[center][b][color=007fff]Abel Fulgurate[/color][/b]
[@Eklispe][/center]

For the guardian, the situation seemed dreamlike.  A fear of heights -or, as in his case, an unease of them- meant, of course, that all too often in dreams, he would be suspended in some high place.  Beset by the howling wind, and clinging for dear life to, say, a catwalk above a canyon or a bridge between two buildings, he couldn't move for fear of the slightest error sending him plummeting into the abyss.  Only now, this very scenario was playing out not just in the real world, but also in front of the person he wanted desperately to impress.  Stiffness overtook him completely, so much so that he couldn't turn to look as Krysanthe crossed the gap with what looked like frustrating ease, and when she returned to check on him it took a colossal effort to prevent himself from reddening.  “Some help,” he intoned in a quiet, deadpan voice.  “Would be...great.”

When the opportunity arose, he quickly took the offered hand, and the combined strength of two physically-oriented hunters-to-be landed him on ordinary terrain in no time.  Masking his breathing as much as he could, Abel held out a hand to summon the Ampere from where it lodged, and obediently the weapon jerked free from the cliff and sailed into his awaiting grip.  “Thank you.”  What a joke.  He should have accepted her help in the first place.  What kind of cool guy rejected a perfectly good idea to attempt his own stunt, only to flub it at the last second and ask for help anyway?  Feeling exactly like a clod of earth that he shook from his jacket, he pointed his weapon forward into the forest.  A little enthusiasm for a change might counteract the conflict brewing inside him—a tincture for the poison of doubt.  “Onward!”

He took one step and stopped again, suddenly alert.  The rustle of underbrush could be heard, and while this could have easily been the sign of some wild creature like a rabbit or bore, Abel got the distinct impression that something a little more wild lay in store only a hundred feet away.  After all, the Emerald Forest was stocked with monsters for the students to fight, as far as he knew.  In Beacon's training classes, captured Grimm would occasionally be released for students to practice against as an alternative to them withering away, but out here, even in an environment regulated by the school, any encounter should be treated as the real thing.  “Hum,” he said aloud, hopefully drawing Krysanthe's attention.  “Almost sounds like Gri...!”

The guardian's warning was quite literally cut off by the emergence of what looked like a laser from the woods.  The ludicrously high-pressure stream of red liquid swept toward him, capable of bisecting anyone without an activated aura.  Instantly Abel's instincts flared to life, and he threw himself bodily to the ground so that the cutting stream could pass overhead.  He trusted his companion to do the same, or to otherwise leap over it.  A moment later the stream ceased, and from the foliage emerged a [url=http://pre05.deviantart.net/f070/th/pre/i/2015/333/5/e/rwby_grimm_oc___blisterwing_by_myrynorunshot-d9ibi3l.png]Redcap[/url]--an eight-foot tall, bloated monstrosity half insect, half dragon, and all nasty.  Unfortunately, Abel didn't recognize it at all.  This more rare species of Grimm lay in the back of his class's textbook, but he'd never seen one during his years attending Palisade, or whilst on the wall.  “The hell is that thing?”  He picked himself up as the creature ambled forward, giant claws outstretched.  Reflexively he got into a fighting stance, and aimed his Ampere at the horrid beast.