[Zwei Not]

It was often said that patience was a virtue.

Conversely, impatience could be seen as a curse. Juno was often at his worst when his nigh monumental patience wore thin. His behavior in meeting Cerise was a prime example of such a trait. Upon reflection, of course, he had questioned his choice of words and demeanor. Did he really have to be so rude to her? Sure, she was late, but he definitely didn't help matters. Besides, as he would later learn, she was from far out of town, and was new to the school entirely. While her tardiness wasn't something he would tolerate, it was justified, and his reaction was not.

A light sigh escaped his lips as he ran through forms in his own corner of the courtyard. Such simple, flowing movements, when not executed in battle to form constructs, were quite relaxing, possibly even meditative. While his troubles weren't gone, per say, they seemed lesser as he repeated the motions, guided by the small green hexagonal panels beneath his hands. Phi, in the meantime, had found her own little perch on top of Juno's shoulder, mimicking his motions as she watched him, despite being very familiar with the forms. Nevertheless, it was entertaining to watch, and had attracted onlookers in the past.

[Koop]

"What are you doing?" A female voice came from a nearby tree. There was no person, however. They must have been hiding. Although, the hiding spot was ruined when shortly after the voice, Kaali Charen leaned out from behind the tree. She had been relaxing against the backside of the medium sized tree, but it was plenty wide enough to conceal her entire frame. The roots that dug out of the ground combined with the trunk made an excellent hiding spot. Hard to say exactly what she was hiding from, but that wasn't important right now.

Her expression and voice had just a tiny hint of annoyance as she looked on at Juno, but Kaali hides those kinds of things well. She hadn't even given him time to respond before she spoke again. "Well? Can't you see I'm trying to relax? You're ruining my hiding spot. Go away." Kaali vaguely recognized the other student before her, but the tiny thing on his shoulder was new to her. As far as she could remember, anyway. Something about a sparring match that she got bored of and left. So she claimed, anyway.

She leaned back against the tree a moment after, not expecting any reply and just assuming that he would in fact, vacate. In doing so, she became completely hidden again.

[Zwei Not]

"The courtyards don't belong to any individual." the young man replied, continuing his form into its completion, a light chuckle escaping his lips as Phi blew a raspberry at the girl behind the tree. Once he was done, however, he broke into a brisk stride to the other side of the tree and took a seat directly in front of the girl. She was definitely a familiar face, though he couldn't entirely place it. Did they have any classes together? Missions, possibly?

"What are you hiding from?" he inquired, looking the girl over.

[Koop]

Kaali had a clever reply for Juno's first comment but was actually trying to relax in the tree's shade and enjoy the outdoors. For once. She bit her lip and refrained from saying it, hoping that he would just leave. That was not the case.

As Juno sat down in front of her, she sat up from her slouched position. In her left hand was some novel. The cover was torn slightly making the title hard to read, but it was a colorful paperback book. Based on the page, she seemed to have only just started it recently. Further to her left was her sword, sheathed and leaning against the tree. And hanging from that, her whip. She wasn't wearing her Beacon uniform either, opting to wear her regular style clothing instead.

She seemed mildly uncomfortable that he had approached, but shook it off quickly. "I'm not hiding from anything. I was kicked out of the arena for being mean to some baby who can't fight, and therefore should not even be enrolled here." She recalled the past event from just over an hour ago. She was looking for a sparring partner to get some practice in, and she ended up picking on someone who didn't want to. They had finally agreed, and Kaali beat them down in mere seconds. It was like they had never been in a fight before. Naturally, Kaali called the girl out on it and the girl went crying to some instructor, who promptly gave Kaali the boot. At least, that's how it went in Kaali's mind.

Finishing her recollection, she started speaking but changed her mind soon after. "So w.... nevermind." She shook her head with the final word and reopened her book, trying to focus on it.

[Zwei Not]

Juno couldn't help but quizzically raise an eyebrow as he listened to the girl. Sure, not everyone at Beacon was a strong fighter, but that didn't mean they didn't belong here. If they were good enough to pass the rigorous entry, then they were good enough to stay. Besides, even if this girl wasn't a strong fighter, she wouldn't have gotten in in the first place if she didn't excel in some way, right?

He had just opened his mouth to dispute Kaali's stance when she began to speak, only for her to cut herself off. Clearly, she had something to say, right? Was she censoring herself? Did she just change her mind? Either way, he returned to the point he was going to make, taking a second to gather his thoughts before opening his mouth. "Well, people progress at their own rate. I'm sure you didn't get as strong as you are overnight, so maybe you shouldn't have been so rude to this girl. Empathy, y'know?" he mused, trying to refrain from a condescending tone as he offered his insight.

[Koop]

"Yes yes, strength is relative and all that. I've heard such speeches before. But what happens when that... girl.. is sent on a mission with the rest of her team? They will constantly have to be monitoring her to make sure she doesn't get into trouble. It's too soon for her to be here... or maybe... too late." Despite her words, Kaali was relatively calm. Near the end of her short speech, she began trailing off as she considered what she was saying. But as she finished she brushed some hair out of her face and dismissing the topic. "Anyway, I don't need a lecture from you. I get plenty." Kaali averted her eyes, looking toward the ground to her right.

[Zwei Not]

"Explains quite a bit, actually." he muttered under his breath. The girl's general demeanor was off-putting, to say the least. She was callous, that much could be gathered from his short interaction with her. But the small speech she gave hinted at some sort of depth. An understanding of how dire their situation was, and how necessary they were as hunters in training. They couldn't allow themselves to be put into a position of failure. When they fail, people die, and it's as simple as that. His own failure led to the deaths of an informant and Fang leader, and his girlfriend having to cut her career short due to injury.

As much as he hated how this girl phrased things, she was right.

"So... What's your name?" he inquired, leaning back on his hands. "I'm Juno. Juno Vert."

[Koop]

Kaali lifted the book up slightly and began reading again, but she felt inclined to at least answer. Without looking up, she gave a short answer. "Kaali Charen. First year. Team Color. That's K-L-L-R. Not to be confused with Killer." Kaali did not like her team name. She wanted to make sure everyone knew that it did in fact, mean color, even though one can't help but read Killer when they read it. Her monotonous speech pattern took out any humor that may have come from her introduction, as the way she words it could easily be comical with the proper tone. That was quite lacking here, though.

[Zwei Not]

"First year, huh? Same here. I lead Team Vesuvius, V-C-V-S. Was a miracle we got to keep the name after Caja left, actually." Juno commented, hoping to build off of what she stated, and silently cursing himself as conversation fell flat. Her name did strike a familiar bell, however, though where he knew her from remained an enigma. Nevertheless, he remained, absentmindedly looking around the courtyard as he spoke yet again. "So... How long were you banned from the arena, then?"

[Koop]

"Dunno. Probably just until the windbag leaves." The answer came naturally to Kaali. She was trying to focus on her book but failing. And she realized why. This guy may be interested in fighting. How thrilling. After a brief pause, she snapped her softcover book closed and looked up at Juno. "Why? You wanna fight? Because I'm ready. I know a great place if we can't go to the arena." She didn't know why she wanted to fight so badly today. Something was just... gnawing at the back of her mind to rough some people up. Or at least try to.

[Zwei Not]

The sudden proposal to spar prompted some degree of confusion from the young man, evident by through the quizzical look he gave her once she finished speaking. While he didn't oppose the idea, picking a fight  with this girl didn't seem to be the best of decisions, especially if she had just gotten kicked out of the arena for her attitude. Nevertheless, the girl, er... Kaali, rather, seemed quite cavalier about fighting him. Mulling the idea over in his head a bit, the young man was eventually inclined to oblige, as he pushed off of the ground and held out a hand to help the girl up. "Alright. Show the way."

[Koop]

"Eh? Really? Alright then." Kaali was not exactly expecting such a response, but she couldn't be more pleased. She took Juno's hand with her free one and pulled herself onto her feet. Dusting herself off beforehand, she grabbed her weapons and passed Juno quickly, expecting him to follow. "Though, you probably won't like the place." With her back facing Juno, she picked up the pace. She was anxious to get started, it seemed.

Thinking to herself as she walked, she couldn't help but consider what is frustrating her. Why do I want to fight so badly? Ugh. Doesn't matter. I'll just fight this guy and get it out of my system. Unless he chickens out. She grinned to herself as she headed away from the school. It looked like she was heading toward the Emerald Forest. Or at least the cliffs before it.

[Zwei Not]

It was by his own curiosity that brought him to follow the girl, and he would be damned if he didn't see it through. She wanted a spar? He'd give her a spar. Of course, he hadn't expected whatever she had planned to take them off campus. Sure, the campus was open, as far as most were concerned, but caution was to be exercised. As such, Juno checked his scroll, ensuring that he remained connected to the CCT. "So... Where are we going?" he asked, noting the surroundings as the paved campus gave way to knee high grass and rocky outcroppings, the torrential rush of the Emerald Forest's waterfall tickling his ears.

[Koop]

"There's a spot just a little further that makes for a great outdoor arena. It's kinda off-limits, though. So.." She trailed off as she walked. She had slowed down to a walking pace by now, as she and Juno continued toward the cliffside overlooking the Emerald Forest.  The distant waterfall was growing closer as Kalli turned slightly to the right, away from the Initiation launch pads. It was common knowledge that she was now heading for the path that leads down the cliffside and into the forest.

With Juno still behind her and out of sight, Kaali sighed just slightly. She was starting to feel a little nervous now that she had time to think about what she was doing. Her 'secret' sparring spot was mostly just an open clearing right at the bottom of the cliffside. Grimm usually didn't get too close, as they were much more common in the deeper parts of the forest. But coming down here with only two people may have been a bad idea. Turning her head just slightly to see Juno in her peripheral vision, Kaali mused, Is it too late to turn back? Probably. What would he think? Hmmm... Maybe it'll be fine... She cursed her own lack of confidence in that statement as she looked up at the sky that had become overcast compared to only a few minutes ago when rays of light kept her warm under that tree.

[Zwei Not]

"Off-Limits?" Phi questioned, concern evident in her voice as she looked between Juno and Kaali. Juno couldn't do much more than shrug. If she had been there before, then it had to be safe enough, right? Besides, he had no reason to mistrust the girl.

"I'm sure it will be fine, Phi. Besides, it's just the Emerald Forest. We've dealt with worse.

"I'm keeping the help desk tabbed." The AI responded quickly, her gaze trained on the girl that Juno was following. Why go out this far for just a simple spar? The gradual graying of the skyline did little to convince her that something wasn't up. And yet, Juno still followed, doing his best to offer a reassuring look.

To be honest, Juno wasn't entirely sure himself. He had no reason to mistrust Kaali, true, but his seemed a bit extreme for what they were doing. "How much further?"