Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

SABL (Ashen Wolf x LittleCloud)

"..."

Did he believe her? That was the question on his mind and, Sable wagered, her mind as well. The Bronze girl struck him as timid, pliable person, not the type who would go out of her way to cause trouble for him--if only for fear of causing trouble for herself. The same traits likely wouldn't hold up to interrogation, but he didn't expect to need such a thing. Who would go out of their way to bully an heiress because of him, anyway? But even so, Granny always said that he could only trust an Atlesian as far as he could throw them...

Well, Henrietta was a slender girl. He could probably throw her pretty far. So, like the subject at hand, Sable dropped her chin unceremoniously.

"Wow! That's really dumb!" Sable put his now-free hand over his mouth, stifling a few chuckles at his teammate's expense. It would be terribly troublesome if someone had come after a member of his team. That kind of offense was something he wouldn't be able to let slide. Face was the most important thing. If you let even one person trample all over you, everyone else will start thinking it's okay for them, too. But....

"A mighty huntress of Atlas Academy, defeated by a door, huh?" Sable snickered, not even bothering to hide his amused grin any longer. "I would've thought a huntress' glasses were made of sterner stuff, but I guess there's no helping it."

"Let's head back to the dorm, eh?" He put his arm around her shoulder, gave her head a good ruffle, and led her away from wall. "Don't worry, I'll give you a helping hand this time, but let's not make running into doors a habit from now on."
 
Last edited:
When Sable let go of her chin Henrietta's whole body relaxed, for the moment it looked like she wasn't going to be pressed any further and all she had to do was endure a little light hearted ribbing from her team leader. "Yeah, it was kinda dumb..." She chuckled nervously, looking down at her feet and shuffling nervously on the spot, this just meant that they were friends now right? "I can get my parent's to send me some combat glasses though!"

When his hand went around her all that tension came flooding back, she wasn't about to repeat the mistake that had lead to all this in the beginning, staying still as a statue when he ruffled her hair. That didn't mean she wasn't going to turn down a helping hand getting back to the dorm, letting Sable guide her back, where surprise surprise, Meg and Lilac had managed not to eat each other. The smaller girl was slumped on her front on top of her bunk, a rare moment of stillness as the Scroll set up in front of her continued to play the next in a series of videos while Meg had swapped in to a set of deep blue button-up pyjamas before setting up position in the centre of the room with her legs crossed and eyes shut, needless to say she didn't acknowledge the fact either of them had come back.

"Thank you..." Henri said quietly, not wanting to interrupt whatever it was that Meg was doing, letting go of him and slowly feeling her way to her bunk underneath Lilac's.


It was going to come as no surprise to anyone the next day that Lilac was the very definition of a morning person, bouncing off her bunk bright and early to the sounds of a ridiculously cheery alarm. She was eager to start her first day at Huntress school and she didn't want any of her team to miss it either! Still on the plus side they weren't going to miss breakfast, at least those of them that were eating, Meg didn't seem to have too much of an issue being woken up so early but she made it very clear that she wouldn't be joining them before she stalked off on her own.

After breakfast it was time for class, the first year students directed not to one of the academy's classrooms but to a large open hall ringed with desks and chairs. The teacher hadn't arrived yet but most of the class seemed to have done so already, the blonde leader of team GLNT currently locked in an armwrestling contest with the large silent bruiser of team HNTR while elsewhere a girl wearing a purple top hat with her drab Atlasian uniform was hoping from one desk to the next and juggling, nearby a mouse faunus was face down at a desk, snoring loudly.

Needless to say Henri felt a little lost and decided to stay by Sable's side but Lilac was quick to join the fray, suddenly vanishing and reappearing on the edge of the contest eagerly cheering on the girl to beat one of the 'mean boys'. Meg of course came in a few minutes later, trying to pretend that she didn't know the rest of her team.
 
Sable wasn't a morning person by nature, but the wolf boy wasn't unaccustomed to waking up early at another's behest. Still, he'd never been awoken in such a loud and gaudy way, and Lilac did have a unique way of being loud and gaudy. His past awakenings were usual rough and concise--heralding a day of dangerous jobs or even more dangerous training--but even those mornings were practically tranquil when compared to how this purple alarm decided to welcome the day!

"Jeez..." he grumbled, "Calm down, we're all awake already!"

If Day 2 of Sable's life as an Atlas Academy student was going to be anything like Days 3+, then it would certainly take some getting used to. At least he could take solace in the fact that she hadn't torn his covers off. Not everyone had silk pajamas, and he could hardly imagine any of these girls being familiar with the sight of a guy their age in little more than some undergarments with an interesting fit.

Courtesy of Meg, Sable was forced to stand in the locked bathroom while the girls changed into their uniforms outside. To this, the young faunus could only click his tongue in annoyance as he suited up in Atlas greys and whites--partially at the shark for being so incessant so early, but mostly for having been deprived the chance to get a glimpse of something good! Any impressions of their personalities aside, all of his teammates were undeniably quite attractive...

Fortunately, breakfast was a much more simple affair: Sable was offered food and Sable ate food. As much as he knew about good food, turning down a free meal, any free meal, was a major faux pas in his book. So what if Atlas students weren't scarfing down starred dining? The portions were generous and that was good enough for him! It must have been strange to Lilac and Henrietta; who among them could say they were really used to someone eating such utilitarian food with such desperation?

"Huh? It's 'cause I'm hungry. Isn't that obvious?"

And so, with a well-sated leader in tow, the trio of S_BL made it to homeroom without much trouble.

Now, a classroom was the type of scenery that Sable could only see through a window or a television screen. In his mind, the name of Atlas Academy was emblematic of military diligence and strict discipline. At the moment, it felt like a bar with extra steps, but despite the familiar atmosphere, he couldn't say he was terribly comfortable. The faunus felt naked bereft of his weapon, clad in a stuffy uniform, and forced into the unknown without a clear objective. Familiar comforts of strength and independence were gone, replaced by an alien vulnerability he could only tolerate. His fingers fidgeted with the buttons of his vest and the cuffs of his shirt. The action was anxious, but anyone could be forgiven for thinking he was simply irate by the expression on his face.

"Y'know..." Sable looked over to Henrietta after watching another of their trio abscond into the ruckus. The first cuff of his had been undone, letting the sleeve hang loosely while he busied himself picking at the other. "If a pretty girl like you keeps clinging to me like that, someone might get the wrong idea."

"Now here's someone with the right idea," Sable remarked, parking himself next to the sleeping faunus girl. He sunk into the seat behind her, leaning back into his nested palms as he watched the meatheads go at it. His relaxation was short-lived, as another student made her presence known by planting her feet on his desk, casting a juggling shadow over the faunus.

"Oh?" He cocked an eyebrow at the disturbance. With crossed arms, he looked up at the juggling girl. A bemused expression played at his lips. "I can see up your skirt, Top Hat. White today, is it? How school mandated of you."
 
In what was quickly becoming a habit Henri quickly blurted out an apology and hurried over to a desk a few spots away from her leader to bury her face in her book, hoping that everyone was too busy watching what else was going on in the room to have seen that. At least one person had seen that though and sitting at the back of the room, Meg rolled her eyes, it was hard for her to believe that that mess of a girl was supposed to be one of the Bronzes.

Still she was one of the Bronzes and as far as she was concerned that made her a cut above the rest of her team and she wasn't the only one, scanning the rest of the class in her crisp and immaculate uniform she recognised most of GLNT, all but the girl were scions of some of Atlas' oldest and most well to do families and even a pair of HNTR (the duo who had been wearing labcoats during the ceremony) rang a bell from her time shadowing her parents. She was happy to avoid them all for now though, not until she'd had time to plan anyway or maybe depose Sable, she hadn't quite decided yet.

Speaking of her leader, he wasn't aware of any of this because he was apparently too busy trying to snatch a peek up someone's skirt!

"What's the matter, hoping to see something else?" The girl in the top hat teased before tossing her juggling balls in to the air and flipping acrobatically off the table, taking off her hat to catch them and revealing a pair of canine ears twitching on the top of her head in the process. "Your Sable right? Pretty cool we got two teams lead by Faunus. Ready to kick some ass and show them what we're made off?"
 
Last edited:
"Yeah, kinda."

It was a startlingly point blank answer, but perhaps that should have been expected of someone who would so brazenly check out a fellow student. But hey, she was the one who'd hopped on his desk while showing off her talent with balls first! Besides, he'd only looked for purely utilitarian purposes; he just wanted to get her off his desk and test her mettle a bit, that's all. And in that sense, he was successful. The possibility of seeing something good was just a very agreeable side benefit...

"I mean, can you really blame a guy for trying? The tights are nice, but the uniform isn't exactly the most colorful thing in the world," the black-and-gray-themed huntsman added, eyes following Wanda's slender legs as she flipped off his desk. A very agreeable side benefit, indeed. He grinned, giving a careless, noncommittal shrug, "Besides, what kind of guy doesn't like a pleasant surprise?"

When she landed on the opposite side of his desk, he leaned in, chin resting comfortably upon his tented fingers. "Y'know, when you almost blew my ears out with that horn during selections, I thought we wouldn't get along," Sable quipped, the corners of his mouths perking upwards. Unlike other faunus, Sable didn't bother to hide his ears, so when his curiosity was piqued, his lupine ears, normally relaxed, turned attentively to the fox across from him. "But it's like I said: pleasant surprises."

"Oh you don't even know the half of it," Sable answered. The two loudest personalities from Team GLNT had already gotten their first strike on his shitlist for trying to pull a fast one on Lilac during the examination. For their sake, he hoped they wouldn't knock off the other chances.

Although speaking of shitlists, Sable felt like someone was glaring holes in the back of his head. If he didn't know better, he would have assumed that Meg was sitting somewhere behind him. He didn't turn to check, though. After all, he knew better; he knew that Meg was sitting somewhere behind him! He didn't know why she was doing that, but he could hazard a guess that it was about her deep, in-seated jealous about his position.

"Not a fan of the circus strongmen yourself?" He nodded over to Teams HNTR and GLNT, still engaged in their arm wrestling competition. Meg was, of course, correct in her assessment. Big names only ever mattered to Sable in the context of what he could take or what he could break. However, it did not go unnoticed by the delinquent that a division had already appeared to form between the teams with faunus and those without. He turned in his seat and looked over at Lilac, who was spectating. "My teammate seems to be enjoying the show at least."
 
"Ha! You're fun." Wanda let out a laugh, taking Sable's blunt response in her stride, truth be told she didn't exactly mind the kind of attention he was giving her anyway, placing her hat back on her head and perching on the edge of his desk, kicking her long slender legs back and forth. Throwing her head back she sighed theatrically and tugged on her grey blazer "I know right? It's like their trying to bland us to death or something, I can't wait to get back in to my own clothes. I wonder if I can get them to give me one of those Special Op uniforms instead..."

Wanda mulled over the idea for a moment but ultimately dismissed it, the sharp white of the Special Operatives was a tiny step up from the drab student uniforms but still a world away from the purple bodysuit and waistcoat that she'd worn to the entrance exam. "What can I say? I like to make an entrance." She continued the conversation, looking over her shoulder with a mischievous grin "I'll give you a heads up before I break out the real fireworks."

Looking down at where the two hulking students were still locked in their battle to assert physical dominance she watched Lilac cheer on the girl from team HNTR, seemingly appearing and disappearing around the table at random, she liked the smaller girl's energy. "I'm more of a high wire girl and anyway someone's gotta keep an eye on Daisy." She gave a wide sweeping gesture over to where the mouse faunus slept, although that wasn't to last much longer as the doors to the classroom swung open, waking her up with a squeak.

"Alright kids, enough of whatever's going on down there, class is in session!" A distinctly non-Atlasian voice announced as a man in a teacher's uniform and a wide brimmed hat descended to the centre of the room. "Name's Jet and that's Mister not Professor and this is Combat 101. Now I know what they put you through to get here so I bet some of you think your already hot shit and that's cute and all but we've only just started to put you through your paces. Everybody line up in your teams quick as you can."

"See you later, come on Daisy it's show time." Wanda gave Sable a wink before heading down to join the rest of her team, the mouse faunus following behind them with a sleepy yawn.
 
"Duly noted. I'll make sure to pack all four of my ear plugs next time you wanna make some noise," Sable joked, "Though you probably ought to be worried about this one. Her ears are bit bigger than mine." He leaned laxly into his seat now that his desk was being occupied by his fellow team leader, letting his wandering eyes traced the curves of her shapely legs, which she so eagerly showed off for his viewing pleasure. It seemed they were both very content with the kind of attention they were sharing between each other. Shame he didn't have any way to return the favor, or this morning might have taken a sharp turn for the way-better.

"You really think someone would do that? Just mess with a vulnerable little faunus?" Sable glanced over at Daisy snoozing away next to him. He couldn't remember ever seeing the girl awake. Even during their team's loud entrance during the opening ceremony, she was snoozing away on the back of her teammate. Just how exactly had she passed the entrance examination? Surely she couldn't have been carried by her team the whole time!

Still, that was neither here nor there, and it's not as if she was on his team.

"Can't say I took a gal like you for the tightrope type, but I guess it explains a few things" he remarked, wryly. "Magic shows have always been my act of choice." He smirked a bit at a joke that only he would understand. After all, he didn't think any of these folks would be familiar with how good he was at making all sorts of things disappear. Besides, Sable wouldn't mind having this cutie help out in his next show, so to speak.

"Say, why don't--"

Then the teacher walked in, and Sable, with a very cross expression on his face, groaned. How very annoying. He ran a hand through his hair, and let out a stiff complaint under his breath, "And just when I was getting comfortable..." Sluggishly, the faunus got up from his seat, and at the beckoning of the teacher, moved towards the front of the class. As he and his new acquaintance parted, he left her with a cheeky quip: "Is that a promise?"

Last of his team, but certainly not least, Sable slotted in comfortably at the leftmost end of the group. It wasn't his first time in a line up, and he doubted it would be his last. Not an inch of nervousness permeated his body, even with the foreign professor's hardcore posturing. Glancing aside at his teammates, he asked sarcastically:

"So team, did we make any new friends today?"
 
"Ooo magic, I'll have to show you my trick some time." Wanda called back to him, giving him one final playful wink as she made her way down to where her rabbit-eared teammate was shadow boxing and her token Human was still looking just so so awkward.

Joining his own team in the centre of the room Lilac met Sable's sarcastic comment with an utterly earnest "Yeppers!" As she suddenly appeared by his side and once again tried to latch on to his arm "That big girl looks kinda scary but I got her Scroll tag and we're gonna be friends now! Ooo we should swap our details too in case we ever get split up! And we could have a group chat too!"

"I can give you mine after class?" Henri offered quietly, she still wasn't quite used to the pink girl's energy and she certainly didn't want to get caught talking by their teacher but she liked the idea of a group chat, that was something friends did right?

Meg of course didn't deign respond, standing a few steps back from the rest of her team she had gone full 'Miss Aegean' trying to look like she had as little to do with the rest of them as possible whilst trying to ignore the snickers that she just knew were being pointed in her direction from a few teams down. Between the whole fiasco with her placement and the fact that they were letting Vacuoans teach here she was starting to have serious second thoughts about the Academy, maybe being a trophy wife wouldn't be so bad...

With his students arrayed in front of him the teacher continued his speech "Your ears all work that's a good start. I've seen how you all did back in the mine but that's no replacement for good old face to face work so we're gonna have a little throw down and I'll see what you're really capable of and I know you'll do your best because if you get your ass kicked the rest of the class isn't ever going to let you forget it". Reaching to a holster by his side with a grin, he withdrew his scroll and with a few gestures sent a screen placed high on the wall humming in to life where a pair of pictures drawn from the class's ID photos appeared before rapidly cycling through everyone in the room before finally coming to a halt on pictures of Sable and an alabaster skinned girl with voluminous white hair.

"And there are our first contenders! Everyone go grab your gear and if you're not back here in five there will be detention!"
 
"We should all try to be as friendly as you," Sable quipped dryly. Lilac reminded him a lot of a curious cat when she was nuzzling against his arm like this. Always first to scamper off as she so pleased, only to come back and act affectionate when the fey mood struck her. Maybe that clinginess was a bit puppy-like, but only one of them could be a dog here and it certainly wasn't the shortstack who didn't have animal ears growing on her head.

"That's privileged information," Sable snorted as if Lilac's suggestion had been offensively obvious to him.... which, surprisingly, it wasn't. If anyone had assumed the Mantlesian was a dumb, social media-illiterate dog, they'd have been mostly correct. He wasn't entirely ignorant to the workings of Scroll technology--who wasn't?--but his background scarcely afforded him the opportunity for more casual, permanent uses of the devices. Scroll tags? Group chats? Although he knew all about burners and clandestine pages, he was left to wonder what the hell Lilac was even talking about!

"Whatever. We'll just have to sort this out back at the dorm later." He agreed with Henrietta in seamless attempt to conceal his ignorance. "Something tells that guy doesn't like too much chit-chat."

Sable's lupine ears caught wind of some japery going on over yonder at Megara's expense, which annoyed him a bit more than it ought to. He flicked his gaze over to the standoffish shark, who seemed to be as discontent and ashamed of her team as the day before--if not more so! The wolfboy could only roll his eyes. She talked a big game about her pride, but here she was just taking it. If it had been him, he might've made a point about giving those blowhards a taste of his mind, but alas, it was his teammate. Still, insults by proxy made his mood ill.

Fortunately, it seemed that his day was going to take a turn for the better. Live combat training against his fellow students was perfect. He was reminded of what Wanda had said earlier. 'Show everyone what he was made of.' This was the perfect time to make good on that. Most would balk at having to fight a pretty rich girl with a no doubt important family, but for Sable?

"Woo!"

Well, to say he was excited to suit up would be an understatement.

***​

"Five minutes or detention, right?" Sable stepped up to stage, slinging Twilight's Fang over his shoulders as he blithely spoke to his teacher. It had only been a minute.

The light, stony palette of the Atlas uniform had been traded in for a darker-toned fit. It might've seemed a bit ratty compared to some of the sleek, high-fashion combatwear the other students sported, but compared to the uniform, he felt as comfortable and free as he could be--for a given value, at least. The collar around his neck still weighed heavily on him, leaving a bitter taste in this scrap of comfort. Surely it wouldn't pose a problem in a sanctioned combat scenario, right?
 
"I'll take care of everything!" Lilac declared in what definitely wasn't an ominous portent of things to come before quietening down and standing at a mock attention by Sable's side, still latched onto his arm. Of course there wasn't time to worry exactly what the pintsize girl had in mind because it was time to gear up! Back at the dorm it would come as no surprise to anyone that Meg took great satisfaction in abruptly forcing their leader out of the room so that the girls could dress in peace, having to put up with her 'friends' in GLNT had left her in a foul mood and until she (hopefully) got to punch one of them in the mouth the other faunus was as good a target for that as any.

Henri was first out, happy to remain in her uniform and just retrieve her cane, quickly apologizing for Meg's brusque attitude, not everyone from Atlas was like that! Honest! Next Lilac bounced out of the door more than happy to trade her drab uniform for the riotous pinks and purples of her Combat Skirt™, the emitter handles of her hard-light weapons hanging from her sides.

"How do I look?" She asked excitedly with a little pirouette.

The last and most troublesome member of team SABL didn't even break her stride as she stepped out into the corridor, her own outfit a mix of a Mistralian gi cut down for optimum mobility and Aegean catwalk flair worn underneath her technicolour dust coat, striding back to class with her aristocratic air at least somewhat restored by the quick costume change.

------

"Close enough." The teacher said from his new position in one of the seats on the front row where his feet rested on desk, seesawing his hand back and forth in a 'kinda' motion, even the sleepy Daisy had made it back before the detention cut off and with everybody else seated it was time to begin! "Here's how this is going to go down, each pair is going to fight until one of you gives or an aura breaks or I tell you to pack it in but I'm not going easy on you so don't count on it."

Standing in front of Sable was a girl of almost ethereal beauty, the long white cloak she wore wrapped around her only able to do so much to hide the model's figure beneath it, gripped in one hand by her side was a large staff, easily taller than she was, constructed of gold and silver with a strange squat looking censer at its apex.

"I don't believe we've met before." She greeted her opponent softly, gripping her cloak with her free hand and offering him a small curtsey "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"BEGIN!"

Sable Grey Initiative: 1D20+5 = [18]+5 = 23

Lin Merlot Initiative: 1D20 = [14] = 14
 
"Sounds good to me, boss," the delinquent grinned ear to ear as he gave his instructor a faux-salute. Unlike Meg, his teeth weren't his faunus trait, but there was no way that grin was anything but wolfish. If this teacher was actually as much of a hardass as he made himself out to be, then the faunus might actually be able to entertain himself with this lesson! He glanced back to his opponent, the Atlesian in blue and white.

"I'd be pretty worried if we've met before," Sable quipped wryly. He didn't know if she was joking or not, but they pretty obviously ran in different circles. Besides, good money said he would've remembered meeting a girl like that before. Perhaps because of the sheer dissonance, he let out a bemused puff of air. Someone curtsying to him? What next? Flying pigs? She was probably just being overly polite as those upper class types are wont to do. The wolf reciprocated in his own way: "I only bow at the end of a show, but trust me: the pleasure's all mine."

Unfortunately for the pretty lady that was to be his opponent, their intentions didn't see eye to eye. He had some steam he wanted to blow off and she was associated with just the right group to make him feel particularly spiteful. The weight of a million unresolved irritations was heavy, but as he lifted the halberd on his shoulders overhead, he could feel that weight finally disappear. Sable's hands slid into a familiar quarter-grip as he traced a half circle with his halberd, warding his back with the striking end as he circled his opponent.

Then, as abruptly as he had arrived, the professor began the fight.

'No countdown?' Sable thought, mildly annoyed but not off-guard in the slightest. Lines of attack and defense had already arrayed themselves in his mind, clashing with zones of control circumscribed by their long weapons' reach. More approaches than he could count flashed through his mind, but in less than a second, he sprung into action. Conveyed forth by a burst of speed courtesy his well-trained legs, Sable crossed the stage in an instant. The rushing air carried with it a particularly cocky taunt: "Don't make this too easy, 'kay?"

He lead with a jab with the tailspike of his halberd before a sudden counterclockwise twirl sent the axe-head flying down from above. Shots rang out as his weapon conveyed him around her, flowing from snappy footwork into circular strikes with either end of his weapon. He was a river and the pressure was mounting; could the beauty in white withstand it?

Move Action: Move into Close
Standard Action: Sable Tests Lin: 1D20+8 = [9]+8 = 17
DC23 Toughness Check for Damage
DC18 Will Check for Insidious, Subtle Affliction (Vulnerable/Attack Impaired > Defenseless/Attack Disabled > Transformed | Limits: Penalties only active in Close Range) and Insidious, Subtle Weaken Will 8 (Limits: Only vs Sable)
Condition: Healthy
 
Lin didn't have time to move as Sable launched his assault, letting out a dainty gasp of surprise as he closed the gap, but this wasn't the concrete tactical advantage the faunus boy might have assumed as his first strikes rebounded off a shimmering wall of hard-light dust.

"Wooooo! Kick her butt Sable! That's my friend! Yeah!" Lilac cheered, bouncing up and down in her seat, were she'd gotten that little flag from was anyone's guess.

Cutting edge Atlasian technology might have saved the girl from her opponent's initial attack but hemmed in by Sable's relentless assault the shield would eventually give way, shattering into a glimmering cascade of sparkles and forcing her to finally meet his halberd head on with her Aura. Taking the blow she stumbled back a few paces, gripping her staff to steady herself before striking the bottom against the ground and letting a burst of air send her sailing over Sable's head to the other side of their ring.

"I'll try not to disappoint." She replied sweetly, running her hands up and down her staff more like she was playing some bizzare musical instrument than wielding a weapon. With every movement the light in her censer shifted colours, reds, greens, blacks and yellows until it finally shot a cluster of brilliant blue darts up in to the air that crashed down towards Sable!

Move: Move to the other side of the ring
Free: Reconfigure 'Experimental Battle Staff' to Damage gains Create 8 (Continous)
Standard: Attack Sable Lin Merlot Dust Blast: 1D20+8 = [17]+8 = 25 DC23 Toughness vs Damage & DC18 Defence or be trapped in ice if that hits.
Status
Sable Fine

Lin Bruised x1
 
It didn't feel good as he thought it would. That was what Sable noticed most, even more than the sudden give of glassy hard light shattering beneath heavy steel or even the raucous cheering from his most excitable teammate. It was his first time fighting another human being since that fateful night two weeks ago. To break that fast with such meager resistance seemed to have disheartened him a bit more than his sudden attack, non-committal as it was, seemed to have shaken his opponent. Still, without a single gap in his posture, Sable followed up with a wide, horizontal stroke--the kind that could lop a head off with ease--but found nothing but air across the arc of his blade.

"Cute trick," the faunus grunted. "Thought you Atlesians were all about propriety and all that rot. Don't you know it's rude to ditch your partner in the middle of a dance?"

The sound of gusting wind and fluttering cloth told him all he needed to know about how she'd managed that long before his crimson eyes sighted her across the battlefield. Lin was still an enigma; he'd gleaned no tangible insights into her fighting style with that exchange, but even he could read the writing on the wall. The distance, those movements... He needed to keep her boxed in or else she'd be trouble.

As if on queue, the first volley of dusty darts descended upon his position. A lazy swing of his halberd, a clear challenge to the huntress' prowess, proved sufficient to clash aside the brunt of her attack, but as the bluish dust began to crystallize into cold, translucent crystals, he knew he had to start moving and soon. No way to close in and avoid the rest of the darts at the same time; he'd just have to face this blizzard head on.

Another wave followed the first, coating his wake in icy stalactites as he cut the distance. Those he couldn't outrun stuck to his skin, leaving chill, harmless layers scattered across his torso. It wouldn't be enough to stop him from tearing across the ring, hot on her tail like a hungry predator. "If you wanna pin me down..." Sable pounced, heedless of any counterattack, spearhead poised to take her heart like a jousting blow. "You'll have to try a bit harder than that!"

Defense vs 25: 1D20+6 = [6]+6 = 12 Get Hit.
Defense vs 18: 1D20+6 = [15]+6 = 21 Dodged Freeze.
Toughness vs 23: 1D20+10 = [17]+10 = 27 Resisted Damage.

Move Action: Move into Close
Free Action: Toggle Array "Expose Weakness" -> "Vital Strike"
Standard Action: All Out Power Attack +5/+5 Sable jousts with the only member of the knight team who is not a knight: 1D20+8 = [19]+8 = 27 (Improved) Critical (4) Hit!
Add a "Move Object: Trip" Effect. Contested Acrobatics Roll: 1D20+15 = [14]+15 = 29 vs the lowest of Lin's Athletics or Acrobatics due to Improved Trip
28 DC Toughness to avoid damage
Condition: Healthy, Defense -5 until his next turn.
 
Last edited:
Bursting through her hail of icy Dust, Lin's shields once again proved insufficient to protect her from Sable's savage attack, the difference between his actual combat experience and the Atlasian girl's entirely theoretical understanding clear to see to anyone as she was sent sprawling to the floor in a pool of white fabric that of course spurred Lilac on to even more exuberant cheering, now joined by Wanda in Sable's cheering section, she was more than happy to see her fellow Faunus lay the smack down on a member of team GLNT.

"Look at him go! The fighting faunus of team SABL laying the beatdown!" She cried, both girls sharing a high-five, their teacher seeming to think that this was perfectly acceptable behaviour, or at least not worth his time to intervene in right now while his attention was still on the first fight.

Speaking of which, this was absolutely not the way Lin prefered to fight, she was far more comfortable on the back lines safely behind GLNT's melee brutes, but that just meant that she was going to have to she was going to have to change things more to her liking. A burst of brilliant black light exploded from the tip of her staff and when it cleared she was back on her feet again but of course that hadn't just been a flash of light, it was infused with gravity dust to try and weigh down Sable, the more distance she could put between the two of them the more likely she was to win.

"You seem uneasy, do you not want to fight?" She asked curious, regarding him with her soft silver eyes.

Move Stand up
Free Reconfigure 'Experimental Battle Staff' to Damage gains Linked Affliction 8 (Impaired&Dazed/Disabled&Stunned/Paralyzed, Fort)(Extra Condition, Progressive)(Limited:Impaired/Disabled is Limited Degree & Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed is Physical Actions Only)
Standard Power Attack +2 Sable Lin Merlot Dust Blast: 1D20+6 = [3]+6 = 9 DC25 Toughness vs Damage & DC22 Fortitude vs Progressive Impaired&Dazed/Disabled&Stunned/Paralyzed if that hits.
Status
Sable Fine

Lin Bruised x1
 
With the two girls hooting and hollering every time he did something impressive, Sable felt more and more like a scrapper in one of Mantle's underground fighting rings. He had to admit it was a little bit nostalgic, but it didn't exactly scratch the itch he was feeling. The fighting ring was a bit too sterile for his tastes, but he was glad someone was having fun, at least--and even he could appreciate having a bunch of pretty girls fawning over him. Having fans wasn't exactly typical for someone in his occupation; that job was full of more curt approval and ego-curtailing criticism.

The blinding flash washed the battlefield in dark light, but Lin was not the only one who could act in the darkness. When the dark radiance faded away, she would find her enemy nowhere to be seen--until she felt the dark presence at her side, so close that a harried glance could catch his pupils readjusting the classroom's brightness.

"Nah, just bored," Sable answered blithely, purring into her ear with crystal clarity. She'd touched on something correct, of course, but he would never admit it to her. He knew better than anyone how effective it was to psych out your opponent; if she wanted to get into his head, she'd have to try harder than that.

Without a second wasted. the frame of Twilight's Fang slid and folded, aligning into handaxe configuration with a series of mechanical clicks. His arm came flying low in for a wide, powerful strike to the back of her exposed legs, toppling the poor Atlesian...

Well, not exactly.

Sable turned on his heel, catching the falling lady in his arms like some kind of fair maiden. It was perhaps more dastardly than any of his attacks before. Not an attack against her body, but an attack against her heart. And in front of the entire class, too! Sable might not have been bothered in the least, but no doubt his boldness would be terribly embarrassing for the poor girl.

"Shouldn't you be worrying more about yourself?" He grinned roguishly. "A pretty face doesn't get you far in a fight, you know? But I can't say trampling beautiful flowers feels all too good either."

He leaned in... Husky words drifting into her ears... What sweet whispers would he say next?

"But I'm getting graded on this, so no hard feelings."

He dropped her to the floor unceremoniously.

Attack 9 vs Defense 16-5=11 misses.

Free Action: Reconfigure Twilight's Fang from Vital Strike to Quick Maneuver
Standard Action: Sable sweeps a fair maiden off her feet with an All Out Power Attack (+2/+2): 1D20+8 = [17]+8 = 25 DC 25 Toughness linked with Move Object: Trip
Contested Trip: 1D20+15 = [10]+15 = 25 vs 17. She is tripped.
Move/Free Action: Aggressive flirting?
Condition: Healthy, Defense -2
 
Lin's latest Dust attack had done less than nothing to buy her any space or shift the battle in her favour and before she knew it Sable was far closer to her than anyone else had ever been before, close enough that he could hear her breath catch in her throat as she felt his hot breath on her skin, leaving her wide open for his latest attack, knocking her clean off her feet and...right in to his arms?!

The whole class, even his impromptu cheering squad, fell silent as the moment stretched on. Like the rest of team GLNT Lin was a member of Atlasian high society and finding herself in the grip of a boy (and a faunus at that) in front of an audience was simply not something she had ever imagined, she was almost relieved when she was dumped on to the ground but even the crackling play of her damaged aura running over her body could not hide the crimson blush clear as day on her alabaster white cheeks.

Like everything else the girl did she didn't so much scramble up as delicately flow back up to her feet but that was about all she seemed capable of doing right now, fixing Sable with a look as she tried to marshall whatever energy she still had left to keep herself in the fight.

"Combat flirting?" Wanda asked her co-commentator.

"Combat flirting." The smaller girl replied with a nod.

Up in the seats GLNT's large blonde leader was giving Sable a look and it was not a nice one.
Standard Recover Staggered
Move Stand up
Status
Sable Fine

Lin Bruised x2
 
Oh?

Sable knew this feeling: the imperceptible weight levied upon his shoulders, the hairs standing on the back of his neck, the tension building in his ears... Someone was glaring daggers at his back again, but he could see both Lin and Meg from here and it definitely wasn't either of them. So he circled around his fallen foe like a wolf, angling until he caught a common sight: a burly, blond student giving him the stink eye. Good money wagered that it wasn't about his race this time.

A sly grin spread across his face as the beast's red eyes matched the knight's glare. It took only a second for him to recall exactly why that countenance struck a familiar chord: that was one of the guy who'd backstabbed Lilac back during the exams, wasn't it? He filed that fun tidbit away for later and turned back towards his wounded quarry--but not before flashing the leader of GLNT a polite, venomous smile of a troublemaker who wanted to be caught.

"Speechless, eh?" the wolf teased, giving his halberd a theatrical twirl as he paced around her. He seemed to carry himself with an arrogant confidence, but those with a good eye for fighting styles would notice that his eyes were locked firmly on his opponent, his steps moved with purposeful measure, and the wide, sweeping arcs of his weapon did just as well to threaten as they did to show off. After all, he still had some fight in her, and the kinds of people who underestimated cornered rats were liable to get bit by them.

"I thought I was smooth, but I didn't know I was that smooth," the faunus joked. "Maybe you're starting to interest me a bit after all?" He put a hand to his chin, feigning deep thought. "Say, how badly do you want to win anyway?" Sable asked, glancing up to the aura reader on screen. It did not look good for Ms. Merlot. "I wouldn't mind conceding if your offer's good. I'll even give you a fair shake, since you've put me in such a good mood..."

"...Just be sure you make a decision soon."

A scary glint in his eye was the only warning before the faunus came from careless to ruthless in less than single second. Another series of low strikes followed. By now, Lin must have cottoned onto the fact that her base was her weakpoint. Sable doubted that she'd so easily make herself vulnerable to that kind of technique again--especially not with that blush on her face!--but that's what he was counting on. With her attention directed low, that gave him enough room for...

"Keep your head in the game," he advised, aiming a poetically-timed guard-breaking blow to the temple with the butt-end of his halberd. "Or your face won't be the only thing red all over."

The follow up combination would be swift and equally brutal... Well, unless she made an appealing enough offer, but what were the odds of that?

Detect Anger: 1D20+15 = [15]+15 = 30

Free Action: Reconfigure Twilight's Fang from Quick Maneuver to Vital Strike
Move Action: Move Action Feint: 1D20+10 = [4]+10 = 14 vs Deception or Insight
Standard Action: Power Attack +5 Attack: 1D20+3 = [1]+3 = 4
Hero Point to Reroll: Power Attack +5: 1D20+3 = [17]+3 = 20
(Improved) Critical (4) Hit! Boost Toughness DC.
DC (23+5+5=) 33 Toughness vs Damage
Condition: Fine
Hero Points: 3
 
Last edited:
Watching Sable circle around her, Lin didn't seriously entertain his offer for a moment, if nothing else it would surely defeat the purpose of the training exercise and their teacher was watching. Not to mention the rest of team, she didn't dare take her eyes of her opponent for a moment but even without looking her gift let her feel the emotions coming off the rest of the room and she could only think how they would darken if she threw the fight.

Of course none of this actually mattered because before she could even vocalise any of this Sable introduced the butt of his weapon to her face and sent her crashing out onto the ground and this time she wouldn't be getting up!

"And that's the match!" Their teacher announced, causing Sable's cheering squad to burst into applause (and Henri to try a polite clap that she quickly abandoned when people looked at her) and GLNT's leader to burst angrily out of his seat. "Settle down big man, you wanna be useful go get your teammate up."

Grousing to himself Gerrard made his way down to the centre of the room, where you know he 'accidentally' bumped in to Sable, before hauling the unmoving girl back to her feet and carrying her up in to the seats.

"Now what have we learned?" The teacher continued.

"That Sable kicks butt!" Lilac cheered, Mister Jet just rolled his eyes, that girl was going to be trouble at some point, he just knew it.

"A surfeit of dust is no replacement for martial skill." The boy in the labcoat offered, which met with far more approval.

"Some of you are going to have to work on the fundamentals, and there's nothing wrong with that. You done good kid but maybe don't try that loverboy stuff with a Beowolf if you want to keep your face."

Somebody else had learned something but they didn't want to share it with the class, Meg had noticed that her nemesis seemed far more at home fighting a human than he been with the Grimm and she knew this because she was too but she didn't entertain for a second that he had been through the same kind of martial arts education as she had. She didn't know what she was going to do with this information just yet but the wheels were starting to turn...
 
Too slow.

Whether she seriously entertained the idea or outright dismissed it didn't matter. Whether Sable would have agreed if her answer were instant didn't matter--though the answer would be yes. What mattered was that her mind was occupied for those precious moments, and that roguish Sable was all too used to striking in the gap between thoughts.

His blow landed with a blunt CRACK! and immediately his optics and instincts worked in tandem to dismantle his opponent. Dozens and dozens of delectable, decisive blows to choose from... Yet he would choose none. The moment his opponent went limp and her aura went to zero, his halberd folded shut and his ears registered a triggering sound from his collar...

Sable's eyes widened. He could scarcely hear the applause over his heartbeat thumping in his ears.Instinctively, he brought a hand to his neck, fingers digging against the spot where the band met his skin. This was a exhibition and he'd done his duty, but Lin didn't get up. Had he killed her? No, of course not. He knew what a fresh corpse looked like. That wasn't it. Still, he feared the repercussions of not only shattering his classmate's aura, but also knocking her out cold. There was doing your duty and there was beyond the call--and he suspected Atlas wouldn't appreciate such deviation from the expected norm.

The long seconds felt like an eternity.

Only when it became readily apparent that his neck wasn't in any danger of exploding, getting some chemical injected into his spine, being tazed into submission or whatever manner of extremely painful and no-doubt humiliating consequence they'd hooked around his neck did he let himself breathe. He played it off as rubbing the back of his neck, getting out a few kinks from the fight.

He was still a bit tense, but whatever misgivings he had about his situation were quickly dashed aside by his classmate's shoulder. So that's how they were doing things now, was it? He rolled his eyes at the retreating student. "Real subtle, Atlas," he swiped the scuff off his shoulder. "Real subtle."

With the fight done, he began to walk off stage only to stop and turn to the audience. With a goofy grin on his face, the faunus gave a theatrical bow to his applauding fans. He could have done it without them, but it felt nice to have people in his corner.

"Please. Even I've got standards, you know," Sable scoffed at Mister Jet as the student returned to his seat in the same row as Lilac and Wanda. "Combat flirting is strictly a school-sanctioned exhibition fight thing."

That was a joke. Probably.
 
Last edited:
Heading back to his seat, if Gerrard had heard Sable's comment, he didn't react to it but that didn't mean that this was over, not by a long shot. The Faunus boy had beaten one of his team, and a girl at that, neither of those things sat well with his code of honour but now was neither the time nor the place. Another day, another pissed off Atlasian, so far so normal. When he returned to his seat Sable was greeted with a heroes welcome.

"You did awesome!" Lilac enthused, leaning over in her seat to rest a head affectionately against her leader's arm.

"Pretty sweet moves." Wanda nodded approvingly.

With the centre of the room cleared again, the randomiser spun back in to life and the next round was off!

The rest of team SABL was a mixed bag...

Meg's bout against the lab coat clad Nick began in a very Atlasian fashion, both standing equidistant from each other and exchanging a cordial greeting, discussing the etiquette of their fight until a "Get on with it!" from their teacher spurred them in to action. It was over almost immediately, Meg lead the fight with a series of feints and blows designed to feel out her opponents defense before going in for a killing blow. Which Nick neatly sidestepped, withdrawing a bizarre looking syringe from his coat and jamming it in to her neck, at which point her pupils dilated and she collapsed twitching on the floor.

Kneeling down in front of her Nick waved a hand in front of her face and withdrew his Scroll from within his coat "Delivery mechanism Phi-12 performing as expected in field test, further data required." With that he headed back to his desk.

Even more surprising was Henri's round against the nervous boy from team WNDA, which was kind of appropriate really. While his weapon, a large knife that could disassemble into a series of recallable throwing knives, seemed to be able to carve their way through any walls Henri tried to put between them be they ice or stone with ease, he didn't have anything else to capitalise on and the versatility of Henri's arsenal of dust carried her through. She was of course terribly self conscious about this, apologizing profusely to her aura-broken opponent before rushing back to her seat.

After all the other fights were done the randomiser flicked on to its last pair, Gerrard Orkney vs Lilac Langley.

"Don't forgot to cheer for me guys, I'm gonna kick his butt!" Lilac said enthusiastically, springing out of her seat and making her way in to the centre of the room where her opponent was waiting, towering over her at nearly twice her height. "I'm gonna get you back for the mines!"

"Sure you are." Gerrard replied cockily, ignoring her in favour of looking straight at Sable while he unsheathed the enormous sword on his back,

What happened next could hardly be described as a fight, from the the second Lilac's blades hummed in to life there didn't seem to be a thing she could do to harm her opponent. Not even trying to defend himself from her attacks Gerrard knocked her about the arena over and over again with savage blows from the flat of his blade like she was nothing. At one point it looked like Lilac might have been able to turn things around when every chair in the room suddenly disappeared and reappeared above the large boys head but by then he seemed to be nothing short of invincible and a swing of his arm reduced them to splinters and a final strike sent the small girl bouncing along the floor unconscious.

"Well okay then, Mr Orkney normally that would be destruction of school property but I will let it slide this one time." The teacher said, pulling himself off the floor and dusting himself off "All you get down there and help put those chair backs, then you are all dismissed. Next lesson is when the real hard work starts."
 
"What can I say? I've gotta put on a show for my lovely and adoring fans," Sable grinned. The faunus, like the triumphant victor he was, threw one arm around the lovely fox to his left and another around the shortstack to his right, letting her nuzzle right up against his chest as she pleased. He kicked his feet up on the desk. "Now let's see if anyone can follow that opening act up."

Cheering was not really a thing Sable did, at least not when he actually meant it. He had long since had that habit disciplined out of him. All he did nowadays was watch and listen, just like he'd been taught so long ago. Dare he even call it a nostalgic experience, watching these students go at it? It reminded him much of watching all those recordings of combat tournaments with Granny and the others--complete with a pretty girl nuzzling his arm! Hell, he could practically hear the old lady chirping in his ear about the intricate moves and countermoves--as well as how disappointing they were.

You lost because you.....

That stance is most vulnerable when....

Instead of that, I would've...

Oh? That was a bit interesting, but...

Need to watch your back more...

That habit would've gotten me killed...

There they were. Already the criticisms drifted in and out of his mind, freely and without focus, like clouds on the breeze. Although the faunus didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing that the voice he heard them in wasn't always his own. 'I wonder how they're doing,' Sable thought wistfully. Despite everything, they were still the only family he knew. He had not parted with them on the best of terms, but even someone like him wasn't immune to sentimentality, no matter how much he insisted. 'Focus on the fights, Sable...'

Unfortunately, as team leader, it was Sable's job to pick up his fallen comrades when they were unable to. It was funny, albeit rather disappointing, the first time. The inelegant seizing of the shark girl's form gave way to limp powerlessness. No doubt she was conscious of the wolf who carried her in his arms, but fortunately for her, she didn't have to worry about the same kind of treatment as Lin had--because she wasn't being carried bridal style, she was being carried like a sack of potatoes! Sable dropped her into any old seat without much fanfare and went back to sitting next to the other ladies. Perhaps if she wanted better treatment from their leader, she should have been nicer. Although, he hadn't made fun of her for her loss, so she had that going for her, at least...

The second time would be far more detestable, but that was putting the cart before the horse.

As Lilac stared down her opponent, Sable couldn't help but notice her opponent's attention was on anything but her. At first he had assumed it was because she was small and gnat-like compared to him, but soon he realized the truth: his opponent had no eyes for her. Gerrard only had eyes for him. Sable, who had remained mostly silent until now, sneered back at the glaring boy and cheered proudly: "Kick his ass, Lilac!"

Unfortunately, she did not.

It was certainly a fight to bookend the class: another hapless young lady battered around by the ruthless leader of another team, but this time the positions were reversed. Sable, who had been leaning back, idly dissecting the fights, now sat at the edge of his seat, simmering as he watched the fight go down. Did Gerrard think Sable didn't know what he was up to? No, that was a dumb question. Only a novice would think that his actions weren't deliberate; it took less skill to follow up and defeat her than it did to keep the fight going in such a way. Sable could feel his blood pressure rising. He was starting to regret going easy on his opponent. He should have bullied Lin more.

Then he fell.

Suddenly bereft of a seat to support him, Sable toppled backwards. Although he wasn't so mad as to miss the chance to cushion Wanda's fall by catching her against his chest, he didn't linger in that flirty pose for long. He quickly got up to see what had happened, only to see Lilac unconscious, cast across the room by powerful stroke, and her opponent untouched. He hopped the desk and went down to the stage, picking up the small girl. Aside from her condition, she was safe.

Sable's poker face was too good, but it was pretty obvious that someone with his personality wouldn't let this kind of offense stand. Unfortunately, he was powerless without sanction. There was no doubt that his collar was fully rearmed without staff permission to fight, and as much as he wanted to throw down right now, all he could do was cradle the girl off stage as class came to a close....
 
As the fights continued most people were too focused on the centre of the room to notice how Sable had positioned himself, and certainly their teacher didn't seem to care but still, having two girls practically draped over him wasn't exactly going unnoticed. All good things would have to come to an end however and sooner or later Wanda's picture (how she'd gotten away with sticking out her tongue and flashing a peace sign was anyone's guess) appeared up on the screen beside the blindfolded boy from team GLNT.

"Looks like that's my cue, it's showtime!" The foxy girl said with a grin, untangling herself from Sable and taking off her hat, fishing out a rifle-pole from within that had absolutely no right fitting there, and skipping down to the middle of the room where she gave a deep theatrical bow, twirling her staff behind her. Seemingly following her lead the red-haired boy gave a bow of his own before turning to face her.

"I cannot say I look forward to marring the beauty of such a fair maiden."

"Yeah well that sounds like a you problem."

And with that the battle was on and like Sable before her, the Faunus girl absolutely dominated. Thought unlike the other faunus, or Gerard's brutal display of strength yet to come, Wanda didn't seem to be in any hurry to finish the battle, instead turning the whole thing into a showcase of her acrobatic prowess filling the whole thing with twists, flips and a surprising amount of fireworks while Trystan tried in vain to hit her with either his bow or his blades. When she'd seemingly had enough she forced her opponent's weapons out of his hands, stashing them in to her hat and playfully flicking his nose.

Frustrated and disarmed, he had no alternative but to yield.

In contrast, the final fight between WNDA and GLNT was a distinctly low energy affair. From the moment Daisy drew her weapon, a combat baton alternating parts gleaming Atlasian ceramic and odd technology that glowed with a gentle blue light, her slow heavy strikes just didn't seem to be able to connect with the blue haired boy. Not that that made things any easier for him as she seemed to barely notice his endless barrage of skillful well placed shots, in fact sometimes it seemed like her aura was slowly ticking back up! By the time it was all over even Mr Jet looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open which was definitely a comment on the quality of the fight and certainly not the splash back from anybody's Semblance...

After the excitement of the first combat class it was time to change back in to their uniforms and get back to other, less violent, lessons. From a lesson in Grimm Studies from the petite and soft spoken Professor Ward to History of Remnant with the fiery Professor Fenix the rest of the day passed mostly without incident and even though there was talk of homework and deadlines just for now the student's were free to do as they wished, well free within the strictures, hierarchies and boundaries of the Academy of course.

"So are you dating me and Wanda now?" Lilac asked her leader the real questions, dangling upside down off of her bunk "'Cause she is pretty and all but I was here first!"

Meg couldn't even bring herself to smirk at the small girl harassing Sable, since her very public defeat she'd been almost entirely silent, only speaking when spoken to be staff but who knew how long that would last before her aristocratic ego rallied? Henri of course also wasn't getting involved, hiding in the corner of her bunk beneath Lilac and burying herself in her book.
 
It was within his dorm, atop the table they shared, that the victorious leader of SABL found himself against his toughest foe yet: his textbooks. They were stacked high, like an imposing tower. They surrounded him on all sides, like a sudden ambush. They even had sharp edges and strange things inked upon their surface, just like a gang of vile ruffians. Oh how he wished that were actually the case. Instead of simply pushing their shit in, he was stuck pushing pens across the page--an act he had no small disdain for. Rote memorization always came to him in after a few good rounds of getting thrashed--a much better way to learn compared to staring at books all day, as far as he was concerned.

Still, despite his mean face and internal moaning, it seemed that even a guttersnipe like Sable could study diligently. Although, perhaps the fact he felt the need to start studying so intensively during their first day spoke volumes about how little he understood of the course material. Who cared about overly theoretical things like History of Remnant or Plant Studies? Certainly not someone who was making a healthy profit without any of those things! At least the practical courses had tried to live up to their names... even if many of them only served to annoy him in their own unique ways. There was just no pleasing a student so stubborn in his ways! At least Granny had ingrained a good work ethic in him.

"Oh, I thought I was only dating Penny? You got something you wanna confess, Miss Langley?" Sable snarked, sparing a sharp glance over his shoulder at the hanging shortstack before promptly going back to studying. Then, realizing the implication, he quickly added, "By the way, that was sarcasm. Don't get too excited 'cause I'm not dating anybody right now."

"Besides, you just called her pretty. Are you sure it's not you dating Wanda?" Sable countered for good measure. It was no secret that he'd been flirty and overly close with the foxy lead of Team WNDA or the shortest, bustiest member of Team SABL (not to mention the meekest, most near-sighted member of Team SABL) himself, but that didn't mean their relationship was like that. Still, the more he thought about it, the more he started to think it wasn't a terribly disagreeable prospect. Any of them would be a catch. The huntresses were all fit gals with attractive figures, and were each charming in their own ways. Wanda playful and pretty. Lilac was short and stacked. Henrietta was cute and coquettish. And Meg...

Oh, right, that reminded him of something that annoyed him. And it wasn't the girl in question this time, not exactly.

"I'm making an executive decision as team leader." The faunus slammed his book shut, capturing the attention of his teammates with a sudden burst of papery noise and his imperious intonation. Sable, who used to be so carefree, donned a familiar, disciplinarian mien. Even though he wasn't the one who'd failed, the weight of his team's losses definitely hung over him the most. Being forced to mind-numbingly memorize all these trivial details only served to make him forget about it until now.

"You two--" He shot a glance at Lilac and at Meg. "--are going to follow me to the training grounds. After that showing, it's obvious both of you need some remedial lessons, so we're going to train until I'm satisfied. And you--" Henrietta, the only other victor got the gaze this time as he stepped past her bed. "--don't have to come along. Or do. I don't really care as long as you keep getting results, capiche?"

The threat of her joining whatever kind of training he had in mind in the future was implied, but no less present in his words.

He stepped past her and over to the door. Before exciting, he looked over his shoulder. "What are you waiting for? Suit up. I'll meet you there in fifteen minutes."
 
"You're dating Penny too?!" Lilac gasped and bolted upright, only her pintsized stature saving her from smacking head first into the ceiling, it might be entirely possible that Sable was overestimating how long his teammate's attention stuck on any one of the bizarre theories that she concocted and like clockwork she had already begun to latch on to another one, completely failing to notice her leader's sarcasm. "Ooo do you think it's too late to change dorms? We could be team LMPS!"

Regardless of whether anybody would actually want to be in Lumps, Lilac's train of thought continued to thunder along taking Sable's comments at face value "I'm not dating Wanda, did she say something about me?"

Lilac's dating prospects weren't going to remain the topic of conversation for long though because it was time for Sable to act like a leader!

"Yes Sir!" Lilac bounced off of her bunk and gave a jaunty salute before she began to change back in to her Combat Skirt™ for the second time today, stripping down to her cheery pink underwear, uncaring that Sable was still in the room and fishing the other outfit out from whatever pile she'd tossed it in after class.

"I'll uh...stay here." Henri squeaked as Sable turned his gaze to her, holding up her book to partially shield herself.

Which of course only left Meg, who didn't even bother to look up from her Scroll "No. Absolutely not." She replied flatly.
 
"LMPS." Sable glared at Lilac with nothing but unabashed unamusement. He narrowed his eyes and repeated the name again, this time with an even clearer mix of incredulousness and dismissiveness. "LMPS."

Sable shook his head. Honestly, where did she come up with this kind of stuff? He'd been dismissive of it at first, but a team full of beauties (who he was not currently dating, it should be noted!) with a fondness for wolf faunus didn't sound half bad to a dog like him now that he thought about it. Maybe not exactly LMPS, though. A team with Lilac Langley, Penny Polendina, and Wanda Mercury seemed like it would drive him crazy eventually. He still remembered how stressed out he got when Penny showed up yesterday, and it was not the kind of stress he was keen on experiencing more than he had to!

"Really? That is the least sexy team name you could've chosen," Sable huffed. He walked past her and gave her a quick smack on her vulnerable rump, as if to indicate that she should make herself a bit less vulnerable. "Besides, who said you got to be team leader? You know, a good team leader doesn't just show off their pink panties to just anyone."

He turned to the other, taller problem child.

"Oh? What's this? You were much more compliant when I was picking you up on the ground, Maskie," Sable goaded. He placed a finger on the top of her scroll, pushing the screen down so that she could look at the smarmy expression plastered on his face. Maybe it was a bad idea to taunt her into submission, but laying a hand directly on her sounded like a worse idea, even if would have been a far more expedient way to get the shark moving. "You've been living in the ivory tower for too long, Maskie. In this world, only people who win get to choose."

"You wanna keep wallowing in that self-pity, or do you want to show me you have the right to disobey?"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom