Bridget's jog came to an abrupt stop when her situational awareness picked up movement in the vicinity. Her semblance wasn't the only thing alerting her to the presence, however; from behind a copse of trees up ahead came the blood-curdling noise of steel scraping against stone.

---

Thirty seconds into his speedwalk in the general direction of the artifacts he was supposed to find, Abel realized that he hadn't checked to make sure that the Ampere was in top condition that morning. Cursing himself for failing to think about that -particularly since he had been so mind-numbingly idly on the airship ride here-, he brought his polearm close to his face for a quick inspection. Sure enough, the well-used blade sported a hint of grime and a less-than-ideal edge. A speedy pit stop was surely in order.

Abel scouted his surroundings until he found a suitable boulder in front of a bunch of strikingly scarlet trees. He hiked up the slight incline toward the rock and, once there, wiped the Ampere's blade against the grass to clean it before he set to sharpening it. As the steel first grated across the rock, Abel winced. The sound was sure to draw any students for hundreds of yards around and, almost certainly, bring a pack of vicious Grimm monsters straight toward him. Given the state of the Ampere, however, it was a necessary evil.

Only a few seconds before completing his routine, Abel was interrupted by the sound of swishing leaves directly ahead. He froze and scanned the trees for any sign of pitch-black fur or bony protrusion, muscles tense to spring back and point the newly-honed Ampere outward should a beast lunge for him.

Instead, a far more welcome sight greeted him. From between the russet-brown branches and vermillion fronds of the copse pushed a girl. Abel released his bated breath in a long sigh, even though the other students held in her hand a little chain scythe poised to attack. Clearly he wasn't the only one on edge. As he hoisted the Ampere onto his shoulder, he quickly sized up his soon-to-be partner. Her ultra-long hair, a very loud shade of cyan, stood out against the eternal autumn like a lump of coal in snow. After getting over that, he briefly took in her black cloak and pale skin before locking eyes with her. Abel felt her silvery eyes poring over him in the same way. Each felt it hard to believe that the total stranger they saw before them would become a friend, comrade, and teammate for the remainder of their days at Beacon.

“Well, I guess you'll do.” Abel broke the silence, trying to seem cheerful. “The name's Abel.” He made no move to shake, thinking that it might make out to be too keen.