-
Eli checked his watch again. It was a good fifteen minutes passed the time of their mission start which meant he was right on time by his standards. He wore his usual attire today, a white dress shirt with cuffs stained with grease and oil and black slacks and smart shoes, his earmuffs and goggles hanging around his neck. Not the most utilitarian but it did the job. Walking up to the railing of the airship bay and leaning against it, he looked around, setting his bag on the ground beside him. "Hmmm, no sign of her yet." He noted, pulling a few bits and pieces out of his pocket. He'd been developing something new for his shield and most of his spare time, this spare time included, went to working on it. Hopefully this mission had enough down time to work with. Heck, he might even be able to field test it! Mountain Glenn was usually hostile but if you knew where to hole up, it was pretty safe for a fourth year. By the time Lix had arrived, Eli had a small grenade in his hand. Tossing it in the air showed needles extending from its surface which retracted by the time it landed back in his palm.
-
Lix had mixed feelings about this mission. One was the feeling odmf being a deadweight, as from what she heard from the mission status, she is to accompany a fourth year so as to gain on hand experience of the quality of a Beacon graduate, and being a more academic person meant the struggle was real for her. Another feeling was the feeling of pulling out, regret if she was to take it more darker than it is. Pulling out of the job, without a word of sorts. Lix quickly shakes away that thought, it was unbecoming of a Reinhardt to think of such a dishonorable act. Lix finally reached the meeting venue and she saw no one. Scratchjng her head, she aimlessly wanders the docks before her eyes twinkled at the sight of a spike ball in the air that begun to fall. Her eyes trailed the flow of movement and she gives herself a face palm. Of course her senior is a male.
Lix apporaches hesitantly before greeting with a bow. "My name is Lix Reinhardt! I am assigned to you for this mission by Beacon admins as to allow me to obtain good experiences from this trip!"
Lix was blushing deep red, embarrassing thoughts of Eli laughing at her for her mannerism or the fact she is very small. Her hand grasped her black glove tightly, a sign of uncomfortableness.
-
Eli caught his grenade, thanking the gods that it had worked as planned and he didn't have about a dozen holes in his hand right now. Hearing a voice, he looked up and saw the first year. Pale, black hair, dressed nice. Cute. The bow was odd though. "Look, there's no need to be so formal, Lix." He smiled reassuringly, "We're both students here. You can relax." He said reassuringly, wondering what the fuss was about as he noticed her cheeks start to slowly flush brighter and brighter red. "So, you got all your gear ready? This is a two night trip, remember, and Mountain Glenn doesn't really have much by the way of hunting so we'll have to bring whatever food and water we need."
-
Lix then produces out 5 pouches, each the size of a 3 oranges. It was obvious of what is inside as the aroma of bread seeps through the opening of the pouches. Quickly stowing them back to the back of her belt where she got them, Lix checks her supply of dust crystals and did a basic run through of her items on hand. Once she thinks she is okay, hee lack of confidence visible, Lix looks up and nods at her senior.
"All ready sir! Um... sir..." Lix produces her scroll from another pocket on her belt and read the message that was sent to her but as she suspected, only a nice profile image is given with the short name of Eli. "Eli sir?"
-
Elidyr blinked, staring at the pouches. Really? Bread? "Hm. Well, if you get tired of bread, I have some cans of rations and a camping stove in my pack." He said, nudging his backpack with his foot before picking it up and slinging it onto his shoulders. "Sir...." He mumbled to himself, wondering why she was so formal. He wasn't a teacher or professor in any way and he was only a good few years older than her.... "Just... just call me Eli, ok Lix?" He said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, hoping that would help her mellow downa bit.
-
"Um well hard to get tired of homemade full meal bread. Yeah it's whole loafs of bread with eggs, bacon, some pepper, basil inside. Oh and butter..." Lix drools a bit before wiping her mouth. Lix looks up at Eli after he had placed his hand on her shoulders and nods, looking rather indifferent that a boy had put their hands on a girl's shoulders. "But I apologize in advance since being formal is kind of my type of mannerism thanks to some prim and proper mannerism of living in a castle!" Lix muttered awkwardly before shaking her head and adjusting her shield that hung on her belt, looking it a big box.
-
"Then forget the castle." He said. With his semblance, it was hard to whisper or mumble things without him noticing, the heightened senses constantly on at a low burn of aura, just enough to keep him on his toes without wasting energy. "I'm Eli. Call me Eli, if you can, ok?" He beamed at her with pearly white teeth and nodded. "Alright, our ride's here." He said, looking up and squinting at the sun as a small airship landed and attached itself to the side of the dock, opening its doors. "This'll land us on the roof of a building that was gonna be used as a mall." He said, putting one foot on board, "Hope you brought some Lien." He chuckled.
-
Lix blinks at what Eli said, surprised he could actually hear what she said, but nods at what Eli told her about just calling him without the sir. Holds down her dress when the airship arrived, she stares at the airship and Eli approaching it. His snarky remark made her panic a bit on the inside but she realized it was just a joke and pouts. Lix skips over and into the airship before settling herself down and moving that metal box she had to her front so she could sit comfortably. Lix then looks up at Eli.
"So... What do you do? Like as um... hobbies?"
-
Eli raised a finger in reply as if he were telling her to wait. A second later, the engines revved to life, loud and clear with the doors open and with the initial thrust needed for take off. Turning off his hearing, essentially turning deaf, Arin reached for the door switch and shut it, lowering the noise down but not quite enough for comfortable conversation. Once they got to cruising altitude though did his hearing return, finding the dull low hum of the airship acceptable. "Sorry. I hate how loud these models are at take off." He smiled, "And small talk? I mean, we're about to go into a mission. Your mind should be focused. Prepping your gear. Checking ammo. Running through supplies in your head. Your heart cold steel and your mind still as a stagnant lake." He said seriously, glaring at her before he broke out into a grin. "I tinker with stuff. Modify my shield. You?"
-
Lix once again stared confused. Eli's mannerism piqued both her interest and confusion. To her, it was bearable noise, but she puts two and two together and figured to herself she is dealing with someone who has sensitive hearing. Lix gives Eli a scan and finds no visible traits of being a faunus, further confusing the girl into how he has sensitive hearing. The only explanation is his semblance. Lix decided at least not to ask.
Once the humming came and the flight was smooth, Lix listened to her senior's remark on airships and his serious monologue. Her dad had a different view, saying that it's better to laugh while you can, but not celebrate, maintain a poised mind. Lix tilts her head at the sudden change in tone, her hair falling to the side but at least she understood.
"Well um... I bake... go pogo... read... Do dust stuff with my semblance... train... Yeah mundane really... Still am horrible with fighting... Sigh I wish I was more... on par with students of my level. They all seem so good... And I only can throws a fireball a good 3 meters away at best. Or run. I'm very good at running." Lix said as she tone slowly went from awkward to depressing. Lix then lifted her box and presses a button to reveal the shield form of her weapon and sets it down on the ground with the sharp spike at the end making a tiny dent.
-
Eli listened with a calm smile, resting his backpack against his left knee as he sat back, listening to her explain. He gave a nod or two here and there. "Pogo?
Like... pogo stick?" He asked curiously, cocking his head to the side. When she seemed to get melancholy, he tried to cheer her up. "Pssh, don't worry.
You'll learn. Everyone sucks at the start, besides, you have me to train you-WHOA!" Eli seemed to burst into life, grinning when he saw the shield in Lix's hand. "That's a shield? Awesome, finally someone else that knows defense is the best offense." He grinned, straightening his arm out to the side and letting his shield slide along the rail before locking into place on his left arm, still in its collapsed form.
-
Lix nods silently at what Eli said, it did cheer her up a bit but before she could thank him the sudden burst of enthusiasm surprised her and made her jump in her seat. But she soon saw why as she saw the shield in Eli's hand. Getting up she approached it and gave it a small tap, seemingly listening for something as she gave it a few taps else where on the shield before her eyes widen with interest.
"Hm... Yeah... Hm... Ah! Durable! Bound to take some heavy hits, definitely thick, but hollow on the inside, as if filled with something..." Lix then run her fingers over the surface before muttering more comments about finding stuff out about his shield simply by touching and hearing. Lix then blinks before returning to her seat quickly and blushed, realizing she was probably being too nerdy about the whole thing.
"S-sorry... My family has a tradition where the eldest member of a generation gains a shield from the eldest member of the previous generation. Since my dad is the oldest and I'm the edlest sibling... Here is my shield! Of course the younger gain their shields if the eldest deems them worthy... Having a shield meant status so to say... Not really a higher lower status but more like when a noble squire is given knighthood kind of status..." Lix clutched her shield tightly before reverting it back to its collapsed form and place her hands over it.
-
With a careful eye, Eli watched her observe and dissect his shield, noting a good bit about it with just a touch and a look. Impressive. "Good eye. And cool tradition. I just built this so not much backstory here." He chuckled, flexing his shoulder. With a click, the shield unlatched from his rail and Eli exchanged his with hers. "Just uh, don't touch any of the switches and buttons except for the ones on the handle. Hit numbers two and four." He explained, pointing to a switch on the handle, pointing to the five triggers/buttons on the shield handle and telling her the combination to expand it. "The screen's a touch pad so you can see what it does there. Also put some movies and music there too for kicks." He chuckled before turning to the yellow shield in his hands. Wanting to know more about it, he put on his goggles and earmuffs, blotting out light and sound till he fired up his semblance. "Hmmmm, 15 kilos, good balance," He said, holding it up and feeling it out. "Dust mechanism here, I'll bet this thing springs out." He said, running his fingers along the spike like a blind man reading braille. Leaning in,he could see the tiny nicks and bumps on the surface that cast shadows, barely visible even to his eye. This thing wasn't used as a shield very often. Eli even sniffed at it. "Soap and oil. You're doing good maintenance on it, Lix." He smiled back at her, seeing her clearly through the smoked goggles. As he turned down his semblance,
-
Lix blinks, the amount of buttons on the shield is amazing. Lix wonders how many underlying mechanisms are inside. The thing is about the shield. Lix struggled to hold it up due to it's much heavier weight compared to her lighter shield. As much as she was curious to mess with the buttons, she looked at Eli inspect her shield with expertise, much better than hers. It reminds her of her uncle Eugen when he made her shield more suitable for her use. Lix could not help but smile a bit. Despite the fact her uncle is now half blind, he still remained his chipper mood and incredible mechanic expertise whenever it came to equipment. Lix looks back at Eli's shield and runs her fingers over the buttons and the screen. Curious now, she presses the screen to see what each button did.
-
Eli watched as Lix inspected his shield. He was used to the combinations of buttons and switches that controlled his shield but he found that most were generally surprised by the amount of effort it took to control all of the mechanisms of his shield. As Lix tapped on the screen, it glowed into life with a faint cyan hue. On it was a diagram of the shield, icons on the sides indicating weapons inspection mode, system diagnostics mode, and viewport mode. "I'm kind of upset with my shield though. I feel like I can put so much more into it than there is right now."
-
Lix jumps at what Eli said about his shield and stared at him as if he is insane. Lix quickly looks back to the shield and then back at Eli in serious surprise.
"M-more? A-are you n-n... I shouldn't say but still this is umm... Crazy to understand!" Lix said, confused about this tech. Feelimg dizzy staring at it, she lays back and shakes her head surprised. Now she is scared to actually touching something.
-
"It goes down to muscle memory, I guess." He shrugged, raising his hand. "Fire blast. Jets. Machine gun. Shrapnel fire. Missile barrage.
Spikes 1,2, 3, and 4. Grenades. The rest go on the touch pad." He noted, moving his fingers like a ninja about to do a technique, showing her the different finger combinations he knew by heart.
-
Lix stared at Eli's amazing fingerwork, definitely something to be proud of. Also shows how compared to him she is very inexperienced. Inexperienced. Lix looked at Eli and with a curious tone, spoke,"I have heard tales of Mount Glenn and how it is very very full of Grimm. As for why no one really knows of the reason crazy number of Grimm that trampled the development site, Some speculate is because the workers there were more negative about the project, their bosses less understanding and thus the negativity drove Grimm into a hunger spree. As for the more mythical theories, they say that a giant dragon Grimm inhabits the mountain, and it attracts Grimm in hoards of armies because of its power alone. But overall... It is a scary place and I heard only the best can traverse through it. So why are we heading to such a place? I doubt clearing Grimm is the goal." Lix's tone turned dark and serious, unlike her awkward, shy and bubbly personality from before. Lix checked her left hand, and pressed her palm to hear a nice click. Signs of working condition.
-
Eli's finger work was definitely something to be proud of.
Something Lix could get intimately familiar with soon. "Interesting but I think you're reading too much into it. Vale tried to over extend without safeguarding the place first. Built a city with no walls. Or at least, not enough walls and defensive measures so it failed when the grimm inevitably failed." He shrugged. At her question, he blinked again. Didn't she read the mission briefing on her scroll? "Well, you might wanna open your scroll there, Lix. The mission IS to clear it of grimm. Well, to thin the numbers, at least. Just so they don't start to aggregate and en mass in the city. It's good to drop their population every once in a while. He explained as the pilot called in through the radio. "Alright, you too. Drop in thirty seconds!" He called out as the airship grew louder, the door opening with them a good twenty feet above a mall rooftop.
-
Lix blinks and quickly checks her scroll. Looking through her messages, she found an unread one under one that told her to meet up with Eli. Lix did not even bother to open it, she figured out what it was. Then she heard what the pilot said and shivered. Drop? DROP? Lix looks at the door and could see a skyline ruined and in shambles, a very far distance away.
Lix quickly checked that everything was secured and looked at Eli with a bit of panic in her eyes. "D-Drop? W-we are thirty feet in the air!"
-
"Mhm." Eli nodded and the Pilot chimed in. "Can't take us down any lower than this. There's beowolves in the area and those guys can jump like you won't believe." "Don't worry. It's not that high as long as you have a good landing strategy." He reassured her, turning to face her. "You DO have a mobility function in that shield of yours, right?
-
Lix got to the edge of the doorway and looked down. Plenty of Beowulves. A whole pack of them, with their hungry eyes on the airship. One of them took a leap and missed by a longshot. Lix took a deep breath before retreating back to Eli and muttering, "The experienced first... That is a whole pack down there! And yes... My shield is a pogo stick, a pogo stick with spikes at the end to dish damage."
Lix held on to her shield tightly, and nods at Eli to show him that she is ready to jump after him.
-
Eli nodded, patting her on the shoulder. "You'll be fine. I can probably handle all of them for now and clear out the roof but if you keep stressing like that, more'll come." He beamed, trying to keep his composure calm and bright to avoid attracting more gromm. "Just jump when you're ready." He said, locking his shield onto his arm once more before falling backwards into the open air.
The grimm had gotten closer by the time Elidyr landed, using the jets of his shield to slow his decent before landing on his feet. In one smooth motion his shield expanded and he spun clockwise, blasting the grimm with fire in one long arc before turning to spin the other direction, blasting them with machine gun fire this time, turning a good portion into swiss cheese and shortly after, into ash.
-
Lix watched from above, the calm composure and lack of fear inspired Lix. Looking back at her own shield, she nods and jumps before shifting her shield to her front, and charged dust into it as she made her descent. Lifting her shield, she slams the end of it into a Beowulf skull, a loud audible crack before Lix is launching into the air once again. The air time gave her a moment to position herself and she fell once again, and started to pogo on top of the Beowulves before finally making it to Eli's side, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she panted with a smile on her face.
Grabbing a canister from her pocket, she inserts it into her glove and with a nice click, tells her it is loaded. Another pack leapt onto the mall roof and snarled with the intent to kill. Lix looked at Eli before her left hand started to emit a lime green aura as air begun to freeze aeound it. Holding her shield infront of her she thrusts her hand forwaed and a conical spray of ice came out from her hand in a howling cold gale as ice begun to form on the struggling Grimm.
-
"Hey!" Eli grinned, finding his back against Lix's, pausing to bump his shield against a beowolf's face before the spikes came out of his shield skewering it, "Glad you could make it. You think you can handle these guys?" He asked, drawing his pistol from its holster and aiming to the side, pegging another grimm between the eyes. He tsked though when it seemed to only crack the bony plate on the beowolf's head. Hearing the tinkling of ice behind him, Eli shot another barrage of bullets in front of him before turning to see what Lix had done. "Good job." He commended her before peppering those grim with more bullets.
-
Lix grinned at the compliment as she begun to freeze more Grimm in their tracks while she let Eli hail them with bullets. Then she heard beeping coming from her glove once she had gone a full circle of freezing the black creatures. Aiming at the largest hoard shd could see, she pointed her hand at them and squeezed her palm. A click and a canister flies out from a barrel. Quickly reloading it as the canister exploded, creating a sudden growth of sharp ice, piercing the Beowulves black bodies.
Lix then looks around, what else can she do? Lix takes a deep breath and creates a fireball in her hand before throwing it, causing an explosion but not really stopping the hoard encircling them. Suddenly they stop, their attention no longer on the group and they begun to run off in the different direction. Lix stared, confused and worried.
-
As the battle raged on, Eli turned up his semblance to get a better grip on the fight. His senses were suddenly clearer, the colors around him brighter and more vivid. His hearing grew better too, hearing the rake of claws on concrete behind him before they stopped and were replaced by the sound of freezing ice. He'd heard Lix's gauntlet ready its grenade within the mechanism before it even beeped.His shirt, pants, and socks were also suddenly rougher on his skin, feeling like burlap rather than cotton. A little sacrifice for the advantage. He thought to himself as he ducked under a claw, hearing the wind whistling between the beowolf's fingers as it slashed at the back of his head. "Getting tight here, Lix." He cautioned the freshman, blasting the beowolf with a shotgun blast from his shield and bashing it in the chest just as the explosion made his ears ring, even with the mufflers on. Glancing at where it came from, he noticed the fleeing grimm and lowered his semblance, taking off the goggles and hanging them round his neck. "Hope that's the last of them for now." He said, taking one more look around.
-
Lix however continued staring at where the Grimm ran off to who knows where. One curious side of her wants to see where they are going but the other is scared and wants to stay with Eli for protection during the mission. Hearing beeping from her glove again she aimed skyward and shot it, the canister flying high into the air before exploding into glittering fireworks. Lix sighed and checked her ammo to give herself an inventory count. Lix took out her scroll and typed in some notes for herself before stashing the device away and looking at Eli for guidance.
"What now? Do we pursue them? Make sure their numbers are wittled further? Or set up camp? Or something?"
Lix clearly cannot make her mind up as she dwindled on the thoughts of the next course of action. She hopes her senior had a plan of some sort.
-
Eli looked up when Lix raised her hand, worried that they'd find a nevermore so early in their mission but the flash of color and light alleviated his fears. "Alright,
seems we've cleared the place up. You did good there, Lix." He reassured, watching the airship hovering in the distance, giving him a wave before it flew off. "Well, generally an open space like this isn't what I'd like." Looking around, Eli found a water tower on an building under constraction. Some grimm had broken it, letting all the water burst out but leaving the leaving the roof and most of the walls in place. "We should set up camp before going on rounds. See that water tower?" He said, pointing at their future campground.
-
Lix blushed the compliment. The first yesr felt she did not do much to actually be praised like that. Lix then looks uo at the water tower. It definitely looks habitable. The torn metal is not much and Lix could mold it a bit so at least they would not have to worry about cutting their legs when entering. Or should she? Lix thinks she night look like a wimp for being safe, but at the same time she felt it was a good idea to bring out. Lix cursed her lack of decisiveness.
-
Eli waited for a bit, wondering if she'd say anything but shrugged when she kept quiet, looking like she were deciding on something. "Alrighty then. Uhhh, let's go." He said, looking back behind her shoulder. Curious, he turned his semblance up, seeing further and clearer though the light made him squint. Were those beowolves... ALL running away from the same thing? They all moved in one group but spreading outwards as if something had spooked them, not like a pack on the hunt. "Yeah... c'mon, Lix." Eli said, turning and walking.
-
Lix followed Eli, remaining silent throughout the trip to the water tower, as she looks about for Grimm nearby. Oddly she felt that so far there was no sign of any of the black monsters, both on land and sky. Lix knew it was a good thing to at least travel safely but there was an unsettling feeling in the back of her mind that told her that something was off and in a place overruned with Grimm, it spooks Lix into thinking that there is something more to this place that both herself and Eli are unaware of. Lix shakes the thought. Negativity attracts Grimm and it is not something they want before they set up camp inside the beaten up water tower.
-
The path to the water tower was fairly straight forwards. Walk. Jump some gap between two buildings. Walk through a crumbling interior here and there. Soon enough they were standing at the base of the tower, the ladder rusted in places, missing a few bars too which were scattered on the floor at Eli's feet, the ends rusted to dust. "Guess the water must've leaked out some how." He said, avoiding the ladder completely. Taking his shield off, he set it on the ground and stepped on it. "Wait here. I'll check if it's livable." he said, jetting up into the large metal container through a large hole, just enough to step in through. "Well, it's dim but at least it isn't wet! Should be good for our needs. Come on up!" He yelled from the inside, a second passing before the hole was blasted open even wider by a jet propelled shield bash.
-
Lix remained below, keeping an eye out for anything that might come. But to her relief nothing. Lix looked up when Eli called her just to be surprised by a sudden blast, which cause her ears to ring. The hole was definitely much bigger, not that Lix needed it bigger, she is probably smaller than every Huntress in the academy, but precautions were always good. Holding her shield, she pogos up and lands on the intaft balcony and getting inside the water tower. Lix grabbed a canister and took out the crystal inside, providing the place with a small light source of red. With the inside illuminated better Lix could see the rust along the corners, quite dry, but still had a damp smell. Lix looked up and see that the roof looked a bit wet. Her observant eyes scanned the area carefully. Then she place the crystal back into its canister and set down her pouches before taking a seat on the metal floor and sighed.
"Ah... Kind of reminds me of home. Dim, smells damp, cool... The only thing missing is the natural sunlight that comes through whatever opening it could find," Lix said as she laid down, looking incredibly relaxed as her shield hits the floor, a loud bang from the metal hitting each other.
-
Eli set his bag down, rolling his shoulders. That thing was starting to feel heavy! "Well that's why I came prepared." He grinned, kneeling down and opening up his pack. "Just cause we're camping," He said, saying out a sleeping bag for himself, assuming Lix had brought one, putting down an electric lantern as well, "Doesn't mean we have to slum it, right?" He chuckled to himself, pulling out a tiny camping stove as well. "At least we have some dinner waiting after our rounds later."
-
Lix sat up and removed her shawl and laid it on the ground as if it was a bedsheet. Lix then removed her belt and laid it down neatly on her shawl before getting up. It was rather clear. Lix wore only a white dress, everythinf else she wore covered that fact. Lix took up her shield and wipe the surface before bending forward and laying itndown nicely. Lix then faced her senior and his cooking stove.
"So um what's the plan? We can't just um you know like go from Point A to Point B then come back here. We need areas of interest to note to check for potential Grimm," Lix said has she took her scroll out from one of the pockets in her belt and placing the leather equipment back down before taking a seat infront of the stove.
-
Eli leaned against a wall, observing closely. "Good thinking. Plus points on my peer review for you, Lix." He beamed, impressed she'd think that. Eli himself would have just done a circle around their camp and called it a day, seeing as the place was usually over run and thinning numbers was their main objective. "Alright, get some water in you and lets head out. We can spar for a bit if nothing comes our way just to stay warmed up and ready when they do come. Besides,
I wanna see how you work."
-
Lix blew a strawverry at his compliment, blushing however gives away her true feelings. Living in a castle that serves as the watchpoint between Vale and the outside taught her how to deplou troops and do accurate survery and patrol. All things her dad wanted her to know when the old man retires from his position. Lix scratched the back of her head as she sighed, mumbling to herself again about personal experience.
Lix then jumped at what Eli said. Spar? Lix panicked at the thoifh of even hitting a senior yet alone sparring? The girl however took it upon herself to realize this is just friendly fighting, a concept not foreign to her thanks to her childhood practice of judo and weapon practices back at the castle. Lix got up and opened a pouch, taking out a canister of water and taking a gulp to refresh herself. Lix then equiipped her belt and grabbed her shield, giving Eli the thumbs up of being ready.
-
Eli pulled out a canteen of water from his bag and took a swig as well, licking his lips clean of a few errant drops that had slipped from between his lips. Seeing the go signal from Lix, he nodded and re-equipped his shield and walked over to the edge of the water tower's platform. "Alright. Let's make our way... there." Eli said, pointing to a square surrounded by buildings. There was a small circular building in the center of the clearing, giving a good view of the surrounding area. "That looks like a good spot."
-
Lix loves technology sometimes, and this is one of those moments she thanks it. Grabbing her scroll, she raised itntocher eyes and circular symbols appeared on screen. From the outside it looks like a joke function, expanding Lix's eyeballs. But from Lix's view of the scroll, she obtained binocular vision. Lix surveyed in the place Eli pointed out before putting it away before nodding. The place looks good, just a matter of scaling it.
-
"With the buildings on all sides, that roof should make us pretty visible and ripe for an ambush. Perfect for attracting grimm to us. Might as well kill some time with a spar." He nodded, once again using the jets off his shield to slow his decent before landing on his feet, leather shoes clacking onto the pavement of the roof. Standing back upright, he waited for Lix to drop before walking towards the edge of their building. Thankfully it was only a good 4 stories tall. Not too much of a hassle to get back to camp later that night. "Ever sparred with a senior, Lix?"
-
Lix shakes her head. Senior in terms of someone like her elders then yes. But Lix knee he was talking about Beacon seniors. But she needed to clarify anyway, she was not confident in reading people's mind.
"Um yeah i guess, if you count my dad and uncles as seniors... If not then no, never actually sparred eith a Beacon senior at all."
-
"Well then." Eli nodded in thought, putting a finger and thumb to cup his chin before looking back at her. "Try and kick the snot out of me.
That should get us both enough negativity to attract a decent number of grimm." With that, Eli fell off the room, landing on his shield mid air and gliding in its hoverboard mode. The Ajax wasn't meant to fly really, merely hover off the ground a few feet so he still fell fairly quickly, landing with a muted thud on dirt with grass that had long since withered away, leaving it cracked and pulverized under his shield. Activating thrusters again, he lifted off into the air, blasting up onto the roof of the circular building in the center of the city square.
-
Lix could not believe what she just heard. Not that it matteted now that they are on the move. A spar to attract Grimm. Lix neger actually thought of that. The idea of two people fighting for no good reason is negative already but making it intentional meant the feelings were stronger. Lix took a deep breath as she got on her shield and pogoed into the air and landed behind her senior, following him closely incase some Grimm do decide to take a surprise visit on their wonder trip. Lix looked around carefully. The girl could not help but be silent when she saw the state of everything. When they reached, Lix waited below as Eli went up before following up herself by carefully pogoing up
-
Eli wasn't at all foreign to spars with his schoolmates. Lix would later find out how common it was for students to fight each other in friendly tests of skill or just for the exercise. What better way to hone the muscles used with your specific weapon than actually using it? Jogging over to the opposite side of their impromptu arena, Eli held out his shield, still in collapsed for."I'll go easy on ya. It'll mean I'll get hit more and prolly get pissed off more." He grinned at her, "No offense if I say anything, ok?" He laughed before looking around them. No signs of grimm yet but wth the noise and negativity, they'd soon come before either of them got hurt.
-
Lix gulped as she took the opposite side, her shield forward as she stared at Eli. The stress of making a good impression on him bothered her, and Lix becamed focus. She knows she may not be as skilled. But who is to say she has no chance. Biting her bottom lip, she stretch out her glove and put in a dust crystal.
"Well... Um... I'm ready..." Lix took a deep breath and swallowed her saliva.
-
Wind rolled through the square and the area went quiet, the sounds of rustling dry grass being the only noise either of them could here. With his semblance turned off, Eli almost felt like he had a handicap rather than being without his advantage. Some days he felt he was too reliant on his gift. "Alright." He nodded, eyeing her gauntlet cautiously. Even with a layer off aura serving as his armor, her explosions would still hurt. Best to avoid it then. "Go!" He soon bellowed, darting forwards at a full on sprint, shield poised in front of him like a battering ram on the front of a train. Shame he couldn't use his boosters.
-
Lix shifted her feet and spread them wide, giving herself a triangleish stance when she saw the charge coming. Taking a deep breath she remained poised in her position as she used her shield to block the ram, the force much stronger than her expected but she held on and her plan went into action. Lix bent lower, using her female flexibitly to bend low and let Eli's shield slide over her own, and then if her plan work, the tip will be pointed and a trigger caused an the pogo sticl part of her shield to come out of the bottom tip like a miniature battering ram with spikes. If not she had left herself wide open for a punch.
-
"HMPH!" With a grunt, Eli slammed his shield into hers, metal grinding on metal and weight forced against weight. Eli could feel the shields grind against each other as his opponent stooped low to the cracked concrete and maneuvered her shield behind his. Uttering a curse, he pulled his shield up, lifting his arms into the air and away from the incoming spikes. He fell backwards, landing on his hands and kicking off the face of Lix's shield into a backwards roll and back onto his feet. "Quick reflexes." He called out to her, running in again, this time spinning to slash his shield edge against her knees.
-
Lix fell over and on to her butt when Eli kicked off her shield to land away from her. Lix rubbed her bum before jumping back on to her feet literally, landing on the shield Eli had. Lix then had a plan clicked into her as she slammed her shield down, pogoing into the air, shield facing Eli during the air time.
-
Eli rolled his shoulders for a satisfying pop of his joints. Adjusting his shield so its edge extending a bit farther in front of his fist, Eli got into a boxing stance, feet squared and hands up, taking his shield's diameter into account. Coming up with his own plan, he watched her fly into the air, timing it right, and ducking low before springing up to shoot a punch at her. It was a fake out. The real attack came in the form of a haymaker with his shield hand.
-
Lix fell, she was expecting like some gun shots but she guessed it was wise of him to save ammo in their spar. Lix shifted her shield down when she got into range and thrust it down, only to make a last minute change when she saw the punch coming. She moved away from it but instead gets knocked the other way with Eli's shield punch. Lix wheezed. That was surprisingly hard. Lix took in a deep breath as she got up again, shield forward in a defensive stance.
-
Eli's shield-punch connected and he winced along with her. That looked like it hurt pretty bad, even with aura. His shield WAS fairly heavy and dense so that made sense at least. Eli didn't let up, keeping his offense steady and unyielding. He followed his shield-jab with a spinning backhanded strike towards Lix's ribs, around the barrier of her shield hopefully, his leather shoes skidding dryly on the worn concrete flooring they stood on. A howl broke out from his right. It sounded distant but it was close enough to herald their approach. "Let's keep this up a bit longer," he said as his shield connected. Whether it was with Lix's side or something else, he wasn't sure.
-
Lix kept a strong stance, the bottom of her shield allowed the to block backhand, with the sharp squeak of her own boots with quick footwork. Lix then took the chance to lodge her shield between Eli and his own before aiming a headbutt at Eli's gut, seeing as she cannot reach the head at her current height.
-
Eli learned to appreciate his semblance much more when Lix managed to butt her head against his abdomen. Without his enhanced senses the world seemed so dull. Like a vibrant painting bleached of color under years of exposure to the sun. Things seemed to move quicker too, like he found it more difficult to track objects in motion. Was he really THAT reliant on his semblance? He had to make up for it. Having her head by his stomach made that a bit easier though. Lifting his arms, he gripped the edge of his shield in his free and and thrust it downwards at Lix's head.
-
Lix easily took the blow, but it still hurts alot. The girl topples comically infront of Eli and laid there rubbing the spot on her head while whimpering like a puppy, rolling left to right, calling for a timeout cause of the pain.
-
Eli panted, his chest and shoulders heaving up and down. In and out. Looking down at the winded girl, he nodded and knelt beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Alright, break." He said, turning to look around. Turning his semblance back on and slipping his goggles over his eyes, the mechanist spotted black shadows darting through the windows of the buildings as well as some more burly ones lumbering through the incomplete office spaces. Beowolves and alphas probably. Maybe ursas. A roar that seemed to close for comfort confirmed that the bear grimm were around. "They're here. You ready, Lix?'" He turned to look at her with a confident look on his face, lips pressed into a firm line that curled up at the ends into a reassuring smile as if he hadn't just beaten the poor girl into submission.
-
Lix got back on her feet, taking deep breathes. Not only did she feel like she got the wind knock out of her, if it was not for her aura being active, there would be an aching bruise. The girl took small hops hoping to feel a bit better about herself. The look on Eli's face gave her a bit of confidence. Lix nods before loosening herself.
-
"Yeesh." He winced internally, seeing how the girl had to take a second to recover, "Sorry about that. A howl ripping through the sunset sky turned his attention back to the force of grimm they were about to face. Lookslike a pack of beowolves again. A few ursa. "Looks like we got a little bit of a challenge, Lix."He called out to his partner, cut off by an ear piercing shriek. With his semblance on, it brought Eli to his knees. He needed a second to regain his composure, quickly slipping on his headphones. "Nevermore. Looks like we have a bit more on our plate. You hungry?"