Mason Moretti - ??? - Aelius, Tiara, Hazel
Mason was awestruck and starstruck as he watched Tiara gracefully launch the beast into the air with her strike. Like Aelius, he recognized the move. However, Tiara's movements called out to memories much more familiar to Mason. Her name itself, Tiara Pendragon, referenced something that Mason's mind deemed impossible.
His brain was held captive by the impossibility. The clashing of of weapons against the armor of the Grimm were distant from where Mason's mind was. His body stood rooted in place, as he thought to himself,
"That move has to be impossible. She doesn't play video games, and even if she did, then she shouldn't be able to use Hammer of the Wind King by herself. I've definitely tried, and just by watching you cant. No, a person would need the proper weapon, the right Semblance, and tons of training to pull it off. So, Pendragon... Is she really..."
Mason was brought back to reality by the force of the Deathstalker's body crashing down in front of him. His heart missed a beat until the beast's physical form wasted away to a black dust. With their opponent defeated, Mason exhaled a sigh a relief.
Mason moved his weapon to its holster, attaching at his right hip with a satisfying click. He checked his supply of Dust at his left side, and finding himself still well stocked and organized, he looked upon the new resource he had gained: his partner, and two potential friends.
Aelius and Hazel both appeared to have much more battle experience than he did, and Tiara, he deduced, had talents far beyond what she showed. All three of these people showed promise and talent, and to some degree Mason felt jealous. They were strong and powerful, and all Mason had going for himself was a bow, some Dust, and strategy which he couldn't always rely on.
"Perhaps I can learn from them," he thought to himself.
Mason's exterior, however, remained bright, cheery, and beaming with light. With almost a song in his voice, he said,
"Great job guys! We beat it! Though, we still have a mission at hand. Gotta find those tokens. Maybe... We should split up and cover some more ground to find those totem-token-things? We do have our partners now, and we're not sure that these sets of partners are going to be on the same team. We don't want to waste time..."
As Mason chattered on, he inched closer towards the arctic fox. He made a move to grab her hand and said,
"Right, partner? Let's get going!" Then he sprinted off towards the woods, whether or not the hand he grabbed and the Tiara it was attached to came along. If her hand slipped away, he felt shat she would chase after him soon enough. He hoped to put some distance between the two sets of partners, and gain a moment of privacy with Tiara.
Once he felt there was some adequate distance, his pace slowed, but his breath did not. He still talked in a hushed tone, as if he did not trust the silence around him. He said,
"I know we have secrets. I know you're going to have yours, but as of today you're stuck with me for four years. I just need to know one thing..."
He looked into Tiara's eyes. His own emerald orbs showed a level of maturity and seriousness that wasn't there before as he asked,
"What's a living legend like you doing at Eden as a student?"
A
@Accelerator M
@Mason Moretti T
@Accelerator H
@york
[fieldbox=Tiara Pendragon, Aqua, solid]
A triumphant grin was visible on Tiara's face after the dark-skinned girl had finished off the Death Stalker. She knew she could have easily dispatched the scorpion-grimm herself but she was glad she didn't. After all, it was fun seeing the dark-skinned girl regard the blonde knight in such a friendly way, then acting all prickly after realizing she was being friendly. The arctic fox couldn't help but secretly ship the two together due to their interesting interactions. Besides, one look at the blonde knight and it's obvious that he has a thing for the brunette.
She was about to approach the knight and tease him a bit before asking about his semblance but it seems her "new" partner had other plans. Without so much as awaiting her response, Mason suggested that the two pairs split up to increase their chances of quickly locating the relics, before dragging her to the woods once again. Needless to say that she was surprised by this sudden gesture, but Tiara was also starting to take an interest with Mason because of the initiative he had been showing. And for that reason, she allowed him to lead her by the hand while they navigated the forest, whereas she would normally not allow anyone to do this.
When they've managed to put up quite the distance from Ael and Hazel, Tiara noticed Mason's pace slowing down but he still talked in a hushed voice. It was as if he was afraid the forest may be listening on on whatever he was going to tell her. Wait... if he's this apprehensive about anyone listening in on them, then he's not going to confess to her now, right? Because if he is, then everything's going on too fast for her to keep up and she'll have to reject the poor boy's advances. Heck, she doesn't even know a single thing about him so you can't blame her, right?
"I know we have secrets. I know you're going to have yours, but as of today you're stuck with me for four years. I just need to know one thing..."
"What's a living legend like you doing at Eden as a student?"
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tiara mentally screamed when she had heard a response worse than a poorly-timed confession from Mason. There was no way... there was simply no possible way this guy is knowledgeable about her past. She was assured nobody would know who she truly is by her dear friend... but now this person claims to know who she truly is... and he regarded her as a "living legend". Corona even forged fake records of her so she was certain that even if she used her real name, her true identity would not be revealed. So why... why does he claim to know who she---
As her eyes nervously darted around the terrain, desperately trying to find an excuse about her identity, a litteral glimmer of hope caught her attention. Shining upon a concealed pedestal were the relics that they were supposed to locate. She could feel excitement filling every part of her body as she grabbed Mason's hand and headed towards the pedestal. Grabbing both at the same time, she casually tossed one of them to her partner. This was it. Achieving their primary objective would dismiss any lingering thoughts about her identity. It was natural for humans to celebrate after triumphant moments such as this after all so Mason should supposedly not press the issue any further. But just to be sure...
"Well, I'm not really sure who you've confused me with, but I can assure you that I ain't anybody special. Though, I plan to change that in the future. And since you're supposed to be my partner for the next four years, you'll be the lucky faunus who gets a front row seat as I make my name known throughout all of Remnant!"
Well that may be a bit over the top, but she couldn't help it. That speech should more or less convince him to not pursue any information about her real identity... if he really does have any clue who she is, for that matter.
------------------------------------
After the staff named Starlene had started announcing the names and members of each team, most of the students were pumped with excitement and anticipation. Most of them Except for two people that is. Tiara, in particular, while interested how the teams are formed, wasn't as curious who the leader was going to be. If anything, she already knew in herself that shell be no good as a team leader. Her intuition also tells her that the staff may have been monitoring the progress of the students so if she's certain about one thing, then that blonde knight would certainly be a good leader.
However, what she didn't expect was for the person in question, and his tsundere partner to be teamed up with her and Mason. Tiara offered a grin as she regarded Ael, but frowned upon truly realizing how in contrast to his enthusiastic, and confident demeanor earlier, seemed to be in such a panicked, anxious, and jittery state now. She could practically hear the nervous clanking of the pieces of his armor against itself as he walked with them to the stage.
"Ey, Team Leader, no need to get so nervous. You led us wonderfully when we fought that Death Stalker, so I'm expecting great things from you. We'll be in your care from now on." Tiara said in a casual voice, hoping to tease Ael for a bit. However, even after having left the stage, she still noticed that he was still shaking quite a bit. If his semblance truly was what she thinks it is, then he should be experiencing the effects of his usage of it right about now. Though instead of standing by to help him if anything did happen, the arctic fox wanted to be considerate for the blonde night and his tsun partner. The side effects of taxing himself a while ago might just be what brings the two closer together.
@Mason Moretti @york
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox= Aelius Cedomir, Gold, solid]
Ael was the other person who didn't look as happy as the other students in the room after having successfully completed the headmaster's trial. While Tiara had been acting disinterested at the celebrations altogether, Ael was deeply grateful towards the help she and Mason provided a while ago. He would have profusely thanked them once again if not for the numbing pain coursing through every inch of his body. He had felt his muscles practically turn to lead the moment dusk arrived. He had only managed to stay conscious through sheer willpower alone but even that was sure to run out at any given moment.
"Khh... I've got to keep it together... at least until the opening ceremony's over..." Ael mentally screamed in his head as he awaited for the proceedings to finish.
By now cold sweat was starting to form on his forehead, and his senses were beginning to dull. Staying awake was already taking a conscious effort but Ael could do nothing but bid his time. After all, fainting right then and there would bring nothing but shame to not only him but his partner and would-be teammates as well.
When the time came for his teammates to be revealed, a smirk could be seen on his face when he realized the same people who aided in the assault against the Death Stalker had ended up as his teammates. However, that wouldn't last long as he found out just how painful it was to walk in his current condition, much less, remain standing up. His muscles were beginning to spasm from the pain that it seemed to have become apparent to some of his teammates, though they interpreted it in different ways.
Tiara, for instance, seemed to think he was nervous since he was selected as leader, and that may be true but under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be shaking this much.
"Heh, I'm glad such a dependable pair's... going to be our teammates. I'm looking forward to working with all of you from now on." Ael regarded all of his teammates as they headed to the stage.
He managed to keep his jitters in control at least as he proudly stood at the stage along with Hazel, Mason, and Tiara but after leaving the stage, Ael gently tugged Hazel to an empty hallway before promptly collapsing in front of her eyes. That was the very limit his body could hope to endure. After using his semblance to cut through all those trees, and releasing two simultaneous beams of energy, he was utterly exhausted.
"Help..." He weakly muttered as he lay motionless on the hallway's floor.
@Mason Moretti @york
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox= Windia Milkyway, Turquoise, solid]
Windia, on the other hand, was glad that whole ordeal was over. She had thought that she would get along well with that Audrey girl but it seems they have different ideals when it came to combat. She's the advantage? That's some fatal thinking right there. People like her must be one of those types that think their presence alone is a big game-changer in a battlefield. They think that just because they are blessed with a powerful semblance, equipped with powerful weapons and combat training, or perhaps both, they're supposed to be the stars of the show or some great hero. Those kinds of people... are the ones who end up making fatal mistakes endangering not only their lives, but that of their teammates as well.
Sure confidence was good, but overconfidence gives you hubris. And Windia's glad that she won't be around Audrey when she does make that sort of fatal mistake since the two seem to belong to different teams. She could only hope that her attitude changes for the better during her stay here at Eden, not only for her own sake but for her teammates' as well.
On the bright side, Ael was appointed as team leader! And he looked quite nervous about it too. That, or he overtaxed himself again by abusing his semblance a while ago. Sure sucks to be him when he has to deal with those side effects every time he uses it. Though instead of coming to his aid, she turned a blind eye and allowed his new teammates to figure out what's wrong with him. After all, she wouldn't seize upon his opportunities to socialize with them, and she has her own teammates to interact with.
It was then that she realized that Felix Velos, Duke's twin sister, was not only going to be her teammate but also her team's leader. This should be interesting. She hadn't tried teasing her yet so what better time to start than now, right? And since Windia sort of has a thing for her brother now, having already considered him as a potential romantic candidate, what she's about to say next would definitely test how deep the siblings' bond truly is.
"Yo, wait up, Sister-in-law!" Windia called out to Felix in a sing-song voice.
"It's really great to see that you're our team leader. I've never really had a chance to talk with you yet though I've talked plenty with your brother. He's a great guy. I like him." Windia boldly told Felix in a nonchalant manner as they scooped up food on their plates.
"It's a shame he isn't on the same team. Considering you're twins, you two must have been doing practically everything together up till now, huh? Especially when it comes to fighting. But think of this as an opportunity for both of you to expand your horizons. While depending on each other is quite nice, it's not bad to depend on other people as well, you know? Anyways, me and my partner will be in your care from now on." Windia continued enthusiastically.
@Gummi Bunnies @Hospes @QuakeUPSB[/fieldbox]
