"No... But it means I don't have to accept help either. No sense in putting someone else at risk," Soren replied, hefting his shoulders up in a small shrug at her compliment. "Those were small ones, I doubt I could do it to a full grown Beowulf." He'd never really fought one before, at least not to any extreme extent. There were however a handful of nasty creatures back home, so he wasn't unaccustomed to fending off ferocious beasts. Really, what more was a Grimm than just another wild animal? Yes there were obvious differences, but if you viewed them as just another creature of the wilds then they weren't quite so intimidating. Watching the Faunus inspect his latest kill, Soren placed his weapon back and his hands in his pockets, waiting for her to come up with some kind of plan for them. He wasn't really one to initiate anything himself, he'd leave that to her. 

Lyra, huh? And she was a local, or at least compared to him she was. There was some slight surprise in finding a Faunus here, given the animosity that some people still carried towards them. She'd get no such grief from him though, he was far more about live and let live. "Soren, and I'm from Vacuo," he answered simply, glancing back to his kills for a brief moment. That was right, there was likely going to be people from any number of kingdoms here. All these cultures clashing together, it was surely going to make for some interesting moments. Just between him and Lyra there were two completely different lifestyles, and he'd imagine their other teammates would be different as well. Following Lyra's lead, the pair began making their way for the temple, wherever that might be, to claim their piece and take the next step in this Initiation. "I'm sure we'll find it, eventually. Forest is pretty big..."

---

So he was planning ahead then was he? Ulyssa could appreciate that, though she wondered if he was considering the here and now as well. Planning ahead was nice, but if you only looked ahead then you weren't engrossed in the moment, and you might miss something. Smirking somewhat amused when he mentioned fighting, the young student tossed her hair over one shoulder and sheathed her blade, folding her hands behind her back as she began walking off. "I'm sure I will be absolutely enraptured by your abilities, Owyn. But let's not try finding a fight, okay? I'd rather just get to the temple and get this done with." He could show off later if he really wanted to, she might humor him and find a Grimm to fight with. It was hardly her idea of a good time, but part of her wanted to see if he lived up to his own hype.

Not having a map or even a sense of direction for that matter certainly made this journey take a while. The sun had long since passed its peak and was now beginning to set, signifying it was later in the afternoon by now. Ulyssa had worried for a while that they may have gone in the wrong direction entirely, and that they may never well come across the temple at this rate. Concerns were quelled however when they found the structure in question, albeit it was more ruins than a sound temple. Not exactly what she had expected coming into this, but then they didn't quite know what to find when they got here anyways.

"So our relics are here somewhere then...? Those chess pieces you mentioned?" Ulyssa asked, moreso confirming it with herself than anything, "Well great... Now we just have to find them." It was not immediately obvious where they might be, yet she was confident they would locate the relics after a quick look. Resting one hand casually on the hilt of her saber she began to walk about the immediate area, looking for any signs of what they were after. If this was what they needed to finish, surely they had been hidden? No way did the Headmaster or instructors make this easy on them, she expected to have to do everything short of excavate the ground to find these.

Soren had scarcely spoken for the walk, letting Lyra start and usually finish every conversation they had. He was more dedicated to keeping an ear out for any Grimm as both of them had already been attacked today; neither of them caught wind of anything however, and after some hours of walking they appeared to have found the temple. What were the chances they had taken the right route? Slim to none he'd venture, so the fact they were here now was a miracle. As they rounded about from the southern side, Soren came to a gradual halt when he spotted two others by the ruins, apparently looking around for something. Another pair then? Or were they already part of a two man team? It didn't appear that they had been noticed yet, which begged the question then of approaching them or not. "Lyra... What do you think, should we go over?" he asked, glancing back curiously, "The guy looks to be stiff, might be a pain in the neck..."