A rare smile escaped Abel's face as he gingerly assisted Gwyn departing the makeshift bridge. Her tight grip went unnoticed, negated by her new partner's beige glove. Abel's mind automatically associated her taking his hand as accepting him as her comrade. It wasn't every day he got to meet someone who accepted him like this. At the edge of the civilized world, guards like him were just background. Anyone of interest simply walked right by, regarding them with only vague, unspoken appreciation if at all. Of course, the utterly impersonal method of choosing partners by eye contact marginally degraded this feeling, but nevertheless Abel found himself liking this girl, though they'd just met. Given her physique -which had not escaped his notice- he would be obliged to take the role of protector. How fitting.

Not wanting to seem awkward, he half-turned away from the chasm in the direction he had gone before. “Let's head off then. We have artifacts to find.” He took the first stiff step back into the viridian trees.

Fifteen minutes later, Abel noticed the forest beginning to thin. “About time!” He remarked, out of breath. While there hadn't been any major encounters over the course of his journey, a few Beowolves coupled with rough terrain and thick woods made for tough going. While the pillars of the structure that contained the artifacts loomed some way to the northeast, his gaze fell upon a dark shape hovering about fifty feet in front of him. Upon seeing it, he froze. “What the hell?”

The nebulous figure turned to face him, and Abel saw that while it appeared to be human, its flesh and clothes were shadow-black and partially transparent, and that its eyes glowed green. Abel instinctively raised his weapon, pointing the Ampere's tip at the smoky being. While the specter tilted its head in response, it didn't make any move to attack. The guardian did the same, standing perfectly still, his partner momentarily forgotten.

The tense silence shattered suddenly as a sprightly laugh resounded across the clearing. Out from behind a nearby tree appeared a blond-haired boy clad in green, who Abel faintly remembered seeing at Ozpin's 'welcome' speech. While the boy seemed to be in good spirits, and totally unafraid of the shadow, Abel didn't lower his guard.

“Good morning!” The kid called. He paused in his light-footed stride when Abel didn't respond. The obvious connection was made, and the boy continued. “I hope you're not afraid of my shadow here. He's a friend of mine, just scouting around. You don't want to fight, do you? That would really suck, since the artifact place is just over there.” He pointed to the left, indicating the stony pillars towering above the nearby trees. Surprise appeared on Abel's face; how had he not noticed that?

At that moment, another teenager emerged from the trees. This one Abel knew a little better: it was Mary, the sheep Faunus he had accidentally smacked with the Ampere when leaving the airship. While she seemed to keep her distance from the eerie phantom, she didn't seem particularly put off by it either, indicating some degree of familiarity. Were she and this shadow-kid partners?

He turned to Gwyn and shrugged in a befuddled manner, waiting for some sort of explanation, direction, or at least confirmation that he wasn't hallucinating.