[Qiu'li]

[attr="class","popqiu"] ❝May the crimson leaves show me the path I must follow.❞ wc: 462 | twc: 462 Qiu'li

[attr="class","qiutext"] Just wonderful. Qiu'li was finally free of the suffocating classroom, though he still felt entrapped and restricted. Geh- was it the artificial sensation of trees and grass surrounded by stone and cement? The monotonous color scheme of the campus that seemed devoid of natural beauty? No, wait. It was just the tie and uniform. As he left the classrooms to find his way back to his assigned room, he stopped in the middle of the Quad under a tree to wrestle the long piece of fabric that was referred to as a 'necktie.' Qiu'li understood little about the purpose of this clothing piece, and even less about it's purpose. What was it supposed to do exactly?! At least his sash was used for storage and keeping his tribal clothing together, but this had no practical use whatsoever! Even worse, it seemed like nobody else wore one either, which drew a bit of attention to himself followed by snickers and points. Though it could also be attributed to the fact that his uniform jacket was completely misaligned and made him stand out even more than when he was in the classroom. Longtou jangled against his hip as he struggled to remove the jacket. It seemed like he had more trouble taking it off than when he put it on. Although his usual clothes were in his room, Qiu'li wanted nothing more than to release himself from this entrapment that was considered a uniform. Oh how much he longed for his comfortable, fur-lined outfit. It wasn't until he managed to wrestle a button free that Qiu'li noticed that he wasn't alone. Sensing a presence behind him, Qiu'li turned to see another figure staring at him. He was blonde, with a full beard and a long mane. Quite honestly, he resembled that of a half-human, half-lion. Having become self-conscious of himself after his failure of an introduction, Qiu'li hadn't paid much attention to those that came after him. All he recalled were names and their Semblances, though given his size, it was difficult for him to forget. He believed his name was Mika... Or something like that. He mentioned that was from Atlas, a place that he didn't recognize. However, he reeked of a familiar scent, one that Qiu'li could recognize almost immediately: Wilderness. He was just like him. Natively born away from civilization and raised in seemingly inhospitable lands and forced to adapt to their environments in order to survive. Qiu'li sensed a spark of kindred spirit as he turned to Mika and studied him a bit, noting the fact that they were dressed similarly. Heh. "Had trouble... Uniform you too?" He asked with a hint of exasperation. He felt some comfort in knowing that he wasn't the only one that struggled to conform.

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Fènnù (+Strength +Agility +Projectile Sword Beam) | Rank E
Lóngtóu and Panlong | Rank F
Falling Ashes (Leap) | Rank F
Weapon Proficiency I (Martial Arts) | Rank F
Dance of the Wild Winds II (Acrobatics) | Rank E

[Mika Willow]

Mika walked out from the Great Hall tugging at the collar that continued to dig into his neck. Working the fabric back and forth loosened just a hair before it would reform like a collar around Mika's neck. Eventually, the behemoth left it alone as began to wander around the Quad as it was called. Where before Mika had felt some measure of derision for the open spaced area and what felt like a lack of defences he soon relished the wide courtyard breathing deeply of the air. Yet, even the satisfaction of fresh air was denied as Mika could almost taste the tang of concrete, steel, smoke and the sheer presence of so many people living together in one place. It was almost enough to drive Mika to return to Atlas just for the crisp cold air, almost.



Not to mention the damnable jacket. The worthless coat has simply ripped in the back and the seams when Mika had tried to put it on. For, now the jacket was tied around his middle as an impromptu battle kilt, or even an improvised basket for collecting food in. It also had the addition of hiding Dandelion thankfully, the amount of pointed stares at his weapon was enough to have Mika hide her in case someone began to have ideas about her virtue. Still, for a first day, it wasn't as terrible as he had imagined, memories of the Hunt Master's first day flitted through Mika's mind causing the giant to shudder in place.



Shaking away the memories Mika paused as he heard a muttered curse ahead, some willowy teen was fighting with his own uniform. He looked familier, wait that was the only other one to have kept his weapon with him! Ha, now that was someone with their head on right!



As if hearing Mika's thoughts the youth stiffened before turning to lock eyes with him. A brief moment passed as the two studied each other before Mika felt himself relax fractionally at the famlier feeling that the young man gave off.



"Had trouble... Uniform you too?"



After a moment of consideration, Mika nodded before rolling his shoulders to adjust to the overly tight undershirt.



SCRRRRTCH!



Frozen in shock Mika doesn't react. The light breeze that flows through the Quad, however, is answer enough. As things had progressed beyond recovery Mika did the only thing he could do.



Mika flexed.



The sound of tearing clothe ripped through the air as the sleeves ripped leaving loose scraps of clothe to hang from Mika's shoudlers. Grunting at the annoyance Mika grasped the tattered remains to rip them free leaving himself sleeveless. A sigh then as Mika lets the cool air play over his sleeves.



"Nothing my size." A meaty paw of a hand and arm extends out to the fellow victum of a wardrobe malfunction. "Mika."

[Qiu'li]

[attr="class","popqiu"] ❝May the crimson leaves show me the path I must follow.❞ wc: 360 | twc: 822 Qiu'li

[attr="class","qiutext"] SCRRRRTCH! Oh. Upon hearing the noise, Qiu'li froze as well. That couldn't be good. As he soon as he locked eyes with Mika, he knew exactly what had happened. In the moment of silence, shared between the two, a light breeze came by in almost comedic fashion. He wasn't sure what to say or what to do, though it seemed like a couple students had stopped to peek to see what happened. In an unexpected turn of events, his beady eyes widened as he watched the man flexed his muscles with vigor, causing the thick stitches to snap and completely tear off his sleeves from the shoulders. With little effort, he tore the rest off and looked back at him, which lead to indistinct whispering around him followed by some quiet laughter. ?!?! Was this normal for him to do? I mean, his jacket had torn, but to completely rip through it in a display of strength... Ah. It must be his way of greeting. There's so much I have yet to see in this world, but I must reciprocate this extension of welcome before my fellow tribesman. I know what I must do- In response to Mika's flex, Qiu'li shifted Longtou and with acrobatic finesse, slid the sword upwards so that the point was underneath his armpit. With two swift movements, he jerked his upper body twice, and flexed in the opposite direction Mika flexed, tearing his sleeves off in a similar fashion, showing his muscles in a similar fashion to Mika. Although they were nowhere nearly as bulky, they were toned due to the repetitive training he has endured, along with deep scars that didn't look like anything a Grimm could have made... Qiu'li didn't hear the first half due to the jangles of the rings bouncing against the metal blade, but he saw Mika extend a hand out and state his name. Qiu'li must have guessed right that tearing one's sleeves was a sign of greeting from the village that Mika was from. He extended his arm out as well and clasped his hand firmly, staring directly at Mika. "Qiu'li. From Forever Fall. Well met... fellow tribesman. Friend?"

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Fènnù (+Strength +Agility +Projectile Sword Beam) | Rank E
Lóngtóu and Panlong | Rank F
Falling Ashes (Leap) | Rank F
Weapon Proficiency I (Martial Arts) | Rank F
Dance of the Wild Winds II (Acrobatics) | Rank E

[Mika Willow]

Mika was concerned when the youth moved his sword as if to impale himself, then confusion as he tore off his own sleeves as well. A slow measured blink is a response when the young man gripped his hand to finish the shake. Immediately Mika would feel the callouses built upon the hand, not from farm work, but from sword work and for hours on end if that was the case.



"Qiu'li. From Forever Fall. Well met... fellow tribesman. Friend?" Qui'li asked the last with a final shake of his hand.



At the question, Mika tilted his head slightly then a huff of acceptance, "Friend."



Taking note of the scars on Qiu'li's arms had Mika curious, not enough to ask as that would be simply rude as could be. Now if he happened to ask about Mika's own scars then that would be a good segue if nothing else!



"It's hot." Mika said before he hunched his shoulders again feeling the cool breeze play against his skin through the tears in his back. Irritated now with the damnable shirt he applied just a hint of more pressure to the overworked clothe. More rips appeared in the shirt, one such rip being close enough for Mika to reach back and pull the shredded remains free with a sigh of relief.



"Better, much better." Scattered across Mika's body were a host of scars, most were small looking more like he'd been attacked by a rabid cat, others looked as if they were caused by arrow or blade. There were, however, three such scars that drew the most attention on the hulking man's body; one that nearly bisects the man running across his stomach jagged and spiked, the other two scars ran parrel to the main line.



"We'll need to leave soon." Mika continued on casually motioning with a hand towards the afternoon sun, "It's getting late and we'll not have time to set camp if we wait."



"What are you two doing!?" A voice shouted before Qiu'li could answer. Turning to the voice Mika could see an auburn-haired girl with bright blue eyes and a pair of pointed wolf ears that were angled back in irritation. Matter of fact the girl seemed to be greatly incensed from the way she marched her way towards the two.

[Qiu'li]

[attr="class","popqiu"] ❝May the crimson leaves show me the path I must follow.❞ wc: 418 | twc: 1240 Qiu'li

[attr="class","qiutext"] Qiu'li never thought he'd meet a kindred spirit here, of all places. A fellow man of the wild, driven by survival and the desire to find strength. He wondered if he would know what the true meaning of strength was. Qiu'li decided against asking though, as he realized this was a question that he was supposed to find the answers for himself. Regardless, he was quite happy with making a new friend, given that his permanent scowl and shift eyes always caused others to avoid him. Seeming to shift directions in the flow of conversation, Qiu'li listened to Mika comment about the weather. While it was certainly not the sweltering heat of the seasons, Qiu'li guessed that this was probably due to how used Mika was to his environment. From the looks of his build, it seemed like he was made to handle cold climates, which explained his comment. Before he could confirm, Qiu'li watched as he tore the rest of his uniform off with a sigh of relief, showing off various scars, including the three massive ones that caught his eye. Huh. Seeing the scars reminded him of rather unpleasant memories at home. No amount of training he had in the forests of Forever Fall could approach the wounds that cut into his flesh growing up, though for now he shook his head to rid himself of such memories. As soon as Mika mentioned setting up camp while pointing out the sun's position, Qiu'li perked up. Those were one of the few things he was familiar with, though not nearly as skilled as his master. Qiu'li could make a makeshift spot to sleep in and a basic fire to keep warm, though that was about it in terms of necessities. Before they could take a step, the sounds of someone shouting in the distance caught their attention. It seemed like it was a Faunus of sorts, though one that he did not recognize. In addition, she seemed quite upset with them for some reason. Was there something that he had done wrong?! Not knowing what to do in these type of social situations, Qiu'li wasn't sure whether he needed to hear her concerns or to run. For now, he decided to see what she had to say. The closer she approached though, the more he could tell she seemed irritated. Qiu'li shifted his eyes between the approaching Faunus and at his fellow friend as he leaned over to whisper to Mika. "Should... flee from person?He asked Mika.

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Fènnù (+Strength +Agility +Projectile Sword Beam) | Rank E
Lóngtóu and Panlong | Rank F
Falling Ashes (Leap) | Rank F
Weapon Proficiency I (Martial Arts) | Rank F
Dance of the Wild Winds II (Acrobatics) | Rank E

[Mika Willow]

With the approach of the irritated Faunus and then Qiu'li's question Mika looked down to his new found friend as a brief moment of nostalgia overcomes the behemoth.



Slowly smiling Mika nods, "Play Hide and Hunt." Then with a burst of speed Mika books it off the Quad.



A yell of outrage echoes through the academy then as the Faunus gives chase! Through the crowded walkways, Mika would run with thundering steps less threading the crowd as simply bull rushing them over in his haste. There were just simply too many people in the way and the creeping chill down his spine was growing.



Glancing back Mika wiped his eyes forward a cold sweat upon his brow. The Faunus' eyes were glowing a bright red even in the afternoon sun and a menacing aura of ill-intent billowed about the girl chasing after the half-naked giant. What made the chase worse was the fact the crowds were simply parting for her while bogging him down! Truly the gods were fickle creatures this day.



"Get back here, you deviants!" The girl's voice was high pitched, yet it carried a sharp and commanding timbre to it that had Mika hasten his pace. Half the fun of Hide and Hunt was in the chase after all, now if he could just break her line of sight...



There! A row of decorative hedges loomed ahead as Mika plowed onwards content in the knowledge his aura would handle some few paltry leaves and branches if he could reach the edge of the forest he bet he could avoid the Faunus girl until she had calmed down. No doubt Qiu'li had kept up with him, he had the look of a runner at least. 

[N o v a k i d]

Mika: 11 XP
11 + 1 = 12 XP

Qiu'li: 12 XP
12 + 114 = 126 XP

SPOILER: Click to show

Word Count:
Mika - 475, 384, 287 = 1146 words
Qiu'li - Word count in posts

Experience distributed by Wolfe