SLVR

The wave of grimm never seemed to end. While Vance had started out with a bang, the unrelenting hoards of grimm were starting to take his toll as more managed to slip past him. He panted as he dodged out of the way of a swipe from a beowolf. "HA!" He shouted, jumping out of the way of another swipe before managing to land a hit. The faunus didn't have much more time to gloat as he quickly had to deal with another charging boarbatusk. He managed to keep up his dodging, though he was starting to get nicked from miscalculated jumps and delayed reactions.

"Where are all of them coming from?!" Sylvia managed to shout, beheading a beowolf. She slid under a boarbatusk. Her blade cut into the beast's stomach before it fell dead, slowly disintegrating like the bodies around it. "There shouldn't be this many Grimm out here, so how did they all get here?" The silverette didn't get too much time to ponder too much more into it as she was forced to send a quartet of grimm running toward Reyna. Roars filled the area as beowolves and boarbatusks charged. Sylvia danced through the chaos, grappling and getting herself into better positions to kick her enemies.

Wave after wave of grimm assaulted the team. While some seemed to try and target the livestock grazing a ways behind Reyna, others seemed to just be running away from the horizon. After an hour of the unrelenting waves, the grimm finally started to taper out. The team's aura was all starting to get dangerously low as they killed the final wave of beasts, panting and sweating. Sylvia waited a few tense moments, watching for more beasts before sighing. "All right, fall in! Let's quick regroup before the next wave hits us." She kept an eye out as she walked toward the middle of their area. Who knew how long they would have before they were back to fighting. "First thing's first, we all need to check in on our aura. Vance, for the next wave I want you to switch out with Lev. We'll start a rotation between us three so that way one of us isn't constantly keeping the front line protected. Reyna, we're gonna need more support for the strays we can't get. How's ammo doing with your missiles?" The silverette immediately questioned as she took a moment to check her scroll for her aura. 41%. Not bad, but could be better. She didn't realize the class mission was going to be so exhausting. Maybe the professors should have sent them on a sap collecting mission instead.

Vance slouched as he joined his team, ears on alert for any sound of grimm approaching. At Sylvia's command, he pouted, about to argue when he took a look at his aura. The 33% seemed to mock him as he looked up at Sylvia. "All right, all right. Though I think I could take another wave." He crossed his arms, trying not to let his exhaustion show. Despite his efforts, sweat still rolled down his face. Just because he had great stamina didn't mean a relentless horde of grimm wouldn't tire him out somewhat. His ears twitched as a low hissing sound caught his attention, too soft for his teammates to properly hear.

Sylvia gave Vance a smile. "I know you probably could, but we don't wanna risk it. Sides... Vance? Something wrong?" She asked, curious as her canine teammate turned away from the group. A loud hissing and black shape quickly alerted Sylvia to what held her teammate's attention. She took a step forward, trying to get a better look when she recognized the bicolored beast slithering towards them. "Crap!" She cursed, scrambling for the flare gun their professors had given her. "Do not engage, I repeat do not engage!" She started, finally managing to unclip the bulky gun before aiming it at the sky. A bright red flare shot up into the sky, alerting the surrounding teams-and the waiting professors-that there was a high level grimm in the area. As Sylvia turned back to see the giant snake grimm still approaching, she cursed. "They're not going to get here in time... Crap!" She bit her lip as she her mind worked over time, trying to find a way to handle this situation.

The giant snake grimm didn't seem to rush. It's two heads swiveled over each other, one for each end of the beast. Black and white, the two colors traveled down the grimm's scales until they met and blended in the middle. The snake seemed to ooze authority as it slithered closer and closer to the team. "Got it!" Sylvia exclaimed. "We're going to focus solely on defense. Don't directly attack it if you don't have to. We just need to keep it here and away from the livestock. It should take only ten minutes at most for the professors to arrive, so in the meantime we're just going to distract it, all right? We'll surround it, keep it confused and distracted. Do not engage it, and if worse comes to worse, we retreat. For now, let's just wait it out until Professor Sher or somebody else comes. This thing is way above our current level, so avoid direct confrontation at all costs. Defend, avoid, and distract. Got it? Let's go!" The snake, now recognizable as a King Taijitu, had managed to get closer to the group, allowing them a quick and easy run to get around the beast. One head roared as it dove towards Lev, the other aiming toward Vance. The faunus boy jumped over the head before he kept moving, hoping to distract the scaly grimm.
 
Lev had started the fight with spunk. He was confident that measly pack-grimm like beowolves and boarbatusks wouldn't be a problem for him, let alone the rest of his team. However, half an hour into the fight changed his mentality entirely. These crowds were unnatural, their purpose, unclear. Usually he had the benefit of being the target of the grimm he fought, but this time it was a game of king of the hill; a challenge of endurance, not strength. By the time the droves of grimm started to thin, Lev was bone-dry of stamina. His coat was in tatters from the raking of claws and tusks, and his hand had blisters from handling his blade in such an advanced way for an extended period of time. His skin hadn't callused enough from training, it seemed, and he bit the inside of his cheek to reprimand himself. He should've been prepared for this. As Lev walked towards center field to reconvene with his group, he checked his aura with a grimace. High thirties, but it felt somewhere around fifteen percent. He'd have to be more careful if the grimm started showing up again. Pausing briefly to clear his lungs, Lev eventually arrived alongside his team, still feeling uneasy on the whole.

"My aura isn't too bad, but I'm feeling it, Syv. I can take the front, but it won't be for long..." He responded, brushing back his hair with a heavy sigh.

Reyna, on the other hand, was no worse for ware. Though that was a good thing overall, she still felt bad about not contributing more. Her aura sat at a comfortable seventy-three percent, and she still had a solid amount of ammo. "I'm all green here, Sylvia. Just let me know where ya need me." she followed up Lev's report, looking at him with concern. Direct combat had never been his style before. It was silly to think he'd be able to make the transition as easily as everyone expected. At least he was admitting it now.

Before Lev or Reyna could say anything more, the storm came; a King Taijitu that had more of a presence than the entirety of the hour-long horde. By the time Sylvia gave her plan, Lev was able to look up the length of one of its heads. Vance was the first to move, dodging away from the head in back. Lev cut it much closer, catching a glimpse of a vicious set of fangs before finding his way out of trouble.

Reyna, however, had turned ghost-white, all color leaving her face at the sight of the King Taijitu. Standing by Lev had been an unlucky choice, and she felt that luck strike deep as the black haired boy managed to get away, leaving her to face the grimm's fangs by her self. Lifting her shield was the fastest action she could muster, and it only barely saved her life. However, a new problem arose. Reyna's shield was now lodged in the gigantic mouth of the King Taijitu, and no matter how hard she pulled, there was no chance of it being yanked out.

"No, no no NO! Let go! Let g-go of me!" She panicked, putting her all into yanking her weapon free, only to have both her shield and her pulled closer to the grimm's throat. Her teeth clenched briefly, as did her eyes, before her face opened wide with a scream of primal levels of terror. Her struggle to retrieve her shield quickly turned to a desperate attempt to leave it behind in order to save herself, but the result was the same. Her arm, latched and locked down to her weapon, kept her sinking slowly into the open pit before her.

Lev, who was still carried by the momentum of his escape, looked up to the body of the King Taijitu to see Vance making his way along it. Without hesitation, he yelled out, "Vance! Do something!" Before turning his attention to the head the wolf boy left behind. It had already begun to pull up from it's initial strike, and had turned itself toward Reyna, attracted solely by her fear.

"Oh no you don't!" Lev growled, landing a swipe on the grimm's nose as he skidded by, then about-facing to launch a few jabs towards its eye. "Try anything, and I'll make you regret it!" He yelled at his opponent before jumping back a ways and looking at his partner. "Syv! Help me distract this head while Vance gets Rain to safety!"
 
Vance had been ready to continue annoying the grimm, but Lev's shout caught him off guard. Looking up, his heart nearly stopped. "Rain!" He screamed. He ran harder. There was no way this stupid snake was eating his best friend! Panic coursed through his veins as he jumped onto the head, starting to haphazardly punch the scaled beast. "Let go of my best friend!" Despite his efforts, it seemed the beast just continued to ignore him for favor of swallowing its next meal.

Things quickly went to hell. The second head, unable to get to its companion and help finish the meal, screeched as Lev jabbed its eye, sending a spurt of black goop. Sylvia shot into action as Lev jumped back. "Right!" She affirmed, running towards the beast and flipping over it, aiming for the other eye. The head, now seeing its new targets, hissed and lunged. Sylvia cursed as she tried to move out of the way, unable to get the beast's eye. She managed to dodge, scrape free. Turning, she saw Vance beating on the other head. "Vance! Grab Reyna! Don't punch the thing!" She bellowed. The King Taijitu didn't give her a chance to stay still for long. She rolled past another lunge, running up and giving it a firm kick when it started to drift towards the other head.

"R-Right!" Vance shouted back, slipping into the mouth of the beast. Bracing himself, he grabbed Reyna and pulled with all his might. Despite his and the pinkette's efforts, they couldn't pull her out. "Her weapon's stuck!" He shrieked, managing to slow the descent enough as he pushed and pulled, trying desperately to get the pinkette out.

Sylvia danced around with Lev, cursing at Vance's words. "Then take her weapon off! Unlock it!" They didn't have time for this! She brought her blade down on the beast's snout, merely causing more scratches to appear beside Lev's sword strikes. The beast reared back, seeming to regard Lev and Sylvia before lunging at the duo. Sylvia pulled Lev with her as they dodged, watching as the beast dug its head into the ground.

Panic coursed through Vance's veins as he tried his damnedest to keep Reyna from sinking deeper into the pit of the snake's stomach. "O-oh!" He gasped as he moved his grip, keeping one arm firmly around Reyna's waist before fumbling with the weapon that was firmly attached to her hand. After a few tense moments of fumbling, the faunus boy managed to free his partner. "I got it!" He shouted, gripping Reyna tighter as he jumped out of the snake's mouth. As they sailed into the free air, Lev turned and thrust his fist out, shooting the beast in the eye. The King Taijitu writhed. Its second head pulled itself out of the ground only to smash into its companion, causing more chaos and writhing.

Sylvia turned to see Vance and Reyna land safely. The faunus boy still had his arm wrapped tightly around his best friend, watching the snake writhe around itself. Taking the moment of quiet to her advantage, Sylvia turned to her team. "Vance, get Reyna away from here. See if you can get another team to give us backup, or if any of the professor's come. Lev, go with them. Vance might need backup since we don't know how the grimm situation is in the other areas. I'll keep the King Taijitu distracted for a while to give you all a head start before following. Are we all clear?" She looked between her teammates.

Immediately Vance protested. "What? No! We can't just leave you alone!" He took a step forward, arm still around Reyna.

"You can and you will." Sylvia countered. "Reyna can't fight without her weapon, you and Lev are getting low with your aura, and Lev is using a weapon he's never used before a few weeks before. So far I've got the best chance on distracting it for a few minutes to get you guys out of here. So just go and I'll be right behind you!" The snake had started to thrash, its two heads fighting before they focused more on the group of students standing together. Sylvia turned and ran toward the beast, getting ready to try and gain some time for her and her teammates to escape or the professors to show up.

Meanwhile, Professor Sher was racing across the farm, trying to get to Team SLVR's quadrant. He and the other professors had surveyed the farm and the surrounding area before sending the first years on this mission. It was supposed to be a simple and relatively safe first mission. The students shouldn't have had to use the flare guns that were given to them. Yet, the red spark that had shot in the sky minutes earlier did not lie. He pressed harder, still smiling despite the situation at hand.
 
As soon as Lev finished yelling out orders, everything became a cluster of noise. He and Sylvia were doing everything to keep their head locked down, and Vance, after panicking almost as much as Reyna, began working on dislodging his partner. Each kick Sylvia landed was followed up by a few quick slashes from Lev's blade, but their time was running down fast. The head was catching on to their movements, and each second that passed seemed to put it one step closer to Reyna and Vance. If the wolf boy hadn't rescued Reyna when he did, no doubt they would've been lost. Instead, the group was given a moment of reprieve as the King Taijitu writhed against itself.

Then Sylvia spoke. Lev could feel his expression darken, but he remained silent. Vance argued for him, at least for a little bit, but before long they were wandering across the prairie, looking around desperately for a team to hide out with. Reyna, unconscious at this point, had wrapped herself tight around Vance's torso, seeming to lock herself there with her semblance. With her rendering Vance unable to fight, Lev stuck the trek out with his sword at the ready. Luck was on their side as SAGE came into view, keeping careful watch over their plot as Abby (voluntarily) took on a few packs of smaller grimm.

Once the friendly faces were within range, Lev looked to Vance. "Stay here with SAGE. I'm going back to help Syv...oh, and tell someone to hold onto this for me." he grunted, pinning his odachi into the ground. After taking a look at his cloak, torn almost to shreds, he decided to take it off as well, placing it gently onto the hilt of his weapon after fishing through its pockets. With smoke grenades now in hand, Lev nodded to Vance, then to the approaching Gabe, before rushing off. There was no way Sylvia could expect him to stay away. Not when he had just started to like her.

Almost as fast as he left, Lev arrived at his team's quadrant again, though this time as a shadow to the King Taijitu. Before even getting close to the fight, he lobbed one of his grenades straight into the coil of the grimm's body. Then, after assessing what he could handle, pulled the pin on his other grenade and rushed in with a burst of speed. Making sure not to engage, Lev skirted around the grimm, enclosing it in a wall of smoke that continued to close in. All the while he looked for an opening in the combat between Sylvia and it. As soon as there was a gap in attacks, he sprung away from his pattern, grabbing her by the waist and, despite losing much of his momentum, flinging them both out of the thick smokescreen he had created.

Lev was hacking up a lung at this point. His chest burned, his throat stung, his hair was a mess, and his shirt was no better off than his cloak at this point. However, that didn't stop him from picking himself up from the ground, then helping Sylvia do the same. "I don't know where you get off...being selfish like that...after giving me such an earful." He grunted, taking hold of her collar to get his point across. "There's no way I can leave you behind now. That's your fault."
 
Things weren't going well. Sylvia cursed as she jumped away from one lunging head only having to roll out of the way of the other. At the very least her team had probably gotten a good head start. She just needed to stun it, then she could get away and check in with her team. Easier said than done. Sylvia jumped and started running up the scaled beast, trying to get close enough to the beast's eyes. She didn't notice the smoke billowing until it was obscuring her vision, causing her to cough as she finally managed to get close enough to the eye. With a quick jab, she managed to pierce the eye. The beast writhed and screeched, Sylvia jumping away only to suddenly be grabbed and pulled aside. She landed harshly, coughing and wiping at her teary eyes as she finally breathed in non smoky air. Though it should have, seeing Lev pull her up didn't surprise the leader as she tried to get her breathing under control. "S-sorry..." She started, coughing a bit. "Should've known... At least one of you guys would've come back." She finally caught her breath as she looked at Lev. Her own clothes were worse for wear, but generally the silverette seemed okay if not a little bruised. "If it makes you feel any better I was about to go after you guys when you grabbed me. Let's get out of here." Just as she was about to run off with her partner, a loud SHLINK filled the air.

A screech of pain pierced the air. Another SHLINK cut it off. The grim's lifeless body fell to the ground, its two heads staring off into the distance blankly. Professor Sher appeared in front of Sylvia and Lev, smile ever present on his face. The silverette jumped, relaxing when she saw it was only her professor. "This was quite a beast you encountered, hm?" Sher noted, watching as his fellow professors started to inspect the body. One found Reyna's weapon and was working on dislodging it from the now dead body of the snake. "You did the right thing sending out the signal, though I hadn't expected anyone to actually use it! Now, if I may ask, where is the rest of your team, Miss Slater?" The man turned to Sylvia, head tilted in curiosity.

Sylvia swallowed, standing straighter. "I sent the rest of my team to go find another team since the beast was coming too quickly and you hadn't come yet, sir. I stayed behind to give the rest of myy team a bit of a head start before following. Lev came before I could follow to help me. As far as I can tell, none of us were injured nor was any of the livestock." She chewed on her lip, the leftover adrenaline still coursing through her veins.

Professor Sher nodded. "Good, good. Though that was quite reckless of you, Miss Slater, fighting the beast off on your own. From now on, if faced with an opponent such as this one, do try to at least keep someone with you to help fend it off." Looking over the two, he turned back to the King Taijitu. "Now, you both should go find your team and stay in another team's quadrant for the remainder of the mission. We will take over this area." Sylvia nodded and turned to Lev, only to be nudged by a professor's assistant dragging Reyna's shield. Smiling, Sylvia took a hold of it before giving her thanks.

The walk back to the rest of their team was quiet, Sylvia and Lev carrying Reyna's shield in between them. Once they reached SAGE's area, Vance wasted no time in yelling at Sylvia. "Are you okay? How could you just make us leave like that? What would we have done if you got hurt? We were all so worried and then Lev went back and we didn't know if you were going to come back and you can't just do that!" The faunus boy had sunk to the ground as he waited for his teammates to return, finding it easier to let Reyna hold onto him-and hold onto her-if he was sitting rather than standing and holding up both his and her weight.

Sylvia sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm sorry, Vance. I just wanted to make sure everyone was as safe as possible in the situation we had. Professor Sher did come and kill the thing so we don't have to worry about it anymore, but I'm sorry I worried you." She looked over Vance and Reyna, taking them in and looking them over for injuries. "I'm okay, but are you guys okay?"

Vance frowned as he nodded. "I'm okay... and I think Rain's okay..." He looked down at his partner, biting his lip. That must've been insanely frightening to experience, getting swallowed whole by a grimm and unable to escape. He was just glad that they'd made it out alive.
 
Lev continued to hold Sylvia close by her collar, his frustrated glare cooling down at her response. "Yeah, well...listen, just..." but the shriek and sudden silence from the grimm he had hidden so well in smoke cut him off. Not long after, Professor Sher appeared, causing Lev to release his partner in a panic. With no weapon to grab, he simply took a step behind Sylvia until he could calm down. Soon enough, the two partners were off to join the rest of their team. Lev didn't have anything more to say to the silver haired girl at this point, so he looked down the road in silence, waiting to see the forms of Vance, Reyna, and team SAGE. True to Lev's expectations, the wolf boy was quick to voice his concerns. Using that time, Lev stepped away from all the noise to recover.

Meanwhile, Seymour and Ellie made their way to the talking teammates. "Sylvia!" The gazelle faunus called out, "Thank goodness you and Lev are alright!"

As Seymour spoke, Ellie checked over Sylvia's wounds, immediately assisting with recovery. "Looks like y'all made out pretty thick. Vance is recovering fine, and Reyna wasn't bad off to begin with, but..."

"But," Seymour broke in, ready to give a sit-rep on the pinkette's comatose state, "Reyna hasn't woken up yet. She got scared out of her skin, as Ellie puts it, and there's not much we can do about that. I'm amazed that she's still linked to Vance so stubbornly, though I suppose that's her instincts at this point. Regardless, even if she woke up now, she wouldn't be mentally fit to fight...she's terrified of something, Sylvia. A phobia, maybe? Usually there's a heavy screening process with Beacon, so for something to crop up now... I don't know, I just thought I should tell you."
 
Seeing the familiar faces let Sylvia relax. She gave Seymour a relieved smile only to frown as he explained what he thought was wrong with Reyna. "Thanks, Seymour. That's great to know. Also, thanks Ellie and everybody for looking after us." Giving a smile, she knelt down to look over the pinkette, frowning as she saw just how out cold she was. Just what had frightened her enough that she would freeze up and pass out like she had? Was it the grimm? It couldn't just be grimm in general, she had faced off against the hordes and Nevermore just fine. Then was it the fact that it had been a snake? That seemed the most likely. Whatever it was, she'd need to talk to the girl and figure it out. "Well, crap. So much for an easy first mission... But we're all okay." Standing back up, the silverette stretched before turning and walking over to Lev.

"How are you doing, Lev? Everything still in one piece for the most part?" She asked, looking over her partner. "I feel like I should apologize again for just making you guys head out without me. I just wanted to make sure we'd be able to get somewhere safe and there were too many factors to just send Vance alone. Either way, thanks for the help. The smokescreen really gave me an advantage." Sylvia smoothed her hair, tucking the stray strands that had gotten loose during battle back in place. As the battle's adrenaline finally started to leave her system, Sylvia started to slump. Exhaustion weighed heavy on her shoulders as she realized this was the second high level grimm her team had faced if the Nevermore was considered one. She prayed that this wouldn't become a trend.

Vance's legs were starting to get tired from having Reyna's weight on them for so long. He looked down at the pinkette who had practically curled up to him. As warm as it made him feel to have her all curled up against him, he didn't like that she hadn't woken up yet. She should've woken back up by now, especially if she wasn't hurt. Huffing out a sigh, he settled his head on Reyna's as he whined out, "Rain, get up soon, please? We're all worried and my legs are falling asleep." He nudged her a little bit, hoping that maybe this would rouse her from her unconscious state. Though, the faunus boy wanted to take a page out of Reyna's book and just fall asleep. Now that the major danger was out of the way and everyone was safe, he just wanted to curl up in his bed and sleep the week away.
 
"It's no problem, Sylvia. We're glad to be of help to you all." Seymour smiled at the worried silverette before sprinting off to join his comrades in clearing small grimm waves. Ellie, too, responded with a quick, "y'all just settle down now. No need to worry now that you're with us." as she moved from Lev to the fray with her leader, leaving SLVR to reflect on what happened.

Lev had retrieved his sword by the time Sylvia got around to him. After listening to what she had to say, he grabbed her hand and gently tugged her down with him. "Sit. You look like a nightmare." he chided with a slight blush, giving her a looking-over before settling back in his seat. "There's no need to apologize again. It...it was the best option. We may not have run into anything on the way here, but the chance wasn't worth taking. Not with Reyna the way she is now." Lev thought for a moment, running his fingers down the length of his hair, before continuing. "Listen, I... I should be the one saying sorry, y'know? I guess I've said it a lot these past few weeks, what with all the drama I've been getting myself into...but I don't just want to say it now. I-I'd like to start fresh with you, is what I'm saying. It's been progress, progress, progress up 'till now, but...I don't want to be the guy I was back then, no matter how many layers of progress get glued on. I'm so exhausted. So, I-I mean, if you don't mind-"

But while Lev was trying to make his point, Reyna had finally begun to wake up. At first she simply squirmed a bit, locked in the middle of waking and sleeping. However, the moment her eyes cracked open, she began sobbing and tugging herself desperately closer to Vance for some sort of stability. It was only after she had the wolf boy in a vice-like embrace that she started calming down, letting her tears fall into her partner's shoulder as she struggled to bring herself back to reality.
 
Lev's observation made Sylvia pause before chuckling. "Like you're one to talk! At least I still have an intact shirt!" She poked his chest. With that she listened carefully to what Lev had to say, her smile falling into a gentler one. He was trying so hard to make up for their rocky start, to be a better person in general. She waited patiently for him to get to his point, only to be interrupted by Reyna's sudden cries. Sylvia turned to see the pinkette clinging and sobbing against Vance. Turning back to Lev, she gave him an apologetic smile. "We'll keep talking later, but for now, I'd like that." With that she got up and headed over to her pink haired teammate, determined to try and comfort her and get to the bottom of her recent behavior.

Vance perked up when Reyna started to wake up. Finally, he could talk with his best friend and get feeling back in his legs! But that was quickly dashed as she started to sob harshly, clinging to him more if that was even possible. All thoughts were thrown out the window and the faunus boy quickly started shushing and cooing at his partner. "It's okay Rain, it's okay. We're safe now. We're all safe. The grimm's gone and everything's fine. We're all fine. You're fine. You're safe. It's all going to be okay." He started to rock a bit, wrapping his arms tighter around his partner in a desperate attempt to comfort her further.

As Sylvia neared the duo, she hesitated before kneeling down. "Hey, Reyna?" She started, watching as the girl calmed down. "That was quite a scare you gave us all back there. I'm sure it was even scarier for you. We got your weapon back though! So that's good. How are you doing? Anything hurt?" She spoke sofly and slowly, waiting for Reyna to calm enough to give answers. The poor girl had nearly been eaten alive, so she deserved at least a little bit of patience and comfort for her traumatizing experience. However, eventually Sylvia would have to ask what happened. It wasn't like her teammate to just freeze up like that. "Reyna, I know this may seem like bad timing and harsh, but I need to ask what happened? You seemed more than fine earlier, but then you just froze up. What happened to make you freeze up like that?" She asked, trying to keep her question as concerned and sensitive as she could.
 
Lev let his thoughts go with a smile as Reyna awoke, glad Sylvia at least got the gist of what he wanted to say. Meanwhile, Reyna had calmed down enough to give Vance a bit of breathing room, though her head still rested on his shoulder. When Sylvia began to speak, she gave her face a quick wipe-down with her arm before releasing the wolf boy entirely, giving her full, red-faced attention to her leader.

"I-I'm fine. Not hurt anywhere..." She sniffled, still working through a runny nose from sobbing. "Did I pass out? I...I don't remember. Gods, I'm so sorry Sylvia, I screwed everything up..." Reyna would've continued her self-depreciating talk, but Sylvia's next question broke her of that cycle early enough. What replaced it was a confused expression and a questioning glance towards Vance and Lev. "I...I was fine. I am! Still! I swear. I was hoping you could all tell me what happened. Did I...did I get hit? My aura wasn't that low, I don't think. The last thing I remember was that Taijitu taking my shield."

"You don't remember nearly being eaten alive?" Lev asked, walking over to join the group. Reyna's immediate reaction was to re-cling to Vance, tears already dotting her eyes again. With one arm, she wiped her eyes once more before glaring at the black haired boy.

"Don't even joke about that!" She huffed, causing an increasing amount of concern to lace Lev's face.

"No, Reyna..." he began, settling down in front of her, "I'm not trying to prod you or anything, we just need to know if-"

"STOP! Don't even think it! It's not funny!" She broke in, her voice cracking. Once again, a look of pure terror crossed her face, though it was quickly replaced with a more apologetic expression. "...I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean... I'm sorry. I just don't know. Please...I j-just don't know." The pinkette became quiet at this point, snuggling close to Vance, but keeping her arms to herself.
 
Sylvia frowned as Reyna reacted, explaining in no uncertain terms that she did not remember what had happened. When Lev started to chime in, she responded badly, jerking back into Vance's arms and threatening to start crying once again. The faunus boy responded quickly, tightening his grip on the girl and making sure she knew that they were there and everything was going to be fine. He bit his lip as snuggled closer, looking up at Sylvia with concerned eyes.

The silverette sighed as Reyna finished quietly, curling up more in her partner's lap. "It's all right. We're all just trying to figure things out. Though, we aren't joking Reyna. When the King Taijitu came after you, you froze and got picked up with your shield. We had to get Vance to detach your shield from your arm otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get you out." Sylvia explained, keeping eye contact with the pinkette. "We aren't trying to scare you or prank you or joke about anything. We just wanna figure out what's going on so we know what to do in the future. Have you had any big fears since you were a kid? Things that made you just freeze up? Or moments when you didn't really remember what happened like with this?" The day was starting to wear on the group, the concern for their teammate only making things worse.

As the group spoke, Professor Sher started to walk up to them, tilting his head as he looked over the battered group. "It's good to see you all taking a moment to regroup after a terrifying experience like that. Though, I'm afraid we must get moving as most the grimm are either dead or retreating. Congratulations on your first successful mission, Team SLVR. Even if it had a bit of a hiccup right at the end, you all did exceptionally well handling the threats against you. Now if you excuse me, I will be heading over to tell Team SAGE the same. Please, return back to the main farm so we can get a roll call and return back to beacon." With a bow, the strange man disappeared, reappearing a few minutes later with SAGE as they dispatched their grimm.

At the professor's orders, Vance slowly started to unwrap his arms from Reyna, waiting for her to start getting off of him so he could stand up and start heading back. Sighing, Sylvia stood up and stretched, cracking her back with a relieved sigh. After so much excitement, she was ready to get back to their room and sleep the rest off.
 
Vance's reassuring embrace calmed her down again, but as Sylvia began to reaffirm what Lev was saying, Reyna bit back further. "Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up! I don't care if you're not joking! I don't care if that's what happened! Just STOP!"

The pinkette had wrapped her arms around her faunus friend once more. However, this time it was in a bleary-eyed fury. In a second, she had Vance hoisted high above her, raised against Sylvia like a giant rod of wolf boy. Were it not for Professor Sher's interruption, there's no telling who would've gotten more injured. She simply stood there as the professor gave his spiel and left to tell SAGE the exact same thing. It took a few more seconds for her to register exactly what she was doing. Vance was over her head at that point, Sylvia was doing gods knew what, and Lev was simply staring at her, more flabbergasted than she'd ever seen him. Tears quickly flooded from her eyes, and before long she was sobbing on Vance's chest once more.

"N-No..." She cried, muffled by Vance as he attempted to release her. Despite her plea however, she reluctantly detached herself from her partner, folding her arms into themselves to substitute a hug. By the way her eyes locked with the ground, she was clearly still regretting her escalated actions.

"Hey, Syv... what should we do?" Lev walked beside his partner, coat over one shoulder, and blade and sheath strapped over the other. "That was some next level panic, and it was all leveled against you. I don't think we can rely on her to tell us about whatever it is that's eating her." The black haired boy thought for a moment before pursuing the topic further. "Maybe her folks know something...but if her reaction to us bringing whatever it is up is to shut down like that, we'll have to go behind her back... I don't know, just a thought."
 
Well, that didn't go how she'd thought. Sylvia had stared wide eyed at the pinkette watching as she tried to use Vance as a weapon against her. The poor wolf boy could only flail before he was returned to his original state on the ground. Vance bit his lip as he watched his partner, grabbing her weapon before hesitantly wrapping an arm around her. As the team walked, Lev came up to Sylvia and started to ask what to do, suggesting they contact her parents behind her back. "That's the only way I can see us getting anything since she's not willing to talk... But the problem is getting her parent's number." Sighing, Sylvia rubbed her eyes. "I don't know, Lev. We need to figure out what set her off exactly otherwise who knows what could happen if we end up in a situation like that again, but it'd be betraying her trust to go behind her back like that..." Sylvia watched the pinkette, unsure what to do.

The first year hunters and huntresses all met up and boarded their ride back to Beacon with varying levels of excitement. Rumors spread quickly about the team that had sent off the flare. No one quite knew what happened, but a variety of stories were flying about.

"I heard that they were facing off against a griffon!"

"No, no it was a dragon!"

"I heard that one of their teammates died, and that the professors are just trying to cover it up!"

"No way, I think they were all just a bunch of wimps and couldn't handle a couple of grimm."

Vance pulled Reyna closer to his side as the murmurs and shouts of students flew around them. He was a little wary of being used as a human weapon again, but his teammate was having a tough time and needed the support. Sylvia gnawed on her lip as they rode back to Beacon. Finally, the group was allowed some respite as they shuffled into their room, Sylvia sitting at her desk with a sigh. Almost immediately she got back into work mode as she turned to her teammates. "All right, let me see your weapons. I wanna make sure nothing got seriously broken or damaged." The silverette was already taking off her boots, setting them on her desk before turning back to receive her team's weapons. She kept her prosthetics on, ready to work on them later.

Hauling Reyna's shield along, Vance laid it near Sylvia's desk, taking off his knuckles and setting them on the desk. The wolf boy, exhausted, flopped on his bed and let out a groan of relief. "I'm so tired..." He whined, practically sinking into the mattress. He was still in his dirty clothes, hair mussed and ears limp as he nearly fell asleep on the spot.
 
"If it's just the number, I can probably get it from one of our friends. I'm more concerned about what'll happen to her if this becomes a regular thing. I get that hunters aren't flawless, but crippling stuff like what she just showed us doesn't mesh with a hunter life..." Lev gave his thoughts before trudging on in silence with the rest of his team. They were all exhausted, both emotionally and physically. None of them had the time or energy to think about anything at the moment. Unfortunately, that task was left to the rest of the class, who took no time spreading rumors about the events following the flare.

While Lev kept Sylvia company during the trip back to Beacon, Reyna had passed out yet again under Vance's arm, her face stained red with tears. Strangely enough, she woke with ease as they arrived, though she still stuck to her friend like glue. Only when the team was back in their room did the pinkette dare detach herself from Vance's side, slowly making her way to the shower.

"I'm gonna be a while, i-if that's okay..." she whispered to Sylvia, still sniffling here and there, before closing the door to the bathroom.

Lev, meanwhile, had removed the remains of his upper-body clothing and tossed it in a nearby trashcan. After popping his shoulders and neck, he took a seat on his bed. "...I'd like a favor of you, Syv. I want you to teach me how to make a weapon. I mean, not now, of course. Rest up and get everyone squared away first, y'know. But now that my wager between Azule is over, I can go back to my old weapon. At the same time, I...I don't want to." At this, Lev took a breath and drew his hair back. Another pop of the shoulder, and he began again.

"I'm a sharpshooter. I like being a part of the action. Sitting back isn't my style. But thinking back on what I've trained for at Signal, that's all I ever did... Say what you like about Azule, but he gave me a chance to fight with you guys, not just hovering on the sidelines, taking advantage of scraps... but I'm no swordsman, Syv. That thing is such a pain in the back! I have to use my semblance just to make it wieldable. I need a rifle, but I want to make it myself. It feels like the right thing to do. So, uh...will you help me?" Lev kicked his feet around sheepishly, realizing that he must have sounded excruciatingly sappy for such a simple request.
 
Sylvia nodded to Reyna, about to turn and get started on checking over their weapons when Lev spoke up. She watched him, a smile slowly stretching wider and wider across her face as he explained what he wanted to do. "All right, I'll teach you... but you gotta be prepared to absorb a lot of information all at once. And building a weapon is a lot harder than using it, so don't expect to pick it up that easily." Sylvia sat up straight, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "First things first, Vance go take a shower. I know you'd love to just sleep, but you were in a Grimm's mouth." She chuckled as the faunus boy groaned and slowly dragged himself into the bathroom. "We'll get started designing your weapon the day after tomorrow. We all deserve a bit of down time." With that, Sylvia swung herself around and got started working on checking over the team's weapons.

The next couple days were quiet for the team. With the focus on just recovering from their traumatic experience, the group took it easy and focused on their studies. After a day of worrying about Reyna's freak out, Sylvia caved and asked Lev to try and get Reyna's parent's number. They needed to figure out what was going on so that way they could help Reyna get through it. If she freaked out again, who knew what could happen? So the silverette planned on calling Reyna's parents to figure out exactly what was wrong. She hadn't done anything yet, but she planned on doing something soon.

Aside from the drama with Reyna, the team was doing reasonably well. Vance had recovered quickly and gone back to trying to talk to Reyna in any way possible. Sylvia started the design process with Lev, not even letting him touch any sort of tool until they had gotten all of the details ironed out for exactly what he wanted. From what materials he wanted to use to how much ammo he wanted to be able to store at one time. She left no stone unturned in teaching Lev just what went into all aspects of creating a weapon.

It was a regular morning with most of the team getting ready to go to breakfast when Vance rushed in, shocking most of the team out of their tasks. "Guys! Guys! I was out running when these two girls came up to me and told me about the school dance! There's apparently one every year! Reyna, can you please, please go-wait..." The faunus boy paused in his words as he remembered Reyna already had a date with that Uriah guy. He visibly deflated as he realized that he wouldn't be able to go with his best friend.

Sylvia was in the middle of twisting her hair into its usual bun when Vance burst in. She watched with a sympathetic smile as the wolf boy started to talk about the dance. "It's all right, Vance. You'll find another person to go with you, I'm sure. For now, we should probably hurry if we want to get to breakfast with Team SAGE. Are you gonna join us today, Reyna?" Sylvia asked, finishing up her hair and turning to her teammate.
 
Lev puffed up at Sylvia's agreement to teach him how to forge his own weapon. "Syv, I was raised to be a one-man think-tank. If you don't make this hard for me, I might just have to show you how tutoring is really done, my way." He grinned, running a finger through his hair as she gave her stipulations. Down time sounded good. In fact, it sounded way more than good. Lev looked at his arms, still working over a few harsh bruises and tears, and winced as he was reminded of what a strain it was to wield such an unruly weapon. He sat there for a while in silence, relaxed by the sound of Sylvia's work, until Vance got out of the shower. Soon Lev was finished with his as well, and so was Reyna, leaving everyone to slump on their mattresses as they took a well-deserved break.

It wasn't long before Sylvia put a plan into action to help Reyna, who had, despite seeming eternally traumatized during the day of the event, woken up the very next morning as chipper as ever. It was like nothing so sinister as being eaten alive had happened the day before. She even happily spoke of enjoying the mission, and how she looked forward to telling Uriah about it. Lev, who was personally creeped out by the unnatural shift in the pinkette's demeanor, was all too happy to spend the day out of earshot of Reyna to make a few calls. It didn't take long at all before he returned with news.

"I got in contact with her parents." Lev pulled Sylvia outside their room to talk, speaking in a whisper just in case. "They said they wanted us to call from the CCT Tower. Something about wanting to meet their daughter's teammates..." Lev was silent for a moment, stuck in his thoughts, before coming back to reality. "I didn't tell them anything about what happened though. Figure it'd be best not to worry them before the call."

Aside from running recon about Reyna's parents, Lev was dedicating as much time as possible into talking weapons with Sylvia. "Let's start with the basics. The rifle, and the blade..." Designing a weapon of his own seemed to make the black haired boy catch fire in anticipation. His fingers ran over sketches and plans as though admiring the sheen of the finished piece already. "...Look, if the hilt is bent a bit, and the pommel is real wide like...this, it'll serve as a stock for the rifle too." Lev took extended nights and early mornings to work with the design until it was ready, so it didn't come as a surprise to the team when he was present, and in fact, sleeping, when Vance burst through the door with big news.

Reyna wasn't sure how to respond to Vance's request, recollection, and deflation. "Eh, s-sorry Vance. I mean...well, I'm sure... Um..." the pinkette stammered for something right to say until Sylvia gave her an out. "O-Oh, no, not today, sorry! Uriah got back from doing a local mission today, so he and I were gonna go and hang out. Tell everyone I said hello though!" She smiled, packing up her things before heading out.

Lev, meanwhile, was groaning viciously at being woken up. A good half of his face was covered liberally in a matted-down bedhead as he rose from his sheets. After sputtering about for a moment, he looked to the window, then to his clock, then to his teammates, his eyes growing wider and wider with each pass. Then, without a word, he dashed into the bathroom like a missile. Fifteen minutes and the sound of a hurricane under a faucet later, and Lev popped out of the shower as ready for the day as a sleep-deprived 18 year-old could seem.

"...I guess I'm coming along for breakfast..." Lev groaned, doing his best to open his eyes.
 
Sylvia nodded at Reyna's request, watching her leave with a bittersweet smile. Lev's remark changed Sylvia's tune as she turned to her partner. "I guess you are! You need to socialize more anyways, Lev. You can't just talk about weapons with me forever... Even if I wouldn't mind that." She winked, before stretching. "Oh! Quick reminder, you, me, and Vance need to go to CCT Tower after classes." She noted, grabbing her book bag.

Vance perked up a bit from his moping, tilting his head as he stared at Sylvia. "Why are we going to CCT Tower? And why isn't Reyna coming?" The faunus boy asked.

Turning to Vance, Sylvia held a hand out and pulled the boy up from his bed before handing him his own book bag. "We're going to talk to Reyna's parents about her... incident during the last mission. I'd rather avoid her freaking out on us when we talk about this, and we need to know how to fix it before it becomes a problem on missions." The silverette explained, taking a moment to try and clean up Vance's messy morning hair, frowning as the strands didn't seem to want to stay in place.

Vance let out a small "oh" before batting Sylvia's hands away. As the trio walked to breakfast, the faunus boy seemed to slump all the way to the table. In contrast, Sylvia radiated perkiness. "Hey guys!" She greeted. "Reyna's not gonna be able to come today, but we managed to drag Lev along instead!" She sat down, setting her food down before gesturing to the raven.

The atmosphere quickly changed once Vance sat down. At first he practically oozed into his set, an unusual feat for the ever energetic and bouncy faunus boy. He stared at his food for a few moments before slowly lifting his gaze to Gabe who sat across from him. Immediately, he perked up. With a desperate gleam in his eyes, Vance slammed his hands down on the table and leaned toward the panther boy. "Gabe, will you please go to the dance with me?" He practically shouted, interrupting any possible conversation the two teams were having. He kept his gaze firmly on Gabe, refusing to look away. His face held stiff, his brows drawn together in determination while his eyes pleaded for the other boy to say yes.

At his sudden outburst, Sylvia froze, before quickly biting her lip. Her shoulders shook as she tried desperately to mask the growing smile on her face. Her eyes crinkled as she watched the interaction, moving a hand to cover her mouth. It was certainly bold of the boy to just up and ask the normally stoic panther boy out so suddenly. She hadn't even realized Vance felt so strongly for the boy, or was this just in response to not being able to take Reyna to the dance? Either way, the leader found it hard to hold in her chuckles as she watched Vance look so serious and desperate all at the same time.
 
Lev gave his head a quick shake to wake himself up before briefly blushing at Sylvia's wink, and nodding at the reminder. Then they were all off to breakfast. Lev waved sheepishly to the already seated team SAGE, not at all used to so much company in the mornings. It took him a while to decide where to sit, but he eventually settled in the seat in front of Abigale. "Happy to be here." Lev muttered at Sylvia's introduction.

The lioness was about to protest to his sitting in front of her, clearly miffed that he was intruding on her visual space, but Vance quickly stole the spotlight. Causing a deafening silence to flood the table. Seymour was in the exact same position as Sylvia, shivering in place to hold in an inappropriate amount of laughter. Ellie was pretty innocent about the whole thing, looking around in the hopes that someone would be more clear about why Vance would ask Gabe of all people to a dance. Lev was still too tired to register anything, so he picked at his food nonchalantly while doing his best to listen in. And Abby was snickering to herself, though the volume was steadily growing.

Gabe, however, had looked up from his food with wide eyes locked on to Vance's. The panther boy's cheeks slowly flooded with a vivid shade of red, and a drop of blood began making its way from his nose. The second the nosebleed tickled his lip, Gabe reacted. First, his hand shot out and clamped down on Abby's mouth, preventing her from making any more noise. Then his other hand snatched up a napkin and shoved it in his face. After another beat, the panther's voice finally came out, though muffled by the napkin.

"Y-Yeah. Sure..."

Ellie was quick to remedy Gabe's situation, providing a quick healing hand to stop the nosebleed. From there, everyone seemed to calm down. Abby finally struggled free from her teammate's hand, no longer humored by the situation now that it had turned all serious and wierd. Lev still picked at his food, though from his smile it was clear he got the gist of what just happened. And Seymour, quick to regain control of his emotions as always, eagerly broke the silence around the rest of the table.

"So, a dance? This is the first I've heard about it. What about the rest of you?"

Abby simply shook her head, but Ellie put a finger to her chin with a smile. "Actually, yeah! I've been to it before. My parents got an invitation when I was real little, so I remember bits and pieces. It's a real classy shindig, and all sorts of fun. Even the big-wigs show up to cut loose!"

"Do you have to bring a date?" Seymour interjected.

"Naw, nuthin' like that. But you do gotta dress nice. It's a suit and tie kinda thing. I don't know if it's required, but you'd look mighty silly if you wore anything different."

"That's great!" Seymour responded with a clap of his hands. "We can all go together then!"
 
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Vance's face split into a huge grin as he cheered. "Yeah! I get to go with one of my best friends!" He exclaimed, back to his vibrating, cheery self. As the others discussed the dance, he chimed in. "Yeah, these two girls told me about it earlier today! They said you had to wear fancy clothes like suits and ties and dresses and stuff. I don't really like wearing suits and stuff, but the dance is supposed to be really, really fun and the two girls I talked to said that I should ask someone I really, really like to go with me so I wanted to ask Gabe or Reyna since they're my best friends! Reyna already had a date though, so you ended up being the lucky one, Gabe!" The boy smiled, taking bites of his food in between his words. His ears stood at attention, just as perky and excited as their master.

The whole atmosphere made Sylvia smile fondly as Seymour announced they would all go together. "Ah, I think I'll have to stay out of this one, Seymour. I've got two left feet, and I don't really have anything appropriate for a dance. I'd totally be up to do you guys' hair though." She leaned forward in her seat, looking over the two teams. She was sure her team would have fun, even if Reyna was off canoodling with an upperclassmen.

At Sylvia's words, the faunus boy frowned. "But, Sylvia, you have to come!" He begged, looking over the two teams to try and get some backup. He sent a glance to Seymour, looking between the two leaders as if that would encourage one to ask the other to the dance. "It's gonna be so much fun!" He tried to reason, looking around desperately for someone to support him in convincing his leader to come to the dance, his gaze occasionally straying on Seymour before bouncing around again.
 
Gabe's subtle smile deteriorated with each mention Vance made of them being "friends", ultimately bringing him back to a cold expression when Reyna was brought up as the first option. However, he stuck around and finished his food in silence as his teammates continued the conversation.

Seymour's expression deteriorated for a different reason. Sylvia's refusal quickly made his brows narrow, and it hardly took a second glance from Vance to prod him on. "What are you saying, Sylvia!" the gazelle boy leaned forward in his seat, knocking his horns into the silverette's forehead to make sure her full attention was on him. His expression did not ease as he remained inches from her face.

"Of all the things to sit out on, why this? Don't you see how important this dance is?" Seymour's eyes were in a deadlock with Sylvia's as he spoke. "Let me ask you something. Who inspired you to become a huntress? If I could chance a guess, it's because you saw one work, or knew one personally, yes? Hunters are heroes! Heroes...real heroes back down to nothing, Sylvia." With this statement, Seymour backed down and calmed himself, taking a breath to relax before picking right back up with a grin. "And besides, who would keep me company? I certainly won't be doing any dancing as you carelessly implied. So you better come! I won't take no for an answer. I'll get Reyna and Ellie to help me pick out a dress for you as well, if I must go to such lengths. There'll be no stopping me from taking you to the dance, Sylvia. Mark me."

Abigale had been fuming the second Seymour's head touched Sylvia's, but something happened during their conversation to whittle down her fury into something more melancholic. Ellie, however, grinned in understanding of Seymour's intensity. It wasn't until he got up to clean his part of the table that the cow girl picked up the conversation. "Y'all better not test Seymour on this. His paw was as big a social figure as they come in the faunus villages and towns. He takes this sort of thing more seriously than you'd believe."

In all the talking, Gabe disappeared with fists clenched, and eyes shut tight, making sure to leave before anyone could ask why he was wet under the eyes.
 
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