[MonsterManic]

Shy? Who got you talking in the first place? Kei thought somewhat indignantly, although taking the poke with a small smile. "You've seen my rapier. I can switch blades when I need to." he murmured softly, gesturing to the handle and sheath behind his back, careful not to expose his metallic spine. "As for fighting styles, well..." he paused to choose his words, "My way is to adapt on the fly, to use anything around me." He didn't want to sound like he was showing off, yet he was aware of his laconic style of speech. Well, so be it. he thought.

[jjb2158]

Looks like we're all mostly short range fighters Savas thought as he listened to each teammate give their explanation. Looks like Ribeiro might be our only real ranged fighter...though her semblance seems interesting... Glancing over at Ribeiro he tried not to look at her menacingly before looking away. He had heard rumors of her semblance as well as other...unscrupulous rumors about what had happened with her last team and why she was without a team. Considering her shy demeanor, he had a hard time believing that she was as sadistic and crazy as the rumors said. Regardless, he was not about to pass off judgment on his teammates simply because of their looks or because of a little rumor. He had seen what that kind of judgment had caused, being a faunus and all, and the last thing he wanted to be was to be like the humans that judge and look down upon faunus alike.

Folding his arms across his massive chest, Savas looked from one team member to the other. "Ngggrh...Well, with our introductions out of the way, we got another thirty minutes before we arrive so best get comfortable" Closing his eyes, he let his thoughts wander off to his previous teammates. As much as he disliked being on a new team, he wanted to at least try and make the best of this new team, if not for himself then for the memories of Auburn and Vigdus. Clenching his fists slightly, he proceeded to take a few deep breaths to help calm him down and prepare himself for their upcoming mission.


OOC: I'll more than likely do a time jump of 30 minutes after each of you post. If you guys want to actually have some dialogue and use this time as a time to get to know one another, then I don't need to do a time jump. I'll leave the option up to you guys so just let me know which one you'd like to do.

[Capta1n_Henry]

Acero, who got barely any rest before the mission, decided to follow in the footsteps of his captain. Ugh, better get some rest. I don't want to fall behind when we get there. He crossed his arms, looked at the floor of the dropship and closed his eyes. "Hey, uh, if I'm asleep when we get there, wake me up if it's not too much trouble ok?" He wondered how his old friends in Atlas were getting along without him. He also thought about how his sister was doing in the military. Ah, they're probably fine. Acero cleared his mind and started mentally preparing himself.

[Ordelis]

"ok" Ribeiro said weakly in reply to Acero's request. With Savas and Acero  closing their eyes for sleep all that was left was her and Kei, Should I talk to him?...This would be a good chance to do so...But I don't want to wake up Savas or Acero...What do I doooo?.... She decided to take this time to examine her team better as half of them were sleeping. Kei's cheongasm reminded her of the style of clothing she'd seen those from Mistral wear. I wonder if he's from there or just likes the look... Ribeiro wondered. Next she looked at the sleeping Acero next to her, Scars and serious prosthetics...No doubt Atlas stuff...The metal jaw's a bit ridiculous...couldn't they make it a little more...natural?...can't help but feel sorry for whatever happend to him. Lastly there was Savas, the giant of a faunus, she'd always wondered what kind of person he was, he easily stood out like a sore thumb wherever he went but never deliberately attracted attention to himself. He looks so much more calm asleep...I wonder what it's like to be so huge...That strength, I wonder how far he could throw me.... Finished with surveying her own team she decided to draw as per usual, taking out her drawing pad out of her bag she really just wanted to doodle something quick. Mountains...Savas that's as un-moving as the mountains she decided. Lines made shapes, shades to tones, lightly to not make a mistake, too little can be fixed but not too much, scratch scratch...
(OOC:I do not own any images)

[MonsterManic]

Kei was glad for the more comfortable silence and mood that settled over the group, each preparing for the task ahead in their own way. He couldn't help admiring Ribeiro's sketch, depicting immense mountains with the stroke of a pencil. In a way, it reminded him of the art that he himself created, though the end result was vastly different.

Letting his gaze fall upon Acero, a stab of sympathy started forming. The heavy usage of Atlesian prosthetics, no doubt, left him remembering the day when his own implant was joined with his body. It felt alien, unnatural, and he had a constant urge to rip it off, despite the knowledge that he'd die if he did. He couldn't even begin to imagine the situation that left Acero in such condition.

That left Savas, undoubtedly the leader of the team. There was something about him that Kei couldn't seem to shake, until he realised that the way Savas acted and felt was almost identical to how he himself felt when he was assigned a team. Does this mean... His thought trailed off.

Following suit with the other two male members, he closed his eyes and dozed off, the thought still clear in his mind.

[jjb2158]

OOC: Sorry for the delay! I've been really busy with so much that it's been difficult to be in the right mindset to even post.


Steadying his breath, Savas continued to take deep breaths while the airship continued its path. Hearing Acero's comment about waking him up when they get there, Savas focused his thoughts on the deep void within himself. Emptying all thoughts of the past as well as any problems that may arise today, he continued to take a few deep breaths. The silence was broken to the sudden scratching of pencil upon paper. Opening one eye slightly, he noticed Ribeiro busy drawing something as if to pass the time, while the others also had their eyes closed and appeared to have fallen asleep. Ngggrh...didn't think her hobby would be drawing he thought before refocusing his mind on being empty, while the noise of Ribeiro's drawing provided a kind of calming effect over him.

Thirty minutes later...

"We're arriving at your destination!" yelled the pilot as he began the landing descent into what looked to be a burned down village. Opening his eyes, Savas cracked his neck as the airship touched ground and the back door opened up to let them out. "Ngggrh...guess we're here" he muttered as he stood up and harnessed his weapons on his back. Picking up his pack he walked until he was about to step off. "Let's go" he said simply, glancing back at the others before walking off the airship.

Feeling the morning sun on his face, Savas took this opportunity to look around the razed village. Taking note of the large gaping holes on the northern and eastern side of the wall that surrounded the village, he moved his gaze to the village itself. Here and there, buildings showed signs of being broken into as well as half burned to the ground. Within a few of the buildings, embers still burned, indicating that the attack had happened fairly recent. Signs of bloodshed could be seen on the walls of the buildings as well as a few bodies being seen lying here and there. Lastly, there were many tracks in the ground that showed signs of Beowolves and larger Grimm having come through.

Bending down on one knee, Savas inspected one of the Grimm tracks. Touching the ground briefly, he looked around before turning back to his team. "Tracks are recent. The Grimm are still nearby" he rumbled, letting his deep voice resonate through the desolate village. Kei and Ribeiro, search the village for any survivors. If you find any, send them back to the airship" he said, looking over at Kei and Ribeiro. Turning his gaze to Acero, he motioned him towards the north. Acero, inspect the hole in the northern wall and see if the tracks of the Grimm are coming in the village or out." Turning his attention to the hold in the eastern wall, he rolled his shoulders briefly. "I'll take the eastern wall. Call out if you need help." Not wanting to talk much more, he simply pulled Metatron out of its harness and slung it over his shoulder. "Questions?" he asked, trying not to scowl while talking.

Picture of village. There's a wall surrounding it with a gate at the north and south end of the village.

Spoiler: ShowHide

[Capta1n_Henry]

"We're arriving at your destination!"

The pilot's unfamiliar voice and the sound of airship landing was more than enough to make Acero wake up and almost jump out his seat, holding the hilt of his weapon tight. He looked around at his team mates who were also getting ready to get out of the ship.

Opening his eyes, Savas cracked his neck as the airship touched ground and the back door opened up to let them out. "Ngggrh...guess we're here" he muttered as he stood up and harnessed his weapons on his back. Picking up his pack he walked until he was about to step off. "Let's go" he said simply, glancing back at the others before walking off the airship.

Acero got up to stretch and yawn before stepping off the airship into the cold, brisk embrace of the morning air. "Ugh, knew I shouldn't have stayed up last night." Looking at the razed and burnt village, Acero was disheartened and strucken by a sense of grieve. But, knowing that he had a job to do, he quickly replaced his feelings of fear and sadness with those of curiosity and anger. Acero despised Grimm after they killed his parents, more so after they tore him and his team apart. Man, this stuff just pisses me off. Who defends these towns anyway? And why are some of the buildings burnt?

Bending down on one knee, Savas inspected one of the Grimm tracks. Touching the ground briefly, he looked around before turning back to his team. "Tracks are recent. The Grimm are still nearby" he rumbled, letting his deep voice resonate through the desolate village. Kei and Ribeiro, search the village for any survivors. If you find any, send them back to the airship" he said, looking over at Kei and Ribeiro. Turning his gaze to Acero, he motioned him towards the north. Acero, inspect the hole in the northern wall and see if the tracks of the Grimm are coming in the village or out." Turning his attention to the hold in the eastern wall, he rolled his shoulders briefly. "I'll take the eastern wall. Call out if you need help." Not wanting to talk much more, he simply pulled Metatron out of its harness and slung it over his shoulder. "Questions?" he asked, trying not to scowl while talking.

"A few, but I don't really care at this point. I'll check the northern gate. Stay safe everybody." Acero readied his weapon and started walking towards the northern gate.

[Ordelis]

"We're arriving at your destination!"

Looking up from her drawing, Ribeiro stowed away her paper and pencil away and steeled herself for what was to come 'Just do what you usually do...It's a simple mission...nothing to worry about'
Stepping out of the airship she observed the husk of the defeated village, destruction lay everywhere, embers cackled still burning, and the blood...'Aw old dried blood doesn't make a very good color, hopefully I'll get to see fresh blood... before making sure they're okay' She morbidly thought keeping her macabre interests hidden knowing her new team mates could be easily disturbed by her desires.

"Kei and Ribeiro, search the village for any survivors. If you find any, send them back to the airship"

She wordlessly obeyed by nodding in agreement at Savas's instructions and began moving into the village following Kei, her eyes scanning for signs of fresh blood...and survivors.

[MonsterManic]

Kei had woken up slightly before their landing, and had had some time to look out the window and survey the village from above. What he saw from up there did not prepare him for the scene on the ground. If the tracks of the Grimm weren't enough, buildings lay half-collapsed and burning. Here and there, a few bodies lay limp on the floor. For the love of Dust... Enough to make a person either run for the hills-or hunt the perpetrators down, in their case.

Hearing Savas mention that the Grimm were still nearby, which Kei had almost figured out by then, he shifted his sheath's slot and withdrew Huàbî, this time at it's full length with the Ink Lance at the ready. Having being given an command, he began slowly moving forward, eyes looking this way and that, but only seeing carnage and Grimm footprints. Beowolves, he judged. He was no Grimm tracker, but he could tell the big ones from the small, and there were some big prints in the ground. If he had to guess, either Beringel, or dust forbid, a Goliath. If the latter was true, not only would they not find survivors, but they would be hard-pressed to survive as well. But he kept these thoughts to himself. Better not to alarm Ribeiro and maintain whatever little peace they had.

[jjb2158]

Watching each team member leave in their designated directions, Savas rolled his shoulders as he turned and made his way towards the eastern wall. Passing what looked like it could be the town hall, he briefly looked inside the burnt building. Not spotting anything out of the ordinary, he snorted and continued on. Let the others search the buildings, focus on finding the Grimm he thought. Steeling his mind as he continued on, he walked past another building that, from the scent, seemed to have a few dead bodies laying within.

Snorting again, Savas finally made it to the eastern wall where a gaping hole resided, as if a creature smashed through it. Looking down, he spotted various tracks that seemed to lead out from this direction. "Seems like they left this way..." he muttered to himself. Looking through the treeline of the forest, there were also signs of Grimm smashing through the forest as well as signs of blood in the grass, as if something or someone was being dragged away.

"Cursed Grimm" Savas growled, clenching his fists as he remembered the tragedy that occurred with his previous teammates. As if being summoned, a distant howl far to the north of the village suddenly broke the silence. Cursing his luck, Savas readied Metatron as he continued to search his side of the village to make sure nothing was nearby and still lurking.


OOC: Grimm to the far north of where Acero would be going. Nothing coming around yet, but something to be aware of.

[Capta1n_Henry]

Acero approached the north wall cautiously with his weapon drawn. He kept an eye out for survivors, but was focused more on the tracks that the Grimm left, which brought him to hole in the north wall of the village. Wow, that's a pretty big hole. That wall looks pretty sturdy too. That must mean that something pretty big came through here. Anything smaller would've either jumped over the wall or gone around to the east and west.

Not wanting to get caught off guard, Acero jumped on top of a sturdy pillar of what was left of the wall. He looked over the village, trying to find a sign of life. Hrmm, not much left. Acero looked over to the forest to the north and saw trees and bushes rustling in the distance. Uh oh, better go back and tell the others before something comes around. Acero jumped off the pillar and air dashed toward the air ship. When he landed on the ground, he started running towards his team.

[Ordelis]

Ribeiro loved exploring, it didn't matter to her this was the ruins of a desolated village, in fact to her morbid imagination the possibility of finding someone injured was exciting to her. Not only would she be able to see blood again but she'd also have the chance to save an innocent life. Though the idea of actually wanting to find someone injured seemed backwards, she still continued to search around for any possible survivors.

But there was just one problem

She was extremely tense and self-conscious with her every move, and it wasn't because of the husk of a village they were wandering around in, it was the stranger Kei who she suddenly found herself alone with. Ribeiro preferred being alone exploring, if she had a choice between being alone or with a stranger she'd choose solitude, but she also wanted friends more then she hated strangers. And for the time being they were partners in hostile territory, this is no time for regrets if anything happend.
"s-so what do you think happend here?" She timidly asked in an attempt to start a conversation despite the fact she already knew the answer.

[MonsterManic]

"Grimm." Kei stated simply and shortly as he rotated around on the spot, staring intently at the remains of the burned houses in desperate search for any survivors. If his previous theory was indeed correct, then they were wasting their time. What they should be doing would be to hunt down the Grimm instead, or if it was beyond their capability, to call back to Beacon and request a full-fledged Huntsman as support. But there was another thing nagging him, which was his therapist's parting words to him. He needed to at least try and bond with his team.

Giving up his search for now, he turned to Ribeiro, lowering his gaze and attempting to sound less cold. "I apologise for maybe coming off as cold and blunt, it's just......I just can't bring myself to trust teams like these fully anymore." he explained, following his therapist's advice to open up and speak to people about it. "Each time I do, I start remembering th-agh..." he cut off abruptly as painful memories flashed in his head, before flitting away like leaves in the wind. "I'm sorry. I can't talk much about it. Not yet. Not now." gesturing to the obvious Grimm tracks.

"But I will try."

[jjb2158]

Another howl, this time even closer, rang through the forest. However, it seemed that the howls were coming from different angles and not simply the northern side of the town now. It didn't help the fact that noise carried in this area, distorting any chance of pinpointing the direct location. Cursing under his breath, Savas took one last glimpse of the forest to see if any Grimm were lurking nearby. Spotting nothing, he decided it be best to return to his other teammates and tackle what seemed like an oncoming attack together.

Turning around, Savas jogged at a steady pace back to the airship, his large legs covering twice the amount of ground than a normal person. Within less than a minute, he was in sight of the airship and spotted Acero running towards the center of the town as well. Waving towards his teammate, Savas slowed down to a walk, mostly to conserve his stamina. "Ngggrh...they seem to be circling the town" he growled loudly so that Acero could hear him. Stationing himself in front of the airship, he stabbed Sandalphon into the ground so that he could pull out his scroll. Pulling up both Kei and Ribeiro contact numbers, he texted them a simple message: Grimm approaching. Rally at Airship.

Putting his scroll away, he pulled Sandalphon back out just as another howl was heard in the background, this time sounding as if it was right on the outskirts of the town. "Here we go" he said simply to no one in particular and let out a loud warcry as if to challenge any that would approach.


Entering the town through the gaping hole to the East, the large Grimm quietly jumped up onto one of the rooftops while part of the pack of Beowolves came charging in behind it before spreading out to circle its prey. Jumping from one roof to another, it paused when it spotted its prey who was nearly as big as it was. It was then that it spotted what looked like a smaller, easier prey to devour. Watching quietly for the right moment to attack, the beast waited in hidden on the rooftop as the Beowolves let out a howl as they came within view of the four people below. Taking the chance that the Beowolves would keep the others busy, the giant Beringel let out a roar as it jumped down, fists raised as it hoped to crush Acero beneath its ferocious attack.


OOC: Not sure where you want to have Acero, but I just assumed he would be at least a couple paces away from Savas. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong and you want to do something else instead and I'll correct this post.

[Capta1n_Henry]

As Acero neared the airship, he heard Savas call out that the Grimm were circling the town and were about to enter. Stopping for a moment to look over his shoulder...only to see a large Beringel about to smash him into the ground. With barely any time to dodge, the cyborg jumped back and put his arms up to help protect against any shrapnel caused by the beast's landing. Not wanting to stay and fight with the giant Grimm while Beowolves were on their way and ready to pounce, Acero ran back towards Savas and drew his Solar Centurion, splitting it in two.

"Hey, uh, I can't really fight the big guy while worrying about the wolves. How about you take care of that thing while I keep the smaller ones from flanking you?" Acero said to Savas while looking at all the Grimm that were starting to surround them. "Also, uh, you may want to tell the pilot to take off, don't wanna risk losing our ride out of here, huh?"

Battle Stats:

• Aura Status: 96%
• Dashes on cool-down: None
• Weapon Mode: Dual-Swords