[nathan67003]

Despite his relative preparedness, the blast still caught Nathan off guard. He'd still been in the process of actually standing up, but the heat that flashed across his face from the flames made him decide otherwise - he reflexively moved to curl into a ball, protecting his face and head with his arms - staff still in hand.

Whether this was a justified move is still out for debate, but the result wouldn't have changed regardless; he was sent rolling backwards along the stream's path from the blast's force. The sphere of person came to a stop several metres away, back to the ground. He unceremoniously unfolded himself, limbs sprawled half in the very shallow water. After a moment to collect his senses, he got back up at a somewhat leisurely pace. Ergia had, by will or miracle, remained in his left hand throughout his tumbling journey.

He took a brief look at the rapidly evaporating deathstalker, looked to its left - a large hammer was firmly planted in the incline - then to its right - his teammate was seemingly passed out in a similar position, head included.

Remembering that he was in the middle of the Emerald Forest and that killing one Grimm, however large, didn't mean he was home safe, he ran at a jogging pace to his partner and, after planting Ergia in the ground, passed his arms around her midriff and pulled, attempting to dislodge her from the earth's grasp.

[MonsterManic]

Tina mumbled something under her breath about there being no more immediate threats, but when Cyrus kept looking her way expectantly she just shrugged and refused to make eye contact. He probably got the message, since he turned to watch the remaining two students duke it out with the insectoid monster. Without anything else to do, since she wasn't adequately armed to actually do anything to the Deathstalker, she quietly reloaded both revolvers and joined Cyrus spectating the ongoing fight.

The human rocket had about the same effect as its namesake, obliterating a sizeable chunk of the Grimm's body and legs and leaving it for dead. The two students were sent flying and tumbling across the riverbank like some higher entity had picked them up and used them like skipping stones, but Tina knew there wasn't too much cause to worry. Like Cyrus's non-bleeding wing proved, their Aura would protect them so long as it held strong, so potentially their only concern would be broken bones from the impact.

As they watched in silence, the male peeled himself off the floor casually, so clearly he was fine. The same couldn't be said for Rocket Girl, who lay limply with her head stuck in the ground like an ostrich. While her mind conjured up a "revive" symbol floating over the girl's body, she didn't move to offer any assistance since she didn't know how to give any. It wasn't like a game where she could just press a button over a downed ally and bring them back to fighting shape, after all. Instead, she shyly glanced over at Cyrus to see if he could be more useful, then turned her head back, saw the position the male had assumed while trying to help, and felt her face going red. Cyrus probably wouldn't hear a peep out of her for the next while...

[Kaliot]

After a few tugs, Pyre's head eventually popped out of the ground; with a few added sound effects, it would've seemed almost straight out of a cartoon. She squinted and shielded her eyes. As soon as her eyes readjusted to the light, she pressed her hands against the ground that was currently 'above' her head and balanced herself onto a handstand. Pyre took a few steps away, each accompanied by a random noise, before performing a quick, acrobatic maneuver to get back onto her feet. She quickly brushed off any remaining dirt on her body before extending a hand out toward her freshly-minted partner.

With a bright smile she said, "Appreciate the help! I'm Pyre. You?" She looked at him expectantly.

[Aethon Shaan]

'Good show, good show. No kill like overkill, that's what I always say.' Cyrus remarked loudly as made his quickly over to Nathan and Pyre through a combination of wind dust and his own natural wings. When the Peacock Faunus got close he tried to put his barrel-sized arms around the pair of new partners and pull all three of them together.

'So you guys are partners and Tina and I are partners, that makes us a team.' Cyrus continued using his wings to point to Tina as she stood behind them. The giant patted Nathan and Pyre a few times on the back before releasing and taking a few steps back.

Anyway we still have got a test to do and these wont be the last Grimm we see. Wouldn't do to make a bad first impression after our first trial.' Cyrus finished as he beckoned the three to follow as they continued towards the temple.

[nathan67003]

Nathan let go of his partner as soon as the resistance gave way, her head now presumably free from the confines of the ground. To his mild surprise, however, she stayed upside-down in a handstand - something somewhat impressive considering the incline. She 'walked' around a bit, seemingly coming to grips with her current situation, before doing what Nathan could only describe as 'a flip' and landing on her feet, safe and sound.

He watched as she brushed off the loose dirt on herself - to decent effect, if it wasn't for the rest of the dirt, deeply rubbed into both her face and clothes - and extended out her hand in a decisively upbeat greeting. Nathan smiled back (not that most people would notice movement of his facial features) and took the invitation, responding with a barely lilting "Nathan." He briefly considered the fact that all his clothes were utterly drenched before the thought evaporated, the comparison with his dirt-covered interlocutor making the situation trivial.

He was about to let go of the hand after what would have likely been a mutually-decided upon length of time when a booming voice reached him from the other incline, making him jump a bit and garnering all of his attention. He didn't have much time to react, however, as the large mass of black and colour approached at great speed before squeezing both himself and Pyre against it. Great, a hug bear.

The mass' subsequent words provided some explanation, thankfully. Right, team member. That made sense. He thanked whatever there was to thank when the enormous man let go of him and, after listening to the brief sentences, climbed down the incline and back into the river where the giant had started walking. Ergia still in his left hand and making sure the red-mohawked man was intently looking away, he dusted himself off - this was purely psychological and he knew it, but he didn't like being hugged like that out of nowhere.

[MonsterManic]

Watching from a distance as Cyrus jumpscared the other duo with a giant wing-hug (or as much as one can scare people with that overly loud voice), Tina raised one dainty hand to chest height and waved nervously when she heard her name being mentioned. Pyre's name she managed to catch from her cheerful introduction, but there was no way the other's sullen response could carry that far, given the boy's lack of emotional reaction from the handshake...or the involuntary hug, judging by the vigorous shaking-down when Cyrus was looking the other way towards her. Tina mentally filed that tidbit of information away, not that she would ever be approaching them for bodily contact in her lifetime.

With the feeling that Cyrus had nominated himself as the de facto leader from his confident approach, she meekly followed him into wherever he was going, passing by the duo with nary a word or even a sideways glance, her eyes instead staring down at the floor in front of her feet - like she was determined to avoid eye contact. Hopefully at some point they'd mention the other male's name in passing conversation, or she'd be going the entire initiation without knowing it. That would make for quite the embarrassing situation when she inevitably needed to get his attention...

[Kaliot]

Pyre welcomed the embrace from her fellow bird faunus, though she did feel a tinge of fear at the thought of potentially getting squeezed to death. Thankfully that feeling didn't last too long as she was soon released from Cryus' grasp. Pyre gave Cryus a hearty thumbs-up before turning towards Tina and returning her meek wave with one that was wide and energetic. As Cryus beckoned the team onward, a timid Tina passed by, her eyes glued to the ground. Pyre let off a soft "Hmm" as she watched Tina trail behind Cyrus.

Turning back to the issue at hand, Pyre looked around the immediate vicinity looking for her weapon only to find it several meters away thanks to the guidance of Nathan who gave her a quick point in the right direction. She wrapped her hands around the handle of her weapon, nudging it around to see how badly stuck it was, before suddenly jolting it back and forth like a dentist ripping out a tooth and popping it free from the earth at last. She smirked, satisfied, before following the others making their way toward the objective.

Pyre gave Nathan a couple pats on the back as a thanks for his assistance and realized he was still soaked from the battle. She inflamed her weapon and angled it slightly toward him, an offer to assist him with his situation.

[Aethon Shaan]

The new team of four made good time through the forest, there were at times small movements could be heard in the undergrowth or the canopy but when one of the hunters in training went to investigate they wouldn't find anything. The suspense and lack of action was obviously getting to Cyrus and the Peacock Faunus grew increasing agitated. Striking at the undergrowth with far more force than was needed even chopping down trees if they got within reach. The giant was clearly trying to draw the attention of other Grimm he was at least for now unsuccessful.

Sound of running water slowly came into earshot of the group as they continued to move towards the temple and after cutting through a particularly dense line of plants the hunters in training could finally see the river blocking their path. The high river backs signified it was a drier period for the river but the bottom couldn't seen and it was clearly fast moving. Cyrus cautiously made a few steps down the muddy banks, his heavy boots sinking deep with every step.

'Pyre and I can fly across but are you guys going to be OK? Shouldn't be too hard to carry someone a couple of meters. There is no reason than more than one of us has to be covered in mud.' Cyrus asked giving Pyre a little smirk before stretching out his wings in preparation to fly.

[nathan67003]

Nathan picked up the pace to match the rest of the team once Pyre had joined in the walk. The (probably) thankful slap to his upper back (not covered by Ergia's harness) sent out a thoroughly sodden smack. This seemed to give pause to his partner, as her weapon ignited with purple flames. Nathan angled himself to face the new heat source. "Oh sweet, thanks. Wait, uh, does that burn up Dust?" Upon Pyre's negation with her head, he added "Niice, mine needs Dust - or at least, power - to do it. Don't mind if I do." He then spent the next few minutes slowly turning which side of his body was facing the purple fire, all the while still walking at a constant pace.

After a good while walking in the stream's bed, they arrived at the river in which it ended up. Said river was large and deep, but only had water near its very bottom, some rapids gurgling along. The muddy banks didn't help feeling like one should not simply cross this at their leisure.

When Cyrus suggested carrying someone over, Nathan deactivated Ergia's staff mode, the weapon's stick parts (un)telescoping into the central cylinder. He was the last to give a reply, simply saying "Nah, I've got my ways." He put the now-collapsed Ergia on his back, against its harness. A barely-audible tshak sounded and he tested the links' solidity by pulling at the black object, before putting one knee and both hands to the ground, his back therefore slightly angled upwards. "You all go first, please. And, uh, clear the landing site once you're over. I wouldn't wanna slam into anyone."

[MonsterManic]

In lieu of having to force awkward conversation with her new teammates, Tina made efforts to stick closer to Cyrus than the other two, who had struck up a brief conversation over impromptu hairdryers. At least Cyrus had gotten the hint and made little effort to make small talk, instead focusing on bushwhacking a path for the four Hunters - a bit louder than necessary to her; there was always the possibility of attracting the attention of more Grimm. Despite her wincing each time Cyrus hacked down an entire tree, however, nothing turned up on her radar at all. Perhaps the noise was doing the opposite and actually driving away the small fry instead?

Eventually, the group stopped at a fast-flowing river. Tina looked around for viable crossings and pulsed her radar, but nothing satisfactory turned up either way. Ignoring the fact she wasn't a very good swimmer, her guns and Dust weren't waterproof either. As Cyrus showed off his impressive wingspan by stretching, the other boy started fiddling with his metal rod for reasons unknown to her. She could only assume he had some plan to get over. Pair that with Pyre already showcasing her capability of flight in the previous battle, and that left her - stuck on their side of the river with no personal way of fording. Trying her best to swallow her anxiety, she squeaked "Can someone give me a lift?"

[Kaliot]

With Cyrus angrily chopping his way through the forest, Pyre seemed to be getting a taste of his personality. With his boisterous personality, she understood his mood but she still hoped that it wouldn't cause them any more trouble. Thankfully, they seemed to be in the clear, at least for now.

Coming up to the river, Pyre gave a thumbs-up at the mention of being able to fly across before attaching her backpack to her weapon to refill its Dust capacity. As she did so, she watched as everyone else started to prepare themselves as well to cross the river. Everyone but Tina. Finishing up her refuel, she clapped her hands once and walked over to Tina with a smile. Pyre gave Tina two pats on the shoulder before answering her request, "I gotcha, get ready!"

Pyre broke into a sprint along the shore of the river, giving herself a running start before igniting her weapon and taking to the air. She flew straight and up for a few seconds as she calibrated herself to the terrain and then took a sharp turn back in the direction they had come from. Pyre scanned the canopy until she was able to find a good opening before taking a hard u-turn and shooting down into the trees, leveling out a couple of meters above the forest floor. As the river and her teammates raced back into view, Pyre beelined for Tina, holding out a hand so she could carry her across.

[Aethon Shaan]

The giant gave Nathan a nod as he explained his own way of getting over the river. Cyrus was curious at how the other boy planned to get across but it seemed he would have to wait to see how his weapon would be involved. That left Tina as the only one who didn't have an obvious way to get over the river and after she quietly requested help.

"Can someone give me a lift?"

Cyrus shrugged and checked his dust reserves doing some basic calculations in his head, Tina didn't look like she weighed much so it shouldn't be that much more. But as Cyrus was doing his preparations Pyre spoke up saying that she would take Tina across.

"I gotcha, get ready!"

The giant was initially annoyed at, in his mind, Pyre's interruption. Tina was his partner and therefore in his eyes his responsibility but so now the more reasonable side of his mind won out, they are all part of a team and they all have a responsibility for each other. Stepping away from Tina to allow Pyre space to approach from any direction Cyrus got ready for his own short flight.

"You're welcome to play Taxi Pyre, I'll go over first, easier for me to get back alone so I can check if its safe."

Cyrus remarked a little bitterness still colouring his voice. The Peacock Faunus quickly took to the air, utilising his personal mixture of wind, fire and gravity dust or 'fly dust' as he called it to accelerated quickly across the river with a few flaps of his enormous azure coloured wings. After landing Cyrus sank a little in the soft mud but quickly moved away from the bank both to give the other members of his team more space to land as well as getting away from the sounds of the roaring river. In the dense forest and Tina still back on the other side of the river sound was their best detection method for Grimm and the giant felt pretty vulnerable without it. After a moment or two Cyrus was satisfied that no one had leaped out and attacking his yet meant that it was probably safe.

"OK all clear, lets get a move on people."

[MonsterManic]

Despite expecting a response from her teammates, Tina still jumped slightly when Pyre patted her on the shoulder. Internally, though, she was grateful that Pyre volunteered instead of the two boys. She just...didn't think she was ready for that yet. Cyrus was the one to take off first, but she barely registered his flight as her wide eyes were fully focused on whatever Pyre's plan was. As she ran off and jumped on her rocket-powered broomstick, Tina mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen, slowly backing away in the opposite direction towards the river.

For a few seconds, Tina was worried Pyre would stall mid-ascent since she was doing nothing but go up at a scarily rapid pace, but clearly she underestimated the broom's horsepower as Pyre did an about-turn and zoomed back towards the ground with ease. As she came closer, Tina noticed she was holding a hand out and gulped, but raised her own as high as possible. The next moment, her arm felt like it was being yanked out of its socket as her feet left the ground. She couldn't help screaming a little as it seemed like they were going to crash into the trees on the opposite end, but the part of her brain that wasn't overwhelmed felt Pyre's grip loosen as they crossed over and did the same.

Unlike Cyrus, the smaller girl stumbled and landed on all fours as she wasn't prepared for the impact, while Pyre presumably landed a touch more gracefully nearby. Thankfully, the ground was mostly mud and it softened what would otherwise be a more jarring landing, though she had to wipe the mud off on some foliage nearby. "N-never again, please..." she managed to stammer, patting her waist to check if either of her revolvers had fallen out somehow.

[Kaliot]

With the cutting of her thruster, Pyre waiting a moment after dropping off Tina before landing herself. In a semi-controlled manner, she tumbled along the ground giving herself a nice coating of dirt and loose foliage in the process. Eventually coming to a stop, Pyre popped onto her feet and let out an audible "Phew!" as she patted herself down as best as she could. Considering it was her first time even attempting a lift, Pyre was thankful that it was as successful as it was despite the rough landings for the both of them, although Tina clearly didn't feel the same way. Pyre jogged on over to her, helping to clear what she could of the remaining mud as well as verifying that all her equipment seemed there.

"Don't worry, I'll work on it." With Tina's belongings seemingly in place, Pyre smiled and gave a go-ahead thumbs-up to Nathan before turning to follow Cyrus.

[nathan67003]

Nathan patiently waited in position, hands on the ground, as his teammates carried themselves to the other side, with varying degrees of success. He occasionally glanced around and most specifically behind himself - the river's din could've easily washed out a Grimm's approach. Thankfully, no such thing occurred.

Before long, Pyre was giving him a big thumbs up and striding along, presumably to join up with the Faunus further in. This left him with plenty of space to work with on the other side of the river, most of which he'd probably need. Wordlessly, he shifted his back's position a bit as a last-second aim adjustment and took off.

And took off he did. Ergia's jetpack function flashed to life, a streak of light leaving the bottom of the cylinder - immediately sending Nathan airborne over the river. He was functioning more with planning than reaction, here; he'd guesstimated about a quarter of a second's worth of jetpacking would be enough to send him safely over and he was, thankfully, right. Ergia once again inert after turning off just around the peak of Nathan's trajectory, not even half a second after lift off, he received himself into roll after roll on the destination side, far beyond the muddy parts of the riverbank.

Once he'd lost enough momentum from rolling forwards over and over, he unfurled himself and stood up, dusting off his forearms, elbows and knees of some of the dirt that had smeared itself on during landing. He took Ergia out of its harness with his left hand and turned it back into staff mode, looking back to where he came from for his teammates as it extended. The large musical man was standing about a dozen or so metres behind him. Wordlessly, with no emotion visibly upon his face (nor any present upon his mind), he simply held up his right hand in salutation.