There was no telling where the sound of gunfire had come from originally given the city environment. A few steady cracks faded out, and Oren was left with only the sound of agitated Grimm. While unable to pick out an exact location for the source, he had managed to get a general direction to head in. Granted it was away from the center of the city and thus his main objective, but priorities. It didn’t matter how confident he was in his abilities, a Hunter-in-training as a partner would be a definite boon. About to make his way over towards the sound’s source, Oren nearly stumbled as a sharp boom roared out from just a few streets over. “Well… that’s bad…” His idle comment wasn’t without justification either. If the nearby Grimm had gotten agitated over the sounds of a distant rifle firing, the sound of what seemed to be a high-caliber firearm nearby had certainly attracted their attention. He could hear howls and roars coming from the buildings around him, the creatures calling for more of their kind. Just walking up to the rooftop’s edge, he could see dark shapes marked with white bone flitting through the remains of buildings. With a reluctant sigh, Oren committed himself to the only course of action he could take. There was a potential partner, classmate, and fellow Hunter-in-training nearby. His or her weapon sounded powerful, but would without a doubt draw every Grimm within the vicinity to them. And while he didn’t doubt his fellows’ abilities, even he would be hard-pressed to survive against the numbers he saw moving about around and below him. So naturally, what other choice did he have to come to their assistance? “Let’s get to work then…” he murmured quietly, unsheathing the sword from his waist as he stepped to the building’s edge. The street didn’t exactly cave in from his fall, but a small cloud of dust was kicked up as he landed in the middle of it. Weapon fully drawn, he raised his head and saw that he had the notice of every single Grimm in the immediate vicinity. Dozens, if not hundreds, of red eyes glared at him, shining with ferocity, hunger, and hate. “Well then. Let’s get started?” As if his question had been a gunshot ringing out, he and the Grimm kicked off into a flurry of action. Grimm of all kinds burst from the shadows of buildings, nearby alleyways, really anywhere and everywhere. Thankfully, they were almost all minor variants rather than major Grimm species, but even then sheer weight in numbers forced Oren into a fighting retreat from the get-go. At least three distinct packs of Beowolves, and two packs of Velraptors made up the majority of the creatures pursuing him. A number of Ursas lumbered after him, but they were of a minor concern at most. What was a concern however was the [url=http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs4/i/2005/139/2/9/Flip_Top_Hellhound_by_nachtwulf.jpg]Felhound[/url] that Oren had lost track of after the entire hoard had burst into action. While nowhere as dangerous as something like a Deathstalker, the species was still a step above the common Beowolves and Ursa. About the size of an Ursa Felhounds were, however, a great deal more dangerous. Moving with speeds that comparable to Beowolves, the solitary hunter’s defining characteristic would be their monstrous jaw. Extending all the way down to their torso, Felhounds could literally devour humans in a few bites if given the opportunity. And Oren had seen one tear a comrade’s arm clean off, ignoring his armor like tissue paper. That aside, the creature was also incredibly strong, capable of throwing people back dozens of feet with a body slam, or stunning its prey by slamming them to the ground with a powerful pounce. All in all, a deadly creature that Oren would have been wary facing alone in normal circumstances. As it stood now? He could only keep his eyes out for it as best as he could. A small blessing was that Felhounds generally didn’t seem to involve themselves with the target of other Grimm, preferring to hunt their own prey. If he was lucky, he wouldn’t have to deal with the Grimm until he had joined up the other individual and wiped out the lesser Grimm. --- There wasn’t a moment for Oren to pause and catch a breath as he gave all he had just to keep in front of the massive horde. To stop meant to be surrounded, and with the numbers as they were that would surely mean his death. So he ran without shame. The Velraptors were the target of his ire at the moment though. While their packs weren’t as large as the Beowolves that trailed behind, their agility meant they were constantly harrying him. With only a few seconds pause in between, Oren was forced to spin around and lash out with Analdfflam constantly. Sometimes the blade would bite deep, and other times the Grimm would leap just out of reach. Unable to press the creatures though, he could only be satisfied of the occasional kill, accept the many misses, and push to keep ahead of the horde. What he hoped to do was buy whoever the other student was enough time to finish whatever they were dealing with at the moment. Weaving his way through the streets and alleys that forced the Grimm to slow their pursuit, Oren led the horde on a merry chase through the abandoned city before finally circling around and back towards the source of the sound. He’d managed to whittle away almost an entire pack of Velraptors on the way, leaving five corpses on the ground behind him. --- “Tch.” Unscrewing the Dust canister from Anadlflamm’s hilt as he kicked off a wall to vault over a fence, he funneled some Aura into the nearly empty thing. Crushing it in his fist so that the container weakened, he hurled it against the ground near the fence. There was no roaring inferno, disappointingly enough, but the burst of flame was enough for his purposes. Normally it wouldn’t have stopped any but the weakest of Grimm, but with the fence providing an additional barrier it gave the creatures a moment’s pause. And that was all Oren looked for as he threw himself forward. If his ears had led him true, then the shooter, assuming they hadn’t moved, should have been nearby once he exited the alley. Hopefully they would notice him, since Oren wouldn’t have the luxury of leisurely looking around with the horde on his tail and a Felhound to be on the lookout for.