For a split second, her weapon was moving fast, and Rook thought his plan might have succeeded. Unfortunately, the feeling dissipated as quickly as it had appeared, and he saw her grip tight on the shaft, her knuckles turning white and her jaw set. She was definitely determined, he had to give her that. He jolted the blade to the side, keeping it in his grip as she pushed it forward, but causing it to harmlessly pass close by his torso.

Still, not all was lost. Even with her hands still on the glaive, Rook had a lot of influence on how she could use it, and she was still at close quarters. However, Rook's thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of a cool breeze against his face, rapidly followed by a howling wind that he could feel moving his entire body. 'I figured out that her semblance had something to do with wind, but this? This is-' He thought before interrupting himself. He didn't have time for tangents.

He stood firm against the wind for a moment, his eyes squeezed shut, but couldn't keep it up for very long, especially with one of his feet trying to pin down her body. Rook fell to the ground, entirely focused on keeping her weapon in his grasp. His back hit the ground with a dull thud, knocking the wind out of him, but he held his grip nonetheless. Suddenly, his eyes shot open, glancing at his opponent, now standing over him. Rook moved as quickly as he could, letting go of the glaive with one had and using it to touch the ground, causing his aura to once again solidify around him, locking him into place.

Hopefully, what she didn't know would end up hurting her. She knew he couldn't be moved while his semblance was active, and so there was no chance of wrestling her weapon from his hand, still tightly closed around the shaft. What she didn't know was that he could only keep himself locked for a fairly limited amount of time. Rook just had to hope that he could hold it long enough to accomplish what he was trying to do.

Rook's Combat Stats:
Aura: 40%

To say that Rook was rushed wouldn't be entirely accurate, but he still kept a steadily fast pace as he made his way towards the Bullhead. He had read the mission briefing a few times over, and it seemed like a solid plan. His team might be outnumbered, but the pirates would be outgunned. 4 students at an official combat academy could definitely take on 8 pirates, let alone the fact that they had help from a teacher. Plus, from the description, it sounded like it was likely to be close quarters combat, which was easily his strongest suit.

Despite the obvious advantage in that regard, Rook had worries about his team. He had been assigned to be the leader, but he had no idea who the other people were. He might have had a little experience from his younger siblings, but that didn't necessarily translate to whatever dynamic his team was going to have. Not to mention the fact that he didn't have much practice leading a team into combat. 'Guess I'll have to pick it up as I go...' He thought to himself, covering the rest of the distance to the landing pad.

He arrived at the ramp for the airship, seeing the professor and what he assumed to be one of his teammates. "Hi there," he started, reaching out with the offer of a handshake, "I'm Rook Ryder." His gauntlet wasn't fully extended into its shield form, but the black metal was still clearly visible all along his forearm.

Rook couldn't speak, his aura holding even his lips in place, but internally he smiles at her comment. He wasn't certain exactly what her semblance was, but now he knew for sure that it was to do with mobility. So long as he didn't let her out of his arm's reach, he stood a chance, and there wouldn't be any nasty surprises from her innate ability.

Despite finally getting a grip, he knew that there was a very high chance that some high damage was coming his way. The only way to stop her from using it to make him let go was to take them with his lock still in place, and that meant taking them at their full force.

*BOOM*

The first shot hit him in the head, and despite not moving from the impact, he could certainly feel it. There was barely enough time to think before-

*BOOM*

The second shot hit in the same place. His ears were ringing, and he knew he couldn't stay in that position forever. His aura would fail long before she ran out of ammunition.

After giving a brief moment of thought to plan his actions, he suddenly released his lock, the solid aura field shattering. He tightened his grip on her ankle and pulled down, hard. If all went to plan, he would take her off guard, and she would hit the ground, giving him the opportunity to finally land some hits of his own.

Attack Log:
Slamming the ground (5%)

Rook's Combat Status:
Aura: 55%

Rook kneeled close to the ground, minimizing the area his body took up so that his shields could protect him as much as possible. He was reminded of an old paradox: What happens when an unstoppable force meets and immovable object? Now, she was far from unstoppable, and he was far from immovable, but the point remained. He didn't have much in terms of offensive capability against her, but she hadn't shown many defensive capabilities herself. If he could get close enough to land some hits in, it could turn the tide of the fight.

Rook waited for the impact of the first bullet, holding steady as the blast of energy quickly followed. After that, he stood up, still holding his shields in front of him. It wasn't a perfect defense, but helped significantly. The second bullet hit his shield, and he started taking steps forward, slowly but surely moving towards her. The fact that he was standing up made him more vulnerable, and the second energy blast was only partially absorbed by the shields, the lower half of the crescent hitting his abdomen. It hurt, but Rook kept moving.

The third bullet almost it past his shields, barely being diverted by the edge of his gauntlet, but Rook knew that his only chance was advancing while she was distracted by her attacks. The spinning certainly helped her fire off attacks with efficiency, but it couldn't have done her any favors when it came to keeping track of him.

Rook decided to take a calculated risk, and opened up his defense for the third energy wave, taking the blow so that he could get a shot at her. He pushed himself forward, off the ground, taking the crescent of energy directly against his chest. Despite taking damage, he reached out, trying to grab her. Whether it was a limb, her weapon, or anything else, once he had a grip, he had a chance.

Rook's Combat Status:
Aura: 75%

Rook listened intently as the professor listed off the rules for the fight, positioning his shields so that they covered as much of his body as possible. He didn't have any other options but to get in close, though he doubted she'd make that easy for him.

Sure enough, as soon as the match started, she was off. Her wings blurred, moving too fast for the eye to see. It was almost hypnotic, which became a problem when she raised her rifle to fire, coming in around his left side. He didn't have time to wait for the sound of gunshots, so instead he raised his left arm, ducking his head behind it. The first shot came in low, hitting his abdomen, but the second and third hit the shield harmlessly. Glancing down, he checked his aura readout.

"93%... Gotta make her get in close." He said, mostly to himself. Rook peered out from behind his shield, readying himself to absorb more gunfire. The only chance he had at winning this was to make her come to him.

I’m good for either! I think it make sure sense to go with the teacher who isn’t already involved in an initiation

Done!

Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it. It was very much my childhood series, and my favorite book of all time is still the House of Hades (though, it certainly requires reading the other books first to fully enjoy it).
So yes, this is probably the first time we've met, but I'm glad to make your acquaintance! Where did you start out with RP forums? And how long have you been around on them?