[CptSteel]

Argent was already low on aura when Sherwood was thrown at him, so Savas' attack lowered Argent's defence even more. His eyes wide open; confused about what had just happened, Argent lay there on the ground. After a few seconds the faunus used his hammer to help him get up, looking at Suntalia as he did.

As he saw the third year's spear pointed toward him and Sherwood Argent began to chuckle. He knew that he could do very little before getting hit, so he just decided that he'd try to protect Sherwood for as long as it took for an exit to appear, though his odds were beyond scary. Argent took a few steps forward his hammer in his hands in a defensive pose.

When he had an idea. With a long swing towards Suntalia, Argent pulled the trigger on his hammer, firing some of the remaining gravity dust out only a small way away from Suntalia. If this attack caught her off-guard, Sherwood might have a small window of time to get away.

Silber Brecher flew back in recoil from the dust.

[jjb2158]

Ready to face off against Argent, Suntalia was caught slightly by surprise when her opponent was knocked away by the leader of the team. Watching as both of them slowly came to their feet, Suntalia beamed a dimpled smile in response to Sherwood's remark as she activated her semblance again in anticipation of finishing this fight. Turning to focus her attention on Argent, she quickly retreated a few paces away as she barely dodged the heavy attack from him. "That would've been unpleasant" she said, laughing lightly as she leveled one of her spearheads at Argent. "Let me repay the favor" she said gaily as her semblance activated. Changing her target in the last moment, she pointed it directly at Sherwood, hoping that he was hurt enough from being thrown to not be able to dodge her attack.


Feeling better after a few breaths, Savas re-assessed the situation. Taking note that one of the first years had conceded and made his way to the side, he watched as Suntalia deftly continued making work against the two others near her. Noting all of this, it was then that a thought dawned on the giant. Where the hell is the fourth one? he thought, looking around quickly. It was then that his eyes fell upon the fourth student as he made his way out of the Arena. "Ngggrh...sneaky little bugger" he said quietly, knowing that it was too late to stop him.

It was at that moment, that another thought passed through Savas' mind. So...the bastard decided to leave the rest of his teammates behind in order to save his own skin? It was at that thought that the gates of Savas' rage seemed to have opened up, causing the giant to see nothing else but Auburn and the fact that he was too powerless to save her and, in a sense left her to die.

Unable to control himself, the only thought that crossed Savas' mind at that moment was to destroy. With his adrenaline and bloodlust taking over, he could only think of destroying everything that moved around him. Laying his eyes upon Argent as he attacked Suntalia, Savas let out an angered roar as he charged straight towards the first year, transforming Halvanhelev back into two separate weapons. Growing closer to where the first years stood, Savas threw Metatron directly at Argent,, intent on complete obliteration.


Watching the fight slowly come to the outcome he had expected, Oberon continued to take notes of both Team ASPN as well as Suntalia and Savas. Watching with both his physical eyes and his semblance eyes, Oberon took note of Persimmon stealthily making his way out of the Arena as well as Noctis slowly making his way over to the edge of the fight. The fight should be almost done he thought, noting Suntalia focusing her attack on Sherwood. It was then that he caught eye of Savas. The giant faunus had been looking around at the first years for awhile, but had a huge snarl suddenly on his face. What is Savas thinking... he pondered as he saw the fourth year suddenly charge straight towards the last two. There seems to be a lot of anger emanating out of Savas...did he notice Persimmon leaving? he thought, making note to check back with the fourth year on his mental state. "This could turn real ugly" he murmured, cracking his neck and knuckles as he focused most of his attention on Savas instead of the others.

[willow_lark]

Sherwood had seen plenty of Suntalia's semblance at work during this fight, but now that it was pointed it at him he dryly realized he had no counter in mind. The only thing he can do is let instinct take over and hope his survival sense can get him out of the way, or grounded, or something.

Instead, instinct guides him to throw up his own hand and target Suntalia's spear with his own semblance. Lightning of his own arcs from his palm, the arrow he'd been holding dropped, the arc hellbent on reaching the conductive metal that Suntalia's own lightning conducted from. Lightning always travels along the fastest path to it's destination, and that path is directly through Suntalia's attack.

With a thunderous crack the two arcs collide, and a brilliant flash accompanies the explosion of electrical energy from the colliding forces. Sherwood is thrown from his feet, blind and deaf as he tumbles backwards. If his aura wasn't in the red before, it probably was now.

Sherwood comes up to a knee clenching his bow in his left hand. He blinks rapidly and rubs his eyes with his right, trying to regain his eye sight. Sherwood's heart pounds in his chest, nervous to be blind and deaf on a battlefield.

[CptSteel]

Argent back-stepped as he heard the girl threaten him, but was surprised when she turned to Sherwood. Now that Suntalia was occupied with Sherwood, the faunus began to scan around for Persimmon, with no luck. His eyes did glance upon the fuming giant that was throwing a weapon at Argent, however; before Argent could react, he heard a loud crack with a blinding light. Then, nothing. Argent was blown away, falling to the ground, unable to see.

 "Sherwood!" Argent called out, not being able to hear his own voice. Argent went to stand up when he realised he had no weapon in hand, as he began to feel around for his weapon. Not being able to find it, Argent stood up and held his head and guard high. The fatigue kicked in with Argent, as his balance faltered. The faunus rocked back and forth before falling to the ground.

[jjb2158]

As Suntalia's attack was released, the last thing she was ready for was what happened next. Blinding light flashed before Suntalia's eyes, followed up by an explosion, knocking Suntalia away. Flying a quite a few feet away, she tumbled to a halt, Firestorm laying nearby. Blinking her eyes and shaking her head to get the ringing out of her ears, she couldn't help but laugh. "Woah! I was not expecting that!!!" she exclaimed, slowing making out a few images before her. Not wanting to be caught off guard, she did the one thing she could think as she slowly got into a kneeling position and activated her semblance once more. Won't be able to do much more of this she thought, knowing that her aura would've taken a heavy hit from that explosion. Making out what looked to be one of her opponents moving from afar, she hoped for the best and shot another bolt of lightning aimed at where Sherwood was kneeling.


Raging forward, Savas was stopped in his tracks as he saw the two lightning attacks arc against each other. Instinctively raising his hand up to guard his eyes, he was still blinded briefly by the light as he was pushed back by the force of the explosion. With the sheer force of the attack pushing him back, it was enough to knock him out of his bloodlust phase that he had just experienced. Ngggrh...what happened...? he thought, his head feeling groggy and he blinked the bright specks that danced in his sight. Looking around as his vision came back, he saw another flash of lightning pass ahead of him, which caused Savas to instinctively pull of Sandalphon to act as a shield in case another arc happened once more, while preparing to move in for another attack.


Watching the fight progress, Oberon smiled slightly. Despite their efforts, team ASPN was losing the fight as Oberon had predicted. However, they had lasted a lot longer and did much better than he thought, which he took note of. It was at that moment, however, as he was writing it down that a blinding flash and explosion occurred, causing Oberon to look up to see what just happened.

Looking over the battleground, he saw the last two fighters of Team ASPN were effectively blown away and were barely able to get up. Even Suntalia was knocked away and Savas was stopped in his tracks. Looks like that's a wrap then he thought as he prepared himself to go down. It was then that his eyes caught Suntalia activating her semblance. Just doesn't know when the fight is done, huh? he thought as he swiftly launched himself from the stands and sprinted straight towards Sherwood. Moving as quick as he could, he transformed both Contego and Hamia and jumped in front of Sherwood just as Suntalia launched her attack. Activating his aura, he pulled both shields together, forming a wall to protect the first year student. Despite the protection, he could feel the electricity go through his shields and hit him in the process. God..she's got a powerful attack... he thought as it finally came to an end.

Standing straight from where he had braced himself, Oberon looked first at Sherwood and then at Suntalia. "Stand down Suntalia. The fight is over. You too Savas!" he yelled, looking at the giant who seemed ready to face off again. Turning to face Sherwood, Oberon gave the first year a smile through his bearded face. "Take a breather. The fight is done." he said as he transformed both shields back into their bracer form and offered a hand to Sherwood to help him stand.

[willow_lark]

It takes a moment for Sherwood to register the words 'The fight is done' in his mind. Then all at once his shoulders slump and relax, his death grip on his bow releases, and he rocks slightly on in his crouch. His professor's outstretched hand is the only thing that keeps him from falling to the floor in exhaustion. Falling over isn't the polite way to respond to a helping hand after all. Sherwood takes it, and comes to his feet.

He takes a step back, to give the professor some breathing room. At the time, he takes stock one final time. Argent is only a few yards away and he seems fine all in all. Noctis had managed to gain some space on the fight once he surrendered, Sherwood could spot him fairly easily. And finally...

Sherwood lost Persimmon earlier, though by choice. It may have been a little petty, but when Persimmon shouted he was ditching the fight Sherwood gave all of his attention to Noctis and Argent. He wasn't really mad. It just didn't seem right to be trying to keep aware of someone trying to leave the group.

Sherwood sighs. He picks up his bow and stops his mental review, distracting his train of thought by tallying all the arrows he has to retrieve before leaving the arena.

[MissyMidna]

Noctis sighed in relief hearing that the fight was over. He glanced over to his teammates but he only spotted Mr.Hella cute and Sherwood. With much struggle, Noctis stood using Divine as support. The glass dug a bit further into his skin as he stood straight. Looks like he'd have to treat his teammates, Sherwood looked like he was going to faint at any moment.

"Hey, Sherwood. C'mere," Noctis calls."Don't faint, I don't think Argent is gonna have fun carrying you."

Speaking of which, maybe he should attend to him first.

[Flooberoid]

"Hey, everyone's still alive. Nice cheap shot at the end there Sher. Real crafty," Persimmon mocked from right next to Sherwood. He could tell by the looks on everyone's faces that he had some explaining to do, but that was part of the fun. One last time he reviewed the facts of the scenario in his head and came up with a justification for what seemed like cowardice on his part. Ideally, he would be able to prove to everyone that his unannounced retreat was the smartest decision tactically. Worst case scenario, he could always just suck up and apologize, say he learned from his mistakes. Though he tried to suppress it, a sly smirk crossed his face for a couple seconds as he imagined that.

He turned to the professor. "So, Mr. Oberon, was our performance satisfactory?"

[CptSteel]

Coming to his senses, Argent began to rise. As his sight began to return to him, Argent picked up his hammer, which was just out of his reach when he was on the ground. Using it as a walking stick, he proceeded to make his way over to Noctis. At Noctis' side, still half-deaf with sight having barely returned to him, he calls out to his teammates, "We did great, guys! Minus the fact that I was almost killed by the 'elephant' in the room. Well, I say elephant.." Argent chuckled, trying to lighten the situation.

"We would have done better had..well, maybe he'd like to explain himself."

[jjb2158]

With Obi saying that the fight was over, Suntalia relaxed significantly as she went over and picked up Firestorm. Transforming it back into its storage form, she put it away, making a note to go pick up Areti after all was done. Speaking of Areti, Suntalia quickly made her way over to where Noctis was trying to attend to Sherwood. "Hey, stay still and let me tend to your injuries before you look to the others" she said, chiding Noctis' action by pulling him to take a seat. "Sit down so I can remove the glass shards" she said in a professional tone, but with a warm smile. "You're not the first person that this has happened to" she remarked, taking out a few bandages and a pair of tweezers from her first aid kit in her pouch. "Definitely not the last either..." she added with a soft jingle of a laugh.


Seeing that the fight was over, Savas simply harnessed Sandalphon to his back and walked over to pick up Metatron, which lay a few paces away from where everyone was standing. Looks like one of them escaped while the others were taken down, making it so that Suntalia and I have technically failed our mission he thought as he picked up Metatron. Listening to the others talk, he harnessed Metatron as well and then stood over by Oberon, his arms folded in front of him and he glared down at the others.


With Sherwood back on his feet and the others either being attended to or listening, Oberon turned to face first Persimmon and then to Sherwood. "Your performance was adequate. You did last longer than I had imagined, but it was satisfactory overall" he said simply as he pulled out another cigar and lit it. "I believe the real question would be this: amidst the whole fighting, what made you decide that it was the right decision to disobey the orders of your team leader and to retreat, deserting your entire team in the process?" he asked quietly, arching an eyebrow as he stared at Persimmon behind the smoke that floated in front of his face.

[Flooberoid]

Persimmon looked upon his allies and determined their injuries were survivable. He pondered how much longer they would've stayed alive had this fight been the real deal? Could they have survived long enough for his so-called "plan" to be effective?

In a diplomatic voice, Persimmon addressed Oberon. "The scenario was this, right? We fight some Grimm that were 'terrorizing the local population,' or something like that, and then before we can leave we are ambushed by wanted criminals. Is that about right?" He paused for just a brief enough moment to pretend he was leaving an opening for response, but not long enough to actually respond. "Well, after assessing the threat and our already exhausted state, I came to realize that the battle was hopeless; without backup, we were doomed. With that in mind, why would I stay behind and let all of us die? According to the setup, there must be people nearby. Who's to say I couldn't get help?

"As for why I, erm, retreated unannounced, that one's fairly simple. There was no way to convey my intentions to my allies without also revealing myself to the enemy. Rather, I chose a convenient time to slip away unnoticed." That made sense, right? Much better than, "If someone has to die, better three than four" at least.

[willow_lark]

"..." Sherwood looks over Persimmon as he speaks. His story now doesn't exactly line up with what he said over his scroll during the fight. Something seems off, and it causes Sherwood to raise an eyebrow for a moment.

But it's not something that matters to Sherwood, and he cracks his neck with a twist. Instead of looking for things in between the lines Sherwood thinks over what Persimmon did comment on. While it's probably too convenient to assume backup will be just around the corner, the idea of outside help isn't terrible.

If the battle was hopeless, it should have been on him to make a plan for that support. That's battlefield and battle status awareness he should have when leading the team. Looking back, he was much more focused on the individuals in the fight than the larger status. Something to note down later in review, assuredly.  He also spent a lot of time focusing on his own battle, which while lamentable he can't fault himself for. The upperclassmen could have knocked him out in no time flat if he didn't focus.

Letting Tristram reattach itself on his back, Sherwood slides his hands into his back pockets and relaxes into a more comfortable posture. All in all, what's worth saying now is...

"Don't say the battle was hopeless. We had ah fair chance as anyone could, and it coulda gone either way. Ah have faith." He says with an easy smile.

[MissyMidna]

Hearing Argent's cheesy joke made Noctis laugh. "Good thing you weren't killed, I'd hate to have to bury you."


Noctis let himself be dragged by the shorter girl. He was just going to tend to his team even though he was injured too. One of these days he was going to get himself killed. Slowly he sat down on the ground then peeled off his now torn up white sweater away. Removing his shirt was hard to do, moving his shoulders as little as possible Noctis got the gray V-neck off to expose his back.

"It's good to know you treat everyone the same," He laughed again for the second time today then smiled.

[jjb2158]

Listening to Persimmon give his response, Oberon simply stood there and let the smoke from his cigar dissipate into the air. At least it was somewhat thought out he thought as Persimmon finished stating his reasons. Taking a puff from his cigar, he continued to listen as Sherwood tried to state that it wasn't hopeless. Well...he's got a point... he thought, taking another puff as he let the silence hang in the air for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he looked first at Sherwood and then towards Argent and Noctis before giving his attention to Persimmon.

"You've made some valid points, Persimmon." Oberon stated, acknowledging the student briefly. "You're right in saying that there could have been people nearby and that you could've gone and gotten help. You're right in saying that there was no way to let the rest of your team know your intentions without letting the enemy know. Yes, you are right on those aspects." Letting those comments sit for a moment, Oberon looked at the others again before setting his gaze on Persimmon again over his burning cigar. "However, you did not answer my question. I did not ask you why you retreated unannounced. I asked why you knowingly went against your team captain's order and left your team to die? " Walking over to where Noctis and Suntalia were sitting, Oberon gestured to him. "You're right in saying that you could've gone and gotten help. However, given how long the fight lasted and when you retreated, every single one of your comrades would have been dead long before you would've returned." Walking back over to where Persimmon was standing, Oberon gave the young lad a stern gaze through the smoke in the air. "You see, Persimmon. The problem here isn't simply that you deserted your teammates. No, no, no. The real problem is that you're just a coward who knew that the fight would end like this so you decided that it would be better to save your own skin by leaving your comrades behind to die." Moving closer so that his face was mere inches away from Persimmons, Oberon gave the young student a hard, penetrating gaze with his brown eyes. "And their deaths will be on your hands and conscience for the rest of your life." he said quietly, not blinking once as he continued to look straight into Persimmon's eyes.

After a moment, Oberon moved away from to address everyone standing before him. "I will say this, though. Being a coward is not necessarily a bad thing. Better a living coward than a dead hero, right?" he said, looking over at Persimmon before gazing at the others again. "Persimmon did choose the right option in the end. Retreating would've meant that most, if not all of you, would've made it out of there alive or at least within closer proximity of getting help." Looking over at Persimmon once more again, Oberon continued. "Let this be a learning lesson for you, Persimmon: you show to have decent judgment in assessing a fight as well as a good head for common sense. Use it to your advantage by discussing plans with the rest of your teammates, even if it means contradicting and going against them. For one simple comment can change a deadly situation into a more advantageous circumstance."

Turning his attention over to Sherwood, Oberon gave the young man a hard, penetrating look. "Let this also be a learning lesson for you Sherwood. Being the leader of the team means that the lives of your teammates are in your hands. That means that the decisions and plans you make will ultimately decide if they live or die. With that in mind, be ready to lay out your plans, but also be willing to listen to your teammates and ask for their opinions on the matter. Use this fight as a lesson to build you into a better leader, comrade and friend to the others here."

Taking another puff, he let the smoke linger in the air briefly before blowing it away. "Lastly, I will say this to all of you: look at each member here beside you. They are your comrades in arms and your family during the duration of your stay here at Beacon. Just as you want to protect your family from dying, treat each other as your brother and be ready to do whatever it takes to keep each other alive. You have the potential to become a great team here at Beacon, but it will only go so far as to how well you trust and can rely on each other. Let this be a stepping stone in the direction of making the four of you into one of the greatest teams that Beacon has seen."

Letting his words echo somewhat through the Arena, Oberon turned his attention to Suntalia and Savas. "As their upperclassmen, perhaps you'd like to add something?" he inquired?


Hearing Oberon bear down upon the other students, Suntalia tried her best to focus on what was before her than on what was going on over there. Hearing Persimmon's remarks about the fight had left a foul taste in her mouth, but she couldn't quite go against his judgment. He had decided to fulfill the mission and at least try to go and get help so she could understand why he made the decision. However, Obi made a lot of valid points and only validated why Suntalia didn't quite agree with Persimmon. Using the tweezers to slowly dislodge the glass from Noctis' back, she did it as gently as she could so as to not have any of it break inside. "Once I remove the glass, your aura should be able to heal the wounds. Just be still a little bit more" she said in a motherly sort of tone.

Upon hearing Oberon ask if she had anything else to say, she simply shook her head before focusing on her work. "You guys did good! I had a lot of fun!" she exclaimed happily, giving each of them a dimpled smile. "If it makes you guys feel better, Obi did the same thing to the team I'm on and we didn't even last nearly as long!" she said, laughing lightly. "OOOH! How about we do dinner tonight? My treat!" she inquired, darting a glance at each person quickly. "This includes you too, Vashie! Obi, you're welcome to join if you want." she added before going back to her work as she continued to pull more glass out.


As Persimmon gave his reasons for why he left the fight, Savas couldn't help but feel a sense of anger build up within him. Even as Oberon began to explain everything, it did little to stop what was going through his head. Memories of Vigdus began flashing through his mind: of days spent sparring against each other to see who was better to sitting next to each other laughing as they had both gotten accepted to Beacon. Even the years at Beacon were flooded with memories from the day that Vigdus was chosen to be the leader to nights where they would all be studying together. All those memories came crashing through as they hit the pinnacle of the moment Vigdus was slashed to death before his very eyes.

Trying to calm himself down, Savas tried to suppress the memories, but was unsuccessful as he heard one name echo through his mind...

...Auburn....

Immediately. his mind went to work as he remembered the day he was first paired up with her as well as days spent helping train her to become a better warrior in exchange to her helping him with his studies. The warmth of her smile to the tears of joy she cried the day he confessed his love to her. Every memory of her flashed quickly through his mind as Oberon continued to address team ASPN: the warm feeling of her head resting against his arm as they watched the sunset over the Emerald Forest, the sweet smell of her just washed hair to the soft caresses of her hand against his cheek that was enough to make him face an entire army of Grimm. As each memory played through, it came to an end as he pictured her tear-streaked face as he watched her get eaten alive before his very eyes.

As the memories faded, Savas came to the realization that Oberon had asked if either Suntalia or himself had anything to add. Hearing Suntalia try and uplift the mood, Savas clenched his fists tightly, causing his metaled gauntlets to creak slightly. Walking over to where Persimmon was standing, Savas simply stared down at the first year. Suppressing every desire to slam the boy into the ground, Savas simply unclenched his fist and took a breath. "If you only care about yourself, then you will never truly live" he said quietly, his voice rumbling like a volcano about to erupt as he glared down at Persimmon. Turning around, he walked back to where Oberon stood. "Ngggrh...that is all" he said, resuming to stand like a lone tower against the waves of hell that came from the world.

[willow_lark]

"Understood Professor.".

Sherwood was impressed by Oberon's lecture. His mouth slides into a slightly awe struck smile, and then comes together as his brows do as he becomes thoughtful. His own advice had been fairly short, but there was much to mull over. He had always considered his new role a matter of life and death, and had been taking that part rather well. But he was under the impression he had to shoulder the load of the role himself. That he would be expected to be the 'man with the plan' all the time. Instead he should be freely discussing? Sherwood is torn at that idea. While he'd certainly prefer not being the only one making plans, would it work? Council's in government spend most of their time disagreeing, and things get done by sole leaders such as mayors or headmasters. Oberon surely knows what he's talking about, but for the life of him Sherwood can't wrap his mind around the concept.

Maybe the textbook would have something about how to be a leader...

"Dinner sounds fine to me, Ms Suntalia." Sherwood says with a simple smile her direction.