[h1][color=goldenrod]Auron Carver[/color][/h1][@Cello][@The Irish Tree][@Eisenhorn][@TGM]

Auron didn’t respond to Caramelle’s question, partly because two of her squadmates didn’t give him a chance, but also because it wasn’t his job to answer that question. The test had already begun, and every second mattered. Taking a small step back as Veloce and Turq charged at him, the Huntsman considered the kids he’d been given. 

The girl was feisty but cautious, but perhaps to a fault? Might need to work on that, but then again, this team could use some of that. 

While in his thoughts, Auron’s body moved almost on its own, tossing the now gilded pipe into the air before answering the Raven boy’s charge with an easy redirection. Rather than block or deflect the lunge, the older man grabbed the gladius by the blade and the boy by the arm, turning with their forward momentum and launching them right into the path of Turq’s projectile attack. This also helped to avoid the attempt to blind him made by the boy, though Auron gave points for creativity and cheeky thinking.

Meanwhile, the two Faunus seem quite the opposite. Headstrong and ready to run in without a second thought. Truly Vacuan, though the boomerang kid seems a bit full of himself. Confidence is great but I think I’ll need to grind that down a tad. If there’s one thing bandits love, it’s an overconfident idiot.

As Turq closes in for a slash with his pick, however, he’d find himself quickly forced to move back as the pipe Auron had thrown in the air suddenly came straight for his head. Rather than landing in the sand, however, the gilded metal scrap would begin to make an elaborate dance of blows against him, striking like a fencer’s blade from nearly every direction to push him away from their overseer, who finally spoke up now that he’d been given some space.

[color=goldenrod]“I’m getting a better idea of you all now. . . and I’ll give you this. Not a total waste and I dare say you might have some tactical know-how amongst you. However,”[/color] The man cracks his knuckles in a bit of anticipation, a wave of golden energy flowing over his figure as he gets into a proper fighting stance. [color=goldenrod]“I think I need to show you what a real one-man army looks like. . ."[/color]

The pipe attacking Turq flies off, hurtling instead towards Veloce in the air to commit a similar barrage, but Auron made sure the peacock Faunus wasn’t feeling left out as he appears in an instant before him. Dueling the pipe had been challenging, but manageable if he managed to focus on defense, and it was quite likely he’d managed to avoid taking a single solid hit. Against Auron himself, however, the 3 blows that would impact him were too quick to even register. Two blows from cross jabs to the face with enough force to disorient even with his Aura shield up, followed by a flash of green around the Overseer's legs as he lashes out with a front kick to the sternum. A torrent of wind and air pressure would send Turq flying towards Caramelle, revealing the secret of his ‘nice pants’ to them all. 

Rather than follow up on the assault, however, Auron simply turns his gaze to Slate’s position, a sharp grin on his features as he makes a gun gesture with his fingers directly at the boy before mouthing the word ‘bang’. Was this going a bit too far? Maybe, but the wastes of Vacuo didn’t have time for people who couldn’t take the heat. They wouldn’t get any coddling from him, and he would make sure they’d be ready for what the land has to offer even if they hated him for it.

[h1][color=Ivory]Nivea Lanatae[/color][/h1][@Asura][@WXer][@datadogie][@Hero]

[color=Ivory]“It is a bit hot, isn’t it? I barely notice it most days, but my dad’s lived here for almost thirty years now and still can’t stand it.” [/color]Nivea couldn’t help the small chuckle that came after Saffron’s comment on the heat, glad that they had all found something to share. While she had hoped they’d be a bit more talkative, that was probably a bit too much to ask a bunch of kids who barely knew each other. [color=Ivory]“Though that could just be him being old.”[/color]

Nivea continues to chatter a bit as they continue on, mostly just small talk about what’s expected of Vacuan Huntsman, a couple of tips on haggling with a few of the shadier Dust sellers, and was just about to get into a story on how her old team when she noticed a rocky outcrop in the distance. Their destination, she’d explain.

In the shadow of the outcrop, a vault-like metal building seemed to be drilled into the rock, obviously very old and abandoned. The dull white uniformity of the building’s foundations clashed with the chunks of sheet metal, wood, and other scraps that made up what could only be a sort of door. Clearly a replacement, though one that hadn’t proven much use as it lay on the ground in a twisted mess about 3 meters from the building entrance, half-buried by the shifting of the sands. As they got closer, more signs of violence could be seen. Claw marks, dark brown stains, and small bits of white in the sand that could only be bone upon closer inspection.

[color=Ivory]“These old Atlas bunkers always make for perfect nests, but people never listen. Old grudges and all that. . . ”[/color] Nivea explains quietly, her bubbly nature growing a bit more subdued as she came back from the jeep after setting the alarms and kill switch. In her hand was a staff, similar to Kohaku’s but a bit more refined and with a small lantern-like construct held at the top.

Stepping up to the front, Nivea traces her fingers along some of the claw marks, a frown gracing her features as she stares into the dark depths. Hesitation kept her lips shut, and the smell that wafted up from the dark set her fears alight. She'd never forget the first time she faced it, the cold, dank scent of the Grimm. No matter the kind, no matter the type, no matter the place, it was always the same. A cold, penetrating smell of decay and rot that causes every cell in her body to shiver.

[color=Ivory][i]They didn’t have to go in, not now. They were just kids, they should probably get a little more training before handling a nest. I can just. . . have them wait out here while I go in and handle this. Or. . . [/i][/color]

Nivea shook her head, stopping that thought in its tracks. It was too late for that and she had chosen this mission for a reason. She couldn’t back out now, and she had to trust that they had the skill to handle what was down there. As Huntsman, they would see places like this constantly, and she hoped that bringing them here would motivate them to work hard. To want to stop tragedies like this from taking root.

[color=Ivory]“This is a test to see how you all do in a hazardous situation. Normally, a Huntsman team would split into teams of two to cover more ground, but since this is your first expedition, we’ll be staying together.”[/color] Her tone was firm, brooking no argument nor questions and any hints of the nervous energy she had shown before were nowhere to be found. [color=Ivory]“Aside from making sure you all don’t get caught in over your heads, I will not be providing any assistance to your search than I feel is necessary as your Overseer.”[/color]

[color=Ivory]“The primary objective is a complete extermination of any of all the Grimm we find within this bunker, though in the . . . unlikely event that we come across any survivors, then we will cancel the operation to get them out. That is true no matter what forms of identifiers we find within the banner.”[/color] A nice way of saying even if they’re bandits, as would likely be the case considering the Bunker's location near a popular supply route. While the Huntress held no sympathy for such crooks and criminals, leaving anyone in the company of the creatures of Grimm was not an option she would consider. A belief she wished was more universal amongst some of the other Huntsman of Shade. [color=Ivory]“From the information of the request, it’s most likely just a pack of Beowolves within, but that doesn’t mean we should be at ease. Any Grimm can be dangerous if underestimated, and what they lack in intelligence is made up for in ferocity.”[/color]

[color=Ivory]“Any questions before we proceed?”[/color]