[Uncouth T-Rex]

Siegfried Rosenrot took stock of the Emerald forest spread out before him, dull and wet in the gray light of early morning. The drizzle had begun rapidly, with cloud cover moving in a few moments before dawn would have broken. In the distance, thunder crashed and brought with it warning of yet nastier weather to come. The fire dust woven into his ill-weather garb kept him warm and dry though, and he remained impeccably dressed in a black regency suit, white breeches, and hard leather cavalry boots. Even his glasses barely steamed as the icy droplets slapped into them. Ah, Marlon, I'd hoped for a better day for you...this rain cannot be a reminder of anything pleasant. Frowning, he fingered Drachenbalger's pommel and looked at his nephew, who stood sullen and motionless against the rain.

At his side, sheltered by the large black umbrella he was holding over her, stood Siobhan Clannad, wrapped tight in a tan trenchcoat and topped with a purple beret. She fidgeted nervously in her over-large galoshes as the students began to filter in. At least today she was on time, and had been given more than a few moments of brief preparation. In her hands she clutched her megaphone, knowing full well that this time she'd just use it straight off and be done with it.

Marlon had risen early, even with the small amount of sleep he'd somehow gotten the night before. The first one at the cliffside, he'd checked and re-checked his armor and Isenwachter, stowed his hunting knife, ate a light breakfast of jerky and hardtack, suited up, and then set himself to wait as the first drops of chill started to fall from the sky. Today was it. Do or die. The first time he'd face Grimm since Yrrch. Better be ready, boy. Better be ready.

Cheri, on the other hand, was anything but. Dressed in Softshoe, Showstopper, some black leggings, and a matching sports bra, she was soaked to the bone and freezing. Having dressed for freedom of movement and comfort in her go-to workout outfit, she instantly regretted it the moment the rain had started to fall. And she'd be late if she ran back to change now...this was doing zero to help with her mounting panic and nagging feeling that this whole decision was just one huge mistake ending in her being eaten alive.

[Marticus]

Arashi groaned as he strolled down the path to the cliffside. He'd had one hell of a sleep thanks to travelling all the way from Vacuo, pretty much out from the moment he lay down. Now, though, he was stiff from sleeping on the floor, he'd lost his pack of cigarettes during the scramble to get ready and now, on top the that, it was raining. Just my luck that it'd rain today. I'm probably gonna end up looking useless. Arashi was thankful that he'd brought his leather jacket and boots though. Compared to Vacuo, Vale was freezing today.

At long last, Arashi finally reached the rendezvous point, and saw that Marlon and Cheri had beaten him there. At least he'd know people here, that made things better. "Hey, you two. Nice to see ya'll again". Arashi looked Marlon up and down quickly, eyeing his gear up.Well, he's armed like I thought he'd be, though I'm surprised that he doesn't have some sort of ranged weapon. But maybe it's one of those fancy transforming toys all the cool kids seem to like. He then turned towards Cheri, and almost did a double take when he saw what she was wearing. Or, more accurately, wasn't. "Dammit Cheri, didn't you pack anything rainproof? Or just warm? You look miserable". Arashi slipped off his leather jacket, revealing him to be wearing his suit jacket underneath, as he moved over to her and wrapped it around it around Cheri's shoulders. He drew Hikari and lit it, dragging the flame into the palm of his left hand. As he stowed his lighter away, he felt the rain begin to quench the little fire in his hand, and started to focus on it, using his aura to heat it up and expand it, and held it close to Cheri. "There, that might help warm you up. Can't have you freezing to death on us, eh".

[arcus_gray]

Well this is an excellent day for it to rain. Explosion is now useless and about half my arsenal will have significantly reduced efficacy. Dammit. A significantly miffed Fallow thought to himself as he walked up to everyone else. He was dressed in his typical clothes but didn't seem to be feeling the cold at all. The only real indication of discomfort about the weather was the annoyed scowl on his face and that he had a hand on his head preventing his hat from blowing away. He walked up to the group and took a seat near a tree to keep out of the wind before bringing the Russet Grimoire and a quill out as he started writing symbols in the pages. "no sense in bringing any fire based spells today.

[FGLM001]

Kushii was not happy. This rain was horrid, the way it felt falling onto his head, ruining his hair and soaking his suit. His shoes were already muddy and the ends of his pants were ruined, he was going to have to trash the outfit. Walking towards the group of students forming, carrying half of Beast in each hand, he spotted some familiar faces and moved towards them. Hello, all. What terrible weather, yes? It's almost like we are being given a sign as to how today will play out." He shuddered as he said that. "Then again, it's probably best to stay away from dark thoughts like those." He then combined the two halves of Beast and began warming up, trying to work some feeling into his frozen fingers.

[terexia]

“Alright let's do this shit” Violet muttered to herself as she pulled her gloves on.  She looked in the mirror of the changing stall and looked over her face one more time in the mirror. ‘you'd think that covering up dark circles would be easier than covering up scarring,  but nope it's just as fucking hard. ‘ She bemoaned to herself as she applied the last bit of concealer to under her eyes. Looking at her sleep deprived self in the mirror,  she sighs slightly. ‘If only there was something  for bloodshot eyes. ‘ She thought and finishing her ensemble  by slipping a half mask onto her face.  She wasn't sure how well her makeup would hold in rain so she had to take precautions.   She takes a step back to inspect herself in the mirror.  She forgoes  the usual  formal ensemble that she usually wears, it sure as hell wasn't going to work in the middle of a muddy forest. Instead she wore a black spandex long sleeve shirt with rugged pants and boots. And finished off with a leather crop hoodie over top to keep herself from being saturated with water.

Violet stumbles slightly as she looks at herself in the mirror, It had been her third  day without a proper night's sleep and it was starting to take its toll. ‘Thank god for convenience stores.’ She thinks taking two caffeine shot bottles out of her pouch and quickly quaffing both of them down her throat Throwing the empty bottles on the ground and wiping her mouth, Violet plugs in headphones into her scroll. She found herself jolted back into full lucidity ass the heavy metal blared into her ears. She got her equipment and left the locker room slowly and steadily walking though the rainy and bleary dawn. Her hood was down and mask was on and all that was visible were tufts of purple hair bordering bloodshot determined eyes. Strolling towards the cliffs  the cold didn't bother her much, hell she preferred the cold rather to heat , and she knew that he'd be sweating the warmth back into her muscles soon enough. As she lines up beside the others she tears out her headphones and stares forward, intensely focused at the task at hand . ‘This is it..’ She thought bluntly touching the staff on her back.

[Sesh]

Cael looked damn good in the rain, if he did say so himself. The drizzle barely penetrated his thick hair, and the water ran down his jaw in a tickling line. He was dressed warmly and comfortably, rain was a common problem back home so he was well prepared, both in wardrobe and in attitude. He bounced on the balls of his feet, slightly apart from the other students, eager to begin. Yesterday had reminded him of how new he truly was to everything here, being able to work a scroll didn't mean he was ready to meet hundreds of new people. He'd decided that it would be better to take things in in controlled bursts, he'd get to know his team first, whoever that ended up being, and then work from there.

Hopefully he would meet them soon.

[aalyman42]

Forrest approached the designated cliff side where he saw the faces of the people he would now be ready to call his friends. He wore his usually shirt, vest, pants, and boots, but over top he had dawned a classic yellow raincoat, one of the few things he brought in his small luggage bag. As he approached he pulled his hood down and let the rain fall on his face and wet his hair. He was excited to fight and to get into action, but most importantly he was excited to discover who he would be teamed up with. "This rain is lovely." he said with no hint of sarcam. It never rained in Foreverfall so Forrest always loved the rain. He examined the group and saw Cheri dressed for summer weather, and the only warm thing she had was the jacket of someone else. "How have you guys been? I could hardly sleep last night because i was so excited for today."

[Uncouth T-Rex]

Marlon nodded slowly at Arashi, and remained mute. His brow furrowed a little at the sight of Miss Chanson, and he reminded himself to keep an eye out for her when they were on the move. If anything went wrong, she would be one of the ones that would go down fast and hard, and she'd need someone to get her out. You can't save everyone, Marlon...His Uncle's words echoed heavily in his ears, and he frowned. Maybe not. But he could damn well try. In the back of his mind, blazing red eyes watched him from every shadow, waiting...The Grimm were out there, he could feel it. They would come for everyone. The only question was when.

"Ugh, I did, Arashi, but I thought today would be nice like yesterday, and it didn't start pouring until I got here!" Cheri whined, instantly perking up the moment the boy put his jacket around her. "Oh, thanks! This is just what I needed!" she cooed, snuggling into it and warming her hands on the fireball he'd whipped up for her. "I guess you're always ready for anything, then?"

At that moment, Kushii Utsu walked up, and said something annoying. "Yeah, how about we not jinx ourselves. Hi Forrest!" she chirped, her voice switching from sarcastic to sweet. Offering him a little wave from within the jacket, she took stock of his outfit. She couldn't decide if it was awkward or adorable, and came to the conclusion that like its owner, at least from what little she knew, it was probably a bit of both. "I couldn't really sleep either, but, I'm actually pretty shaky. Who even knows what's out there waiting for us?"

"Just stick close to each other if ya can. Keep your peepers and ears open. Don't get caught alone." Marlon grunted in response, his words punctuated by a flash of lightning. He stared straight ahead as he spoke, his eyes scanning the valley before them.

[Marticus]

"I try to be, Cheri. Hey guys, welcome to the party" Arashi said as he turned towards everyone that arrived after him, while still keeping the fire burning for Cheri. "By the way, Cheri, there may be a few throwing knives in the pockets of that jacket. You're welcome to use them, I've got enough to spare, just don't forget and accidently hurt yourself".

Arashi nodded along as he listened to the other's talk about the weather and their sleep, and spoke up after Marlon. "No turning back now, guys and girls. Keep a cool head, don't panic, and remember that, no matter what happens, we've got each other's backs. Together, this'll be a walk in the park". On the inside, however, Arashi wasn't as confident. A park filled with angry monsters. Well, my first Grimm encounter was never gonna be fun.

[arcus_gray]

As the group were talking and complaining about the weather Fallow was actually doing something about it. Quickly scribbling through his book with various inks until without warning he ran a hand across a page before whipping it across the ground leaving a small mark which then exploded into fire. A few seconds later a fireball appeared in his hand which he threw into the air allowing the rain to extinguish it. Without a second thought Fallow wrote more spells into the spaces he had just freed up before putting the point of his quill to his chin. "hmmmm. Should i keep some fire spells in case the rain dies down or use all of them for spells i know will be useful. I suppose maximizing electric dust spells would be best seeing as everything will be wet and thus conductive."

[Uncouth T-Rex]

Sometimes havin' one another's backs just wasn't enough. Marlon closed his eyes against the thought, struggling to maintain focus for the space of a breadth, before returning to his solemn vigil over the foliage below them.

Cheri eagerly felt around inside the jacket. "Neat! Don't worry, Daddy taught me how to handle these well enough!" she responded, producing one of the blades for closer inspection. The fire and the jacket were doing a lot of the legwork to lift her spirits. Now if she could just find Violet and Cael too...

Wasting no time, Siegfried was by the boy's side the moment he let a fireball loose into the gathering gloom. A dour expression on his face, he lay a hand on his shoulder and bent down slightly, speaking in a hushed tone. "Perhaps saving the explosions for the Grimm is the best course of action here. You seem to be making the other students nervous."

[arcus_gray]

Fallow had already run his hand over another page when one of the overseers of their initiation had a hand on his shoulder. Recognizing that the man was right Fallow nodded to the man before realizing he still had a spell in his hand. In order to prevent the spell from causing any issues by being held for too long Fallow gestured skywards and a small orange glow appeared and begun drifting upwards before quickly being extinguished by the rain. "Right. sorry." With that he stood up and walked over to the cliff edge waiting for everyone to arrive so that initiation could begin. Damn. Hope I have enough non fire spells. This could prove to be quite the pain. I guess the whether does mean i won't start a forest fire though.

[Uncouth T-Rex]

Siobhan, now holding the umbrella while Mr. Rosenrot went to take care of something  in the crowd, waited for him to come back before starting. As he took his umbrella back and dutifully held it over her head once more, she raised the megaphone to her lips, and started to speak.

"Attention, lads and lasses! Welcome ta your Initiation! Ye might be wonderin' who I am, an' I can tell ye my name is Miss Siobhan Clannad! I'm your Personal Finance an' Home Economics Professor here at Beacon, an' I'll be the lady supervisin' ye all today! So be good, I don't want any trouble, ye hear!?" She laughed awkwardly at this, trying to feel a little more at ease with herself. She still wasn't fully over the excitement of yesterday, and here came an all new batch of students ready to hurt themselves. Clearing her throat, she moved on. "The first thin' we need ta do is get ye all counted, so if ye don't mind, line up on these metal pads here and state your name, one at a time, if ye please!"

[terexia]

Violet glanced to the side looking at Cheri and couldn't help but stifle a laugh at her arrangement, ‘Did she forget to check the weather?’ She thinks a grin curling under her mask and breaking her sullen demeanor. A sudden ball of fire curls into existence in front of them and causes Violet to literally jump, her nerves high strung from  the caffeine. She puts her hands to her chest and takes a deep breath before turning to see. ‘The same fucking pyro from before … are you serious?’ She thought angrily , she definitely did not want to be in the forest the same goddamn time as this guy, hell he was gonna cut fifteen years off of her life before the day was over. ‘Yeah but no Huntress ever lives their full lifespan. ‘ She thinks mentally laughing at her morbid joke. She had a different demeanor from yesterday, It was necessary to force herself have a different outlook. Today was pure unadulterated fighting for her life and she had to be ready for it. As the teacher yelled for them to take their places Violet walks up to the first launchpad. “V-violet M.” She rasps looking side to side at the people prepped near her. She looked at Cherri and sent a friendly wave her way, then she caught the eyes of Marlon and she  simply nodded towards him An unspoken conversation seemed to pass in between them as they looked at each other  both as prepared as they could be for today's task.

[Uncouth T-Rex]

As the students began calling out their names, Siegfried quickly took them down on his scroll, easily keeping up with the barrage of monikers. Like yesterday, he already knew a fair number of them, either by word of mouth or by mutual acquaintances. Cheri Chanson...he still could hardly believe it. He'd had occasion to bump into her father many a time at social outings, and while he knew the man to be a skilled fighter on a level near his own, it seemed odd for his daughter to take up arms so readily. At least her training would be impeccable...

Marlon only needed to take a step and he was where he was required to be. When the time came, he barked out his name, and met Violet's eyes. They stayed that way, looking at one another, their expressions speaking dour volumes as to the situation, but remained as silent as gravestones. Rain streaming off of him, he glanced to either side. All lined up pretty-like, sheep ready for the takin'. He kept his gaze forward then, and tried not to think too hard on it.

Cheri's spirits were right back where they needed to be after she heard Cael call out his name, and she made sure to wave at him before announcing her own. Some excited muttering went through the line at that, and she flowered yet further under the attention. Oh good, there was Vi too! She waved back to her new friend and waited, nervous but not wrackingly so, for what came next.

It took some time before the list was done. There seemed to be more students to test today than the day before...this year really was a large harvest for Beacon. "Thank ye all for cooperatin'!" Siobhan continued. "So ta explain what ye all are ta do out in the Emerald Forest this mornin', the whole lot o' it is filled with ruins from the olden times. Ye are ta make yer way to the other side o' the valley and in one o' the temples there ye are to fetch me an artifact, ye'll know them when ye see them, and bring it back ta me. The place is crawlin' with nasties, Grimm mostly, and how ye handle them and the task ye been given decides what team ye get placed on for the next four years. The first person ye meet is goin' ta be yer partner for that time as well." She paused then, letting that sink in.

"Mr. Rosenrot here is bidin' with me so that if any of ye get hurt or need rescuin' he can make sure ye don't get yourselves murdered or eaten, which'd make me more than a mite sid, ye know. I hope ye all do well, be careful, stay as safe as ye can, and may the gods watch over ye!" Mr. Rosenrot coughed, and her face reddened. How could she have forgotten something so shocking? "Oh, and ye have ta find yer own landin' strategy! That's important, now!"

Siegfried wasted no time activating the launch sequence, sending the students flying out over the trees to meet whatever fates awaited them.