[b]_::A New Day; Vask's Room::_[/b]

Waking up was a rather exciting matter in Vask's room. While many had wandered and chatted upon reaching the school and getting through the opening ceremony he had simply waited until it was allowed and then hurried to bed. Jet-lag was nothing to toy with, and he knew his own limits well enough to succumb to the gentle embrace of slumber when it beckoned and he was near a bed.

Of course; given his usual energetic nature this made the eventual breakaway from sleep's clutches quite the noisy affair. "Hn!" He exclaimed as he sat bolt upright, his head whipping side to side as he tried to get a good view of his surroundings. A moment later he loosed a large sigh as his brain, still in the process of getting up, alerted him that he hadn't yet opened his eyes. When he did and it was still dark he flailed at the covers like a kitten batting at a ball of string until they assented to vacate his face... Unfortunately an instant later he realized just how close to the edge of the bed he'd been when he began flailing as his body suddenly pitched to the left and the floor rocketed up to meet his face. "Urffh!" Came the groan of mild pain as he hit the ground, managing to turn his head in time that rather than smashing his nose he merely slapped his cheek against the floor.

Still; the jolt of hitting the floor was just the catalyst he needed to really get moving, and after it happened he was on his feet in seconds, and rushing through the morning's preparations. Having not bothered to unpack the night before he hastily dug through his bags and grabbed a clean set of clothes and his toothbrush and shower kit before making his way to the restroom, idly scratching at his stomach as he went.

The shower was refreshing and turned his hair from something that looked as though it had been left behind after the onslaught of a tornado into it's usual fuzzy mess once it was dried. The little aches and twinges in his back and shoulders from sleeping on a new matress(and subsequently falling on the floor) had been borne away by the heat of the water and left him revitalized. His fresh breath after brushing was it's own reward.

Returning to his room he prepared his arms and armor for the day... The trial was upon them, after all, and his mother had informed him it would include a bit of a melee; though not much beyond that. Fitting the armguards into place and tightening the straps he pondered whether he would be seeing more of the salamander girl for about half a moment; after which his mind trailed off to other things like smacking the boy who had been brandishing blades on the plane in the head for his dangerous idiocy if he ran into him, or meeting his new team-mates whomever they might be. By the time his drifting thoughts settled his chestplate and leg-guards were snugly fitted in place and he nodded approvingly before slotting ammo-clips into the open and waiting slots on his leg-guards. His weapon, for the time being, was still enclosed in the metal case which he hefted over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

[b]_::Playing by New Rules; Beacon Cliffs::_[/b]

Upon reaching the cliffs Vask realized he was the last to show up and silently swore to himself he would spend less time daydreaming when next he had to be somewhere on time... A promise he'd made himself many, MANY, times in the past and failed to uphold but one he had made a valiant effort towards each time.

The headmistress and one of the teachers, both of whom had been introduced at the assembly the day before, were present when they got to the cliffs and very soon began to discuss the exam... Which was good considering that in the few minutes beforehand Vask was wondering if the 'melee' portion of the exam his mother had brought up might somehow involve shoving his fellow students off the cliff... Or being shoved off himself. His mind drifted to scenes of prolonged falling and intense pain as his body hit the water like it was a block of cement, but he managed to shake them off shortly after the introductions were over, when the speaker changed to Pewter, causing him to refocus shortly.

Glancing around at those assembled he quickly assessed the eleven other students participating and tried to place them from the ride over the day before; some were simple, some he had no clue of, but none had particularly stood out in his mind as good material for a partner. [i]Luck of the draw, then.[/i] He told himself, intending not to actively seek a given individual.

By the end of things his mind was beginning to drift, but he managed to get the important bits. Grab a relic, don't be near Grimm when all of them are taken hold of; simple enough.

As they were wished luck he silently nodded his thanks to the headmistress for the gesture, whether sincere or not, and was about to ask how long before they set out before a light at his feet alerted him to the presence of a suddenly manifested amalgam of runes. "Well that's something you don't see ev..."

[b]_::with New... Friends?; The Ruined City::_[/b]

"...ery day." He thought to himself, realizing with minute shock that about halfway through his sentence his surroundings had changed completely. [i]Neat trick.[/i] He mused before deciding that standing in the middle of the street probably wasn't the best idea.

Working his way along he was careful to stick close to walls, his head darting at each little sound, even those he himself made it seemed. The going was quiet for perhaps a minute before he saw the first of the Grimm; namely, a gang of Beowolves.

As Grimm went they weren't much, one of the lowest order of the creatures, but he realized quickly that they weren't just moving aimlessly... they were after something. Listening intently he heard sounds of conflict not too far off and realized that one of his fellow classmates must be in the midst of a fight, meaning that these things would only make more of a hassle for them.

He grinned and began to run, hastening down a side-street and away from the creatures. As he ran he popped open the straps on his weapon's case, the case itself snapping into place along the back of his chestplate as he drew out Pikne, expanding it into a polearm with a few simple flicks of the wrist and the press of a button.

He had run fast and hard, faster than the Beowolves as they still seemed a bit uncertain about which wa they were headed exactly and were loping about at a lessened pace the closer they got to their target, trying to narrow in, sniffing at the air.

Some had pulled ahead as they went. One far afront was leading, three had gotten bunched up in the middle, and the last two were ambling behind. He bolted out of the street as fast as his legs would carry him and before the stragglers had a moment to react he was shoulder-tackling one of them, the other finding Pikne's blade wedged in it's throat was unable to utter a howl or a bark or even a yap of distress as it's body was pulled down a side-street. Even if the other creatures turned 'round they would notice nothing, the less than clever beasties likely just thinking their pack-members slow.

The first died easy as Pikne kept moving, slicing clean through the neck and glancing off the ground. The second took a bit more effort. The tackle had left it winded, but it wasn't for long. It drew in a breath to cry out, or snarl, Vask wasn't quite sure which. In all honesty it didn't matter as suddenly his palm collided with the creature's neck and it made a harsh gurgling noise and began to scratch at it's throat, unable to breathe right. As it staggered back he took note of it's stance and made his move. Flicking his wrist the polearm known as Pikne arced along the ground until it was just in front of the gasping creature; turning it blade upwards Vask took a step forwards and whispered fondly; "Goodbye, Beowolf, I hardly knew ye." His words were followed by a hard upwards slash that cut the creature down the middle. [i]Four more, then we can go see who it is causing all the ruckus.[/i] With this in mind he bolted off down the street once more.

The leader had gotten ahead in the time he'd let them run, but the three were still together, meaning he could strike them easily enough. He had attempted planning at the forefront of things because he knew that it was stupid to take on more than you could chew, and he wasn't sure of the Grimm's strength exactly, but feeling more confident he decided it would be best simply to rush the remainder.

Of course; by that point they had realized something was wrong and were on guard.

As he bolted out of the side-street, his blade singing through the open air two of the creatures backed up whilst the third leapt straight for him, it's snapping jaws closing down on his upper arm and thankfully only scratching up his armor. Instants later it was gone, having practically impaled itself, but it set a precedent that continued throughout the battle. A quick darting slash at one of the creatures and the other would bolt in at him. He blocked and the first beast would be on him in it's turn. Tactics. Not very difficult ones, mind you, but tactics nonetheless. Something his mother had stressed the importance of in battle, but which he often got bored of and gave up on as he had in this situation.

[i]Come on, blockhead; do something smart.[/i] He scolded himself, glancing between the two creatures quickly. Grumbling in irritation he leapt back, gaining himself a modicum of room and threw his weapon at one of the creatures. It yapped in surprise and attempted to swat at the oncoming projectile, and as suspected the other creature rushed in. It met his fist nose-first and yelped in surprise, this in it's turn was exacerbated by the fact he suddenly grabbed it's wrist as it flailed one claw at him and flipped it up and over. It landed on it's back stunned and he brought his foot down on it's neck, hard enough to end it.

Turning his head he had to let himself fall to the floor to avoid being struck by the other, which had recovered itself from his weapon-toss swiftly and tried to rip his head off. Instead it scored a glancing blow across his cheek that drew blood but wouldn't do any lasting damage. Still; it made a point. Even the most lowly Grimm was still dangerous. "Should have run." He said to the creature, his legs raising as it tried to leap at him and kicking it clear up and over his body. He scrambled to his feet and ran to his weapon, hearing the thing snarling behind him, hearing it's claws striking the ground as it charged towards him. Polearm in hand once more he flipped it 'round and just before the beast struck he took a step backwards towards it, shoving the blade out under his arm and into the creature's torso. It struggled, but he wrenched his body to the right and twisted the weapon's handle, splitting the creature and granting it a timely demise. [i]One more.[/i]

As he finally got the last of the creature's back in his sights it was too far to hit. Someone, facing away from him, was completely ignorant to it's existance. "Damn..." He muttered under his breath as he pressed a button that triggered Pikne's transformation. The handle drew inwards, the blade sank into the butt-end of a rifle, and out folded a long ringed barrel. As he cocked the gun and dropped to one knee he quickly attempted to assess the distance, one eye closing as he sighted along the barrel and tried to aim at the moving target... Shaking his head he moved the gun off the creature and into it's path; counting seconds in his head as he attempted to assess the creature's speed. Thankfully it was attempting to be stealthy, or else his limited skill with the weapon's rifle form would have been for naught.

[i]4...3...2...[/i] Where 1 would have sounded he pulled the trigger; his weapon sparking as he did so and the bullet tearing off at great speed. The Beowolf didn't come to a sudden stop as he'd hoped, but it was done for none-theless. His bullet struck along the back of the skull and the creature slumped forwards, skidding along the ground and coming to a shuddering stop just behind the seated individual.

"You should really pay better attention to your surroundings." Vask called out in what he hoped was a friendly tone as he walked towards the individual he had just saved, noting a few things. Firstly; the downed Ursa. Secondly, that it was the guy from the ship who had been a walking impalement hazard. And thirdly; that according to the rules, unless this guy had met someone else beforehand they were now partners. His shoulders slumped a bit. [i]That's just lovely...[/i] "Partner..." He said half-heartedly.