CLANG.
Is the noise a large greatsword makes when hitting the floor of an airship cabin, and it's also the noise that just caused Gavin to jolt awake about an hour after finally getting to sleep. The anxiety had been intense last night, first mission nerves were part of that to be sure, this was at once the culmination of everything he'd been wanting his whole life, and also his goal's very beginning.
That wasn't the only thing though, his new teammates were... imposing. They weren't complete strangers, there'd been brief introductions before the mission so he knew their names at least, but.
Well, Gavin thought that Tieren could probably tear him in half if he tried hard enough, Aoife was noticeably stand-offish, he had no idea how to approach her, and Mae...
Of course the friendliest person on the team, the one he should by all rights be able to get along with, was a Faunus.
They made him uneasy, he'd heard the stories of the White Fang, it was hard not to with the news constantly talking about them, suspected terrorist incident this, increased Grimm sightings that, and occasionally even of the possibility they could be infiltrating the world's Combat Schools and Academies, they had to learn to fight somewhere after all.
He turned to look at Mae briefly as he got out of his seat, then turned away just as fast. He wanted to trust her, he really did, but he just... couldn't.
Unsheathing the blade part of Galatine, he held it up to the window, and admired the white sword's gleam in the morning sun for a moment before taking the sheath and looking over it. As best as he could tell, it was all in working order but he couldn't really test it in here, flamethrowers are a safety hazard.
After fastening his small bag of Dust vials to his belt, and recombining and setting Galatine on his other hip, Gavin made his way to the table, and gave the teacher accompanying them an uneasy but grateful smile as he picked up a pastry and a cup of tea from the table before returning to his seat.
The pastry was demolished in short order, but Gavin opted to clutch the tea to his chest for a while instead of drinking it, and as he sat there he looked over at the professor again.
Dr. Budonoki Sophos, one of a few Faunus who didn't make Gavin feel uneasy. Well, he was right now, but that wasn't by virtue of his heritage leading to unclear intentions. It was hard to dispute the goodwill of the illustrious Surgeon Sage after all. Instead, Gavin was uneasy being in the presence of such a renowned Huntsman, the man was practically a hero and Gavin could tell from Dr.Sophos' poise that he didn't measure up, not yet.
That was okay though, he had time. Turning his attention back to his tea, Gavin stared at the faintly sweet smelling liquid. He didn't like it. He'd had to drink a lot of rather odd tasting herbal teas as he'd grown up, desperate parents will try almost anything to cure an ailing child after all, and while this tea probably wasn't anywhere near as bad it still felt unpleasant to him.
He scrunched his face up, closed his eyes, and chugged it as fast as he could, not really caring about the scalding it was giving his mouth and throat.
Finally, he got back up again, and looked through a window at the landscape beneath them, and as he did, a smile crept onto his face.
No matter what happens, come what may. He was going to be a hero.
He was going to be a Huntsman.