate to snatch up the notebook.

She was a Rose...how fitting. The girl tied her red band on her upper right arm tightly and looked at the number given to her. Rank 4 right off the bat? Who in the hell was higher than her then? Green eyes studied the students who were already being launched and, as it slowly came to be her turn, she observed the few remaining like a hunter studied their prey. Of course, Colt was high up and it honestly didn't surprise her in the slightest. But the other two she would have to keep an eye on.

Rose simply pocketed the notebook in her pack to study later. For now, she just wanted to get out there and fuck shit up by any means necessary. She could always catch up on reading later once she got the lay of the land. And so, once her platform launched her into the air, Rose let out a cheer as the rush of air exhilarated the adrenaline building up slowly within her. A wide grin stretched across her face and she flipped around in the sky as the forest rushed to greet her.

Red flashes of lightning shocked and pierced around her as Rose reached out to snag a tree branch, flip several times up and over it, and flip gracefully in the air to land softly on the grassy terrain below. It would be in her best interest to spend the day scouting the area to get a solid feel for her surroundings, read up on her objectives, and then proceed to crush the competition.

A sound plan, if she did say so herself.

© SETHANIEL OF adox 2.0 + WW.

[Theloria Shadecloak]

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[attr="class","nikki101"]WE’LL RECLAIM OUR DESTINY

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[attr="class","nikki102"]WE’LL SET OUR FUTURE FREE

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[attr="class","nikki109"]Twenty two students were launched into the Haven Forest. [break][break]

All in all, roughly half would probably pass. There would be some who would have to be pulled out of the exercise, so they didn’t die, for one. That would probably take out three to four of them total, maybe more if they were unlucky or the new trainees had no fucking idea what their limits were and overestimated themselves a lot. There would be another group who were unable or unwilling to pay attention for more than thirty seconds who would also fail due to not learning their objectives. That would probably be two to three people total, more if one was particularly pessimistic. There would be another group who would fail despite their best efforts due to either a bad drop location or truly awful time management. That would be another two to three students, and more if nobody practiced landings in advance. There would also very likely be one or two others that simply just decided to hole up in a safe spot and hide there for the entire day. [break][break]

At the end of the day, the faunus fully expected about ten to eleven people to pass overall. She’d be pleasantly surprised if it was more, and disappointed if there was less. Some were very clearly prepared for the endeavor, and others felt like they could just roll in with only panic prepping the day of and be fine. For some of them, this would be their first real challenge. For others, this would simply be an affirmation of the skills everyone knew they had. And for the new people, well, this allowed them the opportunity to immediately put themselves in the privileged class that was able to run out and make a difference very early on. [break][break]

Because there would likely be less than half of the student body given the official okay to start doing unsupervised Huntsman missions, there would naturally be some extreme jealousy on the part of those that did not pass or joined too late to take part. Those that failed would be angry and embarrassed, and those who didn’t get the chance to get in this round would be rearing to go for the next. The jealousy would be palpable when those public emails went out detailing the first mission assignments and the travel times, and that was something that Shade was counting on. [break][break]

That jealousy would be the self-correction mechanism that allowed the rest of the class to become mission ready. Those that had the indignity of failing and failing publicly the first time would be eager to prove themselves the second time or would simply quit out of frustration at their own inadequacy. It had happened before and would certainly happen again. Someone who feels like they are a hotshot prodigy is forced to face the reality that they’re mediocre at best and a danger to themselves and others at worst can’t handle the revelation mentally and chooses to quit rather than improve and make the best of their low skill ceiling. [break][break]

She was given significant leeway in deciding how to certify trainees for missions and used that discretion freely. There were a number of staff watching the video feeds all across the forest pretty intently, so a faculty member would be notified as soon as possible if there was a need for them to go out. Shadecloak, as the fastest person on campus at the moment, had the addition duty of waiting nearby at the closest training facility for the entire day ‘just in case’ something happened as the Headmaster put it. What that meant in effect was that she was quarantined to that area until she was called out or the midterm was over, which was fair enough. If she wasn’t fast enough to prevent the loss of life or limb, then the trainee fucked up very badly somewhere along the line. She fully expected to be called out at least once or twice to get idiots who passed out for one reason or another in a Grimm infested forest, but hopefully nothing too serious would befall anyone. [break][break]

After all, there weren’t any major Grimm in the area. Those were cleared out when the cameras were installed, so all that was left was a bunch of small fry Grimm and some medium threats like an Alpha or two that was still kicking around. That was a right pain in the ass, frankly, and the Faunus never wanted to do that again. With any luck, the ones she installed would do just fine with little maintenance until the next time the forest had become infested enough with monsters to do this again. They were still getting new trainees at a slow, if steady, pace and would have enough to run with again with the next batch of newbies along with the failures from the last batch before long. [break][break]

She wasn’t in charge of the cleanup of the immediate launching area, so walked off to her assigned post as the last student, Carmim, flew over the horizon as a nervous wreck and shining beacon to any Grimm nearby. That particular placement was meant to simultaneously knock Colton down a peg and give Carmim a reason to feel a bit more confident – but that intent on both ends seemed to have failed. The redhead seemed to completely have lost what little nerve she had to begin with, and brunette seemed to either not give a shit or be too sleep deprived to realize he gave a shit at the time of the launch. Oh well, she tried her best. Now the entire situation was someone else’s problem until someone fucked up bad enough to require an evacuation. All she had to do is keep her scroll on her and it would just start beeping when she got notified that someone needed to be pulled out. That would likely take an least a few hours, because she couldn’t imagine someone messing up bad enough to— [break][break]

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. [break][break]

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Pulling out her scroll, the faunus would open the message with a short note the coordinates of the student. [break][break]

Failed landing. Aura shattered before fall completed, appears to be completely unconscious after hitting head on branch on the way down. Requesting immediate evacuation. [break][break]

Already off to a great start of the midterm, it seemed.

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[attr="class","nikki103"]1065 words

[attr="class","nikki103"]EVENT

[attr="class","nikki103"]3215 TOTAL WORDS

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NOTES

Notes here

PHARAOH LEAP CREATES

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[Wolfe]

XP Distribution: 200% event bonus, and 150% bonus additionally for DMing a thread to completion that involves 4 characters not including your own.

Shade: 32 x 200% = 64

64 x 150% = 96 XP

165 + 96 = 261 XP new total

Rose: 4 x 200% = 8

193 + 8 = 201 XP new total

Sol: 14 x 200% = 28

26 + 28 = 54 XP new total

Reynard: 5 x 200% = 10

102 + 10 = 112 XP new total

Jackie: 10 x 200% = 20

442 + 20 = 462 XP new total

Nasrin: 7 x 200% = 14

289 + 14 = 303 XP new total

Eva: 8 x 200% = 16

146 + 16 = 162 XP new total

Qiu'li: 7 x 200% = 14

1 + 14 = 15 XP new total

Holly: 11 x 200% = 22

196 + 22 = 218 XP new total

Aegle: 22 x 200% = 44

162 + 44 = 206 XP new total

Nik: 11 x 200% = 22

349 + 22 = 371 XP new total

Alex: 13 x 200% = 26

138 + 26 = 164 XP new total

Colton: 11 x 200% = 22

442 + 22 = 464 XP new total