RWBY: Daylight Dies

[mrblah]

Chapter I: Bulls On Parade


To get to Ixion Academy, you would need to either fly or be a great hiker. The institute was located in a location separate from all of the other cities due to its size, perched on top of its own mountain near Cirrus. For those reasons, the new students would have to take a Bullethead from Cirrus to Ixion Academy for roughly one to two hours. Eventually, after some time of flying through the clouded skies on the big aircraft, an announcement would play out as they begun to descend through the clouds, and Ixion Academy in all of its glory would come into sight.

It turned out that the academy was as big as rumored. The entire institute was easily the size of a small city, with a long pathway up the mountain that led to big brass gates placed between the white walls surrounding it and golden heads on each of its differently sized four towers; two on the upper left and bottom right corners, one to the upper left corner, and the largest one right in the center. The massive stone wall of the academy had several walkways and grooves for its defenses and patrols, and as they approached, everyone on the Bullethead could see several other flying contraptions circling around the airspace of the academy—some dropped other bunches of students off, and others simply remained in the air. Clouds of clear smoke floated upward into the atmosphere from a few chimneys of the towers, dissipating into nothing. With the rising sun illuminating the structure, it all looked... borderline heavenly.

The Bullethead dropped down on a landing pad located on one of the towers. They've arrived.

---

Sicilia Moriell/Littlemankitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

“And stay out!” says the fat balding man in the black suit with heart designs all over the pants and jacket as he slams the apartment door behind her. After Sicilia had just spent several years working as a security guard to pay for her rent, the man had decided the area wasn’t dangerous enough to keep her, effectively making Sicilia homeless again, just like before, when a massive Grimm had arrived and destroyed her village, just after the Huntsmen and Huntresses had left after successfully fending off the first attack, as if the creature had been waiting for them to go and leave them defenseless.

As Sicilia was wandering the streets with nothing but her clothes and her weapon, she spotted the Bullethead, a Fish-Like aircraft, this one in the shape of an orange and black striped clownfish, with a purple visor where the eyes should be, forming the windshield of the aircraft, that is supposed to ferry new students from the city to Academy… and then she noticed that they weren’t checking any of the students, just allowing them to load in. If she snuck onto the aircraft, she would be taken to the academy without question, and could live on campus, while fulfilling her goal of becoming a Huntress.

Without time to think, she walked right up to the aircraft and boarded as if she was supposed to be there, and the pilot didn’t seem to notice, he merely continued to wait for the last student, who came running up soon after. The straggler was a tan-skinned, blond-haired girl in a purple dress with gold designs on the sleeves and breasts As she ran closer and eventually boarded the aircraft, Sicilia could see that she had a sticky white substance on her face, and she wasn’t the only one to notice, as others on the aircraft were giving her strange looks and glares.

One everyone was seated, the door slid shut and the Aircraft began to take off into the sky. Seconds turned to minutes turned to hours... and finally, Ixion Academy would come into view. It was a pretty flooring sight. It had four massive, differently-shaped towers, steam flowing from them, as was consistent with the power source of the city, an intricate gateway before a long track that leads through the mountains. Flying above the city were yet more air crafts, not all of which were Bulletheads. All of the sides of the academy were constructed asymmetrically, with even more towers built into the tops, and connecting to the sides of other towers. Most of the construction was done with brass, though there were traces of stone and other metals.

The Bullethead was landing down at their destination, parking itself on the large pad on top of the tower they landed on. A tone played over the speakers of the Bullethead, followed by the genial tone of its pilot. "We have arrived at Ixion Academy—repeat, we have arrived at Ixion Academy. Thank you all for flying with us, and good luck to you!" Time to get off.

Amelia Picton/Blue56

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Ixion Academy's test was more than challenging for Amelia. To simply have a chance at having a chance at the prestigious Huntsman Academy, one would have to make an initial show of skill to a recruiter before they'd be accepted for its initiation, which consisted of both a brief spar and a small written test, along with several other forms she had to complete—yes she understands the risks to her personal safety and that Ixion Academy isn't responsible for any loss of limbs, senses, or life. Yes she accepts the terms at which she'll abide under as a student of Ixion Academy and she'll uphold its code of conduct to the best of her ability. Yes she is a legal citizen of Caritas... well, technically, since she's only the daughter of slaves and not a slave herself.

Needless to say it was all quite exhausting, but when her parents brought the letter of acceptance to her, the fruits of her labor showed just how sweet they were. Never had she seen her parents look so proud, and even the guards who taught her showered her with words of encouragement and beamed with pride. They worked their best to make sure she'd be ready for the road ahead. Though she was quite proficient with her shield, truth be told, it was all she had. They couldn't get her to a combat school like many other student hopefuls doubtlessly had, so all she knew were the few techniques the guards could teach; none of them were exactly Huntsman level. She'd have to be smart and work her way through the initiation, then she'd have to throw herself into her studies to get to the level everyone else was at. It'd be hard work, but for the sake of her parents... it'd be worth it.

As a surprising token of good faith, the Goldwins had arranged transportation for her. It was nothing more than a hired ride from the estate to Cirrus, but it was more than she'd ever expect from the wealthy quasi-royal family. She never knew them personally since she was nothing more than the daughter of their slaves, but from what she'd heard of, they were very opportunistic and quick to unapologetically take advantage of people. They were most certainly not the type to value the efforts of a nobody like her... but there was no point in looking a gift horse in the mouth. She took the safe transportation and, immediately after arriving, she headed straight to the Bullethead stop.

Several others seemed to have gotten there before her. All of them looked rather tough and competent... one guy was laughing uproariously as he did squats with some other guy on his back. Terrifying. Would she have a harder time than she thought with keeping up? Maybe this was a mistake... it was just then that the last arrival to their group appeared; an elaborately dressed woman who looked like she was just the sort of noble those in her parents' position would serve. She was beautiful and no doubt came from a good family, but... what was that on her face?

She heard banging, and turned to look back to the pilot who'd been waiting outside to greet them. The doors to the airship opened up, allowing entry to her peers who all began to file in, though a few had given the late woman a few glares and... strange looks.

Once everyone was inside, the doors closed and the airship took to the skies. Amelia was given several hours to herself to do with as she pleased, whether it was panicking and trying to calm herself in regards to the world she was stepping into, or perhaps even resting on the way. Whichever the case, she'd be around to see the view of Ixion as they finally closed in on their destination.

The academy was... magnificent. Awesome. It was on the same level the Goldwin Estate was on, though it looked more beautiful than domineering. The Bullethead soon landed down at their destination, parking itself on the large landing pad on top of one of the towers. A tone played over the speakers of the Bullethead, followed by the genial tone of its pilot. "We have arrived at Ixion Academy—repeat, we have arrived at Ixion Academy. Thank you all for flying with us, and good luck to you!" Time to get off. Amelia would be the last of the crowd to exit the airship, with the double doors shutting behind her to let the pilots safely take off. Now... this was the beginning. Truly, there was no going back.

Emma Nightingale/MiscChaos

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

This was one of those times where she'd lay back, put a hand to her face, and sigh at all that's happened with exhaustion. A plan, so many years in the making... is finally coming to fruition. Emma had just recently received the letter of acceptance in the mail from Ixion, a few weeks after she completed the test. With this, she was allowed entry into a prestigious Huntsman Academy. She could train to become a huntress and destroy the Grimm as she wished... plus, she'd earn quite a bit of cash on the job. Now, what's next was simply to get ready and say her goodbyes to her people before she headed off to the stop.

On her way through the streets, to the Bullethead stop, she can’t help but reflect on how incredibly difficult the written part of the exam was in comparison with the sparring. The written part of the exam was so difficult that she accidentally wounded herself in the process of completing it.

When she arrived to the Bullethead stop, she finds a Fish-Like aircraft, this one in the shape of an orange and black striped clownfish, with a purple visor where the eyes should be, forming the windshield of the aircraft, that is supposed to ferry new students from the city to Academy. On the side of the aircraft was a set of double doors, which were standing open for students to climb in.

Emma ends up sitting beside someone with fair skin, and pink hair tied into a long braid, with three black bows, one on either side and another on the end, wearing a pink and white striped V-neck T-shirt, a purple jacket, a black skirt with a blue belt around it, and black nylon leggings with purple boots. When Emma sits beside them, they speak in a soft and high-pitched voice “I like your boots.” they say, smiling in a friendly manner.

Soon after, a few other people boarded, however the pilot announces that this is all but one person. Soon after this announcement, the straggler comes running up to the aircraft, a tan-skinned, blond-haired girl in a purple dress with gold designs on the sleeves and breasts As she ran closer and eventually boarded the aircraft, Emma could see that she had a sticky white substance on her face, and she wasn’t the only one to notice, as others on the aircraft were giving her strange looks and glares.

One everyone was seated, the door slid shut and the Aircraft began to take off into the sky. Seconds turned to minutes turned to hours... and finally, Ixion Academy would come into view. It was a pretty flooring sight. It had four massive, differently-shaped towers, steam flowing from them, as was consistent with the power source of the city, an intricate gateway before a long track that leads through the mountains. Flying above the city were yet more air crafts, not all of which were Bulletheads. All of the sides of the academy were constructed asymmetrically, with even more towers built into the tops, and connecting to the sides of other towers. Most of the construction was done with brass, though there were traces of stone and other metals.

The Bullethead was landing down at their destination, parking itself on the large pad on top of the tower they landed on. A tone played over the speakers of the Bullethead, followed by the genial tone of its pilot. "We have arrived at Ixion Academy—repeat, we have arrived at Ixion Academy. Thank you all for flying with us, and good luck to you!" Time to get off.

Hunter Sleiper/cliffracer

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Running off to Ixion Academy with no real prior training would seem much more difficult than expected, but it all seemed to work out in Hunter's favor. Once she passed it, she received her acceptance letter from Ixion Academy, and her next steps were to start packing and saying her few goodbyes to the parts of her past she cared for.

So, like, one guy. And off she went! Her father had offered one more helping hand in getting her transportation to Cirrus, where the Bullethead to Ixion was. She had to wake up early to get her ride to the stop where several other student hopefuls were, since apparently the Bullethead would be leaving at the crack of dawn. The aircraft they were taking was in the shape of a clownfish, with orange and black coloring and a purple visor for the windshield. One of the pilots were outside, smiling kindly as he waited for everyone to arrive... but it looked like quite a few people were already there. Who were they waiting on?

Just then, an elaborately dressed woman arrived, looking hurried with... something white on her face? The pilot nodded to himself and slapped the side of the vehicle. The double doors of the airship opened, and everyone began to file in, though a few had given the late newcomer a curious look or a glare.

Once everyone was in, the Bullethead took to the skies to start the trip. Hunter had a few hours to rest and relax while also doing whatever else to mentally prepare herself for what lied ahead, taking a seat near the window a few seats away from a well-dressed man with a serious gaze and red hair. Seconds turned to minutes turned to hours... and finally, Ixion Academy would come into view. It was a pretty flooring sight. Though she was once a member of the wealthy, never had she seen something quite so... awe-inspiring, perhaps?

The Bullethead was landing down at their destination, parking itself on the large pad on top of the tower they landed on. A tone played over the speakers of the Bullethead, followed by the genial tone of its pilot. "We have arrived at Ixion Academy—repeat, we have arrived at Ixion Academy. Thank you all for flying with us, and good luck to you!" Time to get off. Hunter heard a huff of exasperation just as she moved to stand from her seat, and that same serious man stood up just before she did, stuffing his hands in his pocket and turning to head towards the exit ahead of her. She joined the crowd of people heading out.

There she was now, outside of the Bullethead at the place she’d hopefully call home for the foreseeable future. The wind blew hard from the spinning propellers of the airship as it began to take off once more, leaving the group of dropped off student hopefuls behind. There was no going back now.

Lucilla Vavanova/Mark3000

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Lucilla was doing a bit of work in the morning, in a dark alleyway, early in the morning, with a customer. He was a tall, toned man with red hair tied back in a long ponytail, wearing an unbuttoned white shirt with the collar flipped up, and a pair of black jeans with a massive belt around the waist. She had been sucking the man off for roughly twenty minutes, and thus far he had not finished yet. This was a problem, since the Bullethead would be arriving nearby to pick up the new students very soon, but she could not leave the job incomplete.

Luckily, the customer soon began to spasm and grabbed Lucilla by the hair. He fired off two cumshots in Lucilla’s mouth, while crying out “GRIFF!” as he released his load, which was fine and created no mess, however he pulled out and the last cum shot ended up firing onto her face, making a mess. Without a word, the man handed her his payment, then left the alleyway, leaving Lucilla a mess, and with little time to get to the Bullethead that’s supposed to transport her to the academy.

Without enough time to clean up, Lucilla had no choice but to rush to the pick-up point, either licking or wiping it off on her clothes to the best of her ability after she got there or while running to her destination, however if she chose to use her clothes, people would still notice the stains.

Lucilla, cum-soaked face and all, after running down the paved streets, and soon finds herself at the Bullethead stop, a black circular landing pad with red lights in a crosshair pattern across it. Naturally, due to her time management, the Bullethead, a Fish-Like aircraft, this one in the shape of an orange and black striped clownfish, with a purple visor where the eyes should be, forming the windshield of the aircraft. The side of the aircraft had a set of double doors standing wide open, several other students stepping into it through the opening.

As Lucilla entered, several of the people that had already entered the aircraft were giving her glares and strange looks, no doubt because of the white substance that had been left on her face from work earlier. Once everyone was in, the Bullethead took to the skies to start the trip. Only after the Bullethead had taken off, Lucilla notices that, right beside her, staring out the window, is the guy that she had just sucked off earlier, though he hadn’t seemed to notice her yet.

Seconds turned to minutes turned to hours... and finally, Ixion Academy would come into view. It was a pretty flooring sight. The Academy is multiple times the size of, Axle, the Primary Combat School that Lucilla had attended beforehand, and much grander in design. It had four massive, differently-shaped towers, steam flowing from them, as was consistent with the power source of the city, an intricate gateway before a long track that leads through the mountains. Flying above the city were yet more air crafts, not all of which were Bulletheads. All of the sides of the academy were constructed asymmetrically, with even more towers built into the tops, and connecting to the sides of other towers. Most of the construction was done with brass, though there were traces of stone and other metals.

The Bullethead was landing down at their destination, parking itself on the large pad on top of the tower they landed on. A tone played over the speakers of the Bullethead, followed by the genial tone of its pilot. "We have arrived at Ixion Academy—repeat, we have arrived at Ixion Academy. Thank you all for flying with us, and good luck to you!" Time to get off.

Ahead of the students was the door leading into the tower, and in front of it, a man and a woman.

The woman seemed to be busying herself on her scroll with no regard towards the man nor the crowd of people looking to her. She was wearing a sheer black bodysuit with purple shorts, large black boots, and a cropped purple jacket that only had the collar zipped up, exposing her black bra underneath. Her long blue hair was left mostly un-styled, but she had a strange glow all around her... next to her was the man; he wore a blue jacket over a black vest with a simple pair of black pants and boots to complete the outfit. He was watching them keenly, with his weapon—a katana he kept in its sheath—in his hand. The man closed his eyes and chuckled, the corners of his lips turning up as he raised a hand to his forehead. He started to speak, however the woman spoke instead “I’m crystal, I teach about Dust here… things… stuff… enjoy the academy, I guess.” she said, waving dismissively at the students. There was a pause as the man looked to her, his expression seeming… somewhat annoyed, but he sighed, shook his head, cleared his throat, and tried again.

He made a single stomp forward as the wind blew his open jacket, throwing a hand out in a grandiose gesture. “Those of you… you hopefuls who’ve come on floating dreams and clouds of poetic desires… the ones who shall succeed are among you, hidden within the many who will fail. Yet, you all have this one thing in common; today, you are all welcome to… IXION ACADEMY!” Suddenly, he pulled his sword and wildly gestured to the sky, turning his head away from his blade with a weird look on his face that he probably thought was cool. From the tip of his blade, several shots of pure aura shot out to the skies above… and with his display finished, he sheathed his sword and glared at everyone. What, was he expecting applause? “At any rate, I am Mark Atwater, Marksmanship Master and professional huntsman. Me and my associate shall be the ones to have you observe the magnificence of this academy. Question me… if you dare to know the unknown.”

Among the students who were audience to this… whatever it was, were a red-haired man with well-toned muscles and a tattoo on his side, wearing black pants with a giant red belt and metal thigh pads, with part-metal shoes and a white unbuttoned shirt with a flipped-up collar. Standing near him was a white-haired bunny faunus with piercing pink eyes and fair skin, wearing a pink stomach-exposing top and a pair of pink shorts, with a white jacket with red details on the arms. Standing further behind them, notably more impressed by Mark’s performance, was a student with pink hair pulled back in a braid with three black bows, one on each side and another at the end, wearing a pink and white striped V-neck T-shirt beneath a purple jacket, a black skirt with a blue belt, black nylon leggings, and a pair of purple boots. Off to the left, standing almost separate from the cluster of students, squinting through a pair of green sunglasses at seemingly nothing specific, was a guy with spiky red hair, wearing black pants with a white belt, from which his sword dangled from a chain, black loafer-like shoes, a red shirt with criss-crossing red designs covering it, and a black suit jacket. Standing up near the front of the group was another student with spiky red hair, this one wearing a black headband, orange shirt, and camo pants, with a neon green jacket with a black diagonal stripe from one hip to the opposite shoulder. He was quietly fidgeting as if standing still was a chore that he could never truly manage.

[cliffracer]

It's certainly a teary-eyed farewell for Hunter, knowing that it's gonna be a long time until she sees the one guy that she owes the most to again. No use dwelling on it though, if she let it get to her head then she'll miss out on the things that're more valuable to get distracted about. Like... how that late arrival seemed confident enough to just show up to something like this with what HAD to be spunk on her face. Hunter's already too stupid to recognize something like 'shame' might exist, so she's got nothing but respect for this chick (maybe a little jealousy, maybe a little admiration- how goddamn easy must it be for her to get some this early in the day?) Aside from all of that she WAS paying attention to the weapons she could see, wanting to see what kinds of things these types of people were drawn to. Jet Cyclone was collapsed down to look nearly like a soda can, and she was just keeping that in a belt holster.

Onboard the Bullethead she admittedly would've been pretty impatient with the long ride if she wasn't so high up in the air, her Semblance giving her a natural inclination for high open spaces like this. The view wasn't quite enough to keep her eyes from wandering over the other would-bes on this thing, so her idle behavior makes her look a bit too energetic for her own good.

But goddamn did Ixion Academy look stunning. Her place of birth might've made her comfortable seeing expensive architecture, but she'd about forgotten what it really could look like until she saw the Academy. It was enough to avert any worse trips down memory lane, at least, so she didn't have to be too bitter about being around opulence for now. This serious-looking redhead though... She couldn't tell if he was annoyed with her or if he always looked more sour than a lemon tree, but his attitude was already on her nerves. She made sure to wait a bit just so she wouldn't have to look at him much more getting off.

And here are the greeters! Hunter's eyes were drawn to the interestingly-dressed woman in purple, but thankfully her already-budding thirst was cut off when she glanced over to the other one, who she was already finding pretty cool-looking. Needless to say, she was listening close when they (mostly he) got introductions out of the way. And sure, this Mark guy might act kinda corny, but that wasn't stopping Hunter from getting visibly excited at all of the posturing and showing off! She can recognize cool even if it's dorky! She has a big dumb grin on her face from that speech, and she was pretty glad that cute pink-haired one seemed to be enjoying it too. Still- no need to be disruptive with all her energy, she'll have plenty of time to run it off later. Just gotta pay attention!

[Mark3000]

Lucilla had lined up one last job before she was off to the academy. Just a quick blow and go to make a little Lien for the road. Mr. Valentina never objected to Lucilla taking on small jobs like this, as long she continues to meet with his clients. But things weren't going as she expected. She figured the red-head for a quick-shot, but it had already been twenty minutes. She wan't about to miss her flight because of some slow Jon.

As if sensing her impatience, the Jon finally came. Lucilla continues to suck on his dick as she tried to keep his cum from spraying on to her frame. All she had to do now was take her Lien and ...

Just as she let her mind wander, the client pulled out spraying one last stream of jizz right onto her face. Now usually, Lucillia likes to keep a cool, controlled expression when she's working. But as she she was sprayed in the face, she looked visibly angry. But she kept her mouth shut, merely taking the payment as she watched to red-haired man walk off. The last thing she needed was to walk onto an aircraft covered in cum. She at least wanted a bit of respect from her fellow Huntsman and Huntresses. Using her sleeve, she tried to wipe off as much as his cum as possible. And if anyone asked, she'd just say it was from a messy eclair.

Realizing just how late she was, Lucilla rushed onto aircraft and took a seat. It didn't take long for her to key in on the glares she was getting from the other people on the craft. Shit! Shit Shit! Lucilla though to herself as she tried to remain composed. Figures people would stare when someone comes to an Academy transport covered in ... Cum. This can't get any worst She thinks as the situation gets worst. Beside her sits the Jon from before, the one that put her in this situation to begin with. He didn't seem to notice her which was alright with Lucilla. If he even tried to talk with her, she'd pretend he didn't exist.

Hours passed, and Lucilla took every chance she could to clean off the last remnants of cum from her face with her sleeve. At the very least, if she positioned them properly, she could hide her sleeves from prying eyes. But finally the Bullethead arrived at Ixion Academy. Despite the rough start, Ixion Acadamy still looked breath taking. Now she could continue to work towards being a Huntress and helping her parents.

Having left the aircraft, Lucilla quickly took stock of the other students. She was mainly looking for possible partners and rivals. The spiky red-head with the white belt and the white-haired faunus looked rather competent, as did the brunette in the red jacket and combat boots. She couldn't say the same of the two instructors that greeted them. Both were a bit too, eccentric for Lucilla's tastes. But she couldn't deny the strange strength they both gave off.

Hopefully having cleaned off the bulk of the cum from her face, she approached the two instructors and clasped her hands together in a respectful manner (as well as to hide the cum on her sleeve). She gave the two a respectful bow and said " Thank you for the warm welcome. It is an honour to attend this illustrious academy and get the chance to study under such renowned teachers". Sure Lucilla was trying to get into their good graces from minute one. But a little good will can go a long way.

[Littlemankitten]

Sicilia sighs heavily as she looks around the vicinity of her now ex-apartment. This wasn't the first time something like this happened, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. Yet it was still incredibly depressing to have happen. She was actually starting to like the rundown apartment complex she lived in, even if she had to routinely smash a bunch of oversized cockaroaches constantly attempting to live in her apartment without paying rent. Sicilia sighs once again as she begins making her way down the stairs of her complex, unenthusiastically flipping off the door she got kicked out of as she descended. By the time she mad it onto the streets and began wandering aimlessly, wondering exactly what she would do next, she was almost ready to just go into the nearby wilderness and kill grimm until they eventually killed her, since being in society never seemed to work out for long... That was until she spotted a Bullethead on the academy loading dock... Ferrying people in. Wait a minute, they weren't checking ID's or anything, she could just waltz in! She wouldn't have anything to lose if they didn't accept her anyway, so why not try her luck? Sicilia rushed up to the aircraft, acting like a late student and barging in before finding a seat and plopping herself down as if she owned the entire aircraft. No one cared! Was this for real? Was she dreaming? She pinched her arm to make sure, but when she didn't wake up she let out a giddy snort. Perhaps getting kicked out was a good thing after all. She could finally go to the academy, learn the ways of the huntresses, and slaughter grimm all day long! She was so excited, dreaming about all of the future adventures she might have she didn't even notice any of the new students coming aboard, simply staring off into space and day dreaming.

It would turn out Sicilia would have plenty of time to daydream as well. Bulletheads were quite fast yet the clock on the wall was showing hours were passing by, staying in the same spot for some long began to put a dampener on her mood. Just as she was ready to jump up and start pacing though the sight of the academy suddenly came into sight. It was everything she dreamed it to be and more. Huge towers that reached into the sky and kissed the clouds, large sprawling complexes spreading out into the nearby landscape, even the roads that led to it seemed to be grand and ornate in scale and architecture, as if every inch of the academy no matter which part was meant to exude opulence... When the aircraft finally landed and the signal to exit arrived, Sicilia ran out faster than she knew she was capable of, gasping and looking up at the towers that soared above her. It looked even more impressive on the ground! She followed the group and path with a giddy skip, a huge dumb grin on her face as she looked all around her, taking in every sight and detail of the academy she could find, while distinctly ignoring her group, mostly cause she wasn't supposed to be here in the first place. When they reached the greeters, she was paying such little attention to what was immediately in front of her she bumped into the back of a white haired faunus girl. She let out a surprised squeak and quickly jumped back, quickly muttering out a string of frantic apologies before forcing herself to pay attention to the greeters. Being here would serve no purpose if she didn't pay attention to what was going on of course! The instructors were as cool as she imagined to! They seemed to radiate badassery and eccentricity to Sicilia, which she conjoined with being cool. She didn't say anything though, simply doing her best to pay attention and hope the bunny faunus wasn't one quick to anger.

[Blue56]

The day was finally here, it was time for Amelia to leave the Goldwin estate behind and start her life training at Ixion Academy to become a Huntress! Although this turn of events mostly left her a nervous wreck, she still felt a great sense of pride and accomplishment as she said her tearful goodbyes to her parents and the other Goldwin guards and servants who had helped her make it this far. Though the guards weren't nearly on the level of a Huntsman, the training they had given her had helped her pass her sparring test, though Amelia believed she had only done so well because her opponent had been caught off guard seeing such a timid girl suddenly become so strong and confident the moment she took hold of her shield. The written test was the harder part actually, Amelia had never had much in the way of a formal education, but some of the other servants had picked up the slack to give her time to hit the books. And even with all that studying, she had still only barely passed. She would have to spend a lot of time in the library if she wanted to succeed at the academy... Seeing how happy everyone was for her, Amelia didn't even want to imagine trying to explain failing out of the academy after they had all worked so hard on her behalf.

Getting a free ride to the Bullethead courtesy of her former employers was almost as big a surprise as actually getting accepted to the academy. Amelia had worked for them all her life, but all she knew of the Goldwins were things she had heard from others, little of it good. Her father in particular would tell her all sorts of terrible things, though she knew him to biased, perhaps understandably so, due to his debt to the family. He had vehemently opposed her taking the Goldwins up on their "generosity", fearing his daughter would end up in a similar situation to himself. Amelia's mother had managed to talk him down however, arguing that yes it seemed likely that Amelia might owe them a favor, it would be completely unreasonable for even the Goldwin's to expect anything major in return for a simple ride into the city. Ultimately, Amelia understood her father's concerns but agreed with her mother and so here she was. She had been outside of the estate to run errands plenty of times before now, but knowing that she wouldn't be returning home this time was equal parts terrifying and exciting.

Speaking of terrifying, the Bullethead stop was populated by her soon-to-be fellow students, and Amelia was just as out of place as she had expected to be. The others that had gathered there looked either far more competent or far more wealthy than herself. She found herself tempted to take hold of her weapon and dispel her nervousness, but such an action would only paint a target on her for later. No it was better to do what she always did and fade into the background. Amelia did her best to ignore the intimidating students around her, until the latest arrival showed up, a woman looking just as wealthy and noble as any but... What was that on her face? Some new noble fashion, or a messy mistake? It was tough to tell and the upper class was always so finicky about having their mistakes pointed out. You could be scolded for notifying them that something was wrong, as if they were too perfect to ever falter, or scolded for not letting them know and making them look the fool, as though the fault couldn't possibly be their own. "Ummmm.... E-excuse m-m-me... You uh.... Erm... Th-there's something... Uh..." Amelia found herself filing onto the ship behind the woman, muttering quietly and paralyzed by the indecision of whether or not to speak up and let her know about whatever was on her face.

The ride to Ixion Academy was relatively uneventful. Amelia kept her distance from the others of course, but she was feeling a bit restless from all this traveling. Every day was always so busy for her, working for such a wealthy family meant there was always a lot of work to be done. Sitting around for hours on end was a luxury she couldn't remember having before. The Bullethead could use a little cleaning but... That would surely call unwanted attention to her. It was difficult, but she would have to leave it be for now. She spent the trip studying up from some books she had brought, but once the Academy had come into view, that captured her full attention. Amelia was used to such impressive architecture, but whereas the Goldwin Estate was like a prison for her parents, the academy was where her hopes would come true and that made it look all the more majestic. Filing off the ship again with everyone else, Amelia got her first look at the teachers, and quite frankly they were even more terrifying than the students she had come here with. Crystal obviously didn't care about them at all, and Mark's display of aura was terrifyingly impressive. And the way he glared at them.... Wait, she recognized that look! It was the look of a man who wanted recognition, she had seen it many a time among the upper class visitors to their estate. Immediately, Amelia began to applaud Sir Atwater's display, loudly enough that he would notice but hopefully not enough to be disruptive or draw anyone else's attention. After what she deemed to be an acceptable period of time, Amelia stopped clapping and fell silent. She didn't have the nerve to question her new teachers or dare talk to any of the other students.

[MiscChaos]

“Well, at least stealing and hawking that fucking vase from what’s her face is worth it now. Who the fuck pays for some useless bit of decoration anyway?” Emma thinks to herself as she sits on the ferry. She isn’t 100% proud of the things she had to do to work up the money just to apply to this fuckin’ place, but it’s all worth it now. Being on this ship, it means she’s finally made it in! Ixion Academy! To be honest, she doesn’t gave a damn about the prestige or pedigree of the school. She just knows it’s supposedly one of the best places to learn how to fuck up a Grimm’s day so that’s where the hell she’s going! None of her people are gonna die on her watch while she sits to the side, fucking hiding like some little bitch and praying to gods that have never and are never gonna answer that she isn’t found and torn apart like everyone else. At the very least, she can make sure as many of the fucks go down with her as she can so that the most of her people can get away. At minimum, she’s making it her mission to kill a Grimm for every street rat that died in her town. That’s 48 Grimm she’s aiming for. And then she can start working on preventative measures to make sure that number never climbs higher. But goddamn, they couldn’t make it a little easier to get into the joint? She knew she’d be at a disadvantage since the streets ain’t the best place to get an education, but fuck! What the hell does a Huntress need all that written shit for!? They show up, make a Grimm wish it’d never stopped suckling its mama’s teat, go home and call it a day!

With a sigh, she lets the thought go and focuses more on the here and now. And apparently that includes a… girl? Emma is no stranger to the female form given the methods she used to make sure people got off the streets, but something here is… off. The chick(?) is almost textbook definition of a female: slender body type, feminine hair color and style, high pitched voice, and the first thing out her damn mouth is a comment on her shoes. Fuck it, this is a girl until further notice. She can correct Emma if she’s wrong, but the confusion is getting annoying just in her own damn head! “Thanks. They’re really good for kicking someone’s head in. Or at least I hope they are. Haven’t tested them yet.” They’d better be if they’re gonna be her main weapon against the Grimm! She really hopes Innocent Monster isn’t some mediocre dimestore shit she looted off someone. It’d be humiliating as hell to kick a Grimm in the head and have it laugh the blow off because her gear is shit! Well, embarrassing for all the 3 seconds she’d be alive to feel said emotion. Then at that point it don’t matter no more.

Her bouncing thoughts collect when the last girl pops up with a substance she is very familiar with. Not personally, but she’s seen it on enough of her girls to very easily be able to tell what it is. Well shit, that’s embarrassing. “Ya got a little…” she mutters lowly, pointing out on her face exactly where the girl missed a few spots. I mean fuck, there’s blown first impressions and then there’s this shit. Hopefully the chick either is trying to get a certain reputation or she manages to avoid any screw ups like this in the future. She’ll keep pointing out white spots on the chick’s face, made real easy thanks to the girl’s tanned skin, until she doesn’t see anymore. It kills time, she guesses. Not nearly enough since she still hasn’t the foggiest fucking clue how long she’ll be on this thing. She decides to turn to the chick next to her and strike up a conversation to keep killing time. Maybe she’ll get a definite answer on the “Boy-girl” question that way.

When Ixion finally comes into view, she’s floored just by the size of it. Shit, that fucker might be bigger than the entirety of the town she used to live in! Fuck maybe, this fuck IS bigger than her hometown! It makes any of the shit the haves tried to peddle look poor in comparison! ”Fuck, was the fight back at home even worth it if THIS is what true wealth looks like!?” she thinks, her idea of the have’s money dropping like a motherfucker the longer she looks at the Academy and tries to figure how much money it took to build some shit like that. She snaps out of it when the pilot tells them they ain’t gotta go home, but they gotta get the fuck off the ship. And the first thing she sees is a woman who makes her think ”Is this bitch stealing my style!?”. If she is, she’s wearing it a lot better though. Emma’s shit is tattered and laced with bandages after all, products of her way of life after all. This chick looks one wrong (or right?) step from being on a damn runway. Her personality doesn’t dissuade the idea neither. All the chicks back in town who were pretty and knew it were at least a bit bitchy until she slapped them back into place. Arrogance has a time and a place. Trying not to starve to death is not the time and a dude’s bedroom is not the place (unless he’s into that). The dude… seems to have more style than he knows what to fucking do with. At least for a little bit. And then he completely fucks it up at the end of his little welcome. Seriously, what was the look on his face? A stern look would have communicated power, an aloof one style without effort. Instead he picks… whatever the hell that was. She just barely manages to restrain a sigh. Hell, if he’d incorporated his aura shots into the production, everyone would have been so focused on that they would have missed whatever he was doing with his face and he could have awed them. So close to cool, yet so far. So… moving on, he told them to ask questions, so she guesses she should start with the obvious. “So what next? Standing around here in,” she takes a moment to swallow her sarcasm, “awe of your prowess doesn’t seem like the best way to allow us to see the academy’s magnificence. Also, we’ve been introduced to the Marksmanship master and the Dust expert. We gonna meet the other teachers soon-ish? And where we stayin’, anyway?” She figures all of these are important questions to know. Especially the “where are we living” question. She swears if she escaped on set of streets just to end up on another…

[mrblah]

When Sicilia bumps into the bunny girl, she doesn’t react, so much as fall directly over onto the ground with a dull thud, as if she were a statue. After laying on the ground for a long moment, she lets out a quiet “Owww...”, then waits another long moment before clumsily shoving herself back to her feet. Once on her feet again, she turns to Sicilia and mumbles sleepily and slightly sadly “You bumped me...”.

Mark nodded approvingly towards Lucilla and Amelia, glad to see a few people appreciated his work. “As it should be. Know that this opportunity comes to a rare few within this decrepit world. Should you prove yourself worthy… all will come to you. NOW,” he made a grandiose gesture, throwing out his arm to make his coat ruffle through the wind, “I and my compatriot will solve your burning curiosities. First, you will indeed meet your other teachers… but for most of you, much later. They have no responsibility to meet with the hopefuls so those of you who pass will meet them on the day they teach you.” He then pointedly looked to Crystal.

“What he said.” says Crystal, not even looking up from her scroll, seemingly completely uninterested in what was going on with the students and Mark. When asked by Emma where they’d be saying, Crystal, without looking up from her scroll, remarked “Under a bridge for all I care.” stated without a hint of emotion outside of boredom. A sigh came from the man beside her. Never could he understand their headmaster's decision to have her apart of the welcoming committee. "What this one means to say," he began, "is that you'll be staying in the auditorium for the night. The next day you shall be busied with the initiation tests so little you would worry about where you'll slumber then. Once the initiation is over, you all shall be placed within dorm rooms which you'll share with others. Now," Mark dramatically threw out a hand to the crowd, his coat billowing once more for effect, "I and my colleague will lead you all to the hall of dining. Do not astray from our path; your wanderlust will be satisfied AFTER your stomachs are, as this tour shall last past the common woes of time. You will not get another chance to eat until nightfall." Crystal had left during Mark's explanation. Once he finished, however, the Marksmanship professor too turned to depart through the door, waving the students along to follow him out. The door wasn't very wide for one whole crowd though...

After the initial rush to the door that got one sleepy bunny faunus hurt in the stampede, the students had successfully filed down to the hall of the academy. Crystal was leaning against the wall on her scroll and Mark was grandiosely staring forward with his sword stabbed into the floor. "Hmph. You all were slow. If it took you this long to simply walk down a spiral staircase..." He scoffed lightly. "No matter. Keep pace or fall behind. In this terrible world, the wretches of the dark will take any advantage to prey on the weak... if you cannot so much as match speed, how do you expect to fare out there?" With that said, he started off, following after Crystal who again totally ignored him and the others to head to the cafeteria.

Along the walk, the students got a good look around at the structure and architecture of what could soon be their home. The hallway they walked through had several fancily designed arches to the left, allowing for a clearer view of the outside world and letting in the sunlight to light the hall. Several flying aircrafts were floating across the skies at all times, creating a constant sound of machine activity that was aided by the noise of ongoing classes. Further down was an open courtyard with a fountain where one such class was, and they seemed to be learning about the local fauna... then a scream broke out when a big man-eating plant succeeds in swallowing one student whole. Huh.

Anyways, the halls were pretty well-made. The floors were tiled and bronze-ish with a strip of red carpet laid out over it. The right wall was littered with windowed doors that led into other classrooms, and up above were the deactivated Dust lights that would offer some lighting if it were darker. Mark and Crystal led the students down another staircase—this one was thankfully wider and allowed for multiple people to go down at once—then they turned down a smaller hall through the side of the courtyard into another building. More students would be seen along the way, with some turning to glance at the group in curiosity... and others with competitive stares. "Here we are." Mark announced to the group of students, stopping right in front of a large open doorway that led into the dining hall. "Gaze in wonder if you must, but not too long."

The dining hall was possibly the largest room they'd expect to find at the academy. Simple wooden tables and benches covered a majority of the floor's space and many students were already putting them to use. Laughter and chatter was present anywhere they looked with the sole exception of one quartered off area where they'd be eating. Off to the far side of the room was a long counter with food service workers preparing and serving food behind it, and near them was a door that no doubt led into their kitchen. You'd guess there'd be a long line there, but it seemed like the many students had all already been served. That was lucky for them. Mark led them further into the room past the crowds of curious students to their area. They were allowed five tables of their own which would be just enough for all of them... but it meant there wouldn't be any great amounts of space to sit on your own if you wanted to. They'd be forced to sit alongside one another. Mark and Crystal, of course, weren't any exceptions. They'd probably need to sit somewhere too along with them. "Take a seat, all of you. Since this is your introduction to the academy your food will be delivered here; however, under normal circumstances, know that you'll be expected to walk to the food line and gather it from the servers yourselves." Mark took a seat at the end of the fourth table.

Soon after Mark takes his seat, a huge man with spiky blond hair enters the room, wearing a white button up with long sleeves and a black collar, and plaid pants with two belts on the back of his thighs, making his way towards a second blond man, who was sitting at a table across the room. The second man was wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans, with plate armor on his chest., and had a curly black handlebar mustache. As the bigger man approached, he shouted to the smaller man “I need a new pair of shoes, shell out, DDT Machine.” he says. The smaller man looks up from his burrito at the sound of the bigger man’s voice and cries out “iAy caramba!”, then stands up from his seat, his hands raised defensively. “Yeah, you heard me!” the bigger man says as he moves up to the smaller man, who replies with something in spanish, but the sentence is interrupted as the bigger man shifts his body to the side, then twists, slapping the smaller man with his chest and knocking him to the ground, causing him to cry out “iAy!” as he fell. Seeing the man knocked down, the guy in the camo pants and green hoodie rushes over to the two, leaping a table and landing in a roll as he ran. “Yo dawg, it’s not cool to bully people!” he says, as he strikes a dabbing pose. The bully looks at him like he just grew a second head, then a third, after which he clears his throat and replies “You’re in way over your head, nub. DDT Machine here owes me money, and you can do nothing to keep me from collecting.” he says, to which the guy in the camo pants replies “Dawg, I guess I have no choice but to absolutely SHRED you in a dance-off!” he says, taking two steps back, dropping to the floor, then starting to spin his body like a rotor, using his hands to propel himself around, before turning over onto his hands and spinning himself around using only his hands, after which he drops onto the floor on his back and starting to spin himself around, all in an impressive display of dance prowess. Once finished, he front-flips himself onto his feat and dabs again. “I challenge you to a dance-off, daw-” he starts to say, only for the bigger blond man to use his pecs to slap him across the face, knocking him to the floor.

[cliffracer]

This orientation didn't seem to be terribly well put-together. At least... Hunter was pretty sure the whole thing wasn't meant to be completely carried by Mark. Maybe it was better that it was? She was already starting to fantasize about what great power Crystal could be hiding by seeming so aloof. Just imagine what kind of control she could have that'd make her the Academy's resident Dust expert! She could probably freeze the ocean on two ounces! Or make an extra sun just to drop it on a big grimm!

Hunter has no clue what Dust is capable of and doesn't even know it.

Still, she's attentive when it's time to get moving. Mark was making her head spin with all those large words, but she managed to distill it in to workable terms. Going to the dining hall, don't wander, this is the only chance to eat. She follows quick, but her own small size nearly has her befalling the same fate as the bunny faunus she saw getting trampled on the way down, the worst she endures being some elbow thumps and knee pushes. She REALLY wanted to go back and help her, but she got so caught up in a storm of legs that short of kneecapping people with her staff, she wouldn't be able to go against the tide. The look she gave her was probably heartbreaking. She survived in to the hall, only to walk right in to Mark lecturing the whole group. NOW Mark was starting to annoy her. She doesn't have any excuses, but she's not happy about being called slow.

Hunter was glad to have another look at this place's gorgeous architecture while the mob filters through the halls. It doesn't beat some actual nature views, but Hunter'd be damn satisfied enjoying breakfast looking out on all of this. All this sunlight and clear view was doing wonders for her mood. Plus, she could even see some instruction going on... Or... perhaps some incident going on. Mental note to be careful around plants that can eat her whole. The rest of the walk had her sharing some tense glares with students who probably thought they could assert themselves over the new blood by looking tough. Maybe, but not her.

At least the dining hall wasn't far. She had to be sure to get familiar with this place so she wouldn't get caught up with lunch in the future. For now though everyone's packing in to the same five tables, which boded poorly for someone her size. And indeed, as soon as she starts sitting, she gets hipchecked by another student and forced straight in to the lap of someone fortunate enough to have gotten there just a moment earlier- poor Amelia. "WATCH IT!"
But now she had nowhere to go unless she preferred shifting in to someone else's lap, there just wasn't enough room to actually worm her way out, and she probably wouldn't be able to find another seat. The best she can do for her new chair is at least avoid using her tits like a cushion. She twists a bit so she can look up at Amelia's face. "...Ah, hell. Sorry, I think I'm stuck here for lunch. Just lemme handle it if someone gives us shit, alright?"

Luckily, she might not have to. Looks like something is already going down. A good introduction to the behavior of the students already here, maybe... Or maybe this is staged? Hunter's seen all sorts of staged fights taking place to get other people riled up on the streets. Some by plainclothes cops. Who knows! It's entertaining, at least, but she's probably gonna have to pay attention to this big boy whenever he's in the room. Seems like a troublemaker.

[Blue56]

This orientation was starting to get a little hard to watch as Crystal did absolutely nothing to help with her part of things. Though Mark was clearly frustrated by this, Amelia got the feeling that probably liked being the center of attention anyway. Crystal's attitude was frankly terrifying, however. Somehow the fact that she clearly didn't care if they lived or died was worse than if she were openly hostile. Ugh, and they still had more tests after this too. She had been hoping that what she had been through was enough, but clearly things weren't that easy. Still, at least they got to eat first even if they had to sleep in the auditorium tonight. Her meals back home were nothing special. Amelia usually cooked for her parents, but the quality of ingredients she had to work with wasn't the greatest so it was hard make something good. Hopefully at the academy, the quality of meals would match the luxurious atmosphere.

Their destination set, Mark starts leading them to the cafeteria but... It's plain to see that fitting all these students through that doorway is just asking for trouble. As a servant, it was force of habit for Amelia to stand aside and let others go before her, so that was exactly what she did. And it turned out to be a good thing she did, she would have been trampled for sure trying to fight that crowd... Just like that poor bunny faunus. "Oh gosh, a-are you okay?" Amelia asks, moving to help the poor girl up once the crowd had moved on down the stairs. She would help the faunus down the stairs if needed, but either way Amelia was pretty much the last one there and arrived just in time to receive a scolding from Mark. Laying into them like this over walking down some stairs was a little harsh, but Amelia could feel that it came from a place of compassion, like he was toughing them up for the hard road that was to come. Maybe. It was a fleeting thought really as they kept moving right after and ohmygodohmygodohmygoddidthatplantjustEATSOMEONE?! Amelia's mouth opens to scream along with the other students who had witnessed such a horrifying event, but no sound comes out and her legs instinctively pick up the pace to carry her was far from that plant as possible.

By the time the reach the dining hall, Amelia is still a nervous wreck, even more so than usual since she's pretty sure she just saw someone die. The scene of a large amounts of students laughing and chatting looked somehow ominous to her increasingly paranoid state of mind. How could they all just sit here and laugh while people were getting eaten? Would she have to fight through this crowd and wait in line every day just to eat? The only silver lining here was that for today they had their own tables and would be having food brought to them. Amelia moved quickly to grab a seat at the same table as Mark, figuring that if she wasn't safe near a teacher, then she simply wasn't safe anywhere at all. But no sooner had she taken her seat, she found it occupied by someone who slid right into her lap. "WATCH IT!" She heard that person shout and visibly flinched, assuming she was the one being yelled at. "AHH!! I'm so so so so sorry, I was just trying to sit down, please don't hurt me!" Amelia cries, keeping her eyes firmly shut, bracing for a beating. When it never comes, she opens her eyes cautiously, looking down at the girl in her lap who was looking back up at her. Amelia had always been taller than most women, but this girl must have been shorter than most to fit in her lap so well. And not only was she not hitting Amelia, but she was even offering to help out if anyone poked fun at them for ending up in this situation. "U-ummmm..... Th-thank you. I... Uh... I hope you can make yourself comfortable for our meal." She stammers out, feeling a bit of a blush creep across her face. Amelia had never been in such close proximity to someone else like this before, at least not since she was a kid sitting in her parent's lap or something like that. She had been asked to do some strange things as a servant, but never anything like being someone's chair.

Rather than continue to stare, Amelia turns her gaze out towards the rest of the dining hall, only to see a fight break out between some of the other students. How terrifying! Not only were they fighting, but no one was even breaking it up! Was this sort of behavior accepted and commonplace here? It must be if it's happening in front of teachers and none of them are stopping it. Amelia can feel herself start to physically tremble at the thought of being attacked while trying to enjoy her food, but eventually forces herself to stop before she disturbs the other woman in her lap. This would take some getting used to... This left her in a difficult position as to where she should look, as looking at the ensuing fight paralyzed her with fear. Staring down at the floor was her default, but with a woman in her lap, that left her with nowhere to look that wasn't occupied by another person. Still this other girl seemed nice enough, and in this position Amelia would at least only be staring at the top of her head most of the time. So awkward though it may be, Amelia kept her head down and her eyes averted off to the side as much as possible as she waited for their food to arrive. How she would eat in this position was a mystery that would have to be solved later.

[MiscChaos]

Emma feels like the answers to her questions only generated more questions. The biggest one, however, is "What the fuck is this bitch doing teaching!?". Crystal is so utterly uninterested in anything to do with any of her potential students that she has what can only be a fuckin' vision of the future. This chick will do the bare fuckin' minimum to not get fired and call it good so she can go back to whatever the hell SHE wants to do. And that can only fuck up Emma's education because she needs more than the bare minimum if she wants to eradicate the Grimm. Mark, she can tell, will at the very least be enthusiastic about his lessons even if he's likely to be bombastic as well, but she'll take that over completely unmotivated and missing the finer points of shit! Fucking hell, THIS is supposed to be one of the premiere Academies in this crapsack world!? ...she hopes dust isn't too important to know about because she doesn't know about the quality she'll be getting on the subject. And then it's time to move, she guesses. She sees the faunus go down and also sees a student go to help her up. All she can really do is try to slow the crowd down just enough for the student to go to work before she gets swept up. If she tried to pick up the faunus herself, then the chances of BOTH of them getting pushed down are greater than being by themselves. Bigger target and more people pushing against that target. Yes, the bigger target can resist the force more, but there's a limit and this is FAR above that limit. So she does what she can and moves along.

It's more than slightly annoying that THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE GUIDING THEM consider them too slow. NO SHIT! They don't know where the fuck they're going! This is literally the first time they've been in this building! What, did they expect them to bust out some teleportation and beat them down here or something? Or were they offering piggy-back rides when she wasn't paying attention? Seriously, this is supposed to be one of the best academies out there? She has her doubts. Her thoughts are interrupted by the sight of a plant FULL ON EATING SOMEONE. WHOLE. And she didn't see the teacher moving to get the kid out! What the fuck kind of place did she sign up for!? Yeah, it's pretty and all, but so far the people in it have been pretty damn ugly! If she wanted to be on constant guard for her life, she would have just stayed on the streets. With all that on her mind, she doesn't really care for Mark's fucking grandoise nature right now, nor the fancy ass dining hall he's showing off. She just wants to get out of there and maybe find defensible places to hole up until she begins to trust the people around her. A base of operations, if you will.

But she guesses food first. Mark said they aren't gonna get a chance to eat again til night... which isn't too bad actually. She's had to go way longer between meals than a mere few hours. She isn't gonna turn down a meal that's right in front of her though. She picks the second table to sit at since it's one of the ones that doesn't have Mark and Crystal at it. She also gives a wolf whistle when she sees one of the girls end up in another's lap just because it's a nice distraction from her current thoughts. Well, that and both girls involved are cute. And then she's dragged down all over again when what looks to be a bully that's been cut off from daddy's money tries taking the money from another student. And neither Mark nor Crystal make a single move to stop him. So it's gonna be like that, huh? Either some students get special privilege or just everyone is left to fend for themselves. She really should have just stayed on the street since the rules of the street seems to have invited themselves to follow her. Now she has a choice. The boy getting threatened isn't one of her people, she can just let this play out however it will. She isn't some bastion of morality: She does what she does so she and her people survive another day. Then again, she's very used to those with privilege doing whatever they want to those without. She's spend her entire life fighting against that very thing. It sits wrong with her to just let one of them get away with this. "Oi, asshole. How about you lay off?" She says, standing up and facing the man. "I really fucking doubt he owes you money when you call him DDT Machine. Sounds like you just throwing your weight around to get a few bucks." She glares at him, daring him to take offense. She doesn't know anything about how this asshole fights, but it wouldn't be the first time she's gone into a fight blind. And if she can't stand up for what she believes in, she sure as hell can't stand against the Grimm.

[Mark3000]

Lucilla continued to give Mark the bulk off her attention. Crystal didn’t seem interest in the student and hard to read, let alone sway. Mark on the other hand was an easy lay. A polite introduction and a bit of applause was all it took to get his attention. Speaking of applause, Lucilla made note of the girl clapping. She had tried to point out the white mess on Lucilla’s face on the airship but was rather sheepish about it. Had she mistaken Lucilla for a noble or a member of the upper class? If so, then good. Lucilla had always made an effort to hide her lower status with fine clothing. It became easier when her patrons began to gift her items as a present for indulging them. If people thought she was a member of high society, who was she to refute them.

Lucilla continued to follow the two instructors, being sure to stay at the front of the pack. She made sure to nod with Mark’s every point to give him the attention he so desperately craved. When it came time to sit, Lucilla moved to sit next to the professor. That was until a skirmish broke out between two blonds, one muscular, the other… not. It looked like a one sided affair until the girl in the combat boots got involved. Lucilla didn’t know what she was planning, but starting a fight on their first day probably a bad move. Leaving the group, Lucilla approach the two blondes and the girl in the combat boots. “There’s no need to be so rough, especially with two teachers within ear shot” Lucilla tells the larger blonde before reaching out to take his hand. “Now why not eat with me instead of picking a fight with these two. I’m sure it will be a lot more enjoyable.” Lucilla said with a smile. All the while she was gently rubbing the back of the large blonde’s hand with her thumb.

[Littlemankitten]

When Sicilia sees the bunny girl fall over, she covers her mouth and inhales sharply, looking and feeling extremely guilty. "OhnoI'msofuckingsorryIdidn'tmeanto!" She quickly blabbers out, panicking a bunch even if the bunny girl seemed to only barely care. She was so caught up in her mistake she barely payed attention to Crystal and the other guy. Not that she was missing much given Crystal seemed to hate her job. She did manage to catch the part about them all sleeping in the auditorium. Something which didn't sit well with Sicilia. She also heard something about lunch which caused the crowd to start moving, which also caused the bunny faunus to get run over by the horde of people. This caused Sicilia to go full panic mode, this was all her fault! Why did she have to not pay attention and bump into her!? She had to do something to save the bunny faunus though, and being the closest to her Sicilia quickly sprung foreward and tried to pull the bunny faunus to her feet and help her. Funnily enough her time as a security guard made her quite competent at specifically pulling people from crowds. She wasn't the only one that noticed however, another girl tried to help her up too. Which ended up causing some confusion about which way the bunny girl would end up going once she was up. Once that small situation was settled though, Sicilia would help guide the bunny faunus as well. Apologizing not just to here, but now to the other girl. "I-I'm so s-sorry I-I didn't-t-t mean t-to I-I wasn't p-p-paying at-t-t-tention and I should of b-been I just h-h-have never seen a-anything like this b-before! And I'm s-sorry you h-had t-to be a part of this t-to miss, I-I'll t-t-try and make i-it up to you b-b-both!"

Sicilia only broke away from her frantic apologizing when she sees the other girl look in horror at something, seeming to want to scream but can't. She quickly diverts her gaze to where the girl was looking and sees some weird ass looking plant. It looked quite weird yes but nothing that horrifying. When they made it to the staircase Sicilia finally seemed to manage to calm down. Though she continued to stand right next to the bunny girl even after the other girl broke off. Though now she had to deal with getting scolded by the teachers who were not very good at their jobs. The remainder of the walk to the cafeteria was much less eventful thankfully, just a few harsh stares from a few passing students. When they finally made it to the cafeteria, Sicilia did indeed stare in wonder for a few moments, but not for very long. She sheepishly made her way towards their designated area and found a place to sit down... Which happened to be next to the bunny faunus from before. Well, Sicilia might as well try and make a friend to make up for bumping her down. "S-s-so... W-whats your name?" Step one of friendship making is ago. This is how one makes friends right? Sicilia was never good with this sort of thing... Unfortunately her adventure into friendship making was interrupted by a fight that was happening nearby. Sicilia instinctively crossed her arms and instantly tried to recluse herself as much as possible. Why did there have to be a fight on the first day? She hoped she wouldn't have to get dragged into it... Wait, was the fight turning into a dance battle? What the hell? She's seen some weird stuff during her time as a security guard but this takes the cake. She has never heard of or seen a fight turn into a dance battle. Except the dance battle ended as the other guy hit the dancing one with his pecs. She wasn't sure if managing that was weirder than the dance battle or not...

[mrblah]

With the combined effort of three, the bunny girl had been saved from the worst of the stampede. She'd mutter some word of thanks to her saviors at the time, though one of them seemed much more interested in her as she stuck around... and apologized to her along the way. The bunny faunus had merely looked on at her with a blank face as she waited for a moment to interject which came right as she forgot what she wanted to say in response. In conclusion, the bunny faunus said absolutely nothing.

Later, Sicilia would speak again to the bunny faunus to ask for her name. She’d stare at the human girl for a few moments as she… caught up. “I’m… Mauve.” The newly introduced Mauve gave no consideration to the fight brewing behind her. She was clearly at full capacity just by engaging in this conversation.

Meanwhile, Emma calls out to the blond man that was smacking people with his pecs, saying “Oi, asshole. How about you lay off? I really fucking doubt he owes you money when you call him DDT Machine. Sounds like you just throwing your weight around to get a few bucks." as she stood up and faced towards him. She manages to get his attention and he steps closer to her. “Eh? Ya talkin’ to me, boots?“ he asks, as he takes another step, seemingly having forgotten the other two guys he had already hit with his pecs. Suddenly, with incredible speed for his size, the blond man ducks down low, then swings his chest quickly in an uppercut, so hard that he knocks Emma off her feet, into the air several feet, after which she fell back onto the table, on her back.

When Emma lands on her back, the pink-haired person that Emma had spoke with earlier starts to stand up, taking a metal cylinder from their belt, while Mark was looking at the blond man in the same manner one would look at a bug they were about to crush, while flexing his fingers near the hilt of his weapon, however before either of them moved, Lucilla, the blond girl in the purple dress, with blond hair, made her way over to the blond man and says “There’s no need to be so rough, especially with two teachers within ear shot” as she reaches out to take his hand. “Now why not eat with me instead of picking a fight with these two. I’m sure it will be a lot more enjoyable.” she said, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb.

When Lucilla started speaking to the crazed man who had been hitting people with his pecs, Mark and the pink-haired person relaxed momentarily, however instead of calming down, he sneered “Begone, thot!” the blond man shouts, as he ducks low, then swings his upper body hard towards Lucilla, smacking her across the face with his pecs, knocking her into the air several feet, which sends her crashing into a nearby table right beside the one that their group was situated at. The pink-haired person then leaps from their seat and moves around behind the blond man, without saying a word, as their metal cylinder extended into a metal staff with four more cylinders rotating around both ends. As they spun their staff around to try to strike the blond man from behind, he suddenly turned and slapped the attacker across the face with both pecs, causing them to squeak in surprise and pain as the bully sent them flying through the air, landing on a nearby empty table, their back on the bench while their legs were propped up on the table.

Seeing this result, Mark sighed. It seems he'd really be needed to step in. Again, he sent a dirty look to Crystal who looked none too concerned about the situation as he stood up to deal with it. "That's quite enough." His words were spoken in a disappointed monotone, hardly loud enough for the large blonde student to hear, yet it seemed that was only a faux warning granted to give reason to his next action. Slowly, Mark raised an arm up in the air with his hand outstretched, drawing the attention of the students—except for Mauve who apparently seemed to be staring down at the table. He brought his fingers together... then snapped.

It was over in seconds. Mark shot off at the speed of lightning, distorting the space around him and leaving visual marks against the expanse as he came in to sweep the blonde's legs, grabbing him by his right arm as he fell and spinning him to his front to slam the bully down to the ground. "Agh!" There was audible surprise in the blonde’s tone as he was pushed against the hard flooring with both hands behind his back, restrained with a thin blue line of... something unclear. Mark patted off his trench coat as he looked down on the student dully. "While the administration of Ixion understands our students' needs to compete and their desire to tout their power, do know that we can and will step in if things are taken too far and other students or Ixion's property is damaged in the ensuing strife. Do NOT dare to get carried away in the presence of myself or another professor again, Steele. I may show mercy upon the strike of this hour, but know it is only they whom you wished to prey upon that give me pause." Mark spun on his heel, flourishing his coat as he returned to his seat with no care given to the struggling bully.

Shortly after, several food service workers would exit the kitchen with trays and trays of food both exotic and simple. The students gathered at the table would look on with clear hunger as the workers walked down the table and assembled their plates for them. Meat, vegetables, etc., all excellently cooked and readied for them with silver utensils at the side. "Our meals here at Ixion Academy are balanced and specially prepared to give our students the energy and POWER they need while learning to become Hunters of the VAST DARKNESS. Please, feast to your hearts' content as you enjoy meals the likes of which KINGS eat." Mark's own plate had an assortment of fruits and drinks. One of the servants personally stayed by his side to refill his wine glass—in fact, several workers remained close to the dining table, at the ready should they be called on. "Dine on the fruits of the servants’ labor. We will continue the tour in... say, 20 to 30 minutes."

Looks like they'll have some time to mingle and do as they would while they're eating.

[Mark3000]

Lucilla smiled as she tried to calm the raging senior with her feminine while only to get a response she wasn't expecting. "Wait wha .." Was all she could udder before being sent flying by the student's pecs. With a soft yell she bounce off the floor before rolling into one of the tables. It took her a moment to catch her breath and refocus her vision. By the time she was back on her feet, her assailant had been neutralized. Not by the pink haired newbie but by Professor Mark himself. Surprisingly enough the man didn't seems to be all talk after all as he restrained the rampaging bully with little effort. As she got up, Lucilla approached the professor and gave him a proper curtsy. "Thank you for intervening on our behalf. I'm only regret I wasn't able to resolve this conflict in a more peaceful manner" She said. Giving Steele a dirty look, Lucilla turning around and returned to the table with all the other new students. She was still a little wounded by the fact that her charms had no effect the idiot.

Returning to the table, Lucilla took a seat close to the pink haired student and the brunette in combat boots. As the food finally arrived, Lucilla smiled. It had been a long day and she needed something to wash out the taste of semen from her mouth. Reaching for a plate, Lucilla prepared a dish of rice, chicken breasts and an assortment of vegetables. Back in her seat, she called out to one of the servers requesting a glass of water. Once everyone had gotten food, she turned her attention to the woman in the combat boots and the person with the pink hair. "I must admit, I wasn't expecting to get attacked on my first day here" she said trying to start up some conversation. "My name is Lucilla, Lucilla Vavanova. I don't think I've gotten either of your names?" She had originally planned to suck up to Mr. Atwater a bit more. But she figured she'd fluffed the man's ego enough for one day. She wanted to get to know her potential comrades in arms better.

[cliffracer]

Hunter ends up genuinely speechless at the sheer violent shenanigans at play in this mess hall. It would've been pure comedy had it not been for the fighting intent she was picking up off the lot. She couldn't help but think that basing your fighting style off of beating people with your own chest-beef was a bit impractical, especially when Grimm would love to have your chest-beef closer to their claws and mouths. This all ended up being SO VERY worth it once she gets to see Mark actually using his power. Actually using it, not just showing off in a totally harmless way! Her suprise and excitement at the spectacle plant her head firmly within Amelia's chest. She doesn't move from the new spectating position, but she also doesn't try to jostle them, subtly or no.

"Oh, FINALLY the food shows up. Coulda gone for a better show beforehand, but that was alright, I guess." Hunter looks up at Amelia, not moving from her comfier position, then looks confused. "Wait, I don't know your name yet. Uh, I'm Hunter. Forgot I oughta at least introduce myself if I'm gonna enjoy how comfy you are." She beams a grin as she waits for her response, not a hint of perverted intention present on her breast-wreathed face. It's like she hasn't even noticed. Once the food's been set out she finally leans forward to plate very simply. The commoner in her shines through as she dishes up a heap of rice, chicken, and curry sauce without any heed for presentation or balance in diet. She takes her plate to her own lap to spare Amelia the maneuvering, and thankfully seems to be a neat eater.

[Blue56]

Amelia keeps her gaze planted firmly downwards, she can't bear to look at the ensuing fight and she can envision just what's happening based on the sounds she's hearing. Each smack and crash signals another student defeated by this bully's rampage, and each time Amelia can feel her hopes about having a decent school life sink into the depths of despair. Her gaze flits to her shield, folded and compact on her belt, and she briefly considers taking hold of it in hopes that anything might dispel this oppressive atmosphere she feels. But she quickly shakes that idea off. Amelia knew that holding her shield would certainly give her a confidence boost, but she also understood that she would absolutely leap to join the fray against her current wishes. The idea of suddenly having the courage to throw herself into battle was terrifying to Amelia. She lets out a heavy sigh, resigning herself to living out the rest of her time at this academy in constant fear of being beaten by pecs, when suddenly Mark's words reach her above the ruckus of the dining hall. She looks up at long last, just in time to see the professor subdue the rampaging student in a swift and spectacular fashion. Restraining such a strong person with what must have been aura was impressive enough, but seeing that their teachers apparently would step in when needed to protect the students brought a bright smile to Amelia's face and filled her heart with hope again. She would have applauded again if it wouldn't have disturbed the woman in her lap by doing so.

Speaking of, this girl seemed to have taken full advantage of Amelia's offer to make herself comfortable, she was just now noticing that Hunter's head was comfortably nestled in her chest. It was a much more.... intimate position than Amelia was used to, but the girl's nonchalance towards it made her feel even more awkward about trying to bring it up. "Um.... Ahhh.... Y-you're a li-little... C-could you m-maybe...?" She stammered quietly, unsure of how to bring this up and get away unscathed, when suddenly Hunter looks up and introduces herself with a bright grin while sneaking a compliment about how comfortable she found Amelia's lap. Amelia always felt a sense of pride and accomplishment when people, mostly her fellow servants, praised her work. This time was no different which left her feeling a little conflicted, since her praise in this case was for what a nice chair she was. "Oh. Th-that's kind of y-you to say....? Um... My name is Amelia. It's nice to meet you Hunter..." Amelia's confusion was plain on her face as she introduced herself. There was no way this was a normal scenario, and yet Hunter treated it as such with an innocent smile on her face, that left Amelia feeling as though she was the one behaving oddly here.

With introductions done, Amelia turns her attention to the food that's been brought out. As a servant herself, it feels a little odd to be the one being served, but she does her best to suppress that thought, making sure to thank each and every servant she sees as she feels she knows their plight better than most. Her meals back home were usually simple. They never went hungry at the Goldwin estate, but the servants meals were naturally a far cry from those of the residents and guests. Even here at Ixion, when offered a more luxurious spread, Amelia still finds herself sticking to old habits and having a salad, though she did take some extra chicken to put on top and even a few bits of steak with only a hint of guilt. "Oh... Thank you Hunter, that's very kind." She says upon noticing that Hunter has moved the plate into her lap to give Amelia more room to eat. For her own part, Amelia holds the plate up to her face to avoid having food fall from her fork onto Hunter on its way to Amelia's mouth. She takes great care to avoid spilling any on Hunter's head as well, though there was little chance of that as Amelia was quite the careful eater. As a servant, she had to clean up her own mess after all and it only made sense to avoid making more work for herself.

[Littlemankitten]

Sicilia smiled at the bunny faunus as they gave their name. "I-I-It's nice t-to meet-t-t you M-M-Mauve! I-I'm Sicilia..." She tried to say this with as much confidence as she could reasonably muster, which wasn't a lot given this new situation filled with new people. Sicilia was about to say more to try and further make friends before the dancing people to the side decided to get even more physical. Jumping and letting out a surprised squeak as someone was hit by weaponized pecs and flew into a nearby table. Sicilia balled up, placing her hands over her heads and whining. "W-why are t-t-they hitting e-e-each other with t-their peeeeeccssss? I-I-I t-though they w-were d-d-dancing..." She said to no one in particular. More people then decided to join in on the action happening around them, though most of the entire cafeteria seemed content to just watch. That was except for Mark, who seemed quite annoyed by the display in front of him. She barely heard him speak, and looked up when she heard him, wondering exactly what it was he even said over the ruckus that was happening. This meant she got a great shot of the blur of speed that was Mark stopping that confrontation. Sicilia really had no idea what just happened, one moment that guy was hitting everyone else with his pecs, the next he was on the floor with restraints on his arms. Sicila pursed her lips as Mark then gave his warning speech. She told the little voice in her head to remind her to never start a fight with someone within distance of a professor... Or at all.

Finally though, the food arrived, and Sicila immediately straightened herself out, preparing herself for the feast in front of her. "D-D-Did you see t-that M-Muave? M-Mark m-moved so f-fast I c-c-couldn't even process it... I-I wonder if w-we'll ever g-get that fast." She then stuffs a piece of the food in her face, chewing thoughtfully. "S-So what b-brings you to the a-academy anyway?" She says as she turns towards Muave, again trying her hardest to make friends.

[MiscChaos]

A small, secretive smile crosses her face when she sees the bunny girl make it out of the pile without taking any serious injury. After all, the better off her fellow hunters and huntresses are, the better off she is. That's how pack works. The stronger members defend the weaker, put them in places that maximize their strength, and hopefully get them out of the weak category. Besides that, they might have to watch each others backs on the battlefield. Having someone who hates your guts do that... well, all it takes it them "missing" one enemy and then you're not longer their problem. So making sure as many of the people around her are cool with her is just to her benefit.

This theory is immediately challenged by the bully and is why she calls him out like she does. The stronger defend the weaker. They do not use their strength to extort, for what happens when the weak has a talent that is needed? And then there's the issue with backs she brought up before. Not that she wants someone like this at her back anyway given she finds him wanting as pack. Given his bluster, she expects him to back down. She expects a challenge at worst. She does not expect him to uppercut him with his fucking pecs. Before, she was disappointed, maybe a bit annoyed with him. Now she's embarrassed and pissed the fuck off. Her anger only deepens when, after hopping to her feet, she sees him assault the woman from earlier with the salty snack. Apparently for the crime of suggesting he calm the fuck down. Just as she's about to shout out a new challenge (or just skip to beating his ass now that he's not going to catch her off guard. Either one), she hears Mark finally attempt to take control of the situation. And then the attempt turns into getting it done when pudding for brains ends up on the floor on his face. Well, now she can't do shit without literally kicking him while he's down. She notes pudding for brains' name, but goes to sit back in her seat without another word. At the very least, nothing but her pride was bruised. She still doesn't like Mark's words. "understands the need to compete and the desire to tout power"? Sounds to her like "We ain't doing shit unless things get physical". And physical injuries are rarely the worst ones that can be dealt out. What happens when a student's confidence is undermined and they believe themselves useless? That's just sheep to slaughter at that point as the Grimm cut them down. It seems like she was entirely accurate when she thought that everyone was on their own earlier. So if she has to look out for herself, it only makes sense to get some people to help her do it.

And she knows just the people to get started with. The Pink haired girl(?) and the tanned girl in purple from earlier. Out of all the students, they're the only ones who showed they have the guts to stand up to those they know are in the wrong. That's the type of person she wants to associate with! If she's going to build up a gang again, it starts with them! "No, finding a privileged fuck trying to take advantage of a student ain't what I thought I'd find here either." She says, agreeing with the girl's sentiment. While she talks, she eyes the assortment of food on offer. Honestly, she doesn't know what to do with it. It's the most food and the most variety of food she's ever seen! She doesn't even know what like 80% of it is! She sees what the tanned girl grabs and imitates. If she doesn't like what she eats, then at least she knows for the future. She wonders how it would look if she mashed all of it into a soup so it was something closer to what she ate back home. Probably not great.

"Ya'll alright? We were the only ones willing to do something, so I'd like to make sure ya'll are alright. Name's Emma Nightingale. Well met, Lucilla, though I guess we interacted earlier. Ya kinda had a... snack on ya face that ya didn't fully clean up. And you!" She says, pointing at Pinkie. "We talked all the way here on the Bullethead and I still didn't get ya name!" She doesn't know how obvious it is that she comes from some absolute destitution. At the very least her tattered and patched clothes should tell how little she has to work with. But given she likes these two so far, she hopes that's not enough to turn them off of her. She needs allies after all.

[RandomRoninKitten]

Sicilia Moriell/Littlemankitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The Bunny faunus was staring into space. Her gaze was blank and rolling about, and she was mumbling something about numbers and sheep… “Huh?” She turned to regard Sicilia seconds after she spoke. “Oh… I came to be a Huntress. I’m training…” And nothing else was heard from her. Mauve’s attention seemed to be drifting away from Sicilia, please call her back to Remnant.

Sicilia did her best to ignore what was happen around her, it was much too crazy for her. She would much rather people stop shouting and fighting, save their energy for the grimm. “O-Oh u-u-uhm, me t-too.” Sicilia silently scolds herself for asking a question with such an obvious answer, though she wanted Mauve to elaborate on it. “S-so, why do you w-want to be a hunter? I-I-It seems like you’d just uh… Fall asleep.” Sicilia said, actually curious as to why Mauve seemed to be so distant, though also hoping she wouldn’t offend Mauve somehow.

“... Mhm…” Mauve’s gaze turned to Sicilia, blinking her eyes open as she registered the question at her typical slow pace. “... I don’t know.” The admission was said in an honest and direct tone. “I had a good reason. I had a… really, really good reason… but I forgot. I forget a lot. But I still want to do it.” Her head bobbed side to side as if reacting to a tune she heard in her head. “... I’ll be fine. It’ll be fine. I’m… not bad at fighting, and I want to do it… isn’t that enough?”

She didn’t know? That seemed odd. How could someone not know their reasons for joining something, especially this place of all places? “O-oh, uhm...I-I see…” She said more as a response just to respond, unsure how to actually meaningfully respond. “I suppose t-that would b-be enough… It’s not l-like I-I have any noble reason myself…” Sicilia said awkwardly, looking back at her plate and taking a small bite of the food. She wondered just how good Mauve could actually fight, she definitely didn’t seem like the fighter type. Then again Sicilia was aware of her own social awkwardness, so it’d be hypocritical to judge her based purely on that. “W-well, I hope I-I c-can see your s-skills in b-battle soon.” Sicilia silently hyped herself up for that occasion, wondering what Muave was actually capable of.

"... You will, if everything goes well for us. I'm sure there'll be the usual spars, or missions, and the like..." Her sentence is broken with a yawn. "Not to mention the combat test that I'm sure we'll have... and..." Mauve's head is nodding ever closer to her food. She's literally falling asleep right this very moment.

Lucilla Vavanova/Mark3000 and Emma Nightingale/MiscChaos

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

”Yeah, it really blew me out of the water too when that guy went berserk.” The pink-haired student would welcome the presence of Lucilla and Emma, smiling at them while holding a fork stabbing through a piece of steak. “You’re right that we never introduced ourselves earlier too, Emma! I’m Roux d’Aramitz, it’s nice to meet you both!”

Emma almost feels like tearing her hair out when Pinkie is introduced. That name gives no fuckin’ hints to their gender! She’s about one step away from just asking what the fuck they go by and that’s embarrassing! Maybe she should just stop caring. Maybe all this questioning is just gonna drive her insane. Maybe she oughta rip off Pinkie’s pants to get a definitive answer. While the first option is definitely the mature one, the temptation of the latter is horrible. To fight it a bit, she starts taking bites of the food in front of her. And has to fight to keep it all down. While it’s delicious as fuck, it’s way to rich for her stomach. She has no experience with food that wasn’t either stolen from a shitbowl in the middle of nowhere or shit that was thrown out. But if this is the standard fare around here, she’s just gonna have to suck it up and get used to it. She can’t fight on an empty stomach and throwing up everything she gets here would only weaken her. So she decides to take smaller bites and hope for the best.

“So, and feel free to call me an asshole, ya’ll don’t seem like what one envisions when ya think of Huntress. Where’d ya’ll come from? Any reason ya wanna be a Huntress?” She figures that’s good enough for “getting to know you” questions. Or at the very least it should let her know if she’s dealing with moral crusaders or some shit. Those types tend to look down on those who live like she’s lived and that would kinda be a huge problem.

Lucilla paused for a moment as Emma brought up the embarrassing mess that red-haired dolt left on her face. Looking at the woman, it was clear she had an Idea of what Lucilla was doing before getting on the airship. Though there was no need to blurt it out. “Y-Yes, it sort of caught me by surprise and I ended up a mess. Not the first impression I was going for” Lucilla said in a modest tone. Listening to Roux finally introduce themselves, Lucilla was as confused as ever as to the Huntsman’s or Huntress’s actual gender. Though if there was one thing Lucilla was good at, it was teasing out details through conversation. “Roux, that’s a lovely name, though a little uncommon. How did your parents choose it?” She said in a casual manner.

Once Lucilla finished her meal, she laid her utensils on the plate and beckoned a servant over for a cup of coffee. “Black please” She said with a cool tone. Through her time with Victor and her various ‘Dates’, Lucilla had grown accustomed to this kind of food. When Emma finally asked her about her motivation, Lucilla paused for a moment. “No, that is a valid question Emma. I’m originally from the capital. I want to become a Huntress to provide for my parents. While they both work in a steam engine factory, their pay is so little that we can barely scrape by. The only reason I was able to attend Ixion is because I have the help of a benefactor. But more than that. When you look at huntress, they always seem to hold their heads up with pride. I wanted to do something I can be proud of” Lucilla said pausing for a moment.

Roux was biting into a piece of steak when this next question came. The pink-haired student finished the cut of the meat before a move was made to answer. "I dunno. Never asked my father what was running through his mind when he named me. Probably nothing." A careless shrug was added to the statement, and the conversation seemed to move on. "Woah... really, Lucilla? That's super admirable! I'm from Vale and I only came here because I wanted to get away from my life and go all independent. I heard those stories about Huntsmen and Huntresses and figured "Why not?" so here I am. You've got a way more interesting story though!" A grin split the face of Roux at the admission of their not so compelling motivation. This one seemed to prefer a more simplistic approach to things.

"What about you, Emma? Why do you want to become a Huntress?" Roux turned to Emma with a smile packaged on top of the conversational question.

Emma continues making her way through the fare, apparently doing a good job of hiding how hard it is to keep eating if no one’s commented on it. It’s a damn good thing when she finally gets full because she doubts she could do too much more without giving in to the urge to vomit. She really hopes she gets used to this soon. It’s really too delicious to keep doing this. It’s somewhat annoying though that she can’t get any info about Roux from the question Lucilla asked. She was hoping for something. Some hint or trail or something to put her on the trail. Instead all she has are more questions. Such as “What the hell is wrong with Pinkie’s parents if they didn’t put any thought into the name?” and “Isn’t it usually the mom who names kids?” But she puts those thoughts aside since she was asked a question.

“Probably the same story a bunch of other people here have. Grimm came through and killed everyone I knew and everyone I loved. I didn’t like being completely unable to even try to help them. After the life I’ve lived, it rubbed me wrong. So I’m gonna become a Huntress and get strong enough that no one in front of me dies ever again. And I wanna kill at least 43 of them. 1 for each person in my town who died.” While he’s trying to convert them to her side, she still isn’t sure how they lean on the whole “Leader of a guerilla warfare campaign against the rich” thing. They could congratulate her, they can shun her. At the very least, it’s not necessary information yet. Better to hold that back for later

“I see we all have our reasons for being here” Lucilla said as she took a sip of coffee . She found the bitter taste and strong aroma helped to refocus her mind. She had decided to keep the name of her benefactor under wraps. Mr. Valentina was a man with his hands in various business ventures, both legitimate and illegitimate. Opinion on him was mixed. Some see his as an impressive entrepreneur, while others a silver tongued fox. Best to wait a bit before mentioning his name. It seems the mystery of Roux’s gender would have to wait for another day as well.

“Though I have to admit, I’ve never seen a weapon like yours before Emma” Lucilla said as pointed towards her combat boots. Lucilla has seen a variety of weapons at the combat school she attended. But armaments like Emma’s were rather uncommon. “If you have some free time, would you be willing to spar with me?”

Roux frowned sadly at Emma's story. "Wow... that really sucks to hear, but I'm glad you're still fighting on ahead anyway!" The pink-haired student remained totally unaware of the confusion caused by the answers given to the two girls' questions. As the conversation moved along to Emma's weapons and sparring, a grin would split on the face of this new acquaintance. "Hey, me too! I wanna see how I'd fare against you guys, so if either of you feel like it at some point later, feel free to come find me and we'll get some practice in!"

“These?” Emma says, looking down at her weapon. She didn’t know they were that rare when she was snatching them. She might have grabbed a different item if she knew. Standing out ain’t always a good thing and if these things are recognizable, someone’s likely to come for them sooner or later. “I didn’t know they were that rare. I haven’t gotten a chance to break em in yet, so the chance to do so would be awesome.” Well, she says that, but her fighting style already used a lot of kicking anyway. How hard could it be to adjust to the weight of Innocent Monster while she does so? Though it’s probably for the best not to let them know exactly how she got them. Not until she knows how morally just they are. Some people hear “stealing” and think “circumstances be damned, you must be punished”. Which is damned stupid to her. If she didn’t steal, she and her family and friends would have been dead long ago. Same way she won’t judge Lucilla if she was some sort of prostitute before coming here since having people willing to do that made life livable for her entire crew. And she refuses to think being dead due to inaction is more evil than theft.

“Speaking of, I don’t even know what your weapon is, CiCi. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like yours though, Pinkie. A staff with rotating bits around it? How does that even work?” She says, tilting her head in curiosity. Not saying much since Emma hasn’t really seen weapons beyond a stone spear or something, but whatever.

CiCi? Lucilla thought to herself. She’d never been given a nickname like that before. Her parents and friends might call her Luci from time to time. And her clients had a litany of pet names for her. But Lucilla liked the ring of CiCi. Patting the Chakrams resting on waist, she unhooked them so Emma and Roux could get a better look.

“They have an interesting design don’t they?” She said with a hint of pride. “I call them Revolving Rose. They’re based on these hops I used to use when I performed on the street. When I was little I would dance and play music on the street for pocket change. That feels like such a long time ago” Lucilla said with a strangely nostalgic smile. “They’re light and easy to swing. They can even be thrown, though I prefer to keep them in hand” She said as she placed the weapons back to her side. “But Roux I too am interested in how your weapon works.”

“Woooaahh… that sounds pretty cool, CiCi.” It sounded like Roux would also be joining in on the use of this new nickname. “My weapon isn’t all that interesting though. I call it Gambanteinn, and it’s really just a staff with smaller parts rotating around it. The smaller parts are a little harder than the staff itself and they’ve got small dust compartments in them that I could charge with Yellow Dust, but I don’t have any of that stuff yet so they’re really just kinda useless? It’s a prototype I bought online.” A careless shrug came from the pink-haired student.

Amelia Picton/Blue56 and Hunter Sleiper/cliffracer

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"Sho. 'Melia." Hunter finishes a big mouthful as she's talking. "What's got you comin' here, anyways? I mean, why ya wanted to come'n train to join the hunt. Fuckin'... lookin' around at all these people, aside from all the… y'know, lap of luxury types who probably find it SPORTING, it just gets me wonderin' why they choose a path like this." Her tone of voice makes certain opinions of hers clear- she doesn't seem to hold the wealthy in too high regard, and she doesn't appear to be underestimating the toll it could take on a person. "Afore you ask, I ain't so complex. I wanna be a problem-solver. Grimm are the biggest problem I can thwack with my staff." She pats the odd-looking soda can on her hip at that remark.

Amelia continues to eat as quietly and unintrusively as she possibly can, both to avoid disturbing Hunter and to not attract attention to herself, when Hunter starts up a conversation. She hadn't been prepared for any questions, let alone one about her motives, and thus started to panic while considering how she would answer. Her first instinct was to stall for time by asking about Hunter's reason for being here, but that plan is dashed when Hunter answers it before she can even ask. "Oh... W-well that's still quite the admirable goal..." Amelia replies, starting to feel a bit self concious about her own comparitively selfish reasoning. Hunter was blunt perhaps, but she did seem to have a confidence that Amelia certainly lacked. Back to her current predicament though, Amelia quickly took a quick bite of her salad, her mind racing as she chewed. She didn't want to talk about her parents being slaves as that would surely lead people to look down on her even more than she already expected them to, not Hunter probably but if she were overheard and word were to spread... "I... Um... I n-need money..." Amelia begins, feeling a bit guilty to admit such a selfish motivation, even if the money wasn't specifically for her, it was still for her own personal gain. "My parents are servants for a noble family. I've been helping out since I was young, but they want me to go out and live my own life instead of just doing what they do. Even if hunting Grimm isn't what I end up doing with my life, I can still put what I earn doing it to use in getting a fresh start." She explains, feeling her face start to flush as it's getting a little embarrassing to talk so much about herself. "Ummm... H-have you fought any Grimm before, Hunter?" Amelia asks, trying to change the subject off of herself. She didn't have much in the way of combat training either, so she was a little curious to know just how far behind the other students she was.

Hunter merely nods in agreement towards Amelia's humble desire to get paid. She hadn't considered the monetary aspect of it before, but hell, it'd sure be nice to make a living off of what she wants to do anyways. "Gettin' paid without turnin' to bein' a whore. Here here." But then Amelia gives a bit of context to her wish… That definately needles her a little, which makes her thankful she has the ability to look back down so Amelia can't see her face. "Shit, that's probably a better reason than most'a the lot here have. Haven't fought any Grimm yet, you can blame the protection the city has for that, but I've had enough 'lovable street rat battles' ta go around." She looks back up, glad Amelia wanted to divert the subject.

Amelia was already feeling flustered by this whole situation, but she can feel her face flush beet red when Hunter mentions turning to being a whore. She had never even considered that idea before, but if she can't make it here at Ixion... Well it could be either selling herself or returning to her parents in shame if things got really bad. The weight Amelia felt on her shoulders got a little heavier, but hearing that she wasn't alone in not having fought any Grimm was a small relief at least. "Ah... W-well, street fighting is still more than I've ever done. I've only ever sparred during training, so I've got a lot of catching up to do. I-I'm a little nervous about it actually..." She replies, oblivious to the fact that it was completely obvious how nervous she was and that saying she was "a little" nervous was a huge understatement. When Hunter looks back up at her, Amelia catches herself reflexively glancing away, finding it difficult to make eye contact, especially while she was so flustered. "S-seeing how strong Professor Atwater is does make me feel a little better. I think we'll be okay around him."

Hunter claps her hand on to Amelia's thigh to try and comfort her, since doing the same to her shoulder is a bit out of the question right now. "Yeah, I doubt there's anything to worry about. If ya wanna spar though, I'm sure to push your reaction time!" She grins. "If you do end up with something to worry about though, jus' lemme know, alright? Heh heh, I bet you'll need a blunt instrument sooner or later." It looks like despite Amelia's anxiety catching her, Hunter's in a pretty good mood from this conversation. She nearly chokes when she gets back to scarfing down her meal!

As all of those at the table are conversing and eating, Mark suddenly drops a piece of chicken that he had been munching on, and slams his hands on the table, causing it to shake violently, before spinning out of his seat, his coattails flapping behind him as he looks sideways down the length of the table, one of his arms held straight out behind him, his palm turned outwards, while his other hand grips his shoulder, his nose in the crook of his elbow. This sudden dramatic movement and racket caused Roux and Danny to jump in surprise, Roux letting out a frightened squeak, though Mauve didn’t seem to notice what was going on, while Danny flipped out of his seat backwards, performed a quick spin, then dropped low in preparation for a head spin, assuming it was a dance battle. It wasn’t a dance battle, however. "Settle your spoons and forks, student hopefuls. As stated, your allotted time to eat has met its end. Therefore," Mark briefly throws out a hand to dramatically snap his fingers, and the kitchen staff at the side would come to collect the plates and other such things, "the tour begins now."

Shortly after saying this, Mark spun on his heel and marched to the door, with Crystal following a beat after. He didn't even wait for their acknowledgement. To the side of Emma and Lucilia, Roux sighed. "I don't know what to say about that guy..."

Regardless of how anyone felt, they had to follow after their guiding teachers if they wanted a lay of the land, so the group of student hopefuls formed together and followed after Mark. He led them down a new hall that looked similar to the last and took a left down the stairs. This first floor looked much like the last, but simpler, with more active halls. Mark gave them no time to gawk and led the group down another hall that passed through the courtyard proper, where everyone could see that same class from before was still ongoing. The student who looked to have been eaten was safe and sound, too! Except he had a strange, hollow look in his eyes, with a gaze that seemed to stare a thousand yards more...

"That woman over there is the school's botany professor, Azul Briar. You will refer to her as Professor Azul during your stay here, as her sister also works here. That one prefers more casual greetings regardless." Mark barely introduced her. He hardly even gestured or so much as called for her attention, but she still turned around to wave at the group anyway with a lackadaisical smirk.

After passing through the courtyard, the group re-entered a separate part of the building, the door leading straight into what seemed to be the Gymnasium. The floor was perfectly polished hardwood with basketball markings across it, and hoops on mechanical arms, folded up against the ceiling and out of the way. Against the walls were numerous doors, most of which were open, revealing baskets of supplies, such as weights, various types of balls for sports, hurdles, and other such items, including an entire closet full of training weapons. Through one set of doors was another room, with a raised circular platform in the center, a red line drawn around the edges just before the dropoff, after which a metal wall had been erected to shield a row after row of metal bleachers. Through yet another wide open set of double doors, the group could see an entire weight-lifting room, with numerous weight machines, a large number of which couldn’t be recognized.

While most of the group stared in amazement and wonder at the elaborate gymnasium and battle arena, Danny looked somewhat concerned. “Yo, teach, is there, like… a uh… dance floor? You know, where we could REALLY get our dance on, when these dance battles get REAL serious-like?” he asked, as he shifted his weight nervously. Which was an understandable act on his part, since Mark's sharp gaze shifted to him the moment his mouth opened. He almost looked offended by the question. Or by Danny's entire presence itself. "This is the gymnasium," he started in a way that almost seemed like he was ignoring the question. "Ixion Academy is funded well enough to use this realm as both the fitness center where our students are tested and trained regularly in physical training and the combat class's arena for spars and honorbound duels. The floor beneath us is equipped with terrain-changing technology, allowing us to shift the very space of this realm to encompass the many biomes of the human world—from rocky mountains, to grass plains, to snowy forests... and many more." ... He's not directly answering the question.

Danny squints for a moment, seemingly processing the information that Mark had just given out, then he opens his eyes fully again and replies, not really taking the hint “Wait, teach, was that a yah or a nah?” he asks, dumbly. Roux, who was watching with the rest of the group, cringes “I guess he didn’t notice how offended Mark looked when he asked that question?” they whisper, quietly, to whoever was nearby, without looking. Meanwhile, Mark was glaring at the oblivious Danny with the force of four suns. "... You've all seen enough of this place. We depart to our next location." He's leaving again.

The remainder of the tour went rather smoothly, with Mark showing the group the Library, which had more books than any of them had ever seen in their lives. The Library had massive metal shelves, which were constructed with steam technology, and large metal gears, which allowed the shelves to reorganize themselves on command, to sort the books by title or author. At the end of each row of shelves was a large, round table, which looked as though it could seat up to fifteen people comfortably. The floor of the library was covered with a thick purple rug that the group could feel themselves sinking into with every step. After the library, the group was taken to the Smithery, a massive, wide open room with a metal, slip resistant floor, and matching metal walls. All along the walls were shelves that reached up to the ceiling, separated by bars that had copper-colored mechanical arms, controlled by metal panels at the bottom of each shelf, allowing people to use the mechanical arms to bring them the components they wanted. Beside each panel was a screen that listed the parts on the shelves and their positions for the viewer. Filling the rest of the room were rectangular metal tables, lined with tools and parts, students on each side of the tables, using them to build or modify their weapons.

Then there’d come the classrooms and dormitories. Mark led the mass of students, first, to each of the classrooms they’d regularly attend while at Ixion. The classrooms all had the typical appearance of your standard academy’s classroom; a teacher’s desk at the front with a blackboard behind it and the usual chair, stairs leading up to lines of seats with a long wooden bench to serve as desks with sections under for their files and such, though each of the classrooms also came with their specific decorations; Mark’s room was generally longer with the blackboard’s wall further from the students’ seats, Crystal’s classroom was darker with artificial lighting and covered windows, Professor Azul’s classroom had several plants and fauna kept to the sides of the room, a classroom belonging to the bestiary professor was… candle-lit with a weird odor in the air? And finally, Azul’s sister—the politics professor—had a totally normal classroom.

Next were the dormitories. The students found that there were three separate buildings that served as the dorms; the first was shared by first and second years, the second was shared by third years and the teachers, and the fourth was strictly the faculty. Mark briefly showed them their dorm building, where they spotted a few other second years who merely watched them from afar. They had their own bathhouses and lounges, and there they were informed that they’d apparently be dorming together with other strangers! Room assignments would be settled after the tour.

After the dormitories, Mark led the group to the Ballroom. The Ballroom was a massive, square room, with a tiled floor, each tile being designed to look like a part of a massive painting of a girl in a red cloak, facing off against a massive wolf-like Grimm. All around the room, purple curtains were draped over the windows, with lights on each side. The ceiling was covered with a painting of a forest, and had numerous chandeliers dangling from it, each with numerous tiny gems decorating the outer layers of the glass domes. Next, Mark brought the group to the Amphitheater, a massive Colosseum-like room, with rows upon rows of metal, cushioned seats circling a metal-tiled arena, with a metal dome that could be deployed over the arena, if needed, to protect the audience. The arena was designed with a series of gears around it that allowed it to be raised or lowered, much like each row of seats, which could be collapsed into the floor, or lowered to an even level, or raised even higher. Attached to the massive ceiling was a series of gigantic screens, attached to metal arms and gears that allowed them to be deployed for audience viewing.

“This concludes the tour,” Mark spoke with a tone of finality, spinning around to face the assembled group of student-hopefuls. Crystal remained off to the side with her typical air of detachment, staring off at nothing related to the situation as she waited for the other teacher to finish their task. “The Headmaster, Yugi Sol, will be with you shortly for his address, and the other professors such as myself and Crystal will accompany him, of course. To all you young, complacent souls… I bid farewell, and I wish you luck and attentiveness. Heed well the words of Headmaster Sol, and do not take him lightly just from his appearance. He is very powerful, very wise, and very worthy… of respect.” Mark dramatically raised a hand into the air. He brought his two fingers up, and with all the dramaticness of a performer, he…

Snapped. The noise echoed throughout the empty amphitheater, and he was gone in that moment, with a few lingering words… “Wait patiently.” How coooool… but it was at this moment that Crystal would sigh. “There's no point in leaving the amphitheater since we'll need to be back minutes later anyway. He really just wanted a dramatic exit… how idiotic." Ouch.

[Mark3000]

Lucilla was enjoying her meal with Roux and Emma until their eccentric guide interrupted them. She let out a beleaguered sigh before quickly gave Mark an enthusiastic small. "I'm ready when you are sir" Lucilla said with a smile. While at the same time weighting whether it was worth it to suck up to this dramatic dork. To Roux's comments, Lucilla was at a lose for words as well and merely gave her a shrug.

The tour begin and Lucilla decided to stay close to Emma and Roux for the time being. She made note of the hallways and various paths, not wanting to get lost in the future. Arriving at the courtyard, she saw the student who was eaten before now safe and sound. Though if she had been eat, Lucilla would probably have a blank stare on her face too. Giving the Botany Professor a polite cutsy, Lucilla continued with the tour.

The rest of the tour wasn't as noteworthy. It housed the type of facilities you would expect from an academy of this renounced. Though she did make a note of the Smithery. Lucilla had some modifications she wanted to make to her ring blades. Though things did get a bit interesting as they passed the dormitories. Lucilla had a sixth sense for when she was being watch. It was a useful tool in her profession form tracking clients and avoiding danger. Noticing the second year students, she gave them a wink. Lucilla then leaned over to Emma and whispered into her ear. "I'm going to get antiquated with some of the second years. Be right back" She said with a fiendish smile.

When the opportunity made it's self available, Lucilla sneaked away from the group to find the second year students from before. If and when she she found them, she would strike up a 'conversation'. If not, she could always find a place to stand and draw the attention of upper class men. She had a particular talent for it.