RWBYFanon v5

RPG World of Remnant => The Vale Region => Topic started by: Riven on November 26, 2017, 09:59:40 AM

Title: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on November 26, 2017, 09:59:40 AM: ❦ S C E N E ~ M U S I C ❦
Forever Fall Ambiance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1G8I36wL0Q)
from RWBY: Grimm Eclipse

Ah, Forever Fall... a forest of striking colors and a peaceful, soothing nature. Even with the Grimm that so often lurked here it was hard not to feel a sense of peace under these eternally scarlet boughs, like being wrapped in a vast, fluffy red blanket. And that was the common experience; for those deeply in touch with nature, a walk through Forever Fall quite nearly felt like wandering into a dream.

"Keep pace now, students -- the camp site is in a clearing up ahead." Staff in hand and with a supply pack slung across his back, Budonoki turned and gestured to his small group as they made their way along a winding path. He was very much in his element here and his chosen outfit, a loose fitting tan robe with scarlet leaf accents, almost made it look like he belonged here -- a forest hermit from an earlier age. Still, as much "in nature" as they all were now the trip hadn't been without its modern touches: dropped off by a Bullhead just a few miles back and with a local signal transmitter to boost Scroll reception, the group was hardly cut off from society.

As the trees thinned ahead, a clearing came into sight. It was scattered with old grown-over stone pillars and blocks, ruins from an earlier age no doubt, but otherwise seemed like a very agreeable place to set up camp. In fact, a crate of supplies was waiting for them there -- Budonoki had seen to the group's preparations and provisioning ahead of time, as well as a few things for later on. "Right, then. Students, you can set your packs down wherever you feel comfortable. Go ahead and pick out where you'd like to set up your tents; each of you will have one, but try not to spread out too far." Lifting the lid of the metal crate, the old Faunus began distributing tent kits. "Once you're finished, we can begin the first lesson for out little outing."

(OOC: Quick reminder, there's no set posting order for this thread. Have at it!)
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: MonsterManic on November 26, 2017, 10:51:54 AM: A overnight trip in the Forever Fall Forest? A lesson on wilderness survival training? One that doesn't involve students beating each other into a pulp?

Boy was she looking forward to this.

Following eagerly after the wise old hermit along the trail, Jocelyn let this excitement show as she boosted herself from tree to tree with her jump pack, too eager to simply walk slowly and fully enjoy the magnificent, one-of-a-kind view that only this forest boasted. Having had the scenery described to her before did nothing to lessen the awe she had felt when first laying eyes upon the wide expanse of so many colours of red, orange and yellow. It was like a paradise where the only season was Fall. Forever Fall.

Landing professionally on a block, she caught one of the tent kits that the professor was handing out to the rest of the group. It was easy to forget that there even was a group, since she actually stayed away from them for most of the walk. Now to this tent business... How do you do this again?
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: Mikelobmike on November 26, 2017, 11:56:25 PM: Extra credit for going camping in forever fall? There was no chance Teddy was going to pass that up. Teddy carefully got off the bulkhead, his pack almost the size of his entire body. He packed for every possibility. Someone in the camp gets burned? He has a treatment kit. They get stranded with no signal? A full set of flares will get some attention. Grabbed by a nevermore and find yourself suddenly at terminal velocity? Well, it's a good thing you have a parachute in your pack.

Teddy felt at ease in the forest, losing some of the more introverted tendencies he has in small groups. It did help that he had a friendly face. Well, somewhat friendly face. His team leader's younger sister had signed up for the same outing. If anything happened to her out here, Setsuna would have his head.

As soon as Teddy got his tent kit, he went to work getting it set up. Due to his experience, setting it up was child's play. He set himself on top of a small hill near the rest of the group. This hilltop should keep me out of trouble in case of Grimm or rain. A few traps around couldn't hurt, though.
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: nathan67003 on November 27, 2017, 06:40:34 PM: After bouncing off the airship, Helena had been following close behind Doctor Sophos, softly humming all the while. Yes, this was a Grimm-infested zone far beyond the danger levels of the Emerald Forest. Yes, it was slightly chilly. Yes, the sky was cloudy.

None of that mattered, though. Clouds had never - well, almost - made a dent in her mood, and the cool air was sufficiently kept at bay with her coat. Her backpack contained a few essentials - clothes, maintenance stuffs for her weapons, some books (almost all academic), her super-luxurious bug repellant spray since it had been mentioned as well as minimal cooking supplies. Everything else was first aid or to sample some plants she might like, in that order for decreasing amounts.

She'd debated with herself for some time about whether or not she should bring Kari along. Poow widdwe thing, left at the dorms. At least her teammates knew to take care of her. She'd decided against bringing her due to the non-zero possibility of being in danger as well as the lower-than-summer temperatures, which would've restrained her comfort zone to within somebody's coat. She might be sociable, but she still needed to breathe. Oh well, she was certain she'd get the opportunity to introduce her to everyone here at one point or another.

Right now, though, she was enjoying the scenery. The trees and ground were filled with crimson, birds were chirping, the occasional bunny panicked at the sound of their footsteps. It was a very soothing walk. these few kilometers.

When they arrived into the clearing, Helena paused to listen to the professor's instructions, after which she hurriedly ran off to where everyone else was drifting towards. After a quick inspection, she set her pack - to the side of which her quiver was attached - down on a laaarge patch of thick moss, gently lay Artemis on top of that, cheerfully said "Dibs on the moss!" and jogged over to the supply crate, taking a tent kit as the supervisor handed them out.

She then headed back to the spot she'd claimed, unpackaged every piece and laid them down in a nice, neat order. She'd never built any sort of tent before, but after reading the (thankfully) included instructions, she set to work, making quick and efficient work of the build.
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on December 09, 2017, 06:43:31 PM: (OOC: Gonna go ahead and keep this moving.)

Seeing the students well under way towards setting up the camp, Budonoki confirmed that everything they would need was in the supply drop and then began making a few preparations himself. Seven small nondescript pouches were taken out and placed atop the crate, and following that the old Faunus waited, observing. When everyone had their tents set up -- or seemed ready to give up trying -- he spoke up.

"Gather round, students." Sitting cross-legged with his staff across his lap, he gestured to the pouches. "As you know, this isn't simply a recreational camping trip -- out here, among the amber leaves, I'll be working with you all, both individually and as a group, to help you develop into the Hunters I know you can become. Our first exercise is a group one. Each of you, take a pouch -- gently -- and then find a spot nearby on the grass."

When everyone had their pouch, the doctor took the last remaining one and opened it. Inside were an assortment of raw crystals, uncut Dust in each of the four core elemental varieties: fire, ice, lightning, and wind. "We know Aura as a manifestation of one's soul, of the spirit within lending its power to the body and to whatever tools we wield. An awakened Aura, however, is merely the first step -- diligent practice makes using it second nature, but the path to unlocking the fullness of power within each of you is not down to simple repetition. You must know yourself, deeply and truly, just as you each know the weapons you wield. This is the work of a lifetime, a long and twisting road which no one can discern except you... fortunately, there is some guidance I can offer you."

"Dust, in its base forms. Simple. Elemental. Primal." He held up the blue crystal, letting it sparkle as it caught the light of the sun. "Our Auras can awaken the power sleeping in these stones, as you know... but have you truly considered what that means? The power within us, and the power within Dust, respond to each other. It's easy to take for granted; in the modern age all you need do is pull a trigger or exert your will, but the first peoples who discovered Dust surely did not find it so easy. No convenient technologies, no schools or experts to train them in what to do -- it was trial and error from the start. But there is something for us to learn from the crude methods they must surely have employed."

"Here, then, is the exercise. Clear you minds and, one crystal at a time, slowly, in the smallest degrees you can manage, direct your Aura towards the Dust -- not enough to cause a full reaction, but just enough that the crystal begins to glow." He smiled softly. "It may take several tries, but you should notice that one of the four is easier for you to connect with than the others -- one element that hardly takes any effort whatsoever. This natural affinity towards one of the four elements reflects upon the nature of your Aura, your soul, who you are as a person. What you discover may surprise you; I was around your age when my teachers in Mistral first had us perform this exercise and fully expected that my affinity would be towards the wind Dust, given my deep connection to nature. However..."

Closing his eyes, Budonoki breathed slowly in and out -- at once, the blue Dust in his hand began to glow with a brilliant cyan radiance. Eyes opening, he smiled at the familiar light. "Mine was ice. It took me some time to understand what that said about me -- at first I was convinced that it was a mistake, but when I stilled my mind and let Aura and Dust connect naturally the result was always the same. Some of you will get exactly the result you may expect, others may be like me. In either case, you will have something very important to think on as we go about the rest of our trip's lessons." Letting the light from the Dust fade, the teacher placed the Dust crystals back in his pouch and set them to one side.

"You may begin."

(OOC: Minor tweak to the Dust types to better reflect the known info -- I had them somewhat inaccurate in the initial post. Sorry about that.)
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: nathan67003 on December 09, 2017, 08:39:05 PM: Helena stepped out of her tent, leaving all her luggage inside and zipping up the door on her way out. Standing back up, she took another good look at the construction. Although it appeared somewhat basic, it felt like it could withstand far more than the average camping trip's mishaps. It was also most definitely cozy, which she greatly appreciated.

At this moment, Doctor Sophos called them all, so she obligated and came up to him, stopping a few meters away. She then listened to his exposé, taking it in with a bright light filling her eyes. When instructed, she stepped forward and picked up one of the pouches - second from the right, in fact - as gently as she would've picked up an adorable bunny. She then walked about half a dozen steps back before gingerly sitting down with her legs crossed and placing the pouch in her lap, hands still clasped around it as if it were a living, breathing thing and continued to listen to the professor.

Alright, an exercise! Helena slowly opened the pouch and softly took hold of the first crystal around which her hand could wrap itself. A bright, warm orange greeted her when she raised her hand out of the bag. She opened her hands into a cup form, as if she was trying to scoop water, and lay the Fire Dust crystal in the depression.

Breathe in, breathe out. As she began to clear her mind, the small smile that had been perched upon her lips started to fade, only to completely vanish after several tens of seconds. Okay, first step, done. Now she needed to direct her Aura towards the crystal. Well, when using her semblance, she more or less did so. She thought, anyway. She also used it at almost no power to estimate the injuries befalling patients, as they would cause a perceptible strain even without any actual healing happening. So why not try and do something similar, but without using her semblance?

From the palms of her hands appeared dim yellow light, a certain warmth perceptible in the color itself. Ever so slowly and carefully, she directed the smallest sliver of her Aura towards the crystal.
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: Mikelobmike on December 14, 2017, 11:03:43 PM: Teddy was significantly more mobile without his pack on. At least he would not be lacking in supplies this trip. He did not have the time to build his snares and traps, but his tent was a textbook model. If that tent gets upended, the forest is likely going with it.

Hearing the Doctor's summons, Teddy made his way out of his tent and joined the group. He kept toward the back, the forest not taking away all of his unease. Was he the...only guy on this trip? Was this supposed to be a trip for girls? Did he sign up by mistake? The questions caused Teddy to be unfocused as the professor started his lesson.

'This seems like a giant load of crap.' Teddy thought as he saw the professor's demonstration. 'Why would the dust tell us anything about us? Maybe the old man has gone senile.'

Teddy took his bag less carefully than he really should have. Thankfully, nothing came of it, but the spiritual talk caused him to be unfocused. Finding a spot under a tree, Teddy set his back against it and pulled out the crystals. Fire dust makes a damn good campfire in a pinch. Ice dust is good at keeping drinks cold. Mac keeps a few in the back just in case. Lightning dust can stop your heart if you are not careful. Wind dust beats a blow drier any day of the week.

Teddy stared at the four crystals in his hand, slowly shaking his head at the spiritual mumbo-jumbo. Taking the wind dust into his hand, he slowly started focusing on moving his aura into it.
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: Zwei Not on December 15, 2017, 03:33:35 PM: It was not by intention that Juno's mind was elsewhere for the majority of the trip, nor was it any aspect of Dr. Budoneki's teachings. Rather, far too much had happened in the past weeks for him to not be deep in thought. Caja's kidnapping, Acero's injuries... He was to blame for both of them. He should have kept Caja in a safer place, he should have been more careful with the weapon he was using... He should have just been better, and there was no way around it.

While Phi was busy cataloging flora and fauna on the short hike to the campsite, Juno remained preoccupied, lost in thought only to to snap back to attention when everyone else seemed to stop walking.

The tent kit was a fickle thing, unlike most he was used to, but with Phi's assistance in terms of optimal placement, he managed, setting up somewhat in between the supply drop and the signal booster. Not that he intended to spend the majority of his time on his scroll, rather, the proximity to the booster was good for Phi. She liked to search things up almost constantly, and having connection drop out tended to make the AI somewhat... peeved.

Nevertheless, with the tent done and a small congregation forming around their instructor, Juno listened in, taking a spot within the crowd as Budoneki explained the topic of their exercise. Dust was not something Juno was rather familiar with in terms of actual use. The closest he got to dust use were the power cells that allowed the hardlight generator to operate. This wasn't to say he was disinterested in the matter, but... he had his concerns. As far as he knew, dust was a fickle thing. Too much aura would cause the crystals to activate, where too little would yield no reaction at all. Given that an unintentional activation could very well cause a natural disaster, patience and care were of the essence.

After accepting the bag, Juno took a seat and laid out the crystals. A few moments passed as he relaxed his breathing, then began with the lightning dust. It was... odd, close, but resistant. Something regarding its frenetic nature made connecting with the element difficult. While he eventually got the damned thing to cast its yellow light, there was too much effort involved for it to feel natural. Shaking his head, he set down the crystal and picked up another one, blue in color this time.
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: MonsterManic on January 01, 2018, 12:48:23 AM: (OOC: Sorry for the delay!)

Jocelyn was in a state of part frustration, part panic. With her eagerness at being accepted for the trip, she had conveniently forgotten how to properly set up a tent, compounded in the fact that the tent wasn't what she was used to. Hence, when the doctor called to gather round, her tent was in total disarray; fabric flying everywhere and poles sticking out like a sore thumb. Despite the tent threatening to simply blow away, she dropped her jumppack on it, hopefully keeping it pinned to the floor, and ran over to the group. In her hurry, she had to juggle the pack of whatever it was before finding a place to sit.

When the Surgeon Sage introduced what they were going to be doing, Jocelyn listened, slightly baffled but mostly intrigued by his story. The wonders of modern technology allowed mankind to utilise Dust with little to no effort, but she supposed it would be useful to learn how the most ancient form of Dust was used too. What she didn't get was the connection to one of the four base elements. For some, it would probably be clear-cut, like Semblances that had control over certain elements. But with her own, it could technically be any of the four.

Jocelyn stuck her hand in the pack and slowly withdrew the first crystal she touched--a perfect example of raw Fire Dust. Exuding a warm glow and colors that reflected the flames in a fireplace, the crystal shone in a way that only Dust could achieve. Following the doctor's instructions, she started stretching her Aura through her hands, slowly embracing the crystal and feeling the warmth within.
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: Capta1n_Henry on January 14, 2018, 12:48:18 PM: (So sorry for the delay!!!)

When Mae heard that there would be an overnight trip to the Forever Fall Forest to train up on some survival skills and not need to shoot at anyone, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to sign up.

After taking one of Professor Budonoki's tent kits, the hawk Faunus decided to get a little creative with positioning, jumping up to a large branch that was wide enough to comfortably lay down on. Mae used the tent to act as both covers from the elements, as insurance in case she unconsciously rolled off the branch, making a little burrow for herself.

After setting up her temporary shelter, Mae heard the Professor call everyone over, listening to his instructions and guidance on the task at hand. She took the four crystals with a small, "Thank you," before climbing up to a branch to get some peace and quiet.

The Faunus decided to take out the wind crystal first since she knew her semblance also used wind as the main propellant to shoot her up into the air. She crossed her legs and cupped her hands around the dust crystal, taking deep breaths in and out as she channeled small amounts of aura towards it.
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: Riven on January 28, 2018, 01:23:55 PM: Watching as the students each began testing testing the Dust's reaction, the old Faunus nodded sagely. Not all of them would get it on the first try, and it was even possible that their Dust "alignment" would change throughout the course of their lives. That's just how self-discovery works -- how one sees themselves, what attributes one ascribes to the elements, even such established identities as these have room to flex, to grow, to change and adapt.

For a time he sat in silence, letting the youngsters make their attempts. After about fifteen minutes had passed he rose to his feet, staff in hand. "A good start, I think. Don't feel pressured to master the exercise in one sitting -- those Dust crystals are yours to keep, so if you didn't find out which element you connect with most readily you'll have many more opportunities to try."

"Now, I'll be working with each of you individually as well. In between lessons you're free to recline here at the camp site or explore the forest, though I must urge you to stay alert for trouble." He paused, thinking a moment. "If you'd like, I believe there are some ruins off to the west that may be worth a look, but that's at your discretion. I'll be contacting you on your Scrolls when I'm ready to work with you, in any event. Juno Vert, you're up first -- please follow me."

(OOC: To get things moving along I'll be launching off one-to-one side threads for in-character training exercises, three at a time. This thread will remain open for casual RP or, if you'd like, I can set up a mini mission within the forest. Let me know your preferences in either case. Rush up first for training -- the first two to respond will get the other two 'first' spots.)
Title: Re: Within Nature, Within One Self (CLOSED)
Post by: nathan67003 on January 28, 2018, 02:08:56 PM: Helena's eyes nearly flashed open and the light coming from her hands went from bright to inexistant in that instant. Damn, she'd been startled by that. Thank goodness someone'd been watching her back. ...Come to think of it, what exactly was she doing? She knew she'd been testing the Fire crystal with her Aura, but she couldn't remember anything that happened during that time. Had she been asleep or something?

Sighing, as it'd still felt good somehow, she carefully repackaged the Dust before going back to her tent. After picking up a book she'd brought just in case, she went back to her previous spot and started reading, although she kept an ear and an eye out, Artemis at the ready.

(((Is this the thing that I must do to do the thing? The mini mission thing?)))