Fandom RWBY Saga: Vacuo [Arc 2 IC]

[KarenAKAMint]

Location: Professor Carmine's home
Interacting: Everyone
Mentioned: N/A
Tags: The Suspicious Eye Brinni Hibiscus The Prophet

Bora Shu Mun
The next morning, Bora woke at the first sight of light. She had gone to bed past midnight the night before. So even with the approximate five hours of sleep, she was wide and awake and ready to start the day out in the desert. As she slipped out of bed, she looked around her room. Still white and perfect. She groaned, her mood souring. She quickly took out her huntress outfit out and was debating to just stick with her usual two-piece outfit. Then again, both outfits would still be hot out in the desert. Sighing, she slipped into her dress and thigh high boots. Wanting to be a bit cool during the mission she pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. Brushing her bands into place, the chimes began to ring throughout her room. She jumped at the sudden sound but calmed down upon hearing her host's voice calling everyone to breakfast.
Packing up her things in her small travel pack, she exited her room and began to make her way down to the kitchen. She greeted everyone that she passed by. Seeing Slate again caused her to recall what was happening the night before. Wanting to test her semblance, she activated it. The closer she got to the kitchen the weaker it became. Bora noticed Mrs. Carmine in the room with Ivy, as the former worked the stove.
"Mrs. Carmine," Bora called out to her, deactivating her semblance for a moment, "I wanted to ask you something." Bora picked up an apple from the assortment of foods that covered the kitchen island before she continued, "It came to my attention that my semblance was not active quiet as well as it should. Do you by any chance know what the cause of it was? If it's something that we would come across during the mission, it would be a great intel to have. I am not from Vacuo and wish to be ready for anything that might be out here."
Bora stood near the stove as she waited for an answer from Mrs. Carmine. She was very observant in the interactions that everyone in this household was having. It was strange, to say the least, but then again every family has their ways. She had a hard time with her stepbrother growing up, even to this day we aren't as good as we should be as a family. She took cautious bites of her apple, hungry from the lack of food she picked at last night.

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Location: Carmine Mansion
Nearby: Everyone
@tags: The Prophet KarenAKAMint Brinni Hibiscus

Breakfast Room

The Carmine Family and introducing Blue CarterWith a television introduction to Crystalline SchneeTurning around to the voice Mrs. Carmine smiled as the girl spoke up. Having spent the evening studying their names and why they're here, she made sure to call her by her name. "Oh Bora. Did my husband not tell you?" Seeing the confusion on her guest's face she decided to remedy the confusion. "I'm the cause. My semblance is the negation of any and all other semblances. It's one of the main reasons we live here, aside from my job as international mediator. This place is a international safe house for those who need protection from refugees to high powered influencers. That's why it's more like a hotel than a house." She added wondering how confused the children must have been being in a place where their semblance doesn't work.

"I apologize for not telling you all earlier I assumed you knew. Still not to worry. Once you leave the compound your semblance will return. Though it does mean I rarely go outside myself unless it's for work. But luckily we have something in place of my absence. " She said as she motioned over to the batter. "Would you like a pancake?"

"Good Morning Auntie S!" A cheerful boy said as he leapt into the breakfast room. Bounding over to the group he slammed his hand sonto the counter and leaned over to kiss his aunt on the cheek. Looking down at the pancakes his face brightened. "Oooo! Pancakes don't mind if I do!" Taking the soft cakes off the plate he rolled them into a burrito and bit into them happily. Turning his attention to his little cousin he smiled and reached his free hand out to poke her cute little cheeks. "Good morning Ivy-?!" His voice cracked as Kaitlyn quickly scooped Ivy up into her arms and away from her cousin.

"Back off, Blue." She said her eyes shooting daggers at him.

"Good morning to you too Kaitlyn. Ever the overprotective sister aren't you?" He said with a chuckle waving to Ivy as she wriggled around in her sister's arms and waved back with a bright smile. "You know little Ivy and I get along swimmingly."

"Whatever." Kaitlyn said sternly, before cooing over to Ivy. "You wan't to go watch TV before I go?"

"Yeah!" Ivy said excitedly, blissfully unaware of her older sisters antagonism. She simply enjoyed being carried.

As the duo left Blue leaned against the counter and looked over at his aunt. "She's still a handful huh?" Looking over to the other students as if he just noticed them he raised a brow. "Oh, who are all these kids. Students of Shade?"

"Oh, no. Blue these are students from Beacon. They're here on a mission." She said calmly.

"A mission!" Blue said excitedly.

"Yes one you're not to be attending. You are going home to your father young man. You've adventured enough." Standing straight up she gently blushed out her dress and cleared her throat. "Students, this is my nephew Blue Carter." She introduced everyone there by name to her nephew and smiled. "Now who would like some pancakes?"

"I'm good. I think I'm gonna bother Katy a bit more before she's gone." Blue said before giving the group a nod before hopping over to the living room where Kaitlyn and Ivy, along with some of the other guests, were lounging. On the television was Mrs. Stone's morning show.

"And here to talk about this strange new subject and fascinating new book, we have a expert historian, well known businesswoman, and my darling younger sister, Crystalline Schnee." The sounds of clapping could be heard as a woman walked on stage and sat in the comfortable couch across from Mrs. Stone.

"Thank you for having me Adularia." The woman said in a powerful yet calm voice.

"We'll we all indulge in nepotism don't we?" She said which the crowd chuckled at. "Tell me about your discovery on these tomes of magic?" The show continued onward but it was hard to hear over the hiss of pancake batter against a hot pan.

(Ok, So I lied ya'll can reply to this biz)

 

[Brinni]

Forest

Location: Carmine Kitchen
Nearby: Bora, Ms Carmine
@Tags: KarenAKAMint The Suspicious Eye

Spoiler: Night Terrors

In the dark night of the Carmine house every one sleeping quietly in there bend, there was someone creeping through the walls. A solemn wisp dancing through the dark crevices of the house a cold wind danced across Forest's face. Standing in the window was a figure of a slender woman. Ruby hair resting in a ponytail with white tips at the end of four longer bangs tied into a bun atop her head. The most distinguishing thing on her was a black, butterfly-shaped hairpin with gold outlines. she intently stared out the window towards the darkness as if someone was out there waiting for their chance to get in. Sensing the boy awaken the woman spoke calmly, "do not be afraid." The voice was surprisingly familiar and yet unrecognizable to Forest, she continued. "I do not intend to harm you. No. In truth I am here to give you something."

What had woken him, Forest couldn't say. But when he saw the woman he reached for his dagger but stopped. He hadn't heard her come in, no alarms had been raised that he could hear, and all that in a place where semblances don't work. So she was good at skulking about and likely could have hurt him before he woke up if she'd intended to.

“Ok. You've aroused my curiosity. Who are you and what is it you bring for me?”

Turning to face him her face was masked, a black and gold mask shaped after a butterfly that conceals her eyes. Pulling out a small folder she tossed it over to the boy, easy enough for him to catch. As the boy looked down at the file and then to her, she could tell he was about to say something, but stopped him as she said. "Free will is a dangerous thing. That's why they guide us." Tapping the glass with her nail her lips pursed together. Staring out at the window again she shook her head, and let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't hold it against them." Stepping away from the window she moved back into the dark shadows of the large room. "Fear pushes against us all. Some push back, others crumble" Her body faded into the pitch black of the room, her voice a near whisper as it faded. "Some twist and others fade away," and with that last word she was gone.

Forest watched the figure with an incredulous eye a she vanished. “Cryptic. But insightful i suppose. I will have to remember such.” He finally said at length. He switched on the light and searched for some sign of a hidden passage. Finding none, but resolving to ask before leaving, he went to the folder on the bed. “May as well see what this is about” he said, opening to the first page of the file

Forest had hardly slept after his late night visitation. He had read through the single page more than a dozen times but couldn't piece together much from it. A servant had denied any knowledge of hidden passages in the house between rooms, and he had been telling the truth...at least Forest thought he was. His semblance still wasn't working in this place. There were too many mysteries around this place. He had found himself in the garden after a time, dozing in the cool night air. He had awoken just in time to watch the sun rise. Then he heard the chimes and announcement. "And not a speaker in sight" he muttered. "I rather think I'll be glad to leave this place behind." He entered the kitchen, still in the pair of white cotton shorts and green undershirt he had worn to bed. Hearing Bora's query he perked up. "I had been wondering about that myself actually. Slate had mentioned something similar."

As he listened he whistled softly. "That's quite the ability. I can see how that might be valued in a safe house. Though if someone was skilled enough, it wouldn't matter." His voice trailed off as he thought about his visitor. He frowned though trying to puzzle out how the woman had vanished if the lack of Semblances was caused by a Semblance. If it had simply been tech a countermeasure could have been developed. He tapped his fork to his chin. "So either she was a ghost, some kind of Grimm hybrid, or the servant was wrong" he mumbled to himself. If the file wasn't currently sitting in his bag, he could have written it off as a mirage or a hallucination. His nose wrinkled as his face soured. None of the options were particularly appealing.

 

[Brinni]

Cherry

Location: Carmine Mansion

Nearby:

@Tags: The Suspicious Eye The Prophet KarenAKAMint Hibiscus

Spoiler: Sweet Tooth

Cherry tried to dry her eyes before getting up, but the tear tracks through the caked on sand from the trip here were telling regardless. Opening the door only a crack to see who it was, her eye changing from blue to brown to a bright green and everything in between as she had trouble controlling this change when she was upset, she was surprised to see it was Akashi at her door instead of Slate or Bora as she would have assumed.. And with a plate of cake on his head? She smiled wanly in her amusement. “Any reason you’re practicing your balancing skills at my door?”


Akashi simply smirked, as if his wondrous joke had been triggered. While he did twitch slightly upon seeing evidence of her crying, he couldn’t say he wasn’t prepared for it. With a small twirl he bowed enough for her to take the plate from atop his head. “Madam, It appears that you did not find dinner pleasant. So i thought to make it so with a slice of a cake and my amazing presence. So, How bout it? Er, i mean…. Does such an offer please you milady?”


Giving in to the ridiculousness of her friend before her and with a bit more mirth than shown before Cherry curtsied back. “I suppose it does indeed please me at the moment. Though I fear you are wholly mistaken in your reasoning. You see it was not the food that was displeasing but rather the conversation.”


Cherry opened the door further and walked back to her bed. Sitting at the head of it she motioned at Akashi who was still standing there. At this point she dropped the formal tone that the two had been using “Well? Come in and shut the door behind you.”


“Whew! Okay I hate being serious for anything more than fighting tough people. Excuse me.” Akashi spoke as he slid into the room while closing the door behind him he placed her slice next to her and took a seat himself, plopping down with an exaggerated swing of his legs. “Alright, i helped make this cake so help yourself, but eat and talk. What’s got you down Cherry? You can’t hope to think i wasn’t gonna ask. Oooh, though let’s make it fun, because I have no wish to have a bad time. I get to ask a single question. Truth, and you get to ask one of me. Don’t say anything or lie, and you can make the other do whatever you want once. You in? You know you wanna play.” He explained, taking a bite of his cake and squirming in happiness. Sweets taste the best when coupled with prospects of fun.


Cherry rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. “Obviously you were going to ask. I wouldn’t have let you in if I wasn’t fine with talking about it.” She took a bite of the cake and slowly raised her eyebrows in surprise. It was pretty good. The texture was perfect and the balance of flavors was nearly perfect...but a good cake can always be bettered. “Hmm. A bit of orange zest would make this even better or some praline in the center..” she muttered absentmindedly. Swallowing the bite she stayed silent for a moment as she tried to find the words to explain her situation.


“It’s everything that’s happened in the last couple of months but mostly….” she hesitated for a moment “It’s Io. I miss her. Not this Executioner that people talk about,” she shuddered as she remembered her visit to the psychiatric hospital where she had definitively last seen Iola’s alter ego, “but Io. My best friend. I got to talk to the Executioner you know...just after the attack at the Rose Twins party in the hospital. I visited often, hoping to see my Io. But one time she said something I can’t shake and it really makes me sad. “How do you know I’m not the real Io, and the soft one is the fake” and I don’t...I can’t even separate them in my mind. I wish I could be like most of the students and ignore the soft Io that was our classmate and hate the Executioner. It’d be easier that way…”


Her eyes glistened once more with the threat of tears. She blinked them away. “But I can’t. I don’t think I would even be able to hurt her, even if it meant my own life.” She picked up the stuffed rabbit once more. “This was hers. She loved this rabbit more than anything. It’s my only evidence that my Io existed. Kait said I should leave it with her, that she’d have a better chance of returning it to it’s owner...but I don’t know if that’s possible. If that Io even still exists. I’ve mostly lost hope that my Io is coming back. I don’t know how to deal with that. I don’t want to lose my best friend.” Her last sentence was said in barely more than a whisper.


Her shoulders slumped and her head dropped as the weight of carrying that left her, her bangs blocking sight of her eyes which were currently a dark grey. She didn’t look at Akashi to see his reaction. Rather, she immediately asked her question so she didn’t have to think of it, something she’d been meaning to ask since the jeep but thought it might have been too much. But her curiosity got the better of her. “When you first came to Beacon you seemed proud that Adam was your father, almost even idolizing him, even knowing what he did a couple decades ago. But if you were then why did you want to become a Huntsman...a hero, in total contrast of who he was?” She glanced to Akashi to see what effect her words would have.


Akashi had to put down his cake and seriously process the information given. It wasn’t hard to imagine that even bubbly, happy people had some stowed away emotions; it was a part of everyone. In the group’s case, lo was a touchy subject. Everyone in his circle of friends had some sort of interaction with her, and usually positive. So in the face of her alter ego, it wouldn’t be unfathomable for people to be affected so negatively. He raised his hand to begin an attempt at uplifting Cherry’s mood, but put it back down quickly when she looked over at him as she asked a question of her own. And it sure hit hard. “W-why? Ahhh. Okay…. Kind of hard to put into words, but here goes. So up until i was 5 or 6, my mother taught me everything she could in academics and such. Might surprise you, but i’m not as dumb as one might see me as. But she died due to some disease i can’t even remember the name of. It was like you flicked the lights off and on, and my mother wasn’t there anymore. I was torn with grief, but i soon had to simply internalize it and move, for my father began his brutal training. “Training to make full use of the Superior Taurus bloodline.” he called it. Basically He made me learn everything he knew in combat, but also in being a bad person. And while I wasn’t a fan, eventually I lost hope in being able to stop. Then he I saw admissions for Beacon and saw it as a chance to get away, start over. Made up an excuse for further training and despite my heritage, got in”. Akashi tipped his head back as a way to hide how sad his face probably looked row. He took a second to let out a long exhale, then continued with his answer. “But as i landed in beacon, I saw how they all looked at me when I accidentally said my real name. Even faunuses were angry, fearful. Like They wished i wasn’t the Taurus line. It was then i made a decision. I couldn’t just hide and pretend what my father did had nothing to do with me. I was going to atone for my, and my father’s sins. That’s why i aren’t bothered by what people think of me if it’s based on prejudice. I want to be judged as me; do good things. But i also understood that i probably would be alone in my time at beacon. So i pretended to be all gloomy and adoring of my father. I read in a study that uncommon allies unite when faced with a common ally. So to get everyone closer; to get used to my loner life, i made myself out to be a bad guy, planned on doing it until graduation, but all you guys started appearing. Wouldn’t let me be edgy at all. So pretty quickly, I dropped the gloom act, and to be honest. I hate that i even started. I realized that everyone can have friends, because literally anyone can change, nobody is doomed to be bad or lost. It’s sort of like with lo. She might have done a lot of bad stuff but we’ll get your lo back. Who knows, maybe we’ll even change the Bad side too. Even if i takes a while, I promise.” Akashi finished, giving his trademark childish smile to dispel his own dreary mood, and hopefully Cherry’s as well.



Cherry was surprised, and felt a little guilty. She had been one of those to write Akashi off as dumb in the beginning. The following months after their first missions, particularly after calling his team out at her party, she'd kept an eye on them because they were all such gloomy people. She gave a sad smile at his boast of saving her Io.


“You should be careful Akashi. It's an awful thing to make a girl a promise and give her hope. Medication and therapy didn't work, we don't have much of a chance. It's not like we have someone with brain manipulation abilities. And even if we did, you'd have to find a way to stop our classmates from killing her...people like SEAS and PRWI. So how…” she stopped herself and shook her head. “Nope. Those aren't the rules. It's your turn to ask right?”


“Don’t even worry about it, this is me we’re talking about. I only make promises I know I can keep. Like-!” Akashi bit his lip as he almost blurted out Forest at the mention of mind manipulation. He knew he couldn’t reveal his semblance so easily, but not revealing it felt like he was lying somehow. Maybe he could...No. He couldn’t. As far as he knew, Only his team knew of Akashi’s semblance, and he assumed that Forest wouldn’t want his own revealed without his knowing. And so, he held back his information and pondered a question of his own. “Ah! I think I have one. Alright, here me out. I gave you a brief bit on myself, so tell me about yourself. What makes you tick?” Akashi asked, helping himself to a hearty portion of his cake while watching his friend for their answer.


Cherry thought for a moment. “That's so open ended. And with a dozen different answers depending on context. Let's go with “Why choose to be a Huntress” since that was my prompt for you. It's really easy. I wanted to travel and find new ingredients to use in baking. I applied to Beacon because being a Huntress was the best way to do that and helping people was just a bonus.” She scratched the back of her head awkwardly as she realized what she had said. “I wish it was a more noble reason like you, or even due to being a legacy like most of our classmates. But my parents, at least my adoptive ones, were never Huntsmen. They don't even have the ability to manipulate aura. Don't know about my birth parents though I suppose it's possible.” She cast her eyes down at the thought of her parents. “I hope they're OK...both sets actually…”


Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she pondered her next question. “Probably an easy one, But why Beacon?” Given the heritage of most of the students in our class surely one of the other schools would've let you be a bit more incognito.


Akashi laughed a little before replying. “My reasoning is pretty lame, I feel like it’d counteract all I've said so far.So basically, When my father told me to apply to an academy, I initially wanted to stay under the radar, but in a fit I decided that i’d go somewhere cool. That left Shade and Haven. But as I filled out what school to which i’d send my application, my father started talking about his insufferable “Glory Days” of when he destroyed Beacon. And hearing the name over and over as i wrote, I accidentally wrote down Beacon and sent it away unknowing of what i did. When I realized, i figured there’s no way the headmaster would accept me, but he did. So I decided to make the most of it, and now here I am. Pretty clumsy of me, right?” Akashi explained, reciting the events that would almost certainly be called idiotic. But looking back, it was something anyone can laugh at. “But obviously i don’t regret it at all. I doubt i’d have the same enjoyment around you all if I went to the other academies.”


Tapping his chin, he racked his mind for a next question. He wanted to know more about her, but what? Hmmmmmm. “Okay, Just to spice things up a little, since you strike me as someone who’s hung around our big group a quite bit more than me, what’s the absolute wildest thing for a group thing? Like something you did while at an event with people from our group.” Akashi asked, combining wanting to know more about her and wanting to have a lot more fun to break apart the sincere talking they have here and there.


Cherry blinked a couple times. “The wildest? But...weren't you there? I threw a school wide party a few days after everyone came back from their first missions. All the first years had been invited, technically everyone was but it was to celebrate first years and their first successful mission. I made lots of food, Philly had managed to get Ren to come, before he was a student i mean. Its super cool that she knows somebody so famous. Although he's way better as an idol viewed from afar. He kept trying to flirt with me like it was all a game to him. I wouldn't have minded if it was genuine. I know i saw a couple people from STAR there. I even called you guys out on being moody. Did you really not go?” She pouted at the end.


“Oh yeahhhh!!! I mean I went, of course! I still have the pictures of me, Azure, Orion and Robyn all dressed nice. I actually dressed super classily, because I think Azure forced me to dress accordingly. Despite both her and Orion having a keen distaste for me at the time, They were still cool. I just dipped for a while because my dad called me to chew me out for something i don’t even recall. But the party was mad fun though. I was all over the place, weird i never caught you.” Aakshi answered, waving his hands in innocence. It was one of the first times where he actually stopped being fake sad and had fun doing what he pleased. “Dang it, i was hoping for something juicy, i wasted my question spectacularly. Alright, come at me.”


“You must have missed our announcements then I guess, since we were on stage. I’m glad you enjoyed it though. It was a lot of work for only a couple days of planning.” She sighed happily at the memory. “Probably one of my better cakes as well”



“You wanted juicier in regards to our group huh?” Cherry smiled mischievously. “I’m afraid that kind of information requires a better relationship and possibly some liquor Akashi. And I already asked my question. I asked if you went to the party. Soooooooooo it’s your turn again” She stuck her tongue out, feeling better now that things had stopped being so serious for the moment.


“Dangggggg, Alright I see how it is. Hold out on me! That’s okay though, we’ll revisit that question at a later date, you got me curious.” Akashi feigned shock, then quickly came up with a question he hoped he wouldn’t squander. “Okay, what’s your likes and dislikes? Favorite and least favorite color, that sort of thing.” Akashi asked, keeping it light and simple for the time being.


Cherry frowned.“That’s also super open ended, and a longer answer. We don’t have all night. So I guess I’ll do five categories for both likes and dislikes. Let’s see… for colors...I’m not the biggest fan of bright yellows unless they’re on a cake or a sunflower. As for favorite, a lot of people think it’s pink. But it’s not. I love deep blues and greens. Like the colors of the ocean or maybe a freshwater lake…”


Cherry held up one finger. “Let’s see, that’s one. Next will be...music genres. Rock isn’t my thing, there’s a few ok songs but it doesn’t really suit me. I love pop music though, and there’s quite a bit of rap on my playlist.”


Two. “Third will be seasons. I like winter. But like the “just cold enough to snow and sit around a fire or cuddle with someone” kind of winter instead of the “I’m pretty sure my snot has frozen to the point I can use them as chopsticks and my eyes are frozen open” kind.”

“Number four is type of food that isn’t dessert. Which is actually really tough for me since dessert is my favorite meal. I’d have to say….my favorite is probably pork dumplings and curry can fuck right off. I don’t care for really spicy food. And finally….people”

“I adore honest people. I’d rather be hurt by a harsh truth than bolstered by a pretty lie. If someone can be honest with me about how they feel, they’re good in my book. And on the reverse…”Cherry’s face grew a little more stern, but not much. “If there’s one kind of person I can’t stand. It’s the one that manipulates others for fun. It’s why despite his attempts, I didn’t fall for Slate when the year began. I saw how he behaved around other girls. And boys for that matter. But he’s made a lot of progress since he...” Cherry stopped and flushed a little at the cheeks. “Sorry. Not my secret to tell. Don’t worry about that.”


Cherry got up from the bed and stretched a bit. She gazed at the ceiling. “I wish I could pace the roof right now, it always helps me think. But Semblances don’t work in this place for some reason...anyways, my turn right?”


Staring at him as she thought. Questions raced through her mind, her eyes rapidly changing color to suit her mood. Clover, red, a pink, some grays, before finally settling on a warm brown.

“Hmm I know! What’s the plan after graduation?”


“Pretty nice tastes you have there, we honestly have similar likes and dislikes. Though i must say gotta say I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz recently. And, though i can do any color, i’m quite the Christmas color fan, if you can’t tell.” Akashi chimed in after she finished. Graduation huh? He hadn’t ever voiced his plans before, nor given it much thought up until now, but now that he’s been presented with the question he decided to just start talking and let what he wanted naturally fill the spaces. That way it’d be what he genuinely wanted after all.


“Well after graduation, first thing i want to do if I haven’t done so already is kill my dad. Sounds grim but it’s actually just tradition. Once I think i’m ready i have to beat him and take his sword. It’s kind of like a coming of age thing. Stupid, but i wouldn’t feel right if it wasn’t me that took care of him. As a redemption so to speak. Then i want to help people around the world as a huntsman while honing my own skill. I want to be known as the world’s strongest swordsman of all time, Undisputed. It’s childish but it seems cool so I totally wanna do it.” Akashi paused to take a bite of his cake, then continued.


“I’m gonna do that for a bit, granted how long is up to debate, and then……...and you can’t laugh at me for this…….. I…..I want to open up a sweet shop that also doubles as a flower shop. Not meant to too big, just a wholesome, family oriented shop. I honestly don’t know how to do anything other than decorate cakes, as you see with the cake we’ve been eating here, but i wanna either do it with somebody or learn to to bake myself. It’s really lame i know, it’s just seems so serene. Happy and peaceful, away from the fighting in the world. Obviously I could close it to go do stuff round the world if i want or need to, but it’s nice to come back to.”


Akashi stopped stupidly smiling into the distance and got back to the conversation at hand. “Sorry, I said too much didn’t I? Okay, then since it’s my turn, I’ll ask you the same thing. What’s your plans after graduation?”


Cherry shook her head. “No you didn’t say too much. I think it’s really sweet. Though “of all time” might be a bit impossible. You should try to aim for “of the present” for now. Especially if you’re just gonna call it quits like that. The point of a title like that is you’re gonna have to defend it. But with the shop stuff...I could teach you how to bake things besides cakes if you want.” She leaned over and grabbed his hands. “Your hands are warm, well suited for making breads and things like that that use doughs. Warm hands help the dough rise as you’re kneading it, giving them a bit more volume. That might be a result of the environment, but generally people who have more muscle on their arms, like from swinging a sword around, have warmer hands. Not that that limits what you can do for baking, it just means some things will come out better than others. Mine run a bit cold, which is why i specialize in cakes and pies. Cold hands help break up the fats in butter and flour giving your a thinner crust.”


She removed her hands quickly, coloring slightly, and leaned back. “I think my plans after graduation aren’t much different than yours. I’m gonna go back and work with my family in their bake shop, being more like a mercenary Huntress. I can live off what I make from the shop, but if the urge to travel hits me, or I want to try some new ingredient, I’ll take a job that brings me where I want to go.” She smiled at her daydream


“But…” she paused, unsure if she was overstepping. She plunged forwards anyways “I don’t think you should kill him. No matter what he’s done, he’s still your father. It’s really easy to hate someone, or to give in to desires like that. It’s a much harder thing to forgive someone, but it marks the difference between some good and someone great. I’ve never met my birth parents, don’t have a clue to who they are. Or even if they’re alive for that matter. When I found out I could have been angry. “Did they not want me? Or not want the stress of a child?” were some of the first questions I asked myself. “Why would a parent give up their child?” I settled on this idea that maybe, just maybe, they wanted a better life for me and weren’t in a position to give it. So they gave me up. Somewhere deep down, all a parent wants is for their child to do better than them, in one capacity or another. At least in my mind. And I think that applies to yours too. He may not be a good person or a good father, but he still wants you to be better than him.”


Glancing at the clock she realized how late it was. They’d been talking for a couple of hours at this point. “Time to go I think. Lest people get the wrong idea.” She got up and made her way to the door. Opening it she asked her last question. “Did you really just come because I left dinner early?”


Akashi got up and stretched, picking his finished plate as well as Cherry’s. “Alrighty, this was fun. I’m glad i got to learn more about you, and i’ll definitely try to take what you said about my dad to heart. He is still my dad after all.” Akashi spoke in between small yawns. Despite how tired he was, he probably wasn’t going to sleep until after he cleaned and tuned all his weapons, and maybe clean Forest and Zenith’s weapons if they hadn’t locked their doors. He was feeling helpful today.


As he walked stepped out the door he answered Cherry’s final question. “Of course i did, i had to make sure you were okay, what else would i come here for?” He spun around, smiling as he voiced his departure with a stupid grin on his face. “Well then, I’ll see you tomo-!?!!”

Cherry moved without thinking as Akashi walked out. She hadn't realized how much she needed a night to just be normal until it was over. If you took away the talk of violence and the context of being a huntress, she was able to get a brief insight into what it might have been like to be a regular high school girl. And that was worth more than anything. Standing on her tiptoes she placed a quick peck on his cheek. "Thank you. For letting me be normal for a night." she mumbled, coloring. She shut and locked the door immediately before he could respond.

Cherry was awake as soon as the light crept into her room. She felt exhausted after last night, and just a little embarrassed. She took a long shower and had just finished getting dressed when the announcement came through. Part of her wanted to stay in the room until it was time to leave, but she was hungry. Making her way down to the kitchen she approached Mrs Carmine for a pancake. "Do you think you could do a cinnamon pancake with candies in it?" She asked hopefully. She smiled widely when she was answered in the affirmative. Those always make me feel better she thought. After getting her pancake, she took a seat at the table after loading her plate with fruits and a bagel. Casting a side eye at Kaitlyn's face towards her step mother and she presumed the notion of helping the students she frowned slightly. Something was going to have to change between her and the Beacon students or it may turn ugly. Kaitlyn's face when she had told Cherry to give her Io's rabbit hadn't escaped her notice either. She was going to have to keep a close eye on her things...unless Slate was rubbing off on Cherry and she was just being paranoid. Though if she was being hunted by Slate's dad's hired goons, paranoid might not be a bad thing to be.

Her eyes slid away as Akashi came in and focused on the other guy. She was surprised when she realized why he looked familiar. "His name is Blue? But...he looks just like our companion Zenny. I wonder if they're related? Like....twins or something?"

 

[The Prophet]

Akashi Taurus

Location: Mansion
Nearby: Cherry, Forest, Zenith?, Bora
Mentions: Zenith
@Tags: The Suspicious Eye Brinni Hibiscus KarenAKAMint

Akashi woke with a start. He hadn’t had a bad dream or anything, quite the opposite in fact. He hadn’t slept that well since beacon was destroyed. He had clumsily fallen asleep as soon as he finished maintenance on both Murasume and his guns. Akashi had the feeling that he wouldn’t be able to stock up once they left so he had boxes of dust rounds already put away in a duffel bag he planned on taking.

What had woken him up, however, was the fact that he fell asleep with the sword in his lap. Being the careless person he was he had laid his hand on the sharp side of the blade, and when he moved over to get more comfortable, cut his palm. It healed right away due his aura activating, but for that split second it hurt enough to shock him awake. “God damn i’m dumb.” Akashi said to nobody in particular as he cleaned his sword again before going through a standard morning hygiene routine, though he took extra long with his shower to reflect on last night and it’s embarrassing conclusion. After such he decided to leave his Standard jacket in his bag; he was going to be in the desert for quite a while after all. He was about to take a stroll togo bother whoever was up when he heard the breakfast call. “I guess everyone’ll be there."

“Morning everyone! You guys sleep good?” He greeted as he slipped into the room, eyes darting to the breakfast they had gathered for. “Ohh! Miss Carmine, can you make me some pancakes too? I’m crazy hungry right now. Anything works.” he asked, taking a seat at the table. It was then he noticed little Zenith leave. “What the? Am I seeing things? When did Zenith shrink?” He asked openly glancing at the state of everyone in attendance to make sure he wasn’t missing anything more. Looks like everyone else didn’t change too much outside of clothing and such. “So what’s going on? Besides little Zenith, i mean”.

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Location: Carmine Mansion
Nearby: Everyone
@tags: The Prophet KarenAKAMint Brinni Hibiscus

Time to Go!Beginning his walk off he stopped as Cherry spoke up and turned to her. "Someone who looks like me?" He said his eyes sparking with excitement only to give a mischievous grin and struck a pose. "With this kind of perfection I wouldn't be surprised if I the gods used the same mold. Joking aside that's pretty cool. Maybe I can meet him one day see what kind of person my older doppelganger is like. Maybe if I join you guys..." He said glancing to his aunt.

Mrs. Carmine shook her head. "No Blue you're heading home I already told Dante! You've had your fun running away, but your father is worried about you."

"Fineeeee but..." He trailed off as he pulled a napkin over to him and began scribbling onto it as he spoke. "If you guys ever need a extra hand let me know I'm pretty good at sneaking out of places and I'm a great tour guide. Traveled the world, learned lots about Remnant." Handing Cherry the napkin, written on it he wrote his name, scroll number, and a smiling winky face. "Call me anytime! I love a good adventure."

Mrs. Carmine let out a proud yet exasperated huff and shooed Blue off into the other room. "That's enough now Blue, go on."

Hearing laughter in the living room he made his way towards there. "Kay!"

"I swear he's far too adventurous for his age. This is the second time this year he's run off." Mrs. Carmine said before pouring a few round pancakes onto the pan. Picking up a few bowls of candy from under the cabinet. "Two pancakes coming up! Anything for the rest of you."

Giving the group time to eat and prepare Jack honked the Jeep's horn getting the attention of those inside. Mrs Carmine rounded up the students and smiled at all of them. "Alright, it's time to go. Traveling the desert is extremely dangerous. Don't get too warm, make sure to listen to Jack and Kaitlyn, be careful of bandits out there and come back safe. Your packs have everything you will need for the journey."

"Oh my adorable baby sister. I love you and I'll be back soon!" Kaitlyn said as she plastered the giggling Ivy in kisses.

As Kaitlyn came in Mrs. Carmine walked over and took Ivy from her arms and held her close. "Please be careful Kaitlyn."

"Yeah." Kaitlyn said with cold disdain as she walked past her step-mother and out the door. Stepping into the passenger seat she crossed her arms and glared out the window.

"You're going to have to be nicer to them Kaitlyn. They're not the enemy." Jack said calmly.

"That's what you think Jack." Kaitlyn said.

[Time to head to the car. The Prophet Take it away!]

 

[The Prophet]

Time Skip
=======================================================================================================================================================================​

This Sucks.

@Tags: Brinni The Suspicious Eye KarenAKAMint Hibiscus

Vacuo sucks. As stated practically every hour, Akashi didn't like Vacuo's desert. It's coarse and rough and irritating and the sand gets everywhere. Not like Vale. There everything is soft and smooth, a real upgrade from this pit o fire called the dessert. The ride towards the rocky biome before them began uneventful. Pleasant even. air conditioned car, nothing but travel, sun on their backs, it was nice. Then they hit what locals called, the point of no return. a big red sign warned them that most people didn't return from this area, that the things inside were all highly capable of killing you. Akashi took the time to joke about "This place needing a 100ft foot monster if it was gonna kill them." it was funny when it was said.

He will never make a joke like that again.

Every mile it seemed something got in their way. Frst it was large Ursa, then it was giant beowulfs. Every fight it seemed they were getting bigger and tougher. While it was yet to be too much of a problem, the frequency of the attacks were jarring. How could so many grimm be located in one area, and why were they so muuch bigger and stronger then other grimm? Another thing that was oh so off was the rumbling. At first it seemed like just the jeep. But then Akashi realized that it wasn't coming from the Jeep, but he ground itself. What was down there, having followed them since they entered this Forsaken land? Whatever it was, it was massive and able to hide under the earth below them, so that was sure to be unnerving to people. Even the ever playful Akashi kept a hand on his sword and an eye on the ground as they drove, looking for a hint that they were about to be swallowed.

The rumbling left a few hours after they actually noticed it as not native tothe car, and also just as the rocky boime came into view. As they were informed by their guide, these rovky hills were home to numerous extensive cave systems. countless bandits, grimm galore, and beasts unknown to the world. They were looking for a cave sytem that used to be a citidel for many a knights back in the wars. There they should find the plant contained within. The sun had just risen on the susal sunny day, so a full day of rest and exploration awaited them. No matter what transpired this mission, it was sure to be a bigger challenge then whatever they've done so far in their lives.

 

[The Prophet]

Akashi Taurus

Location: No Man's land
Nearby: Cherry, Forest, Zenith, Bora, Slate, Jack, Something Carmine
Mentions: All of you peeps
@Tags: The Suspicious Eye Brinni Hibiscus KarenAKAMint

Akashi practically jumped out of the jeep as it rolled to a stop, wanting nothing more then to stretch out and be out of those insufferable dunes. Despite the frequent fights that took place, the repititivity of it all really bored Akashi, so much so that while in the car he kept up useless conversation for group entertainment or stared out the window. "Oh my god, i'm so happy to be out of those stupid dunes! It's such a nice change of pace then drive, fight, drive, fight, on and on and on! Ahhhhhhh!" he destressed, kicking away at the hot sand beneath his soles. shaking his head vigorously, he turned around to the sprawling landscape before them. a wide grin on his face before turning back to the group still in the car. "How you guys holding up? I know i was mad stressed, especially whenever that rumbling came in. probably didn't spook you guys at all, did it?" Claude asked, shrugging his shoulders as he glanced at eveyone present, attempting to gauge how they were feeling. The only reason he was still able to keep up his good mood was that they were in the final stretch, but in the back of his head he feared the last stretch would be the hardest, as described by their talking guide in his consistent questions and conversations in an attempt to keep everyone entertained at least somewhat. Who knows how well that worked. "Alright! so all we have to do is find this dumb plant in this dumb abandoned temple mine thing and call in the airship right? Doesn't sound hard at all!..........So, how do we start?" Akashi asked, dropping his voice for the last part, a little bit embarrassed he didn't know how to start and yet he was the most eager. He interlaced his fingers while looking around, hopefully somebody would come up with something smart so he could say the same thing louder soon.

 

[Hibiscus]

The Prophet Brinni KarenAKAMint The Suspicious Eye

To detail the ride through the dunes from the perspective of Zenith would be the same as the others on the journey, just with more complaining. The constant conversation going throughout the jeep thanks to Akashi was pleasant enough, as were the usual partners to his chattiness in the jeep. Looking out the window didn't provide a reprieve, the ever expanse of sand boring after the first few thousand grains of it pass. However the repetitive tasks of clearing Grimm that had become too numerous on the route were his chance to 'stretch his legs' and enjoy himself, always the first one out and last one back in the jeep. However as the last onset of the drive came to a close and the long trek in the desert became apparent, Zenith's mind turned back to the pleasant oasis they just left.

The rumbling both in conversation and sensation returned him back to the group. Zenith didn't wonder too much about the size of the Grimm on their way in, just happy with more to cut through. And the tremors didn't worry Zenith, worse to worse it's an earthquake and those didn't bother anyone who could kind of fly. Instead Zenith pondered the temple location, staring down at the dunes in front him. 'I could move the sand if we knew were it was, but as far as finding it I've got nothing. None of our semblances could help, lesser grey hair can see far so I suppose he could look.' Zenith turned to the group as he evaluated anything they could do for the problem. However he turned up dry, with his eyes landing on Kaitlyn in frustration. "This one's supposed to be our desert guide right? Or did we just bring someone dedicated to bitching the entire time?" Zenith had an itch with Kaitlyn anyways, and holding his tongue the entire time in the house was enough to let this one slip.

Slate had already moved away from the group by the time Zenith made his comment, enjoying his returned sight. That being said Slate also enjoyed the new glasses the Carmine's had made for him, as wearing them giving his eyes an ease they weren't used to. That and truthfully he liked them, he looked different with them on. Slate raised his hands to his eyes as he looked out the dunes, unable to spot any landmark or point of interest.

 

[Brinni]

KarenAKAMint The Prophet Hibiscus The Suspicious Eye

Cherry exited the car and stretched. The ride just to get here had been arduous. It was hot, they were attacked frequently, and the attitudes in the air were so palpable she could practically see them. Still, now that they were out and around she was happier for it. "Did you guys know that some recipes actually call for being cooked inside of a heated sand pit? Usually drinks like teas and coffees, but I've heard some people even make bread that way. It's pretty cool...or is it hot in this case?" she said looking around, hoping to ease the tension between Zenith and Kaitlyn even for a moment.

She wasn't Kaitlyn's biggest fan either, but their mission would go easier if they weren't at each others throats. She turned to Akashi to answer his questions. "To be honest, the rumbling worried me. If it was some kind of earthquake, I just hope that the cave we're looking for hasn't fallen in on itself from it. As for how we should start...I'm not sure."

Forest for his part had been dozing during the ride whenever they weren't under attack. It was part of the rules his father had often said were essential to being a Huntsman: "Grab some sleep when you can, you never know when your next chance will be"

"I wouldn't worry too much about a cave in Cherry. It didn't feel like an earthquake, unless it was very far off. Which would be nice." He yawned, rolling his shoulders to wake them back up. "As for what we do next..." he turned to Kaitlyn. "I believe this is where Ms Carmine comes in yes? Our guide to and through the caves? Or perhaps that's Jack's job?"

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

@Tags: Brinni The Suspicious Eye KarenAKAMint Hibiscus

Kaitlyn and Jack"Excuse me? You're alive to bitch aren't you?" Kaitlyn said as she stepped towards Zenith getting in his face she poked his chest. "You and your soft companions suck at surviving. If you'd do things right the first time we wouldn't have to deal with all those Grimm and bandits! Get your own shit together before your come pointing fingers at me. I can travel this desert blindfolded on my own. You brats are the reason this had been a hassle! I bet you smug shits haven't even noticed we're being -"

"That's enough guys." Jack said as he leaned over the hood of the van. "It's been long travel but we're here and in one piece, that's all that matters." Looking right at Kaitlyn he continued, "there's no reason to cause a scene."

Glaring at Jack Kaitlyn tossed her hair, the brunt of it smacking Zenith in the face. "Whatever. My job is done. Have fun wandering the cave losers." Taking two steps she began to glide over the sand and towards the car. "I'll be in the car."

"You're not going in?" Jack said.

"Why would I? My job was to guide them here and I did it. Besides, I don't know those caves. They're a maze and crawling with Grimm and God knows what else."

"If they die in there it'll be on your head." Jack said with a grin.

"Well someone's got to take care of the stragglers." Kaitlin said inspecting her nails. "Unless you want to..."

"I think I can handle them. Go in with them, little miss." The two exchanged a glance telling a long and argumentative discussion between the two before Kaylin gave in.

"Fine!" Stomping against the sand she began to make her way into the tunnels. "come on losers. If you get lost I'm not saving you."

A few moments later... After the others went in Dust, Dunes and Death

Spoiler: Who are these people?

Introducing Niner& Shula
Soft steady rhythm of heels across the cold floor slowly began to grow gradually louder as it neared a room. This room like many others held a specific experiment. The rhythmic pattern stopped as the tall slender redhead woman stood in front of the reinforced door. Raising a slender hand she knocked on the door before sliding a key card against the reader and stepping into the now open door. Looking in at the creature strapped against a table the woman crossed her arms as she took in the sight. With a closer look it was clear the woman's face was hidden under a black and gold mask shaped after a butterfly that conceals her eyes.

"Niner." The woman said calmly. Being so close the white tips at the end of four longer bangs became visible against the hard light. "I have a mission I require your assistance on." Hearing the low growl and jostling of the creature, Shula knew she had her interest. She stepped closer to the experiment and continued her speech. "I've been watching you since you've arrived. You've simply been wasting away here in this room." It was a clear waste of a specimen, everyone knew it. Passing it by, watching her growl and coil, everyone saw it as a useful creature, but didn't take the time to use it. Soft whispers and general dismissal of her existence were common when discussing Niner. Once and a while the though tof using her was brought up but ultimately she was left discarded.

It was understandable, but seemingly unfair. Shula thought it was about time that this poor child was made to better use. Not for play, like some would have it, but for a true cause. She thought now was the best time to see what this creation was made of.

"Would you like to leave this place?"

Livid red eyes that had tracked the woman widened at the question and began to search the masked face for possible trickery. “L...leave?” Her voice cracked with disuse while she focused her empathic sense on the visitor, like with most of her visitors the overriding sense was that she was being assessed but unlike the others this one’s calculating felt more purposeful and lacked the slight undercurrent of fear that was almost always present no matter how heavily restrained she was. “Mission?”

Shula straightened up as she mused a soft affirmation. “Yes. It is nothing too big for you." Having witnessed what Niner could do through the physical testing, she was fast, skilled and her semblance could help in this mission. "For the most part we’ll be tracking a small group through the desert, ensuring their safety." The woman said, knowing that there will be dangers in the desert. That there are villains waiting in the wings to cut them down. Shula could not let that happen, however as powerful as she was, she couldn't do it alone.

Especially her other mission. "Then we’ll be underground. Doing something a bit more dangerous.” She grew a bit stern. "We'll be harvesting a seed of the apocalypse. One that needs to be taken from a monster, one that will change the future." Resting her hand on one of Niner’s shackles she asked. “Will you help me change the future?”

Still trying to divine the visitor’s intentions Niner turned her words over in her mind, she was aware that a desert was an environment that was hot, dry and sandy but nothing else and as for the second task. “Seed of the apocaleaps?” She asked stumbling over the unfamiliar word. “What monster? Like me?” Many had called her that and of all the testing she had been put through she hated being forced to fight the others like her the most.

Shula stopped and her aura shifted as she grew more serious, leaning in closer to Niner, the tension rose in the room. Taking Niner’s face in her hand her masked eyes stared intently at the creature. “You are not a monster.” She said very sternly, before she let go of the girl’s face and stood back up. Turning away she took a moment to compose herself, she hadn't expected to be so angered by such a statement. She’s seen monsters, and this innocent to even consider herself to be one, enraged her. “No this is a creature of dark magic. One we must evade at all costs.” Her aura softened back to the calm sensation from earlier as she looked back at Niner. “Are you willing to take this mission?”

Feeling the mood shift Niner futilely tried to recoil away from her grip with a snarl that turned into a shriek in anticipation of a slap or a needle prick, her fear was replaced by confusion as the visitor backed away leaving Niner to decipher her words. In her experience the only things associated with the word ‘monster’ had been herself, the others like her and the beasts that she had sometimes been made to fight. Yet again the visitor came back to questions which confused her further, she was sometimes asked how she would approach a task but any objection was punished. “Yes.” She said after a long silence. “Take mission.”

"Wonderful. Let's get you out of these restraints." Shula said as she went over and began unbinding Niner. The room was a bit warmer, still quiet, the only sound was the clatter of the falling latches that held Niner in place. Shula was glad that after it all she was able to convince her to agree. She knew what would be coming for all the data experiments here in the upcoming year and knew that Niner didn't deserve what was to come. Now that the girl is under her command she is safe, for now. Removing the last restraint she spoke calmly. "I already had approval to be take you but I wanted it to be your choice." Taking a step back she looked at the freed Niner and smiled, "Ready to go?"

As her bonds fell away Niner flexed each newly freed limb slightly, the moment the last one fell away she rolled off the table away from the visitor onto her feet in one fluid motion and watched carefully for any other surprises. “Ready.” She said neutrally her expression a mix of wariness and confusion.

Shula nodded and made her way over to the door and opened it for Niner to step through. Once she did, Shula followed and walked a bit ahead of Niner, leading her to the exit. As they walked down the hall there were wide one way mirrors covering the walls. A reflection of their cage for the experiments, but a window into a small world for those who were free. Many were pitch dark, with the soft sounds of growls or cries resonating from each one. However, there were a few that were illuminated. One was a fearsome scene of a black blob like creature wriggling in agony against large suited men as they tried to hold it down. The amorphous creature writhed and tried to form a arm or a eye on its body to no avail. Squirming under the heavy grasp of the suited men the creature was injected with something and slowly began to calm itself in their grasp. In another room was a elderly man sitting on a table his eyes were an hollow red, like a grimm and trailing down the front of his chest was a wide slit adorned with a set of teeth. It looked up at the ceiling waiting for something to happen. The third lit cell illuminated a deep red as the one way mirror was plastered in crimson blood. It was hard to say what was going on inside, but a loud inhuman wail could be heard. Shula ignored all of this and opened the door to the exit, turning back to Niner to see if she was still following her.

Watching the door quietly open Niner stared for a moment then darted through it as if expecting it to shut in her face as it had so many times before, out in the corridor she looked around then obediently followed her visitor. Glancing side to side as they walked she stopped by the the red painted cell and pressed a hand against her head, seemingly entranced by something inside the cell she took a couple of slow steps towards it but snapped out of it at the sound of another door opening and sprinted towards it.

Pushing through the door they were met with a small grey room, with two doors. The first an elevator door located in front of them, the other a heavy metal door to the left of them. Shula turned to Niner, “I’m going to touch you for a moment.” Resting a hand on Niner’s forearm, with the other she pushed the door button. Processing for a few seconds the elevator door opened and Shula let go of Niner and stepped in, motioning for her to follow. Once she stepped in and the doors closed Shula pushed the top button, shown with a symbol of a horizontal line. Standing in the elevator quietly she turned and opened a small panel on the left of the elevator and pulled out two survival gear packs. Slinging one over her own shoulder she handed the other to Niner. “Here there’s some spare clothes in there if you’d like them, plus the necessities.” The door opened and the wave of heat flooded the room, sand skittered into the elevator and danced across their ankles. Shula stepped out of the elevator and into the vast desert. looking back she smiled at Niner. “Alright. Let’s go."

Flinching at the warning Niner allowed the contact but shook a little until she was released and stepped into the elevator. Taking the offered pack she turned it over in her hands examining it, looking down at the simple vest top and shorts she had been given she didn’t see any problem. When the doors opened Niner jumped backward at the sudden rush of heat and the unfamiliar feeling of the wind. Blinking and rubbing her eyes at the different quality of the light she looked out at the expanse before her and hesitated daunted by the sheer openness. After a minute of indecisively looking between the lightly glowing buttons of the elevator and her liberator she tentatively stepped out of the elevator dragging the pack behind her, feeling the warm sand between her bare toes a slight smile flickered across her face and imitated the move of hefting the pack on her shoulder not noticing that it was upside down. “Let’s go.” She said her voice finally no longer dull and toneless.

Shula nodded and pulled out a small electronic key from her bag and clicked the button. A soft tweet of a horn activated and a jeep shimmered into existence. Opening the door she slid into the driver’s seat and looked out to Niner. “Hop on in. We’ll meet them at the rendezvous point quickly.” As Niner closed her door the car was started and the outside shimmered and faded to invisibility yet again.

Niner jumped back in alarm as the vehicle appeared out of nowhere and cocked her head at the order to get in not registering the meaning of ‘rendezvous’, coiling like a cat she leaped in through the open door managing to hop through the small space into the passenger seat and squatted in place.

Jack leaned against the Jeep door in the hot sun, used to extreme temperatures he kept his cool. Adjusting his gun over his shoulder he noticed the strange sandwinds that had been following them for a long time. He wondered who among the others figured it out. Kaitlin is a bitch but she's at least observant. Maybe some of the kids are just a observant. I should watch out for them. Shrugging he waved as the dust slowed letting whoever it was he knew exactly where they are. When the dust settled a camouflaged door opened and a woman with vibrant red hair and a mask stepped out and closed the door behind her.

"Your ride is pretty cool. Mind telling me why you're following us?" Jack said his eyes narrowing as he looked the girl up and down. She looked familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The woman stooped a few paces away from him and spoke calmly. "Niner. Take him down." IG42

 

[IG42]

Over the course of the car ride Niner had crouched quietly on the seat staring out the window utterly fascinated even by the drab landscape while stealing nervous glances at her mysterious liberator, a few times her eyes darted to the dashboard and just as quickly looked away, usually when someone was pushing buttons near her something unpleasant happened. Looking ahead she spotted a plume of dust which resolved into another vehicle that she leaned forward to watch.

When they pulled up and Shula got out Niner hesitated for a moment then pawed at the door handle until she managed to open it properly and slipped out, crouching low she slunk around and watched the man in front of them from behind the side of the car feeling his wariness as well as her own. At the order to attack she looked between Shula and the man, she had hoped that somehow she wouldn't have to harm anyone while still carrying out the mission but evidently that wasn't happening. Resigned to the belief that refusing to cooperate would only lead to unnecessary pain Niner sprang onto the hood of the car, coiled and then pounced on the man with the full force of her body. Gripping on with her hands she clawed at him wildly with her bare feet and bit down on his shoulder draining away at his Aura while hoping that 'take him down' wouldn't turn out to mean 'kill him'.

Brinni The Suspicious Eye

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

View attachment 609366
Tags: IG42

Dust, Dunes and DeathIt only took a moment for Jack to realize this woman and pull out his gun towards her. Ready to pull the trigger he noticed the jarring figure from the corner of his eye. Pulling down on the trigger as he was tackled by Niner the bullet passed by Shula, only grazing a few strands of hair. Collapsing to the floor he cried out in a unfamiliar language as the beast sunk its teeth into his flesh. Whatever this beast was it messed with the wrong person. Shredding his arms against the beast's claws he tried his best to activate his semblance, yet he felt his Aura fade from him. Growing weak he tried to push the creature off him but only flopped against the sand.

With hazy eyes his final scene was to see the white shoes of Shula walk up to him. Letting out one last curse in his native tongue he lost consciousness.

As the tanned figure of the man fell to the sand Shula stared at him for a moment before turning to Niner. "Better you than I. I would have killed him." Having seen the man fight when he wasn't taken aback, Shula was certainly glad to have Niner at her side. Still it bothered her how easily the girl complied to her demand, she wasn't sure what had happened to the girl before her transfer but it was clear it wasn't good. Trying her best to show some sort of kindness she gave a soft, "thank you" before urning towards the cave.

Her brow furrowed, "It seems that the children are already inside the cave. Let's hope they do not stumble across the more dangerous entities inside there. Those will be ours. The cave system contains riches and dangers, the deeper you go the more dangerous it is. Our target is at the bottom." Smiling she looked back at Niner. "We'll have to follow behind the children till we reach the split in the cave. So until then we'll have to be quiet. Are you ready?"

@Tags: Brinni The Suspicious Eye KarenAKAMint Hibiscus

Meanwhile in the caveKaitlyn stomped through the cave very perturbed she hated the growing dampness as they traversed through the cave. Sounds reverberated all throughout the cave, the dripping of water, the skittering of insects or bugs even the shallow breathing of the other students. All of it was annoying Kaitlyn, "could you all breathe quieter? Memorizing the cave isn't as easy as it appears." A moment later the entire cave system shook like a tremor taking over the entire cavern. Once it passed Kaitlyn let out a string of profanities, "Just my luck those things are awake today. Come on losers let's go find this plant before we're all dead. And don't touch anything!!"

 

[IG42]

As the man struggled Niner snarled and held on tighter feeling his desperation and the rush of power from his draining Aura until he stopped struggling. Releasing him carefully she hopped off his chest and squatted on the ground staring at his chest rise and fall while Shula came over to examine him. When the masked woman complicated Niner on her work and implied the man would be left alone she spat out a glob of blood and piece of shirt then smiled shakily for a moment. At the soft spoken words she almost strained to hear them being so used to harshly barked commands through a loudspeaker, looking up into the mask searchingly she tried to divine why her handler seemed to care.

Silently following Shula into the cave Niner listened to the information with her brow furrowed feeling a sense of simmering irritation coming from further in. "Children we track? Ensure safety?" She asked tentatively recalling their initial meeting. Staring into the darkness her expression twisted as she felt a sense of comfort at being out of the glaring sunlight and mass of emptiness outside but also a twinge of fear that going down again would somehow lead back to her cell, taking a step back she pressed a hand to the side of her head as she struggled with the contradiction. Feeling the cave shake she dropped onto all fours, focusing on the immediate danger she fell back on what little past experience she had and reasoned that failing to comply would simply result in her being motivated to do it anyway. Hesitantly she looked up at Shula expecting an angry reaction to her lapse. "Ready..." She said in a small voice.

The Suspicious Eye

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

@Tags: Brinni The Suspicious Eye KarenAKAMint Hibiscus IG42

The cave was a series of tunnels and plummets. Each area was dangerous and all met at the bottom of a large put you wish was bottomless. Lurking in the dark depths of the pit was a creature made of dark magic corrupting those any and all that touched it. It's dark miasma is dangerous enough to kill the experienced of explorers, let alone the monster. Up ahead of the children were three openings each one would lead to a danger but choosing the right one will determine if they have a chance at evading death today.

Shula made her way into the darkened cave slowly quieting her footsteps as her heels touched the stone floor. She knew the path to the depths by heart, she'd been her countless times to collect the seeds of evil from the great monster below. However, this is the first time she'll be stealing one. If they're found by that monster they'll be killed for sure. As Niner asked if they were protecting the children Shula nodded. The mission is simple keep the children away from the monster below and get that seed. Simple in theory she'd have to hope the children don't wander onro the wrong path, otherwise their lives will be in grave danger.
Feeling the earth rumble around them Shula steadied herself and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Good the Grimm are moving, that means the monster is still asleep. In this cave stillness is the only true sign of danger. Turning to Miner she noticed her on the ground and extend a hand to the girl to help her up.


Regaining her footing Kaitlyn cursed and looked to the others. "Come on we've got to keep moving. I don't want to be here for very long." Pulling her axe out of her sling she twirled it in her hand and cautiously began to tread slowly. Seeing a faint brush of light from up ahead she began to move a bit faster till she reached a opened clearing. The wide area was a pleasant change of scenery compared to the cold dark tunnels. Light speckled across the uneven floor from small openings at the top of the clearing. The desert sun and heat beaming down onto the sandy floor. On the other side of the clearing were three tunnels to take all of equal size but each one leading to something unpleasant.
Taking two more steps in Kaitlyn froze in place and puts hand up to stop the others. She pointed to the sand and whispered. "Don't wake them." At first glance the sand appeared normal, but standing very still you could see the sand slowly rise and fall, the breathing of a creature underneath. Salamander Grimm, or something far larger was resting under the sand. Who knows what would wake it.

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

@Tags: Brinni The Suspicious Eye KarenAKAMint Hibiscus IG42

The cave was a series of tunnels and plummets. Each area was dangerous and all met at the bottom of a large put you wish was bottomless. Lurking in the dark depths of the pit was a creature made of dark magic corrupting those any and all that touched it. It's dark miasma is dangerous enough to kill the experienced of explorers, let alone the monster. Up ahead of the children were three openings each one would lead to a danger but choosing the right one will determine if they have a chance at evading death today.

Shula made her way into the darkened cave slowly quieting her footsteps as her heels touched the stone floor. She knew the path to the depths by heart, she'd been her countless times to collect the seeds of evil from the great monster below. However, this is the first time she'll be stealing one. If they're found by that monster they'll be killed for sure. As Niner asked if they were protecting the children Shula nodded. The mission is simple keep the children away from the monster below and get that seed. Simple in theory she'd have to hope the children don't wander onro the wrong path, otherwise their lives will be in grave danger.
Feeling the earth rumble around them Shula steadied herself and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Good the Grimm are moving, that means the monster is still asleep. In this cave stillness is the only true sign of danger. Turning to Miner she noticed her on the ground and extend a hand to the girl to help her up.


Regaining her footing Kaitlyn cursed and looked to the others. "Come on we've got to keep moving. I don't want to be here for very long." Pulling her axe out of her sling she twirled it in her hand and cautiously began to tread slowly. Seeing a faint brush of light from up ahead she began to move a bit faster till she reached a opened clearing. The wide area was a pleasant change of scenery compared to the cold dark tunnels. Light speckled across the uneven floor from small openings at the top of the clearing. The desert sun and heat beaming down onto the sandy floor. On the other side of the clearing were three tunnels to take all of equal size but each one leading to something unpleasant.
Taking two more steps in Kaitlyn froze in place and puts hand up to stop the others. She pointed to the sand and whispered. "Don't wake them." At first glance the sand appeared normal, but standing very still you could see the sand slowly rise and fall, the breathing of a creature underneath. Salamander Grimm, or something far larger was resting under the sand. Who knows what would wake it.

 

[Hibiscus]

Brinni The Suspicious Eye KarenAKAMint The Prophet IG42

"Hunters and Huntresses on the mission to save a city versus annoying girl who's basically a glorified tour guide?" Zenith weighed the two options metaphorically in his hands, doing his best to be perplexed by the question. "Yep, we're the losers." Eyes rolling back into their usual state of monotony, Zenith didn't prod the girl any further as they walked. On one hand she was an annoying brat, but Zenith had to give her props in the tour guide department. Taking a look back at their path, the twists and turns through various caves, Zenith realized he had no idea which directions they took. 'Annoying, but effective.' Conceding for the moment, for some time Zenith's hands were at his side and lips shut.

However he began to make some noise as their pace picked up, following Kaitlyn until the cave opened into a clearing. The cave had breaks in the ceiling, letting both sand and light drip in through the cracks. For a moment it was quite tranquil, viewing nature's architecture of various stalagmites and stalactite to form the room, but the inhabitants fouled the scenery. Salamander Grimm, from the few forms they could gleam from their breaths shifting the sands. With care Zenith drew his sword, keeping it as silent as possible as he took a step forward in the cavern. Once the blade was out of the sheathe Zenith sent the sword down, piercing through what he was vaguely shaped like a head, hoping to end the creature without much fuss.

 

[Brinni]

Forest and Cherry

Location: Desert
Nearby: Team Vacuo
@Tags: The Prophet The Suspicious Eye KarenAKAMint Hibiscus

"Play nice Zenith" Forest chided lightly as he walked by his teammate. "Initial impressions are often wrong. Like with you and Miss Sakra" His point proven as Kaitlyn navigated through the labyrinthine tunnels with ease. "I can't help but wonder who was following us and what their goals are. I do hope Jack is alright" he mused aloud. He followed their guide through the twists and turns. He was fairly confident he could lead them back out should something happen to Kaitlyn, though he wasn't completely sure.

Cherry for her part took the opportunity to have a bit of fun. Instead of walking on the ground she walked along the ceiling. "More space up here if a fight breaks out" she said giggling when asked. When Forest brought up their pursuers she locked eyes with Slate, a question in her eyes if this could be his father's men or someone else.

When Kaitlyn pointed out the Grimm Forest nodded at her suggestion. Sneaking past them was a wise move....until he remembered Zenith. Zenith had a compulsion of sorts, eliminate all Grimm on sight. His head snapped in Zenith's direction "Zenith, no" he whispered. Too late. Forest held his breath, hoping that the one creature's death wouldn't be enough to wake the others.

 

[KarenAKAMint]

Location: Professor Carmine's home
Interacting: Everyone
Mentioned: N/A
Tags: The Suspicious Eye Brinni Hibiscus The Prophet

Bora Shu Mun
During the whole duration of the car ride to their destination, Bora spent is mostly to herself as she tried to keep a calm aura around herself. Mainly done through meditation but with Kaitlyn around it was hard to keep herself as calm as she can. Really her aim was not to blow up in her face for her sour attitude about everything. Like she was some kind of princess when she's just a spoiled brat with mommy issues.

As they all began to get off the vehicle, Bora was almost hopeful that Kaitlyn would have stayed, but the odds weren't and have been in her favor as of lately. She just crossed her arms and tried to not get angry. She knew very well that it would only bring about Grimm onto the party. Bora followed like a silent shadow to her party members as she kept an ear out to what was around them.

When in the cave, she was reaching her boiling point after Kaitlyn's little comment about everyone's breathing, like she's not doing it as well. Glaring at the pompous brat, Bora hissed under breath, "Bitch..." If anyone heard her, it would seem out of character from her normal passive nature. Then again none of those here have seen her first hand at the club, which would have been normal there.

They hadn't been walking for a long time, but to encounter first hand a Grimm before it attacked us was a new experience for Bora. Then again she had never been outside of Vale before, so it could have been different. She stuck close to Salte as Cherry had opted into walking on the ceiling of the cave which was a great strategy in theory. Trying to follow Kaitlyn's idea, for once she was making suggestions, but Zenith had other plans of his own.

Cursing under her breath, Bora finally took our her weapon, getting it on the ready if that caused anything. They were in foreign territory, especially Bora, so it was much better to be prepared than getting surprised by anything that might jump at them. Bora held her breath as she waited for what felt minutes to her, hoping that Zenith had made the correct decision.