RWBYFanon v5
RPG World of Remnant => The Vale Region => Topic started by: Vitalis597 on December 06, 2017, 06:22:13 PM
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Several miles outside of Vale's walls, an old Inn known as "The Huntsman's Retreat" was recently beset upon by a number of Grimm. While the owner was escorted out safely by his own patrons, the Grimm threat still lingers in the area, being a general pain to anyone who wishes to pass through that road. Not least of which being the owner of the Inn. While a few Hunters could clear out the infestation with little risk, this would be a prime opportunity for the youth to test their skills in unfamiliar terrain, as well as test their combat capabilities. Naturally, a Hunter would be sent to oversee the mission and intervene, should things get too dangerous for the students.
The threat assessment for this mission is medium, mostly flat lands with good visibility, though a treeline on one side does provide minor cover. There has also been heavy rainfall in that region for the past three days. Any student wishing to take part in this mission should not do so lightly. Despite there being a Hunter to oversee the operation, not all variables can be accounted for.
Assigned Hunter: Freelancer Imber Mordred (http://rwby-rpg.rwbyfanon.com/index.php/topic,1264.0.html [b)
Hunters-In-Training
1. Lilla Bleidd (http://rwby-rpg.rwbyfanon.com/index.php/topic,1271.0.html)
2. Blair Valka (http://rwby-rpg.rwbyfanon.com/index.php/topic,406.0.html)
3. Wisteria Lockheart (http://rwby-rpg.rwbyfanon.com/index.php/topic,387.0.html)
4. Isabelle Aozora (http://rwby-rpg.rwbyfanon.com/index.php/topic,306.0.html)
5. Rory Vogel (http://rwby-rpg.rwbyfanon.com/index.php/topic,1064.msg13123.html#msg13123)
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With the sun high in the sky, though hidden by dark clouds, it wasn't the worst conditions Imber had ever left for a mission on. He took one more look down over the Emerald forest before pushing a hand up through his black, unkempt hair. His scroll vibrated subtly in his pocket. All the positions had been filled, the mission cleared and the Students of Beacon informed of the location for pick-up. That last part should have been obvious, though. The landing pad at Beacon was just about the only place to get a Bullhead around here, unless you wanted to pay for overpriced commercial flights. He shuddered at the thought.
"Alright, Steve. We have five students inbound, prepare for Dust-Off." Imber called over his shoulder before turning back to face the school. He wondered who would show up first, the most eager of the bunch. He only hoped, in their excitement, they had remembered to bring a landing strategy. He heard the Bullhead slowly power up behind him, the engines beginning to spin, leaving his trench coat flapping at his legs. He idly thought it was probably not a good idea to stand this close to a jet engine. But then, he reasoned, neither was going out into the woods filled with murderous monsters of pure evil surrounded by a bunch of kids.
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Lilla stopped on the path toward the landing pad, suddenly going over her mental checklist. I should really learn to make sure I have everything before I leave, instead of when I'm almost there, she thought. Luckily, there wasn't all that much that was necessary, just things she took with her everywhere, plus Quinary Pulse. She double-checked sword, sheath, and gauntlet, then mentally reached out for the familiar presence of her Semblance, and knew she was ready.
As she got to the landing pad, she slowed to a stop, then shifted her weight to her right leg and crossed her arms, more of an embarrassed posture than an annoyed one. "Didn't figure I'd be the first one here," she half-mumbled. Her eyes flicked up to look Imber in the eye for a quick second as she spoke, but they seemed to rest most comfortably on his shirt for the most part, before turning to scan the vehicle.
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With a bag full of dust, her equipment in tip-top shape, and a personality that could probably scare off more people than grimm, Wisteria skipped over to the docking area with a smile on her face. The mission assigned to her and several others seemed simple enough, kill some grimm save the day, almost as if they were huntsman already but the thought that she had to work with a chaperone was disappointing and she had yet to actually be on a mission with people who werent her teammates. Well save for one, that is.
"Lilla! Wisteria shouted, skipping over to her rather tall but lanky teammate, "So, you ready to whoop some grimm tail or do you want me to handle it all? With enough dust I could level the field and we could spend the afternoon having tea." In a rather joking manner she awkwardly tried swinging her arm around her friend but stopped as she saw the huntsman.
With a look of genuine disinterest she placed a finger to her chin as she examined the man. Definitely a few years their senior but not nearly as old as their professors. Maybe Professor Nox's age give or take a few years. Pushing the thought aside she rechecked her equipment and even stretched her arms a bit as they waited for the rest of the group.
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Isabelle sighed and frowned as she peered up at the dark sky. Why did it have to be so rare for her to get a chance to travel somewhere and train on a beautiful, sunny day? Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad as long as it didn't rain, but still, the current weather didn't exactly make her enthusiastic about going anywhere. With no choice but to accept these conditions, she continued her stroll towards the docks, hands in her pockets and eyes focused on the ground in front of her.
Her bag, much like those of the other students, was stuffed with all of the items she had deemed to be essential for the mission. A basic first-aid kit, complete with a small amount of food and drink to make sure that they could continue to survive in the case of a (rather improbable) disaster that might get them stuck there. Of course, she carried dust for her blade, stored in a sealed container to keep it from going off. In addition to the arrows already occupying the quiver on her back, she had an additional tube filled with some more, which stuck halfway out of the top of her partially unzipped bag. It looked kind of dumb, a fact that she was well aware of, but she really did need all of the shots that she could get.
Quietly making her way up to the small group crowded at the airship, she gave whoever happened to be looking a small wave before returning her hand to her empty pocket. The girl had no clue what to say, or whether or not she should say anything at all. After having a sudden realization as to just how much she was overthinking this, she simply followed the wave up with a soft "Hello."
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Walking out of the school, Blair gave a deep breath before she placed her helmet on, threw her axe onto her back and walked over to the group. She hated being the last one to arrive but she did have her armor and dust capsules to prepare. While some might have thought her armor would have made her to hot to move on a day like this, she was used to the heat in the armor.
Once she arrived with the rest of the group, she removed her helmet, her blue hair falling over her shoulders. She placed her right fist over her chest and gave a bow, her helmet under left arm. She placed her bag on the ground and looked at the group. three other students, all girls. "I have a good feeling about this." She smiled before coming out of the bow. "Back in Felwinter, we have a kind of interesting idea. A group of females could complete more in an hour then all the men in the village. I'm Blair." She placed her helmet down on the ground next to her bag and started to fidget with a small dust capsule.
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"The Huntsman's Retreat", was it? One could certainly take the name whichever way it suited them, and at the moment it wasn't the meaning of 'refuge' that seemed most appropriate. While waiting for the bus to deposit him at the stop nearest the main landing pad Rory had pulled up as much info as he could from the CCTS -- the floor plan wasn't publicly available, but the history of the building and a number of customer reviews gave him a fair idea what to expect inside. Outside, fortunately, he'd have the benefit of reliable topographical maps and a steady connection to Vale's main tower. As far as information went, he'd be going into this mission well armed.
He just hoped the other students thought so. Knowledge he had... firepower, not so much.
Unfortunately, the bus was taking a bit longer today that he'd have liked; by the time Rory got off and made it to the Bullhead he was clearly the last to arrive... which made the sudden realization that he was apparently the only boy who'd taken the assignment just that much more embarrassing. Hefting his backpack -- just the essentials, no sense not travelling light -- he jogged over and quickly checked to see if he recognized anyone. "Oh, Lilla! Looks like we're on this one together." It hadn't been long since the holiday formal; hopefully the awkwardness from that night wasn't how she'd remember him, if she even did. He hadn't exactly made a big impression overall.
Trying to muster up a good first impression, he introduced himself as he got into the Bullhead. "Sorry if I've kept everyone waiting. I'm Rory Vogel, your defense specialist."
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When, at last, everyone had arrived, Imber motioned towards the open door of the Bullhead. "Alright, Kids. Pile in. It'll take about half an our to reach the drop site. From there, we'll be proceeding South on foot for about half a mile. Don't want to risk running into a Murder of Nevermore. Steve here is quite attached to the whole breathing thing." With that said, the man stepped to the side, letting the kids hop in and take their seats first.
"Plenty of time to go through introductions and assignments on the way there. Needless to say, though, I won't be holding your hand all the way. I'm just here to pull your collective asses out of the fire if, when, something goes wrong. Oh, and to make sure your teachers know how well a ragtag bunch of teens work together." He added the last sentence with a light laugh, shortly before giving a small nod to Rory, Us guys have gotta stick together, after all, he thought to himself.
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Why did I take a random team mission? Lilla wonders. At least Wisteria and Rory are here. That makes it easier. A smile passes her lips as she remembers the formal dance. She glances sideways at Rory, and when she catches his eye, forms a fist with thumb and pinky extended, then brings the thumb up to her mouth and tilts her head back, a pantomime of drinking. Then she smirks at him and hops onto the Bullhead, her boots giving dull thuds as they hit the deck.
Lilla waits patiently to be the last to introduce herself once the flight is underway, still standing in that slightly-embarrassed stance with a bored expression on her face and eyes cast out the side of the airship. When the rest have introduced themselves and their battle assignments, she looks over for a moment and says shortly, "Lilla Bleidd. I guess while everyone else is hitting things," Lilla glances over at Isabelle, "or pin-cushioning them, I'll just be making sure we don't run into each other. Or into Wisteria's barrages," she adds as an afterthought.
Going back to looking out the window, she takes a deep breath. Been a while since I've been outside of Beacon, she reminisces. The air smells good, smells clean, *tastes* clean. Feels nice.
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Being on the airship seemed like it would become a routine thing from now on. Staring outside the large airship window Wisteria wondered whether or not she'd be able to do her best during this mission. With four other students and a huntsman by their side they'd definitely be abke to get rid of all but the toughest of grimm.
Deciding to introduce herself, though she obviously knew most of these faces, save for the old guy, Wisteria clapped her hands and said, "Wisteria Lockheart, amazing dust profeciency and...not so good melee combat ability. I'm expecting the lot of you to handle the front lines but don't blame me if you get in the middle of a barrage of elements." Stopping at that she grinned and crossed her arms, obviously confident of her abilities but also hoping that they didn't get in her way later. She could tell from a few classes what kind of fighting styles they probably had but it was best to clarify anything else.
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Watching silently as the rest of them listed off their names and talents, Isabelle leaned against the interior wall of the ship and awaited her turn. Having a reminder as to who exactly these people were was very much appreciated, as she would have certainly made a fool of herself otherwise. So far, it didn't seem like the group would have any issue getting along. Of course, that had the potential to change, especially if barrages of elements were being carelessly thrown around. Once Wisteria had finished, she finally spoke up.
"I'm Isabelle." She made a short motion to herself with one hand. "I, uh, don't think anyone will have to worry about me hitting you or anything. I'm not a bad shot." While she didn't oversell herself, she was more than confident in her ability to aim. "Hopefully I can find high-ground of some sort, then I'll try and support you all from above. " Deciding that it was sufficient enough for her greeting, she put her hands in her pockets again, returning to her usual quiet self.
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Whist on the ship, Blair let out a sigh. She smiled. While it was not the first time she was on a ship like this, but it still amazed her every time. Standing next to the only male in the group, she started to make small talk. "Hello everyone. I guess it's time to formally introduce myself. My name is Blair Valka. I guess you could call me your shield and axe for this mission. I hope we all can at least get to know each other." She did her bow again before holding onto the side of the door.
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Rory found himself with a slight blush at Lilla's reminder to him, though whether it was from recalling his own awkwardness or the unexpected attention he couldn't quite say. He did his best to shrug it off as everyone made their introductions and explained where their combat strengths lay, focusing himself by doing a quick mental tally and assessment. Wisteria and Isabelle sounded like mid-to-long range fighters, while Blair seemed the up-close-and-personal type. As for Lilla, he wasn't quite sure what she meant by "making sure we don't run into each other" -- tactician, maybe? It was always good to have someone organizing a group effort, certainly.
Half an hour to the LZ, another half hour to reach the inn; like Mr. Mordred said, plenty of time to chat. "Seems we've got a pretty solid group overall. Looking forward to fighting alongside you all."
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Listening to the lot of them talk, Imber stood by the open door, holding onto the outside of the Bullhead for some level of support. Once they were done, he gave a small nod to each of them. "Alright. In case you've forgotten, I am Imber Mordred. Been a hunter for five years. I've lived this long by knowing when to fight, and when to back down. As I said, I'll be staying out of your hair, for the most part. That said, if I step in, I expect you all to listen to me. This isn't a casual stroll through the Emerald Forest, when the most danger you're in is getting bored of fighting Beowolves, or the more uncommon Deathstalker. I'm leaving Rory in charge until I need to step in." He gave a small nod to the young boy. He made the decision on the spot, but of out the lot of them, a defence specialist felt like the best choice. Time would tell if that proved to be the case.
After a brief pause, Imber pulled his scroll out, then held it against his left wrist. A second later, two bands of pale golden Aura appeared at the top and the bottom of his device, looping around his wrist and holding it in place. He pushed a few buttons and a second later, a map showed on the screen. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the image, then knelt down, touching a hand to the floor and letting his Semblance recreate the image, with a few minor alterations. A slightly raised area with a raised "forest" to the East, a meadow marked "plains" in every other direction. A small X marked "DZ" and a house shaped structure titled "Huntsman's Retreat. It all spread out from his fingertips, taking the same light gold glow as his Aura.
"This, here, is where we'll be dropping off. Half a mile from our primary objective. There is a path that runs from that point down south, away from Vale and towards other settlements. The Huntsman's Retreat is along the way, and what Intel has been gathered so far suggests that the Grimm in that area have been aggravated somehow. Normally, we wouldn't care. But this is going be be a problem for travellers and traders alike. So we have a Search and Destroy mission." He paused for second, letting that sink in, before tapping the forest just to the side of The Retreat. "All of this is uncharted territory. That doesn't mean we haven't been through it, only that it changes so often there are no real, comprehensive maps of it. I've been through it a few times, and it's pretty rough. Larger Grimm have little respect for nature, so it's not too uncommon to see trees falling and changing the course of rivers. Rivers which will be no doubt overflowing thanks to the rain the past few days. We may have to go into the forest, but recon will have to be performed before that. Going in blind will just get us killed."
He kept his hand on the map for a few more seconds, then pulled it off, letting the map vanish into nothingness. "When we land, we make a beeline towards the target, set up shop and then plan our next move. The Huntsman's Retreat was built to survive a Grimm Incursion. Something this small will barely scratch the place. For any of the more studious among you, you'll have noticed no public records of blueprints. That doesn't matter. It's set out the same as any inn. Five rooms up stairs, another three in the basement, and a large open area for the bar. There's also a bunker below the basement, with a tunnel leading just outside the walls of Vale. If things go tits up, that's our escape plan. Everyone clear?"
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Lilla looked up from the disappearing map. The plan seemed pretty simple, even if the endgame was uncertain. Search and destroy? she thought. But the Grimm are endless. How do we know when the mission is over? She looked into Imber's eyes, as if she might find the answer imprinted upon them. As his gaze shifted back to her, she glanced away quickly toward the side hatch of the airship. Oh well, I guess he'll be the one to determine that.
Rising from where she'd taken a knee for the briefing, she went to lean against the closed hatch and crossed her arms as a rare smile grew upon her lips. It was getting close to the part she was most looking forward to. She had only dove once before, but the experience was so thrilling, she couldn't wait to do so again.
After the others finished asking for clarification, and the Bullhead pulled slowed to a more manageable velocity for their exit, she formed a fist and held it out in front of her, roughly adjacent to the hatch release. "Welp," she said, trying to sound bored, though her eyes betrayed her excitement. "Time to go." She hit the release, and as it opened, she fell backward out the side.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehahahahaaaaaaaaaaa." The others hear her excited shriek fade as she falls.
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The briefing was simple enough for Wisteria to get the gist of what was going on. Unfortunately with a civilian building nearby she wouldn't be able to just pepper the battleground with her dust attacks and finish things off swiftly, not to mention the chance she might start a forest fire, clog a river, or even hit some poor innocent animals. Sighing at the wasted opportunity and took a seat, counting her dust reserves. As she sat her mind wandered off after the briefing only to be interrupted by Lilla's high pitched screaming,
realizing a little too late that her only teammate here had leapt out of the airship. "Lilla? Oh, grimm damn it, she jumped ahead? she complained, having just brought out a couple of dust vials to load her gloves. "Screw it, I'm jumping next!
Sprinting towards the airship doors she jumped and fell after the fast falling Lilla and while in midair she loaded her gloves with the dust in her vials, turning on her back to reduce wind from blowing it away. The ground didn't seem like it was going to be too far a drop so preparing a spell in advance she gathered some wind under herself and began slowing her descent, the gusts buffeting against her body as she plummeted towards the ground.
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Isabelle gave a nod as Imber finished up briefing them on the mission. It sounded simple enough, and even included a backup escape plan in case of emergency. Knowing the course of action they would be taking made her just a little less anxious about their chances of success. Unfortunately, she was also about to jump out of an airship, which was most likely one of the least relaxing activities out there. Hesitating would only make things worse, and so she only waited a couple seconds after the others before running and leaping out the door.
'Keep it together.'
For the first few moments of falling, Isabelle kept her eyes shut, only squinting down at the ground after a few moments. Everything was a blur, though it was still easy enough to tell how far from the surface they were. Hoping to take advantage of being at such a high spot, she tried to look around for Grimm, though couldn't manage to make anything out while falling so fast. Trying to quickly think of a proper way to land, she prepared to use her semblance, deciding to launch herself at an angle near the ground and make an attempt to tuck and roll. It would most definitely be a rough landing, but it was about the best option she had that wouldn't end in a serious loss of aura.
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Blair watched as everyone began to jump out of the ship. She took a deep breath and jumped. With her axe ready, she aimed for a tree and braced for impact. Her axe cut deep into the tree, the dust crystal shattering inside. As she slid down the tree, a trail of fire followed her. Upon hitting the ground, her feet sunk into the mud. She was ready.
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(OOC: Sorry to hold up the works -- it's been a bit of a crazy time on my end.)
Rory quite nearly did a double-take when Imber assigned him to lead the team. Truth be, he didn't much see himself as a leader, just someone who could get in and take the hits for his teammates when needed. The idea that the other four would be looking to him sat more than a little heavy on his shoulders, though he did his best not to let it show. The four girls seemed plenty competent and skilled... with any luck he wouldn't need to do more than --
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehahahahaaaaaaaaaaa."
-- and suddenly people were jumping out of the Bullhead. Great. So much for 'taking the lead'. It wasn't Rory's first aerial insertion jump but it also wasn't his favorite thing about mission deployments. Others had weapons or a Semblance that could manage the drop without much trouble, but he... always had to drop and hope.
"Here goes nothing." He muttered to himself, hoping Mr. Mordred didn't hear.
That initial moment of being airborne, right between leaping out and gravity taking hold, was always when the strongest burst of adrenaline hit. In the space of split-seconds Rory saw the trees below him, felt the wind against his skin, and intuited roughly how he was going to fall. Swiftly deploying his shields, he held his arms in front of him, angled his body head-down, and braced for the inevitable crack as the first branches snapped against his defense. Birch. Birch. Birch. Pine. The kickback from the impacts increased as he went down, something he could feel in his tensed-up arms. It was just a matter of time until...
... yep, like clockwork -- Rory's shields hit a branch thick enough that it didn't immediately snap off and fall away. He curled his legs up towards his chest and rolled off to avoid absorbing the entirety of the impact. Now he was slowed enough; shields collapsing, he grabbed for a passing branch, swung, grabbed another, and finally managed to land halfway down a decent size maple tree. That... had not been as bad as he'd feared. He'd be cleaning sap and pine needles out of his vambraces, sure, but at least he'd landed instead of crashed. The shieldmeister sighed in relief before carefully hopping the rest of the way down.
"Well, that was fun. Everyone good?"
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"No questions?" He asked the empty Bullhead after the last student had jumped, shortly before chuckling to himself, and stepping out of the open door. He levelled his body, taking a deep breath as he plummeted towards the ground, then held out his hands, forming two handles of Aura which then rose up above him. Just a few seconds after he jumped, he was holding onto his own Hand Glider, circling around the area and taking in a proper, birds-eye view of the scenery. After a few seconds, he gave a sharp whistle to the ground, then waved with one hand before quickly grabbing the bar once more, turning to head towards the bar. Naturally he'd move a lot faster, so instead of taking a straight line, he instead moved in zig-zags to keep an eye on the kids as well as keep a track of the few small Grimm clusters he could see in the area. One of them, a small pack of Beowolves, already moving in on the group.
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Lilla felt the wind buffet her, flapping her jacket this way and that. She spread her arms, slowing her descent slightly, and felt the rush of adrenaline that came with skydiving.
She allowed herself to enjoy it for a few seconds before she surveyed the land beneath her, selecting a flat patch of terrain away from both trees and Grimm and angling her body to sail toward it.
Waiting until the last second, her Semblance materialized from within her, taking Quinary Pulse with it and sailing down toward the ground. It loaded the magazine labeled “Landing Strategy” and pointed the rifle at Lilla. About 500 ft from the ground, it fired the 4 wind rounds at her with slight delays between them. The force of the bullets slowed her descent enough that she was able to collide with the ground at an angle, rolling to reduce the impact further, and get back to her feet, none the worse for wear.
Her trajectory had taken her a short distance away from where the others had landed, and her orientation while falling had delayed her landing enough that, though she had jumped first, the rest were landing around the same time.
She nodded to her Semblance. “Let’s hang back a bit,” she suggested. “Maybe pick off any that try to overwhelm them.”
The Semblance, not being sentient, didn’t reply.
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As Wisteria fell she saw the approaching packs of beowolves and quickly came up with a plan. Flipping in mid-air to get a better casting position, feet below her and body angled ever so slightly forwards, she started channeling the dust from her gloves to her hands, invoking an attack powerful enough to give her the effect she needed. Not too far from the ground now but still high enough to get some decent air, Wisteria launched a small cluster of fireballs at the grimm from up high and a massive gust of wind to slow her descent. Landing rather roughly, she ended up in a roll before blasting herself to her feet with a gust of wind. Immediately after, she drew her blade and started preparing some more dust if the approaching grimm continued their approach.
Spotting Lilla not too far ahead she started walking towards her with her weapon drawn, keeping her eyes and ears piqued for signs of increased activity.
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The predicted outcome of her plan had turned out to be spot on. After her aura flared and her semblance altered her trajectory into a more tilted angle towards the ground, she landed hard. After the first thud, she bounced off the ground slightly, landing again before rolling to a stop. It didn't feel like she had lost a ton of aura in the process, but that technique was really going to need more practice to be effective. Standing up with a pained groan, she quickly brushed herself off and surveyed her surroundings. Everyone seemed to be alive. That was great and all, but Grimm were incoming. Without much time to recharge, she'd be forced to climb to get where she needed to be.
Jogging over to the nearest tree at a brisk pace, Isabelle noticed Rory had just hopped down from one close by, giving him a quick nod. She started to work her way up, grabbing branch after branch and swiftly pulling herself up until she found a solid branch to stand on where the view of the enemy wasn't totally blocked. Finally, she drew her bow and readied an arrow, taking her time to select the best target before doing anything else.