Post by Carmim Clover on Oct 5, 2019 15:58:49 GMT -5
 | WORDS: 1802 TAG: @rip NOTES: c-colton senpai!? TOTAL WORDS: 1802 HAVE YOU SEEN HER? HAVE YOU HEARD? THE WAY SHE MOVES, THERE ARE NO WORDS A day spent in the forest, with friends, fighting Grimm, and camping, hiking, and generally being outdoors. Midterms had Carmim absolutely thrilled. She was genuinely very excited about them- what could be more fun? She liked camping, at least in theory- she'd never actually gone camping in the forest before. But back in Vacuo, camping was fun! Or well, as fun as something extremely deadly could be. Maybe this would be like that? Theoretically, it would be- they were Huntsmen and Huntresses in training, after all. She woke up bright and early, and hopped out of bed to get ready, even before Aegle had risen, and hopped in the shower, before throwing on her Combat Uniform, which she figured would be best suited to the harsh demands of running through dense underbrush and fighting monsters. Into her bag, she tossed a few canteens of water, plenty of rope, a spare roll of goatskin, in the event that anything happened to Storyteller, and an assortment of odds and ends. Toothbrush and toothpaste, a hairbrush or two, first-aid kit, a spare set of clothes, and a few other handy supplies, or at least, what she figured might come in handy. Not a bedroll or sleeping bag, though- she figured they took up too much space, and she was fine sleeping on the dirt anyways. Not like that would be a first or anything. And she decided against packing a tent, largely because she didn't own one, and partly because she figured she could find a buddy who would be willing to share a tent anyways. And even if not, there were always the trees. Safe, secure, places to sleep for a night, tied down with ropes. And ropes were smaller than a tent, lighter, and much more versatile. It seemed a good decision. Next, though, was a hard decision- food. She had plenty of room in her bag, but a lot of that was going to be for food. She had a high metabolism, and ate a lot. So she needed plenty of food! Plus, what if somebody else forgot theirs? Then they would be hungry! So she tossed into her bag a handful of apples, some tomatoes, a few hunks of cheese, and two entire pizzas, delivered last night, and refrigerated for the morning. Breaking them down into slices and bagging them up made them fit pretty nicely. Then came her three dust crystals, rations the school had handed out for use on this mission It took her a while to figure out which ones would come in handy the best, but in the end, she went with two Gravity dusts and a Fire dust. They seemed like pretty useful options, all things considered. When she was satisfied, she tossed her bag over her shoulder, hoisted up Storyteller, and set out to the launch spot. There, she was greeted by a wonderful sight- all of her friends! Or well, the ones who'd gotten there before her. She mingled for a while, chatting with all of them, before Shadecloak arrived and began speaking, prompting her to find her spot. Nik gave her a strange look and a nod, and she grinned and waved at him. At the very far right. Next to Colton. Huh. It was a little peculiar, but she didn't question it much. She was just excited about going into the forest. But then Shadecloak mentioned rankings. And she had to wonder- what was her ranking? Did it matter? She knew she was somewhere in the middle, at best. Surely, she was. But then... Why was everyone arranged this way? She glanced down at her notebook. Dandelion. The yellow ribbon around her wrist confirmed that one. She had to kill five Grimm, and wasn't supposed to stay with a large group for long. Oddly enough, she was the only Dandelion this far over- Erytheia was the first one like her that she could see. But as she contemplated why they were grouped that way, by flowers, she noticed the little line on her notebook. Too bold to be a mistake. It was a number one. Huh? She checked it again, and checked the name. Carmim Clover. Her name. She glanced over at Colton's notebook. Colton Deraine, number two. What? Gears whirled around in her head as she tried to grasp the situation. Was she... Ranked first? Top of her class? No. Couldn't be. Her mind raced back to conversations she'd had with Aegle, with Alex, with Eva... She wasn't the best in their class. That was Colton. She looked to her left, and saw him, standing there, bold and indifferent. Yeah. No, he was the best. He was ranked first. Maybe they just weren't ordered by rank. Nikolas Burzanov, Rank Twenty-two. Rose. Her blood caught a chill. No, they were definitely in order by rank- but she tried not to think about it. As Nik was launched off, she beamed and cheered loudly and excitedly for him. Maybe the ranks were for something different? Nik definitely wasn't the worst student in the class. Aegle went next, and her cheering increased tenfold. Then a couple of students she didn't know as well. She forgot about the rankings. Until she called Eva's name. Carmim was a little indignant at that one- and realized she probably should have been just as indignant about Nik and Aegle, except she hadn't really been thinking about it as much when they got called. She cheered anyways, but was mad that Eva was ranked so close to the bottom. She had been doing so good lately! She was proving to be a way stronger Huntress than any of the dumb faculty thought she was. A lot more names got called out which she didn't recognize at all, up until Niraya. Niraya Platinum. Rank Eleven. Orchid. Rank Eleven? That meant everybody left... They were the top ten students. Carmim wasn't one of the top ten students at Haven Academy. And it was beginning to wear on her now, much more than it had been before. Her eyes were wide, and she kept glancing at Shadecloak, hoping she would realize her mistake. She wasn't- couldn't be- how was she put in this spot? Alexandros launched. He had talked to her about the Argus Limited, congratulating her. Said she was one of the standouts. She wasn't. That was a lie- she had underperformed, at best. She got lucky. And that was the only thing that kept Nikolas and herself alive. If she had been stronger, maybe... But she hadn't done anything there. Not anything worth first rank. Kishka launched. She was mean. And nasty. And hateful. And cruel. But nobody could deny that she was a solid fighter. She would make an incredible Huntress, if her personality wasn't so horrible. She deserved to be in the top ten. Carmim was nothing like her- she was confident, as a person, but not in a fight, not the way Kishka was. And she had never won a duel. She wasn't strong enough for that. Erytheia launched. Theia was beautiful, smart, kind, and an incredible Huntress in training. She was a Sanctum graduate, she'd been trained for years to do this. Carmim had no such training. She was a poor village girl from Vacuo. Nothing without her drum. She didn't know anything about types of Grimm, or combat strategies, or teambuilding, or anything like that. Ameli launched. Carmim didn't know her, but she looked so dignified and strong. There was no way they were even comparable. Elena launched and Carmim's heart tightened into a knot. Elena had helped her bring down a whole swarm of Lancers on the Argus Limited. And she was ranked sixth. She was incredible, with her shadow manipulation semblance, and she was skilled in all kinds of things. Carmim didn't even deserve sixth place, and yet it was Elena who stood there. It was stressing her out. She was in the top five. She kept holding out hope against hope that she wasn't ranked first. She would be okay with fifth, if it was all just a mix-up. But she was far from the best. She knew that. Everyone knew that, didn't they? So why didn't Shadecloak know that? Why did she put her at the top!? She didn't belong there. She wasn't strong enough. She wasn't good enough. Rank five. Argent Steele. The names just continued, like a machine, like a metronome, ticking steadily away. No pause for thought. She hadn't even begun to prepare herself for her launch yet. Her eyes were fixed on Argent's now empty launchpad. He was an incredible Huntsman. Powerful semblance, great at range, or close up, and he knew how to handle himself very well. Incredibly well. She was ranked ahead of him. Rank four. Rosalia Phoenix. She had nearly won against Colton in a fight a few days ago. Against Colton. She glanced to her left, at the brunette. Someone strong enough to fight him and nearly win... That was a feat she would never be capable of. So why? "Colton, I..." Her voice was small, hoarse. It cracked as it came out, and the sound surprised her. She doubted he even heard it. Rank three. Qiu'li. This was ridiculous. He was powerful. Nobody was faster than him, and he was incredibly strong. Alongside Ruqa, he had beaten back their cars' bandits, and he'd saved Nik's life. Aside from his questionable devotion to Eva, he was an ideal Huntsman student. Or well. Almost as ideal as "Colton, I t'ink we need to switch spots." Her voice was as frantic as it was feeble. She was feeling lightheaded. Surely it was a mistake...? Rank two. Colton Deraine. It wasn't a mistake. "Colton...!" She half-yelped the name out, trying to get his attention before it was too late, but he didn't seem to listen, and before long, he was gone. Like everyone else. Staring down the line, she was alone. And fucking terrified. "Professor Shadecloak, I t'ink t'ere has been a-" Her words failed her. Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the faunus's cold, dreary announcement of her launch. The words tore into her soul, filling her with more anxiety than she was sure she could handle. Carmim Clover, Rank One. Dandelion. Time froze. There were no sounds, aside from the spring beneath her launch platform. Her eyes had been misting up, and she was shaking, facing Shadecloak with her whole body. She didn't realize she was in the air for a moment. And only when it was far too late did she attempt to cling to her drum, hoping for a soft landing. Or maybe a hard landing. Something hard enough to wake her up. |
LAIKA OF GS!
