Jacob laughed. "Damn, at least somebody got it worse than I did!" Still chuckling, Jacob made his way over to the boy who had just fallen from the sky and extended a hand to help him. "Look on the bright side. You're alive, you've got a partner, and you've got your very own neck of the woods to explore. If you ask me, it was well worth the trouble!"

"It's... not the ideal way to travel..." Lissa admitted sheepishly, taking the last seat. "But y'know, sometimes it's about the destination, not the journey!" Lissa absentmindedly misquoted one of her favorite platitudes.

((Just assuming nobody wants to rp the ride to Mountain Glenn... Especially since one of us is falling asleep. ^^;))

After an hour and a half of driving, the vehicle finally came to a stop before a grand mound of rubble. As soon as the doors opened, Lissa was the first to leap out, taking this opportunity to stretch her legs. The first half of the trip wasn't so bad, but once they got to Mountain Glenn the trip became unbearable as the vehicle slowed to a crawl, driving over rubble and repeatedly stopping to change course as another roadblock appeared. She spun around happily in the middle of the road before Crystal emerged and gave her a disciplinary smack on the head. "The entire reason we took that transport was to avoid drawing attention. If you keep behaving carelessly we may as well have just flown here."

As Lissa rubbed her head in pain and embarrassment, Crystal addressed the rest of the team. "We are close enough to the objective that I have elected to take the rest of the journey on foot. The terrain from here on out will be rough and the threat of Grimm always looming. Stay on your guard."

Jacob stood up and smirked at the attention his semblance had garnered him, satisfied that not all eyes were on the aura dragon anymore. "What, you didn't expect me to just leave it like that, did you?"

At that moment, Crystal burst into the room, fuming with anger even she struggled to contain. "Honestly, I take twenty minutes to get my documents in order before the initiation starts and already they start with the property damage! Who is responsible?" Her keen eyes scanned the environment but saw no disturbance in the room itself. All she could do was pick on the one student who was standing away from the rest. She narrowed her eyes at Jacob. "You. I know you had something to do with that crashing sound. What did you do?"
"I don't know what you mean, ma'am. Nothing seems amiss to me!" Jacob spoke with confidence that only frustrated Crystal further.
However, with no proof of his wrongdoing, she had no choice but to relent. Lamely, she replied, "...Just behave yourself. That goes for all of you!"

Crystal sighed as she regained her composure, pushing a stray hair behind her ear and adjusting her glasses neatly. "I suppose I may as well get on with the event. We have much to cover, so you had best all get comfortable." Her speech was dignified but forced, as if she was holding back a deeper sigh. "The task at hand is rather simple. Achieving this task, as well as what it will mean for your future at this academy, is less so. You will all be dropped into the forest of Forever Fall and asked to locate one of several items littered throughout the forest. These objects could be anywhere, but you have a couple of hints to get you started. The first is that the objects will not be scattered randomly amongst the branches, or merely on the ground somewhere. The locations in which the academy has hidden the objects all have some significance, like a hidden cave for example. The second hint is that the objects in question emit a dim green glow that contrasts with the red of the forest. If you do not see this glow, you are looking in the wrong place.

"You may notice that there are only half as many artifacts in the forest as there are students in your group. This is by design, not by mistake. No student will be permitted to return their artifact until they find themselves a partner. How you wish to partner up is entirely up to you. However, bear in mind that just as the artifacts themselves are limited, so too are prospective partners. It is recommended that you each partner up sooner rather than later to avoid wandering the forest alone. Groups of more than two will not be accepted; at the moment of mission completion, there must be one artifact for every pair of students."

Crystal took a short pause to let the rules sink in before getting to the part that she suspected would cause a stir. "As soon as I give the signal, the doors of this airship will open and you are free to jump or to stay aboard a while longer. However, ten minutes after the doors open, they will close again. Any students left on board at the moment the doors close will forfeit their spot at Beacon Academy this year. Should this rule leave an odd number of students in the field, you will be notified and one student will be allowed to return their artifact solo, on a first-come first-serve basis.

"Your landing strategy is up to you, but do try to avoid sustaining any major injuries. Any student who is incapacitated during the event will also forfeit their position. Finally, once the doors close, the airship will move to its final position. Until all of the artifacts have been returned, the airship will hover over the clearing to which you are to bring your artifacts. Use it as guidance."

While most rookie teachers would be afraid they missed something at this point, Crystal cracked a smug smile in satisfaction, knowing she couldn't have forgotten anything important. Just as a formality, though, she still had to ask, "Any questions?"

Jacob saw the strange dragon fly out of the crowd forming near the opposite side of the ship. While he wanted to get a closer look before, the crowd of onlookers seemed really annoying, especially for the creature's presumed owner. However, with it separated from the group, Jacob wanted to make it known that this was his chance and anyone who got in the way might very well get hurt. He lifted Journeyman, making a wall as he reached out and blocked a couple of students who had come running. With a smash of the club, he knocked a ventilation unit off the wall of the airship which fell down to block the dragon's escape, creating a loud crash in the process. "Gotcha now!" he shouted with a grin, leaping over the unit in an attempt to touch the dragon.

Compared to the lush midday green of the Emerald Forest, the forest of Forever Fall's deep red made it seem like sunset even when the sun was still high in the sky. Especially with the looming shadow of a massive airship overhead.

Among the paltry batch of second-wave initiate Beacon students aboard the airship were a variety of faces and attitudes, some more vocal than others. Just like the first wave, Beacon Academy saw potential in every one of them to shine in their own special ways. It just so happened that this year's population had so much... potential that not all of the newly-admitted initiates could fit into the traditional Emerald Forest event scheduled for this year. As such, the excess students formed a second group that would hold their initiation in Forever Fall instead, with a slightly different objective to go with the different setting. Within this group, there were students who objected to this strange and unfamiliar event, some who were disappointed not to experience the same things as students that came before them, some who simply couldn't care less, and still others who were enthusiastically in support of this, happy to be part of something new and unknown.

Jacob Stillwater was very firmly in the first category, and seemed to want everyone to know it. "What's the deal with this shit, huh?" Jacob snarled loudly. "How hard is it to throw a few more MacGuffins on the rocks for a few more students? Why they gotta go through all this extra work just to fuck with the initiation experience for a few random students??" He had been going on like this for several minutes now while the students waited for their assigned instructor to emerge, and most people seemed to be ignoring him at this point.

"Mm-hm!" Lissa exclaimed, half-walking half-skipping over to her dresser. "There are people in trouble, so Ms. Evermore said we should meet up as soon as we can!" Lissa could barely contain her excitement at having a real mission already. Thankfully, she didn't have that much in the way of equipment; she slid Whirlwince and its sheaths onto her arms and was ready to go.

"...Oh! I nearly forgot!" Lissa gasped. "I have to tell Ms. Evermore we're ready to meet up!" She frantically started typing on her scroll as if her life depended on it, sending confirmation to Crystal that their group would be ready to get going in a few minutes.

((OOC: I can skip forward in time at any moment now.))

Beacon 1st Year

BADJ | Badge
Polished Gold
Billy Bone
Serin Avery
Mikado Drak
Jacob Stillwater