Lugubrious

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Time for Survival class to make a stylish getaway! How, you might ask?

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Abel – Survival - Forest Clearing

Though already beginning to feel the tug of fatigue on his muscles, Abel faced the next challenge readily enough. The three Itzamnas that faced him fanned out, causing the guardian to narrow his eyes. If their intention was to fracture his defense by forcing his polearm to target only one of the three, the raptors weren't so unintelligent after all. As much as he appreciated a challenge, Abel did not relish the prospect of smart Grimm with teamwork that rivaled -and perhaps even surpassed- that of the students. With Oswald at his back, however, Abel felt another obligation egging him on: to not let the other boy down. The feeling lasted even after Oswald teleported away, and when the first Itzamna darted in for the kill, Abel was ready. He pivoted on his heels, slicing open the creature's snout. It yelped and retreated, but the damage was already done. With Abel's focus divided, even for a moment, the Itzamna on his far side jumped in. It hopped straight up, lashing out with its hook talons, and scored a major hit on Abel's back. If not for a combination of armor and aura, the guardian's lower right back would have been reduced to ribbons. Even with the wound prevented, Abel still felt the impact, and the sense of inadequacy from allowing himself to be so easily struck stung him. The Ampere floated free of his hand, and cleaved through the air twice. The Itzamna, never before privy to the sight of such a power, reacted too slowly and fell, their long necks obliterated.

At the same time, Oswald finished with his pair. “Yeah,” Abel agreed. The intensity of his own voice surprised him. Though the battle only paused for a moment, he could see how bad of a situation the students were in. They were in territory only the Professor was remotely familiar with, surrounded by Grimm whose numbers -despite the carnage wrecked by the students- were sustained by a steady stream of reinforcements, and the air grew thick and hazy with the vapor of the slain monsters. He caught a peep of movement up in the trees and attempted to throw a lightning bolt its way, but his semblance hadn't recharged enough to do so. “Not form up...” he reluctantly said.

Professor Vorosky – Survival

“Well folks!”

Vorosky fired off three short bursts, taking down an Itzamna with each one. One of the raptors reached him and lunged, but the professor deftly waited until the exact moment before clubbing it with his rifle. He reached out and caught the stunned Grimm before it fell, maneuvering it into the path of an incoming Itzamna. The dazed one let out a shriek as its brother tore apart its insides, and began to dissolve into smoke. Vorosky let go and kicked the limp mass toward the other creature, blanketing it in a shower of darkness that clouded it long enough for him to shoot into the smog and kill it. Carrying on from where he'd been interrupted, he raised his chipper voice over the roar of battle. “It has been very educational half-hour but I think it is time to call quits for today. Full retreat! But cover your ears...now!”

The professor unslung a grenade, pulled the pin, and flung it into the air. It blinked twice, a brilliant white, before detonating. While the explosion itself was unremarkable, its shockwave shattered the special dust crystal within, creating a earsplitting burst of sound that resounded throughout the entire woods. As one, the Itzamna collapsed, writhing in pain, and Salamanders dropped from the trees like burlap bags. While undoubtedly painful for everyone, it particularly affected the Grimm, whose bestial senses were more receptive to sound. Vorosky smiled at his handiwork, though the expression was hidden by his mask. “Special kind of dust! Sonus dust is very rare, but very effective. Let us depart before their heads stop ringing, eh?”

He led the way to the edge of the clearing bordering the river, casually stepping on Grimm as he passed. Already they were stirring. Even to the most bloodthirsty hunter, it was clear that to spend any time on extra attacks against the mostly-helpless Grimm would be to invite his or her own demise. Vorosky followed the river for about fifty feet through the forest and revealed a stack of pallets by the waterside. “The teleport back home is downriver,” he explained as he fished a handful of washers out of a pocket and tossed them on the ground for everyone to get. “Right in front of a waterfall, in fact. Very dangerous, but everyone who survives will get wonderful grade for first day of survival class! If you are fast,” he looked at Jack at this moment, “You can follow along water's edge and then hop from rock to rock to reach the anomaly. But for everyone else, use these!”

Vorosky pushed a pallet onto the river and jumped on. Immediately it was clear that the current flowed faster than anyone might have previously suspected—clearly, there were rapids ahead. The professor rocked a little, but the pallets were obviously built with floating stability in mind, most likely solely for this purpose. Since there were two dozen more of them, all very similar, this seemed to be the case. “Itzamna can't swim, Salamanders swim too slowly! Only problems are Harpies, who will most likely be heading this direction on account of Sonus grenade!” Vorosky was starting to float out of hearing range. The river was widening and deepening the farther he went. “Quarter mile to waterfall!” He shouted. “Get moving before nasties get chomping! Stay away from riverbanks!”

Abel – Riverside

Abel laughed out loud. Surfing? Sure, why not? He lugged a large pallet to the water's edge, shoved it in, and hopped aboard. He immediately fell to all fours, terrified that the pallet might capsize and send his heavy, armored self bubbling to the bottom. After a few moments, and with the aid of the Ampere as a walking stick, he brought himself int a steady kneeling position before the current took hold and carried him away.

Coach Ahriman Agesander – PE

"Congratulations!" The physical education teacher laughed and he clapped. "An excellent display of both physical prowess and the brains to put them into good use! As promised, you may head off to the lockers. Unfortunately, I cannot split a single extra credit point in half, so neither of you will be getting an extra surprise."

He next addressed the remaining PE participants, who so far struck him as disappointingly unenthusiastic. "Anyone else feel like bothering?"

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

No problem! Right now we're in fifth period but it's about to be over. I'm pretty sure we're going to skip over 6th period. After that, everyone has some time in the evening to do their own thing around Beacon, so there will be some freedom for character interaction or development. I figure it's best if your transfer student arrives just after sixth period ends. I'll mention you when the time comes to let you know you're good to start.

Skullgirls: Parasite's Paradise

Faced with Morgann, the monster hesitated. From beneath the mire of rage and confusion bubbled up a shred of Grumm's human consciousness, which busied itself thinking about the situation. The inside of Grumm's head began to pound; rational thought, already so hard to dredge up, hurt worse than a sledgehammer to the cranium. It was so much easier to let go, to let the mind slip away beneath that murky bog of beastliness. Yet, whenever that human side did arise, it asserted that at the very least it was supposed to persevere. Human nature was supposed to be indomitable—all the stories said so. When bombarded by that pain, however, that strain of holding together focus, justifications came easily. No being could have withstood that agony enough to stay sane.

So naturally, Grumm hesitated only a moment, but it was enough to draw a conclusion. In his experience, no normal human, even armed ones, would dare to so boldly interpose herself between a hunter and its prey. That could only mean that the masked woman that stood before him, arms raised in a gesture of placation, was extraordinary. Her words bounced dimly around inside his skull. All he could really gather was that she thought that attacking her would be a mistake on his part. A snorting, ugly laugh escaped the wreckage that was his mouth, rattling through the metal guard that covered it: ”Hagh. This individual was keeping him from bringing to justice the water-wielding woman with whom he had a personal quarrel. Halte had been seeking him out lately. He had no clue why, but she seemed determined to keep him from capturing and/or killing his targets. Annoyingly enough, it was working, and that made Halte his dire foe. Anyone who attempted to keep him from his revenge was just as guilty. Besides, Morgann had a strange smell on her. The same aroma wafted from each of the parasites he hunted, slightly different for each, but all still identifiable.

Grumm grunted and raised his axe for an overhead chop, bringing it down with enough force to cleave bone if Morgann allowed it to hit her.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

As terrible as it sounded, Fleo was almost grateful when the earth resonated with the bar's destruction and Felix changed courses to seek it out instead. With her opponent out of the running, the race was over, and with a ragged sigh Fleo allowed her Sirocco to cut off. She stumbled when her feet impacted the ground, but despite her exhaustion she managed to keep from tripping all the way and bloodying the pavement. For a few moments she stood, doubled over and chest heaving, until she realized how the forms of her arms and legs flickered. Suddenly galvanized by her fear and embarrassment, she willed her limbs to stay completely solid. A mixture of anger, directed both at Felix and herself, coursed through her mind: she had been a fool to push herself so hard right after an already-tiring early morning run, and he had been a jerk to force out her competitive streak. The dusty woman resolved to deal with both of these feelings in silence, and instead make her way in the direction of the explosion on foot. The aroma of pancakes wafted through the air, causing her stomach to turn, but with a moan Fleo forced herself to walk away.

When the scene of the action came into view, Fleo was surprised to see several more guild members standing by. Only a few pedestrians had not yet left the seen, leaving several wizards standing, talking, checking the wreckage, or otherwise hanging around. She recognized Amaya, who she hadn't seen in over a day, as well as Felix, who was speaking with her. Next Fleo turned her astonished gaze on the huge monster that currently rummaged through the rubble. Having yet to see Karn in his beast form, the dusty woman was left to assume that the Chimera was the cause of the explosion. Fleo donned her serious face and began to walk forward, gathering plentiful dust from her surroundings toward her across the ground. Halfway there, she paused, thinking; if the beast had indeed reduced the building to rubble and splinters, why were the other present guild members treating it so casually? Fleo's dust current calmed its already-lethargic swirl about her person and settled on the ground. For now, she crossed her bandaged arms and waited to see what exactly she was dealing with. Though admittedly a personal favorite of hers, rash action tended to have downsides, and in a case like this -where even a single sizable blow might batter her enough to render her unconscious and dissipate her precious limbs- seemed unappealing.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

People certainly are quick when they're trouble around, even if they don't have speed-enhancing magic! Six people (Amaya, Ariel, Fleo, Felix, Karn, and Nolan, not to mention Jamie, whose 'striding forth' seems to cover half of Magnolia) against Lucas (a B-level wizard) doesn't sound like very much fun. Two people would have been more than sufficient for this sort of situation. Kinda makes me realize how starved for action we are.

Is it possible to have more than one character?

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Hey @Tenoren, you still with us?

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

What if we were to say that the pancake house was right beside the tavern? Wouldn't that be fun for Fleo and Felix, especially since they don't know the full situation?

By the way, caits: something funny. If you're talking about someone going on a wild tear, that's spelled 'rogue'. If you're talking about makeup, then that's 'rouge'. I don't deny how interesting a rouge mage might be--more terrifying than a rogue mage, for certain.

Skullgirls: Parasite's Paradise

Canopy, I believe. I had no say whatsoever in a bomb going off on my character's head. It wasn't as egregious as with Guess Who, though. His character was floored before he could even do much of anything, and he's been unable to even post in this RP for more than a week because he's waiting for Canopy to allow his character to wake up.

Skullgirls: Parasite's Paradise

I suppose this is what I get for joining an RP with no rules against autohitting. You can look forward to Grumm returning the favor, however.