#looking forward to narrowing these down to smaller groups in later rounds where I won’t have to write So Dang Much

[bestanimal]

Round 2 - Arthropoda - Thecostraca

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Thecostraca is is a class of crustaceans, many of which have planktonic larvae which become sessile or parasitic as adults. The most well-known group are the Barnacles (subclass Cirripedia), but Thecostraca also includes the parasitic Ascothoracida, and the mysterious Facetotecta.

Facetotecta, comprising only the genus Hansenocaris, are known only from their larvae (image 3) and adults have yet to be recognized, though some scientists believe they may actually be larval tantulocaridans.

Ascothoracidans are parasites of echinoderms and cnidarians. Most genera are meso and endoparasitic (living inside the host) while some are ectoparasitic (living on the outside of the host). They are similar in anatomy to copepods, with six pairs of legs, an abdomen with four segments, a telson, and a bivalved carapace. They feed on their host via piercing and sucking mouthparts, and some more advanced species also absorb nutrients through the carapace. They are sexually dimorphic, in many cases so much so that the smaller males will live inside the larger female’s mantle cavity.

Barnacles (subclass Cirripedia) are more well-known than other Thecostracans. Adult barnacles are sessile filter feeders, except for the infraclass Rhizocephala, which are parasites of other crustaceans. Barnacles attach themselves to a surface as adults, be that a rock, the shell of a mollusc, a ship, or a large animal such as a whale. They come in two common forms: acorn barnacles which grow their shells directly on a surface (image 4) and goose barnacles which attach themselves via a stalk (image 1). Barnacles have a carapace made of six calcareous plates, with a lid made of four more plates. They attach themselves to the substrate by means of a cement gland at the base of their antennae. Eight pairs of thoracic limbs, called cirri, extend from the carapace to filter plankton from the water and bring it towards the mouth. The hairs on these limbs are very sensitive to touch, and help the barnacle sense the world around them. They also have three simple eyes (ocelli) which can sense changes in light, allowing them to close their plates quickly if a shadow is detected.

Thecostracans have nauplius larvae, characterised by a head with antennules, antennae, mandables, and a single eye, three pairs of limbs, a carapace, and a telson. Barnacle larvae are brooded by the parent until their first moult, after which they are released to swim freely using setae.

The oldest known thecostracan fossil is dated from the Middle Cambrian. Traces of the parasitic forms have been dated from the Cretaceous.

Propaganda under the cut:

Barnacles have the longest penis (relative to body size) of any living animal. You can see it in action in the above gif and in this video.

Most barnacles are not parasitic (other than hitching a ride) and usually do no harm to the large animals they attach to. An overload of barnacles tends to be a symptom of an underlying issue, such as the animal being unable to shed its skin. Non-professionals scraping or pulling barnacles off of whales and turtles often does more harm than good for the affected animal!

12th-18th Century Europeans thought that Brants and Barnacle Geese emerged, fully formed, from Goose Barnacles. Gerald of Wales claimed to have seen the birds hanging down from pieces of timber, William Turner accepted the theory, and John Gerard claimed to have seen the birds emerging from their shells. In County Kerry, until relatively recently, Catholics abstaining from meat during Lent could still eat this bird because it was considered a fish.

As filter-feeders, barnacles play an important role in the ecosystem: not only for transferring nutrients up the food chain, but also for keeping the water clean.

When a barnacle chooses its home, it produces a biological glue made of six different proteins. While the glue hardens, it accumulates limestone salts, turning into a concrete-like shell. Barnacle glue is six times stronger than any manmade glue. Scientists are trying to replicate this glue for use in the fields of engineering, construction and medicine, where it can be used as a biological sealant during or post-surgery.

[just-my-fandom]

Brought Back Pt 2 (Billy Hargrove x Elevens Sister! Reader)

Pt 2; A year after the readers disappearance, Joyce finds a book at the library with the readers name as the author, and reunites the reader with her sister and boyfriend who she doesn’t know. The gang finds out that the reader has been living a new life in the city beside Hawkins

Tag list; @truthdaze @bandsandanimefreak @scarletmeii @harduy @kcd15 @superficialfeelings @writer-of-camelot @intheendyouwillalwayskneel @hanoil5 @meaganjm @isistersuck @sweetdayme4427 @noodlenerd101

Comment below if you’d like to be added to the tag list

Long A/N; I am SO sorry I haven’t updated this story. In all honesty I thought no one would like the plot, but reading through the comments I saw a lot of people wanted a part two, maybe three and four. Updating will come slow due to school and life outside of school, but I hope you like this part :)

Previously on Brought Back

“Get her in the van, check for a pulse,”

Dr. Brenner slams the van door shut, looking down at the girl laying in the floor of the van. Burns patterned on her face, blood stained under her nose,

“Alive,” The scientist across from him grunts, hand grabbing your jaw, “Just unconscious. Shouldn’t we take her back to those kids?”

“I lost one of my children,” Brenner looks down at you, “Not loosing another,”

“But sir,” The scientist frowns, “We need both experiments. One won’t help,”

“It’s a good start,” Brenner knocks the seat of the driver, “Drive. Let’s get out of here before those children see us,”

. . .

“I’m heading to the labs today,”

You look up from your book silently, curled against the couch of your two bedroom house,

Dr Brenner hands at the door, lab coat hanging over one arm, “Lock the door when I leave, double check the house for opened windows,”

“Yes, father,” You set your book down to stand, waving to Brenner as you shut the door behind him, quick to secure the knob lock, the slide lock above it, and the big lock above the second,

You move to each window in the living room, tugging for sure of their locks, and when you move to the kitchen, a swift knock hits the front door, your body spinning to stare at the door in confusion,

Had Brenner forgotten something? His keys?

You slowly step up to the door, eye peaking through the peep hole even to you, and you blink at the sight of a woman, with dirty brown hair and an aged look, holding a book tightly in her hand, your book,

“Can I help you?” You ask loudly through the door, watching through the peep hole as she faces the door, almost instantly recognizing your voice,

“Y/N? It’s me, Joyce? I came to talk,”

Joyce? Your brows pinch, fingers holding the top lock, “I don’t know anyone named Joyce,”

Joyce breathes out in disbelief, shaking her head, “Y/N, I’m Joyce, remember? I know your father, Hopper,”

You quickly unlock the door, swinging it open to reveal your figure, your eyes narrowed towards the woman, “Who’s Hopper?” Your eyes scan her form swiftly, “And my father is not Hopper. I live with my real father,”

“Your real father?” Joyce tilts her head, and you nod,

“My father, Dr Brenner. I’m not supposed to be talking to strangers, so please, leave before he gets home,” As you close the door, Joyce catches her hand to the door, stopping it from fully shutting,

“Listen to me,” She pleas, breathless as you crack the door to blink, “Dr Brenner is not your father. You have a sister named Jane but we call her Eleven, your real parents are gone, so you were adopted by a man by Jim Hopper, but after he passed,” She intakes a deep breath, “I was going to take you and Eleven in, but you disappeared the night everything happened,”

“How am I supposed to believe you?” You ask quietly, Joyce frowning through light tears,

“You really don’t remember me?” She asks through a small crack in her voice, and you frown when noticing; she’s severally distressed that you don’t know who she is,

“No, I’m sorry,” You mutter, “Last thing I remember is waking up in the labs,”

“Can I take you somewhere?” Joyce asks quickly, hands up again, “I have people that know you, we can remind you of who you are,”

“But I don’t know you,” You press, irritation in your voice, “Please go away. I’m glad you enjoy my book,”

“Y/N please,” Joyce pleas, and you inhale a deep breath from behind the door, before peeking your head out, nodding,

“Let me grab my jacket,”

“Thank God,” Joyce breathes, hand running through her hair as you move to the couch, lifting your jacket and sliding it on,

“Can I ask where we are going?” You ask quietly, as you move to the front seat of the car,

“There’s a small town just next to here called Hawkins,” Joyce explains, “I think it’d be best to take you to the kids first since you were closer to them,”

“Kids?” You press, and Joyce smiles sadly towards you,

“There’s a group of them, your sister, Eleven, her boyfriend, Mike, Mikes best friends Dustin, Max and Lucas, and my son, Will,” She continues, “Steve is one of your best friends, and Billy,”

“Is my boyfriend?” You question, Joyce smiling and nodding, but she frowns again,

“I don’t really know what to call you two now that you’ve been gone for a year, Max told me Billy hasn’t really been himself after everything with those monsters,” She shivers,

“What monsters?” You tilt your head, and look at the smaller houses that passed by that let you know you were now in Hawkins,

“Right,” Joyce sighs, “I think it’ll be best to explain it once the kids see you again,”

“Why?” You ask, Joyce frowning a third time and stopping her car in front of a small, three bedroom house,

“It’ll all make sense later,” She breathes, smiling, “Come on, everyone’s inside,”

“Shouldn’t I call my father?” You inhale, nervously stepping out of the car, “He’ll be so mad that I left without telling him,”

“Y/N,” Joyce places her hands on top of the car, “Brenner doesn’t care about you. What happened to you, you disappearing and you not remembering? He is the cause of that,”

“I don’t understand,” You whisper, Joyce rounding the car to take your hand,

“Come on,” She murmurs, “Lets get inside,”

When Joyce opens the door to lead you into the living room, your teeth had nibbled at your bottom lip, eyes instantly landing on a group of seven kids, who all turned to look at the Byers mother’s appearance,

“Oh my God,” The red headed girl drops her stack of cards so they flew out in front of her, the boy with black hair beside her gaping at you wordlessly before looking at the other girl across from him, who had only looked up at her friends gasp,

When the kids all stand up and begin shouting questions, Joyce throws up her hands as she steps in front of you, “Take it easy!” She demands, “She doesn’t remember, Brenner did something to make her forget,”

“Brenner?” The male your age, who you guessed was Steve, questions, “You mean the doctor who took El and Y/N to begin with?”

“It’s going to be a lot to explain to all of you,” Joyce calms, “But I think we should do introductions and maybe have Max call Billy,”

. . .

“So I saved everyone?”

You and Eleven sit cross cross in front of each other on the couch, your hands in your lap silently,

“With your powers,” Eleven nods, slowly, “You do know about your powers, right?”

You nod in mock, smiling, “I wish I knew everything Brenner did to us after I woke up in the lab again,” You mutter, “I’m so sorry I disappeared like that El,”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Eleven frowns, but smiles when you pull her forward into a hug,

“Billy’s here,” Max exclaims, sliding up to the door in her socks, “I honestly won’t be surprised if he starts crying like a baby,”

“From what El told me, Billy sounds like an ass,” You stand up, straightening your shirt self consciously,

“I mean, yeah,” Max shrugs, “But he really cared about you, Y/N. Seeing you again will change everything,”

“Let’s hope so,” Eleven takes your hand, when noticing you fidgiting, and Max opens the door to step on the porch, talking swiftly to her step brother,

“Why the hell am I here, Max?” A gruff voice has you looking down at Eleven, and she smiles reassuringly when Max steps back in, her step brother following close behind but stopping when he sees you, his jaw clenching as you release Elevens hand, putting them in front of you,

“Is this a joke?” Billy asks finally, Max pinching her eyebrows as you frown and look down,

“No, it’s not,” Max protests, “Like I told you I’ll explain everything once you saw her,”

“It was my father, Billy,” You speak, so Billy looked from Max to you, “Or the man who pretended to be my father, the man who tested me for my powers,”

“Where’d you go?” He asks, softer, and Max nods to Eleven so they stepped into the back hallway,

“The town over,” You explain, quietly, as he stepped up to you so he was nearly in front of you, “When I woke up I didn’t remember anything. My “father” lied to me and kept me locked in a home, locked doors, locked windows,” You swallow, “I couldn’t even remember you,”

“But do you remember me?” Billy asks, and you can see the pain behind his fiery blue eyes that makes your stomach turn,

“It’s slowly coming back to me,” You sigh, “Eleven had to explain everything with the Mindflayer and what happened to you,”

Billy’s sudden action of cupping your head causes you to inhale, lifting your eyes to his when his lips press hard against yours, and your mind becomes fuzzy when your eyes shut,

“Get away from her, or I swear to God I will fuck you up!”

Your eyes snap open at your distant shout in the sudden memory, your head pulling back to gasp in a deep breath, Billy’s hands now firm on your hips as you raise a hand to your nose, looking down at the red staining your fingers,

“What?” Billy asks, and you notice how he’s calm upon your sudden nose bleed, giving you the note that he’s seen your powers before,

“I saw something,” You exhale, holding a tissue over your nose, “It was us, we were in a mall, I think,” You pause, looking up at Billy a second time,

“I remember,”

[love-of-fandoms]

Cherry Blossoms (Hanzo Shimada + OC) Chapter 13

Chapter 13 of Cherry Blossoms (Master List)

Pairing: Alpha Hanzo + Omega OC

Word Count: 2422 words

The day after Halloween, an extremist anti-omnic group began a coup in Hong Kong. They had taken control of the airport, and were running through the streets attacking any omnics they came across, and in turn any organics with them. Winston sent a team out.

Danny startled awake at the sound of a ringtone going off. When she cracked her eyes open, she was met with the view of a bare chest. There was some blue ink on the chest, and following it to the shoulder it was attached to she could see it was Hanzo’s dragon tattoo. Upon gaining more awareness of everything, she could feel two strong arms around her waist.

With a squeak, she shot up, looking around. The arms around her tightened in protest, but she broke out of their hold in a panic. Hanzo startled awake at her forcefully tearing herself from his arms, and one hand reached up to rub his eyes to get the sleep out of them.

“What’s wrong, ‘me-” he cut himself off, eyes opening a bit more at the sight of a heavily breathing Danny. Almost instinctively, his arms went back around her, pulling her back down into his chest. “We fell asleep watching the movie, remember?” he prompted gently, and Danny took in a deep breath his scent flooding her nostrils and calming her almost instantly. She sighed happily.

“Y-yeah,” she murmured, nuzzling back into his chest and closing her eyes once more. “C-can we sl-sleep a little longer?” she asked, her lips brushing his chest as she spoke. Hanzo was thankful her face was against his chest and she wasn’t able to see the bright pink flush that had come to his cheeks. “Please?” Hanzo puffed out a sigh.

“I need to answer my phone,” he said, voice low and rough with sleep, and Danny sighed, throwing her arm out to Hanzo’s bedside table, grabbing his phone and holding it above her head.

“Here,” she grumbled, and Hanzo blinked, staring at his phone for a moment as he processed what was happening, and the domestic contentment that filled his chest. He took his phone gently from her hand, going to missed calls and calling back Winston before raising his phone to his ear. The scientist picked up after barely one ring.

“Hanzo?” the archer grunted.

“Yes Winston?” he grumbled, hand absentmindedly raising to stroke through Danny’s hair. She wasn’t asleep, but a small smile was on her face as she rested atop him with her eyes closed. The feeling of domesticity was so pleasant that the passing thought went through Hanzo’s head. It wouldn’t hurt for every morning to be like this. For once, the thought didn’t even alarm him.

“There’s an issue in Hong Kong,” Winston said, and Hanzo’s brows furrowed.

“What is it?”

“Some anti-omnic extremists are running around attacking omnics and omnic-sympathizers, we’re sending a team out,”

“And I’m on this team?” Danny’s head lifted a bit, looking up at Hanzo with a pinched face of concern. 

“Huh?” she mumbled, and Hanzo gave her an I’ll tell you later look, hand still stroking through her hair, and Danny sighed, slumping back against his chest.

“Yes, McCree, Hana, Reinhardt, Lucio, and Tracer are being sent to the airport to take out their central command,” Winston said. “You, Torbjörn, Angela, Brigitte and I are going to take out the smaller groups in the streets,”

“When do we leave?”

“As soon as you all can get ready and down to the hangar,” Hanzo let out a heavy sigh, glancing down at Danny for a moment before raising his eyes to the ceiling.

“I’ll be right down,” he said, before ending the call and putting his phone to the side. Danny peaked up at him with a questioning gaze.

“What’s going on?” she asked blearily. Hanzo sighed again.

“I need to go to Hong Kong,” he said, his hands going to her shoulders and prompting her to sit up. She sighed, sitting up and scooching over Hanzo so she could swing her legs over the edge of the bed. He sighed fondly, large hands falling to her hips and lifting her up. Danny squeaked as Hanzo put her back on his other side, plopping her down and gently pushing her shoulders back down. “You can still sleep,” he told her, standing from the bed and pulling the covers back over her. 

“Are you sure?” Danny asked, though it was clear to both of them that she was going to take him up on his offer whether it was genuine or not as she settled into his pillows with a sigh, eyes already slipping closed. One of her hands grabbed Hanzo’s comforter and tugged it up to her face, breathing in his calming scent of flowers and tea. Hanzo huffed out a chuckle as he quickly changed out of his costume from the night before and into his usual loose robe.

“Sleep,” he commanded softly, leaning down to peck her forehead without really thinking about it. A smile slipped onto Danny’s face as she slipped into that calm, dizzy state that came right before sleep. As such, she didn’t notice the pink that came to Hanzo’s cheeks when he realized what he had done. He quickly slipped out of his room, eyes widening when he saw Jesse McCree standing right outside his door.

“Mornin’ Hanzo,” McCree grinned at the archer, tipping his hat, and Hanzo nodded back, beginning to walk down the hall in the direction of the hangar. McCree followed, his spurs clicking as they walked down the hall. “Have you seen Danny?” the cowboy asked, and Hanzo raised an eyebrow at him. “Just didn’t find her in her room earlier,” he shrugged at the look, and Hanzo sighed.

“She fell asleep in my room last night,” he said, and Jesse hummed mischievously. Hanzo’s lips tugged down into a scowl. “What?” Jesse shrugged innocently.

“Awe, nothin’,” Hanzo grunted, and he could have laughed in relief when they finally reached the hangar. Winston was there, along with 7 others, and he cleared his throat when he saw the final two heroes walk in.

“Alright, gather round!” he called, and began the brief. “Anti-omnic extremists have taken over Hong Kong’s airport, as well as sending out smaller teams into the streets to attack any omnics and omnic-sympathizers they find. We’re going to have two teams: Mercy, Torbjörn, Brigitte, Hanzo, and myself will neutralize the terrorists in the streets, while McCree, Lucio, Reinhardt, D.Va, and Tracer will take back the airport!” Angela’s face pinched in worry.

“Winston, we’re still technically illegal,” she piped up. “Will this be okay?” Winston nodded.

“HKPD knows we’re coming, and the chief said that he’ll be thankful for the help,” he assured her, and Angela sighed in relief.

“Well, at least we know we won’t get arrested, might die, but not get arrested,” Torbjörn cracked, and Lucio grimaced.

“Honestly, I’d rather not go through the whole ‘getting arrested’ thing again,” Lucio sighed, and Hanzo’s brows rose in question, and Lucio backpedaled, sensing the imminent questions. “But uh, let’s go to Hong Kong! Not worry about my record…” the musician chuckled, scratching the back of his head nervously. 

“Shit!” Torbjörn exclaimed as a group of maybe 15 anti-omnic extremists rushed towards them. Everyone’s eyes widened when they saw multiple members of the group pulled out small bombs, arming them and preparing to throw them.

“Brigitte!” Winston called, but Brigitte grunted in frustration, shaking her gauntlet frantically.

“My shield isn’t working!” Hanzo’s eyes widened, pulling out an arrow and taking a deep breath. A blue energy began to glow around him, solidifying into his dragons.

“Ryuu ga waga teki wo kurau!” he shouted as he loosed the arrow, Sanda and Akarui spiraling forward in their mighty forms with his arrow, taking out the group that was rushing towards them. The few stragglers that were left found themselves screaming as the bombs their comrades had armed went off.

“Uh, we got a problem!” sounded through their comms, and Winston held tapped the comm in his ear.

“What is it, McCree?” he asked.

“We need back up, D.Va got hurt in the initial breach and there are way more than we expected,” McCree’s worried voice sounded through the comms, and Winston exchanged a worried look with the others.

“We’re on our way,” he said, before turning to Hanzo.

“Hanzo, you can get there quickest, go and provide support until the rest of us can get there,” the archer nodded, before running and grabbing an awning to swing himself up to the roof of a building. He ran off in the direction of the airport, eyes widening at the huge hole in the side of the main entrance.

“Where are you? It’s a big airport!” Hanzo demanded into his comm, McCree’s response crackling through only moments later.

“Right past the security checkpoint by the main entrance!” Hanzo’s eyes narrowed as he continued to run, soon enough hearing gunfire. Any civilians he encountered on the way, he told to get out of the airport, find somewhere safe.

“Vamos esculachar!” he heard Lucio shout as he rounded the corner, seeing, like McCree had said, the team huddled up by the security checkpoint. A green glow surrounded everyone as Lucio healed them up best he could, and Hanzo’s eyes narrowed as he saw a huge mec suit walking towards them. It had two huge turrets on its shoulders, which began to glow red as they fired up.

“Watch out!” he shouted, firing an explosive arrow at the mec, which barely phased it. McCree turned to Hanzo, seeing where the bow was firing and turning just in time to dive out of the way as the mec began firing. Reinhardt, who had just finished off a small group of attackers, turned to face the mec with a roar-like shout.

“For the crusaders!” he roared as he slammed his warhammer to the ground, a series of cracks lining the ground and rushing towards the mec, who had barely anytime to react before they were knocked off their feet. The person manning the mec let out a scream as they fell, the armor denting enough that it had surely injured the person inside. McCree jumped out from the barrier he had hidden himself behind then, pulling his peacekeeper out and shooting at the weak spots on the mec with deadly precision.

“It’s HIGH noon!” he shouted as the mec exploded, and everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the impending threat seemed to be subdued. 

It wasn’t to last however, McCree standing up and beginning to walk forward.

“Come on, we still need to finish them off,” he called, and Hanzo ran over and stopped Tracer from following the others.

“Stay with D.Va,” he told her. “The others will be here soon, until then we can’t leave her unprotected,” Tracer nodded, determination in her eyes.

“Got it!” she affirmed.

Almost 36 hours after the team had departed, they finally arrived back at the base. Exhausted, those who weren’t injured hightailed it back to their rooms, while the less fortunate ones had to stay and be treated by Angela.

Hanzo, only having some cuts and bruises, began to leave the hangar when he saw Danny running towards him. The corner of his lips quirked up in a small smile at the sight of her, and he barely had times to open his arms before she was barreling into them.

“Is everybody alright?” she asked, and Hanzo nodded, wincing when she gave him a tight squeeze. Perhaps his ribs were bruised as well… “Oh! I’m sorry! Are you hurt?!” Danny quickly pulled away, and Hanzo had to suppress the distressed noise that wanted to come out of his throat when she took her warmth and scent with her.

“I’m fine,” he assured her, but Danny narrowed her eyes, a hand raising to lightly prod his ribs. Hanzo let out a hiss of pain, and she sighed, grabbing his hand.

“Come on,” she began tugging him down the hall towards med bay, glancing over her shoulder at the others still in the hangar. “You too, Jesse! I need to look at that arm!” Jesse chuckled, tipping his hat at Angela before jogging to catch up to his little sister and the archer.

“You know how to fix his prosthetic?” Hanzo asked, surprised, and Danny nodded.

“I spent a year on the road with his sorry ass, I picked up a few things,” she grumbled, and Jesse chuckled.

“She’s better at fixing this thing than me at this point,” Jesse said, and Danny rolled her eyes.

“That’s because you only have one hand to fix it with,” she shot back, and Jesse shrugged, an indulgent smile on his face. She swung open the door to the medbay when the reached it, gesturing for her two shadows to sit as she began rifling through the cabinets.

“Where the hell are the biotic fields?” she murmured to herself, letting out a triumphant “Ah HA!” when she finally found one. She turned back to Hanzo, gesturing for him to take off his robe, which he did with only a slight blush. Danny very pointedly avoided looking too much as his toned chest, instead focusing intently on placing the biotic field above his ribs and turning it on.

“He gonna live, doc?” Jesse joked, and Danny sighed, pouting.

“I’m doing everything I can, but I don’t think he’s gonna make it,” she said softly, and Jesse gasped, putting his flesh hand to his chest in ‘shock’.

“Oh no!” he began fake sobbing, and Hanzo scoffed, reaching out a hand to shove the cowboy’s shoulder.

“I’m not dying anytime soon,” he grit out, and Danny smiled, nodding.

“You better not!” she chirped, giving Sanda and Akarui a pat on each of their heads when they peaked out of his tattoo. “Otherwise I won’t get to see these adorable little dragons again!” her voice raised in pitch, and Hanzo raised a brow.

“You’ll only miss the dragons?” he challenged, a small smile on his face as he knew she was only joking. Danny hummed, glancing up at him.

“I mean, I guess I’ll miss you too,” she sighed, and Hanzo chuckled, reaching a hand up to ruffle her hair. Danny pouted, but allowed him to do so begrudgingly.

“I’m not going anywhere anytime soon,” he assured her, and Danny gave him a soft smile.

“Good,”

…

“What am I? Chopped liver? My arm’s sparking over here!”

“Sorry!”

[maple-writes]

WHG 14: Training (Cirrus)

whg tag list: @ratracechronicler @concealeddarkness13 (thanks for Nesri!), @nightskywriter , @rhikasa , @the-moving-finger-writes , @aeslin-writes @knmartinshouldbewriting , @pen-of-roses @timefirewrites

###

Asher seemed focused enough on his plants when I left him for combat. Neither of us wanted to admit it, but between the two of we both knew who would fare better in a fight. A mortal one anyway. No one week of training would be much help for him, but me... I slowed as I reached the station where tributes sparred, some under the instruction of capitol staff. It was worth a shot.

The instructor gave me some pointers and put me against another tribute, one I couldn’t recognize for the life of me. We stood, facing each other on the padded mat, sizing each other up as the instructor called for start.

The other tribute struck first, fast and targeted, but they pulled the punch. Shock crossed their face when their strike connected and they saw me wince. Like they were sorry, like they wouldn’t be willing to stab me in the back at the end of the week.

I fought back, hitting and kneeing without holding back. The other tribute yelped and seemed to struggle to keep up, but the instructor only watched, every now and then shouting out advice as we fought, trading blows until the kid was too tired to continue. Guilt gnawed deep inside when I noticed their new limp, but I pushed it down as best I could. If I was lucky that was one less threat to worry about later.

A different instructor replaced the first, and called for the start of another round with another tribute. But this one smiled, wide and excited as we circled.

“Nesri. District 11.” She flashed her grin again. “Were you trained to be a soldier? You’ve got all the anger and confidence. And it looks like you have the strength to back it up.”

She glanced back at the previous tribute and I should have taken the chance to lunge while she was distracted but she was planning something, wasn’t she?

“What do you want?”

She laughed. “Aw. Haven’t you heard of small talk before meandering to the point? You’re not fun.”

“And you think this is supposed to be fun?” I glared, standing up straight and crossing my arms. If she wasn’t here to fight me what was she doing. Was she taking any of this seriously? “Have you noticed where we are?”

Nesri only shrugged. “Eh. Nothing like the cold certainty of your imminent death to make you not take anything seriously.” There was my answer I guess. “And also—”

She dodged around behind me, leaning in to whisper in my ear before I could react. “I’m part of a group that wants to get as many tributes out of the arena and away from the Capitol’s control as I can.”

“Am I supposed to believe that?”

“Yes, I was a part of this group even before I was reaped. I helped them rescue tributes from the arena. I know how they operate, and I can assure you, they are successful.”

I stole a glance at the instructors, both now busy with the injured tribute on the sidelines. Nether were watching us anymore.

I turned back to Nesri by my shoulder. “How many are part of this plan?” One overambitious tribute wasn’t worth the trouble, but if there were more of them…

She leaned back a little, counting on her fingers. “Eight, including me. Of the eight, three are tributes, including me. And that’s not counting the crew of the airship.”

Airship? They had a whole airship? “Fine. I’ll believe you.” If she was telling the truth it might be worth it, but… I narrowed my eyes and met hers, leaning in and lowering my voice. “But this better not turn out to be a trick.”

She smiled and thrust out her hand. “Wonderful. Do I really seem like a person who would trick you?”

Nesri winked, catching me off guard. I was about to open my mouth, to accuse her of trying too hard to gain my trust but I bit my tongue. Accusing her of setting me up for betrayal wasn’t something that would probably put me in her favor later on if she was telling the truth.

I shook her hand and left before I could say anything to make her change her mind.

###

Turned out that Nesri might have actually been telling the truth. Asher said he’d been approached by another tribute saying the same thing and thankfully seemed to have handled it a lot more favorably than I did. Turned out Asher was able to snag an alliance with a couple more tributes from district 10 too.

The judging went well enough for me, but not as well for him. The allies he’d scouted all did well enough themselves, but what comfort was that? I sighed, staring up at the dark ceiling. The interviews were tomorrow and everyone said we all needed to be rested, but that was hours ago. Time didn’t seem to be doing me any favors, passing by in this too-quiet, too large bedroom. Not that long ago I might have thought it was small, too close to where the others slept.

A light turned on in the hall, glowing soft under the bedroom door. Soft footsteps passed by, casting brief shadows as whoever it was hurried past. I sat up as muffled noises came from down the hall. Curious, I kicked off my blankets and threw on the overly plush bath robe hanging beside the door. It wasn’t like I was going to be sleeping any time soon.

I rubbed my eyes as I stepped out into the hall light, towards the sound. My heart sank and my shoulders fell when found the source of the noise in the bathroom.

Asher knelt hunched over and retching over the toilet. He looked pale, shaky, and sweaty along his back. He didn’t seem to notice as I sighed and leaned against the open doorframe.

“You ate poison, didn’t you?”

His head jolted up, and he looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t have the chance before throwing up again.

I looked away, crossing my arms and shaking my head. “What were you thinking?”

“Hey, I mean,” he raised his head again with a pathetically weak grin. “I didn’t die.”

I sighed again. What was I supposed to say? What the fuck was I supposed to say to that?

“Hold on,” I pushed off against the wall. “I’ll be right back.”

I slipped out into the hall, peering around doorways and into the empty, dark rooms until I found the avox who’d been assigned to our floor. She quickly stood up straight, trying to hide the leftover pastry she’d bitten into. Fear flashed across her face. What would they do to her if it wasn’t me who’d caught her here? She must have been hungry, to be so careless.

“Bring some soup and crackers to the living room. Something thin, can you do chicken noodle?” I paused as she nodded. “Good. And bring something you think looks good too. Understood?” She nodded again and I turned to go back to Asher. I paused in the doorway though, glancing back at her over my shoulder. “Be more careful next time.”

Asher didn’t say much as I helped him off the bathroom floor and clean up a little before leading him to the couch in the living area. He leaned all the way back, sinking deep into the plush and letting his head rest against the back.

“Sorry,” he spoke softly, keeping the quiet. “For keeping you up like this.”

I shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Asher hummed his response. He closed his eyes and I frowned. Next to the sprawling couch, the towering walls, he looked so… Small. Tired. Once we were all in the arena, how long would he last? There really was no good option for him, was there? He could hold on, do his best to stay like this until the end, or he could go the other way and leave nothing living in his wake but… But this time Ginger wasn’t here if he slipped too far away. I rested a hand over my forearm, over the scar he’d given me when he clawed deep into the flesh. Last time he’d tried to kill me. Threatened to cut out my eyes and tear me piece by piece until I was lucky enough to finally die. If it happened again how long could I hold him off?

Soft footfalls and the quiet rattle of cutlery on a tray came from the hall as the avox returned. Asher glanced between her and me, confused. She set down a bowl, still warm enough to steam, along with a plate of plain crackers on the low table in front of us, keeping her head down.

I nodded up at her as she went to place the other plate down. “You can have that one, I’m not hungry anymore.”

She paused, almost suspicious, cautious.

“If she gets caught she won’t be able to explain.” Asher mumbled. “They might punish her.”

“Stay here then. If anyone wakes up and starts asking questions I’ll answer. She’s just following orders after all.” I reached forward and passed the soup to Asher. “That’s for you.”

Out of the corner of my eye, the girl hesitated, then retreated to one of the smaller tables at the far side of the room to eat.

Asher held the bowl in both hands taking a small sip of the broth. “Thanks.” He set it down again, glancing at me. “Have you given any thought to what you’re going to do tomorrow?”

Right, the interviews. That’s still tomorrow. “I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Not yet.”

He half smiled. “I think you’ll be fine. Just don’t be too much of a jerk and you’ll fit right in.”

I leaned back, rolling my eyes. “You poisoned yourself on purpose, I don’t think you’re in a position to lecture me.”

“Perfect, just like that!” Asher’s grin widened. “You’re just missing the outfit now.”

“Yeah, well what are you planning on doing tomorrow?”

He quieted, eyes cast down to the bowl steaming in his lap. “I, I’m not sure yet. I’ll think of something in the morning.”

At least we were in the same boat there. I yawned. What time was it? Probably later than I really wanted to know and later than either of us should have been awake. It probably didn’t matter now anyway if we stayed up a little longer, late was late. We’d figure out the interviews later.

[marvelhead17]

The Tale of Eossimar (Original Female Character x Bofur Fic)

Chapter 1

Word Count: 4.8k

Warnings to cover the whole fic: Fake relationships, half-blood children, mild violence, fight scenes, male/male relationships, Dwarf gender concepts, battle of five armies fix-it, pre-battle of five armies, near death incidents, talking to dead people, mentions of paradise/heaven.

She walked along the thick branches and observed The Company down below; they had just narrowly escaped the giant spiders that had planned for them to be their dinner, having been caught just moments before in their tough webbing and struggling to regain their consciousness. She admired their determination to live and how they fought so fiercely, albeit ungracefully, but that was to be expected of dwarves.

A familiar soft screech sounded overhead and she turned her attention farther behind them, witnessing a group of Elves approaching with weapons ready in hand towards them, she tensed briefly as she saw the shadow of a figure running along the branch just above her own, and recognised the blond hair instantly.

“We’re clear!” a dwarf with a neatly trimmed beard called out, appearing to be leading the dwarves.

Within seconds the last of the spiders had been dispersed or killed off, and the elves had surrounded the dwarves with their arrows at the ready, the blond had made his grand entrance by crushing a spider and gliding down the slope using its dead body to slide under the belly of another and slicing it open, killing it instantly.

He raised his own arrow to the leading dwarf with a piercing gaze, “Do not think I won’t kill you, dwarf- it would be my pleasure,” the elf must have squinted at him, for she knew him well enough to recognise the tone he gave, and the dwarves lowered their weapons hesitantly.

She made a light clicking sound with her tongue and her barn owl flew to her side, perching on her outstretched arm, “This may be my only chance girl,” she rubbed under the owl’s beak carefully and gave a lopsided smile before sighing, “Could ye be a dear and drop these for me on my call?” the owl made a short yelp and reached her claw out to grab at the small grey pouches resting in her open palm. “Go,” she gently moved her arm forward to encourage the owl to fly away and smirked to herself.

“Help!” a voice called out from a short distance away, she glanced just further ahead and noticed a younger dwarf with ebony hair had been separated from the main group and appeared to be in trouble, she leaned forward and returned her attention back to the group below her, torn between who she should aid first.

“Kíli!” a young dwarf with honey hair turned around in the group, alarm clear in his features, the other lad, was facing a handful of spiders all on his own, without weapon nor thought to what may be of use.

Thwick.

An arrow struck a spider down and a elf-maid appeared out of the shadows, and pursued her onslaught of the creatures, the dwarf was desperate to be a part of the action, and she seemed to take no notice of the dwarf as he tried to gain her attention.

“Throw me a dagger! Quick!” he called out to the red-headed elf as a spider rapidly approached him.

“If you think I'm giving you-” she shot an arrow and struck down a spider, “A weapon, dwarf,” she turned her assault to her backside as one tried to sneak up behind her, “You’re mistaken!” she slashed at it and threw her dagger into the eyes of the spider behind the dwarf, and it curled up into a lifeless corpse.

The dwarf was completely stunned by the elf-maid’s skill, as she easily nudged him along to the rest of the group without argument on his side. She shoved him with the others and turned away from his staring, and she spoke quietly to the leading elf and he nodded, she then returned to the forest, disappearing from view.

“Search them.” the elf ordered, and the elves lowered their weapons to gather closer round the dwarves and inspect them for any hidden weapons.

She took a breath before standing and yelling loudly in Khuzdul, “[Hold yer breath!]” And before anyone could question what was happening, she raised two fingers to her mouth and whistled at full volume, and within seconds her barn owl flew overhead, screeching out eagerly, releasing the pouches from her grasp.

Once they hit the ground a puff of lilac dust filled the air around the dwarves, a few of the elves coughed and waved their hands in front of their faces to clear it away, before falling unconscious to the forest floor. She sighed in relief, upon realising the dwarves had heeded her order to hold their breaths as none of them lay with the elves.

She then leaped down from her branch and rolled effortlessly onto her feet, making the dwarves jump in their skins, and stare in awe at the stranger who had come to their aid. She performed a mock bow and paused upon hearing a grunt from behind her, she turned on her feet to see the blond elf was still standing and very clearly vexed with the situation that had just ensued.

“You again,” he huffed and stepped forward, pulling out his set of long twin daggers from his side to swing at her, she ducked easily having anticipated it.

She struck him in the stomach to send him off balance, and it had worked briefly before he had made another step forward to continue his assault, his stabbing motions were haphazard at best, as his fighting was fuelled by outrage. She gave another punch to his face this time and stunned him enough to make him stagger backwards, shaking his head, but was too slow to counteract and she seized her opportunity to take hold of one of the daggers he held.

She forced it from his grip and made a quick cut to his cheek, a warning, and it alarmed him enough to release the twin dagger and it sunk into the forest floor. He stepped back, touching the drop of blood that came from the wound, before regaining his thoughts and deciding the problem could be dealt with later. He reached behind his back for his bow and arrow and was quick to draw it back, the string becoming taut with his pull on it.

She dropped the other dagger to sit with its twin and smirked at the elf, he only squinted at her, she stepped forward and the dwarves held the breaths, they had remained motionless throughout the brief fight and were now uncertainly anticipating what may come next.

“Now, now, let’s be adults about this and put the toys away, shall we?” she nudged the arrow from her face with one finger, not breaking his intense gaze and he narrowed his eyes further.

“It seems very unlikely that you would not act as a child,”

“{Humorous as always},” she rolled her eyes and leaned forward a little more, “{I think it would be best if you were to leave, the Dwarves are not of your concern},”

“Last I was aware this was Elven territory and therefore they are trespassing, which makes it all the more my concern,” he retorted, “And yet again, your terrible accent ruins the elegance of our Elvish tongue,”

“Ye still understood what I was saying, now get lost,” she spat back, she turned on her heel to face the dwarves, and they finally had a first real look at their helper.

They could not help their staring, as she was truly a rare being; her clothing was not in any way feminine, save for the tunic almost acting as a short dress, which was worn over brown tights. The tunic she wore was a rich maroon; it was lined around the edges with traces of shimmering gold. However, it was not made to size and gave plenty of room, had it not been for the subtle curve of her chest or the softness of her beardless face, she could have easily been mistaken as a man.

Her hair was short and messy, unlike any dwarrow or even dwarf would keep for cultural purposes, though she had somehow managed a tightly woven braid on her head and a loose braid ending with a single bead on her left side. Her hair allowed her ears to be in full view- they were pointed just like an elf’s, at least one was- as the other seemed to be deformed from damage and had a small piercing on the outer ear.

She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted, “You cannot still be harbouring hard feelings-” he started, and she immediately turned around to confront him.

“Oh- so ye care about feelings all of a sudden do ye?” she flicked her wrist in the air quickly, snapping her fingers in quick succession, and they heard yet another screech, this time round more noticeable than the first, and a small barn owl appeared from the shadows of the trees.

It whizzed by at great speed towards the elf and gripped his bow in its talons, the arrow fell to the ground, becoming useless without its partner, and having stepped forward already she then threw the strap of his bag of arrows from his shoulder, she tossed it to the side out of reach and gave him a swift kick in his gut, making him stumble and fall to his knees. He had no choice but to look up to her from the ground as he spoke.

“I did not mean-”

“Ye’re full of it, and ye know what Legolas? It’s said that actions speak louder than words, perhaps then ye will understand how I am feeling,” she threatened, jabbing a finger at him angrily.

“Do you really wish to do this?” He pleaded with her suddenly, but she was not having it.

“Aye, I do,” she moved nearer and hovered over his now smaller form, and then promptly kicked him in the groin, he whimpered with a squeak and his hands moved over to protect the area from further damage, and to somewhat comfort himself.

The dwarves all winced empathetically, they might not get along with the Elves from generations ago, but they do share the knowledge of the agony he must be feeling now, and they stood still in fear as they watched him collapse to the ground; tears brimming in his eyes.

She turned to face the dwarves once again, a smirk of satisfaction clearly written on her features, “Where was I?” she wondered aloud.

Behind her, Legolas, apparently recovered from his brief injury, was crawling quietly on the floor to reach out for his daggers that were not far from him. His efforts were rewarded as he managed to clasp one of the closer of the two; he raised it in his hand, preparing to throw it at her when Kíli pointed out in alarm.

“Behind-!” She took her dagger that was resting in its sheath on her side and turned blindingly fast, throwing the blade at the elf’s arm and successfully pinning it by his tunic to the roots that were escaping the ground next to him. “-you.” The dwarf finished, his jaw dropping at her remarkable speed, and the elf’s eyes widened as he gaped at her

“Try that again, and the next one will be between yer eyes,” she warned him irritably, gesturing with her index finger as if chiding a child, she was about to turn around again when Legolas spoke up.

“Next time I’ll get you, Nari, I swear by it,” he meant it to be a threat, but somehow it did not come out that way to her as she simply smirked at him.

“Ye said that on our last encounter and look where we are again,” she gestured wildly with her hands to the open space around her, “Now, why don’t ye go home and cry to daddy about it, Princess?” she hissed at him.

He grunted and huffed as he gathered his weapons and left the dwarves and her, taking what dignity he may have left along with him. She picked up her dagger from the ground and returned it to its sheath.

“Who are you?” she swivelled around to find the dwarf with honey hair enquiring, still dazzled by the bravery he just witnessed, and she shook her head with a smile.

“Right-” she bowed down dramatically instead of curtseying as would be expected, “Nari, at yer service,” they hear a screech above their heads and flinched before relaxing as she made no movement, and the barn owl from earlier swooped down to the dwarf wearing the hat, she nestled herself onto it and made a satisfied screech and ruffled her feathers.

Some of the dwarves chuckled, others laughed, Nari included, while the dwarf in the hat yelled out, “Oi- yer a right cheeky thing ye are-” he waved his hands above his head to chase the owl away; she stayed where she was and nipped at the fingers that came too close to her, the largest dwarf with copper hair was nearly crying from laughter at the scene.

Nari made a brief whistle and the owl immediately pricked up and flew over to her handler, landing on her outstretched arm, “There’s a good girl,” she spoke softly and rubbed the owl’s face gently with two fingers, it chirruped enthusiastically and nipped softly at her fingers. She reached into a small pouch on her tights and pulled out a small pellet, she lifted it to the owl and it grabbed for it, swallowing it whole before nudging her handler’s cheek affectionately. “Ye’ve done well today my dear,”

There was a loud clearing of the throat from the leading dwarf, and she lowered her hand briefly from the owl before giving her attention to his piercing gaze. “And ye must Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór,” she rolled her free hand in front of her recalling the title from memory, and he tensed upon hearing his identity being known, “I have to tell ye, that’s a bit of a mouthful every time I’ve heard it, and this…” she briefly glanced to the rest of the dwarves surrounding him, “Must be the rest of yer company, and ye’re headed to Erebor, to reclaim the mountain?”

“You seem to know a lot about us, but we know nothing of you,” Thorin stepped forward, trying to intimidate her somewhat, though it clearly was having no effect on her as she remained where she stood, his eyes narrowed as he tried to make sense of anything about her.

“What Thorin means is, how come this information to you… Nari?” an older dwarf with snowy hair stepped forward, raising a hand slowly in front of Thorin, as if he would be able to prevent the dwarf King from racing forward and starting an unnecessary brawl.

“Well as the world would have it, whispers of a group of dwarves seen in the Shire turned to talk, talk became gossip in wildly inns of nearby villages, and gossip never misses the chance of meeting someone’s ears, even those not part of the conversation,” she explained with a shrug. It was the truth, for the most part.

Thorin shook his head in disbelief at the information, and cursed lowly in Khuzdul before speaking clearly, “Of course word spread from the Shire, Hobbits can’t seem to keep to themselves,” he growled.

“It was bound to happen Thorin, beings have eyes ye know,” the dwarf with the hat spoke up suddenly, he rested a hand on Thorin’s shoulder before removing it on the glare that he received, “And speaking of Hobbits, where is little Bilbo at?”

“We seemed to have lost our hobbit yet again; does anyone care to look for him?” Thorin asked the company, slightly annoyed, some of the others scanned the area around them and shrugged or raised the brows in confusion, and Bilbo seemed nowhere to be found.

Nari cleared her throat quietly and raised the arm with her owl still perched on it, “I also had Screech here to be my eyes and ears,” she admitted, “For some of yer journey at least,”

“Now how does an owl work as your eyes and ears?” the golden haired dwarf asked in wonder.

“Ye’d be surprised what we’re capable of,” she simply looked at him.

“Screech, what kind of name is that for an owl?” the younger dwarf, Kíli, asked from next to the dwarf with honey hair.

“A perfectly reasonable one considering that’s what she does,” Nari shot back confidently, “I was younger when I named her,” she stroked the owl’s head and she chirruped keenly. “And, I didn’t see any Hobbit when I was on my way here,” she informed them, “Also not to sound ungracious or anything, but a ‘thank ye’ would’ve been nice, I didn’t necessarily haveto stop and help ye out,”

Thorin huffed angrily, “We did not need your help-”

“Oh right, that’s why the elves had ye surrounded, were ye having a party then?” she asked sarcastically while staring him down.

“I do not care for your tone young lady-”

“Well let me assure ye, I’m no lady, and likewise yer Majesty,” she snapped back, “And I’m sure yer company are all exhausted from yer journey- I know a place where ye can stay for the night, eat some good food, sleep without having to watch over yer shoulders, and most importantly get yerselves a proper scrub down,”

The dwarf with snowy hair smiled warmly, seemingly grateful to the invitation, “What a wonderful offer-”

“How can we trust you, if we do not know you?” Thorin cut him off, not as willing to trust a complete stranger as his friend.

“Oh, don’t be such a stubborn dwarf, I’m offering ye help,” Nari crossed her arms irritably, making Screech flap her wings wildly as she lost her purchase, she flew behind them and settled on a low-hanging branch.

“Thorin please, a word?” the dwarf asked Thorin calmly, he nodded begrudgingly and they moved to the side lines and spoke quietly to each other, the leader sighed and faced her with a defeated expression.

“What is the catch?” he asked with a raised brow, as the offer seemed suspicious.

“Oh, no catch,” she waved her hand and Thorin seemed relieved momentarily, “However,” she paused, making him hold his breath, “I would request a favour for a favour,”

“A ‘favour’ would indeed be what one might call a catch, and if you are seeking gold-”

“Not gold, nor jewels, nor riches of any kind,” she assured him.

“Then what could you possibly be asking for?” his brows creased in a frown.

“Let’s just leave it at the fact that, it’s something so simple and possibly yet also, impossibly difficult to give,”

“Why must you women circle around the point of the conversation, and not just get right to it?” he muttered.

“Well, I do think that it’s best to discuss this when we reach our destination, the forest tends to have ears that listen in,” she glanced around, causing some of the other dwarves to do the same out of fear, “Screech isn’t the only trained animal out here,”

“Fine, then we shall take you on your offer, but if I so much as find cause to believe you intend us harm-”

“Alright, alright, enough with the speeches,” she raised her hand wanting him to stop talking, “Let’s get moving, we’re burning daylight,”

Thorin nodded begrudgingly before motioning his hand before him, “Lead the way, Nari.”

She nodded her head to an arched treeline that made for an entryway of sorts, and the dwarves hurriedly gathered their things before following diligently, Thorin leading them with his sword firmly in hand. It was not long before they reached a darker part of the forest, and they followed cautiously, becoming wary as the forest had already tricked their minds and could do so again.

Screech took to Nari’s shoulder and rubbed her head affectionately against the pierced and damaged ear; she simply chuckled and then spoke quietly to the creature, before sending it off ahead of them into the darkness.

She spoke almost impossibly soft in a language that sounded like Elvish but was somewhat more beautiful, perhaps ancient, as she walked ahead and the forest seemed to shift around them slightly. Thorin’s grip tightened on his Elven sword and some of the others tensed as well, and they stopped before a pathway leading to a quietly babbling brook that had not been there moments before.

The entrance tunnel was lined with toadstools and unfamiliar plants that were all glowing a faint blue, it seemed uninhabited from any other life; giant lily pads of deep purple bobbed ever so slightly on the surface of the stream, forming a makeshift stepping stone by their understanding.

She rested her hands on her waist and nodded to the tunnel, “So this is it,” she smiled and looked at them.

“Where does this lead to?” Thorin asked in suspicion, “How do we know you are not simply leading us further into the depths of Mirkwood?”

“If ye did not trust me, why would ye follow me?” she asked impatiently, “And I assure ye I would not dare to lead ye further into the Elven territories-”

“Thorin, please be reasonable,” the snowy haired dwarf begged.

“It’s hard to be reasonable when someone who clearly has elven blood is leading you through their territory,” he glared at his friend and gestured wildly to Nari.

“Ooh, ye dwarves can be so pig-headed-” she balled her fists and stepped forward towards Thorin.

He gritted his teeth, glaring at her, “Your kin stood by and watched mine, as they ran for their lives when that beast came down on us-”

“My kin had nothing to do with it! Whatever actions that were taken on by King Thranduil were followed by his guard, and by Durin’s beard I cannot believe ye would still be holding onto a grudge all these years later-”

“Aye, I do!” he stepped closer.

She matched his movements as the words spilled from their tongues, each becoming louder than the next, “Yer a stubborn-”

“Pretentious-”

“Daft-”

“Selfish-”

“Unruly-”

“Arrogant-”

“Move!” she gasped and shoved him to the side with wide eyes and he yelled out at her.

She removed her dagger from her side and swung it just in time to cast the arrow to the side, making it stick into the ground. The others turned around in alarm at the sudden attack, looking for their assailant.

“You Dwarves are always so loud,” the red-headed elf-maid appeared from the shadows behind the company and approached them; they dispersed to the sides of the clearing. “And what are you?” she eyed Nari and cocked her head slightly to the side, and she only glared at her in response. “No matter, you’ll have to answer to King Thranduil soon enough,”

“Ye’ll have to get through me if ye want to lay a hand on any of them,” Nari stepped forward, her dagger still in hand.

“That should be easy enough to do, half-breed,” she put her bow back into its sling and removed her own dagger from its sheath, stepping forward as well.

“Oh, I’m so hurt by yer words,” she mocked and placed a hand over her heart, “Whatever insults ye have to say I’ve heard ‘em all before, but forgive me, for thinking a lowly Silvan-elf would be clever enough to think on their own,”

Nari’s words seemed to have hit a sore spot as the elf-maid charged forward and made to stab her, but Nari was faster, and she elbowed the elf-maid’s arm that held the dagger in hand and caused her to lose her balance, and Nari moved her hand behind to grab at the long, loose hair on her head. She yanked at it, causing the elf-maid to drop her weapon and Nari held her own to her throat, holding her hair in a tight grip.

“Ye have such pretty hair dear, it’s a pity that I can use that against ye,” she pulled harder, making the elf-maid bend backwards in an awkward manner as, being an elf, she was much taller than Nari.

“No wait! Don’t hurt her!” Kíli ran forward, his hand reaching out to them.

“Ye are aware; she almost killed Thorin, right?” Nari asked, looking at him quizzically, the elf-maid stared at him, her expression softening upon meeting his eyes. She moved her blade a little further away, but still pulled her hair to hold her in place, seeing the worry in the young dwarf’s face.

“{Release Tauriel},” Legolas’s voice demanded from behind her, she immediately tensed and brought her attention back to the elf-maid in her grip.

“And if I don’t?” she asked, pressing the blade against the elf-maid’s throat once again, making her swallow uncomfortably.

“Then we’ll see to it that the dwarves are no longer standing,” he threatened, ensuring that he spoke in common tongue so that the dwarves understood as well, and she stole a glance to her surroundings, realising that each dwarf had at least two or more elves behind them awaiting orders, and the company gazed around uneasily.

“[Damn it],” she cursed in Khuzdul before dropping the dagger to the ground and releasing the elf-maid from her tight grip.

“Her first,” Legolas ordered, stopping an elf-maid that was preparing to cuff the dwarf with snowy hair, a smirk creeping into his features as he picked up her dagger from the ground.

“Well, that went well,” the dwarf with the hat quipped sarcastically as he and the others were handcuffed, and the elves shoved them along to get them moving slowly out of the clearing, the entrance disappeared from sight just as Legolas had noticed the unfamiliar path in the forest; he turned to Nari and lowered his head to meet her eyes.

“What was that?” he nodded his head to the area.

“None of yer damned business, Greenleaf,” she spat back.

“If you won’t talk, no matter, my father has wanted to meet the elusive Nari for years, he will be most pleased to see you,” he patted her cheek and stood tall once again. “{We walk},”

They trekked back through the forest, passing the clearing they had been in earlier, with Thorin being made to lead his companions to meet their fate with the Elven King of Mirkwood. Nari walked not too far behind him just behind the two younger dwarfs, and between the dwarf with snowy hair and a large balding dwarf.

The bald one was quite stoic in his manner, not looking anywhere but forward as he marched on, while his companion seemed to lose the optimistic hope he had had when Nari had offered them sanctuary, but he tried to muster a smile as she looked over at him.

She returned the smile, and raised a finger to her lips, he watched and frowned as she ducked her head slightly; removing a thick hair pin from her hair and turned her hands in the cuffs so that her palms faced the ground.

“[I may need someone to make a noise to distract the elves, but only on my signal],” she mumbled to the dwarves, Kíli and his companion turned their heads at this and smiled mischievously at each other, then glancing at her and nodded.

“What did she say to you?” one of the elves asked, having noticed their movements and getting a suspicious feeling from them.

“She was just describing how feminine all you Elves look,” said Kíli’s companion.

“Aye,” Kíli nodded with a smile, “And that you all probably wear lacy gowns during tea time,” he chuckled, making the elf snort and turn his attention ahead. He winked at her and Nari’s lip twitched in a smile with thanks.

She made quick to work at her handcuffs with the hair pin tightly gripped between her finger tips, and soon enough she felt the pin lock into the correct spot, she peered up to make sure the other elves were not watching, and caught the snowy haired dwarf glancing at her. He simply gave her an approving nod and smile, something about him was familiar and assuring, she nodded and turned her attention back ahead.

“[Now],” she said. Kíli took immediate action and stepped on his companion’s foot, making him yell out in pain, his companion shoved him in return with a glare.

“You big oaf, you stood on my foot!” he shook his cuffed fists in the air, “How would you like the favour returned?” he grabbed hold of Kíli by his front and in turn stomped on his foot.

“Hey! That hurt!” Kíli cried out louder than was necessary, had the snowy haired dwarf on her side not nudged her side gently Nari would have continued to watch the young dwarves perform in front of her, she focused her attention on her cuffs.

There was a sudden loud clink of metal unhinging, but thanks to the dwarves now causing a scene, it had gone unnoticed. Very few of the dwarves had caught the sound themselves, but they kept silent and pretended as if nothing odd had happened, unsure what she might do as she was now free.

____________________________________________________________

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[utaprifanzine]

Concept Pitch: Prismatic v2 + Fantasy AU Zine

(Quick reminder that secondary admin applications are also still open! So, if you’re interested in helping us out with the project outlined below, feel free to apply here!)

To start, I want to clarify that either project, regardless of it we go forward with only one or both, would not be starting until next year.

This concept pitch is being released now, rather than closer to the end of the year, because if we do go ahead with both projects, there will be a smaller round of applications in November in preparation for the main round of applications in February. This will be explained in further detail below the cut.

There is also a feedback form (link) for this pitch that we’d like to ask everyone interested to fill out. As per last time, if it gets over 70 responses then we’ll do at least one of the zines, but whether or not we do both and/or how we do them will depend on the responses.

Two main things will be decided by the responses in this form: -> Whether or not we do both projects or just one (four possible scenarios explained below the cut) -> The exact theme of the AU zine (“ ”)

 The following information will be split into three categories: “Zine Content”, “Applications”, and “Possible Schedules”

“Possible Schedules” is where you’ll find all four advancement options outlined and explained, and “Zine Content” will contain the possible themes we’re looking at for the AU zine.

That being said, this will still be a strictly non-profit project (not affiliated with a charity), and the content rules set in place for the first volume of prismatic will not be changing. 

However, we will allow submitted AUs to have more mature plots/themes as well as implied/referenced ships provided that the content produced for the zine does not contain those themes or those ships (i.e. if the plot for AU ends in a particular ship, that’s fine, as long as the final writing/art that goes into publication for the zine is generic. Your AU won’t be penalized in the application review for simply containing ships or mature themes).

 There’s a lot of information below the cut, so we’ve highlighted the most important pieces in bold!

Zine Content

In this section, we’re going to be talking about each zine in it’s own subsection, so that it doesn’t get confusing. Prismatic first, followed by the AU zine.

Prismatic V2 (Working Title)

This would be a second volume of Prismatic. It would pick up where the first volume left off and cover the next 7 gacha and 14 events leading up to (and including) the 1st anniversary of the game. The cover, prints/merch, and overall design would be based on the “My Only Prince” UR set.

All events/gacha will be represented by a double page spread, that has an A4 illustration on the left hand side and a piece of flash fiction on the right. The MOP gacha will have four double page spreads (for a total of eight pages) that would feature four A4 illustrations and four pieces of flash fiction. The estimated page count is 60.

The gacha and events to be featured are as follows:

 Gacha:                                                                           Events:

Cheerful & Happy Valentines                                         The Confused Soloist

Grateful White Day                                                         Aqua Crystal

Shining Sports Day                                                     Inspector Kurusu’s Pursuit

Fantasy Circus                                                         Professor Renarty’s Scheme

Caught in the Rain                                                        Shining Solo Series Cecil

Marine Festival                                                             Shining Solo Series Tokiya

Glittering Summer Festival Night                                         No More Say

MOP: A Class + Cecil                                                          No More Bets

MOP: S Class                                                             Shining Solo Series Masato

MOP: Reiji & Ranmaru                                                        Resolute March

MOP: Ai & Camus                                                           Renegades in Unison

                                                                                    Starflowers Bloom at Night

                                                                                            Steal Your Heart

                                                                                      Shining Solo Series Ren

 As far as contributors, we would have 25 writer slots and 45 artist slots, the latter including print, chibi, and cover artists.

  AU Zine

This zine would feature fanmade AUs involving the Utapri characters.

There would be six featured AUs (two per idol group, so Starish, QN, and Heavens would all be represented), that would have eight pages each; four for art and four for writing. There will also be a four page story to go with the cover design, but the cover (and, by extension, the cover story) will depend on the final theme for the zine.

We’re looking to make this zine fantasy-themed, and have narrowed down three distinct themes that we could use. You can vote for your favourite one in the feedback form!

Possible Themes: -> High Fantasy: Mythical Creatures and Magical Powers -> Dark Fantasy: Monsters and Mayhem -> Urban Fantasy: Steampunk and Sci-fi

 The estimated page count for the zine is 64 pages, and we would have contributor slots for 7 writers and 20 artists (incl. cover, chibi, and print). There would be three contributors working on each AU – one writer and two artists – and the creation period would also be longer.

  Applications

Once again, this section will be split into two subsections for each zine!

 Prismatic (“regular” applications)

Applications for Prismatic would be our main application period and would be open for three weeks (last week of Jan 2020 through Feb 15 2020).

The process would largely be the same as it was for the first issue, with separate forms for artists, writers, and cover design. However, in response to feedback from our first zine, there would be changes to the limitations on those forms.

Firstly, artists will be able to submit more than 5 samples, provided that all their samples are in one folder. There will also probably be a limit in the total number of samples/images, but that will be decided later.

For writers, we will be introducing a limit of 5000 words across all submitted samples per application. This means that the total word count of all the samples a writer submits for their application must not be greater than 5000 words.

Secondly, unlike last time, at least one of a writer’s samples must be a stand alone piece that does not exceed 1000 words, given that the pages you’d be applying for would be flash fiction pieces of 500 words or less.

The applications and review would still be done by page, so your application would only be reviewed/considered for the specific pages that you select on the form. However, since this time we know in advance that we’d be accepting print and chibi artists, artists will be able to select which positions they would like to be considered for.

  AU Zine

If we go ahead with the AU zine, there would be two opportunities to apply as a contributor.

The first application period would be held over the entire month of November, and would only be for interested applicants to submit their AU ideas to the zine. We would be holding this round of applications separate to “regular” applications in order to pin down which six AUs will be featured in the zine, so that we can allow interested contributors to apply for both zines at the same time in February, during the main/second round of applications.

As mentioned before, there would be three people working on each AU, but one of these three will be the creator/owner of the AU. They can be either the writer or one of the artists and would also be submitting samples of their own work alongside their AU information, since they would also be required to be a contributor, should their AU be chosen for the zine. We would not be accepting AUs without their creator.

 To submit an AU idea, applicants would need to provide the following information on their AU:

-> a character relationship chart -> rough outline of at least three plot/story arcs (among these, there must be at least 1 main plotline and 1 subplot) -> character designs for each member of the group to be the focus of the AU (can be rough sketches/concepts) -> description/explanation on the lore of the fantastical elements of the AU (dependent on the type of fantasy we settle on for the theme) -> basic worldbuilding (incl. social hierarchies, environmental information, general landscapes and territories, historical information relevant to major plot points/places/characters) -> brief backstory for each member of the group in focus

(It’s also worth noting that the submitted AUs must be noticeably different from any similar existing official utapri AUs or collaborations. i.e. you can’t submit a vampire AU with the QPot Sweets Vampire designs and you can’t submit a Pirate AU that has the same plot as Pirates of the Frontier)

(you will also be allowed to submit an AU that you’ve already posted content for online. However you will be required to produce new content for it should it be accepted into the zine)

 The idea behind having all these requirements, is to show us that you, as the creator, have fleshed out the AU enough so that a writer or an artist can easily write or draw something for it using the information that you already have. The two contributors that would be working with you to produce content for the zine are not responsible for creating/fleshing out your AU for you and should ideally be able to work from the information you already have.

You will also not be expected to uphold a high level of quality for the positions that you are not applying for. That is to say, if you submitted your AU and are applying as the writer for it, don’t worry about the quality/skill level of your artwork. Likewise, if you’re applying as an artist, don’t worry about the craftsmanship of your writing.

(We’re also looking into providing templates for people to use for the AU application, to make the process easier).

 After the six AUs have been picked, the types of AUs (i.e. Starish Vampire AU, Heavens Pirate AU, etc.) and the remaining positions for each would be announced before “regular” applications in February and interested contributors would be able to apply for those positions at the same time as Prismatic. Both would be available on the same application form.

However, unlike Prismatic, the owners of the AUs will not be announced until after the main application period is over, to prevent people from applying to contribute to a particular AU just because a specific person created it.

   Possible Schedules

 The whole idea behind running two zines at once was to not only allow more people to participate, but also to avoid running a zine where the contributor slots were too few and too limited (as is the case with the current concept for the AU zine). 

My original planned schedule was to run both at once, have pre-orders for both open at the same time, and have both release on the same day for the sake of simplicity - however, this hypothetical schedule received a rather mixed response, particularly in regards to selling both zines at the same time.

In response to this, I’ve instead planned out four possible schedules going forward: two where both zines are done, and two where only one of the zines is done. In terms of feedback, I’m asking anyone interested in either contributing or buying the finished product to read over schedules and consider which one you think is better, then let us know on the feedback form! 

Ultimately, this is purely a passion project for the fanbase, so it does matter a lot to us what you all think is best.

 Schedule #1: Both Zines Run at the Same Time This was the original concept, where both zines were run, went up for pre-order, and were released at the same time. The rough schedule was: -> November: 1st round of applications (AU ideas only) -> December: AU ideas reviewed -> late January – February: Main applications for Prismatic & AU zine are opened, closed, and reviewed -> March 1st: creation period begins -> late April: Prismatic final submissions -> early-mid May: AU final submissions -> late May: pre-orders open (both zines) -> mid-June: pre-orders close (both zines) -> mid- July: both zines release

 Schedule #2: Both zines are released separately

The idea here was in response to the concern of having both zines for sale at the same time and scheduled for release at the same time being counterproductive to the success of the project, given the utapri is still a relatively small fandom in the west. For this variant, the schedule remains the same, right up until pre-orders open: -> late May: pre-orders open (Prismatic only) -> mid-June: pre-orders closed (Prismatic only) -> mid-July: Prismatic releases -> mid- August: Prismatic contributors can post their works online -> mid-September: pre-orders open (AU only) -> mid- October: pre-orders closed (AU only) -> mid-November: AU zine released (US orders sent) -> mid-December: International AU orders sent

*Note: the delay in shipping between US and international orders would be due to Jinx being in the US from mid-August to mid-December. No-one wants to ship internationally from the US. It’s a nightmare.

 Schedule #3: only Prismatic runs

In this case, the schedule would remain the same as it is in schedule #1, except that any AU-only related dates would be taken out, since Prismatic would be the only zine running.

 Schedule #4: only the AU zine runs In this case, the schedule would remain the same as it is in schedule #1, except that any Prismatic-only dates would be taken out, since Prismatic would not be running.

In addition, here we would also have the option of either running a double volume of the AU zine (i.e. take all the specs outlined for the content and double it) or producing two volumes, each with a different theme. If this is your preferred schedule, make sure to vote for which option you’d prefer!

 And that wraps up our concept pitch! Thank you to everyone who’s read this far and please consider (if you are able and have the time) to fill out the feedback form to let us know what you thoughts are for this project!

Sincerely,

The Utapri Fanzine Team

[jadeender]

The Fortress of Light and Darkness Part 3

After they had left the musical puzzle everyone was on edge but overall the mood had lightened. Sky was still downcast, Four had seen the way he looked at the harp in disgust, as though it was the worst thing ever made. It had to be Stygian but soon they would reach the top of the fortress and would be able to be separated from the darks. 

He’d be able to see Shadow again! Not to say having Shadow in his head wasn’t nice but soon Shadow would be his own person again. That thought fueled him as Four and the others traversed the fortress. 

The hallways they traveled were well lit and spacious, they just seemed to go on forever. The group would activate the occasional switch to reveal a new passage or fight off weak enemies to open a door but nothing complicated like the musical puzzle. 

After what they presumed to be a couple hours the group stopped to rest, without windows and with the constant light it was hard to tell whether it was day or night.

“While we’re stopped we should get some rest. Only an hour or two, we’ll need to be at our best when we get to Veran.” Legend said. 

Four nodded. They all knew to take Legend at face value, anyone who was powerful enough to do this to them had to have some tricks up their sleeve.

“What powers does she have?” Four signed.

“Mainly she shoots fireballs, but her most annoying ability is being able to possess people. The only way to get her out of a host last time was to use magic seeds but I don't have any left. So we’ll have to keep her from possessing anyone.” Legend finished his face grim.

“Any other surprises we should be expecting?” Wild asked. Legend just shook his head.

“That's all I can remember, if she manages to possess someone their skin will go completely blue. That's all I can think of.” 

“Good to know. You all get some sleep, I’ll wake you in an hour.” Twilight ordered and the others easily obliged, even Wild who normally would have insisted to help watch. 

Four feel asleep quickly his hood acting as a pillow.

____________________________________________________________________________

A little while later Twilight was calling for them all to wake up and as Four awoke he stretched and yawned. Turning to Legend Four tried to tell his friend something only to have his voice grate against his messed up vocal chords, the pain of it catching in his throat.

The others looked at him in worry as Four gripped his throat and coughed, a small amount of blood came out into his hand. Still after all this time it hadn’t even healed enough to allow him to speak a little bit. Sign was a fine substitute for most things but still, he missed laughing and singing. 

“Four?” Legend asked looking at him in worry.

“Fine.” He signed back before taking on a “I promise.”

With more reassurances the others left him alone and kept going, they tracked along spacious hallways adorned with light colored bricks and red carpet under their feet, something more fitting of Hyrule Castle. Not that any of them would have complained, better than the dark and dank tunnels of the temples, palaces, and dungeons they’d traversed before. 

As they rounded another corner the roof of the hallway began to slope down towards the end, curious they continued on and the hallway continued to narrow and grow shorter. Four watched the walls noting how the gentle change turned to a rapid one, before long Sky and Twilight were slouching a lot, soon Wild and Legend were too.

When the tunnel got to crawling height they began to worry. 

“Should we go back?” Wild asked the others sitting down his head nearly scraping the ceiling. 

“No, there weren’t any other paths back there. This has to be another puzzle somehow.” Legend observed.

Four had a sinking feeling this particular puzzle was somehow oriented around him. 

Four shook his head and caught the others attention, he signed “I'll go, make sure we can get through.”

After a curt nod from Twilight Four turned and started down the hallway, if need be he could shrink down to minish size, or even if he just split any one of them was smaller than their combined form. 

So he continued on down the mind bendingly long tunnel, feeling as it got tighter and tighter, a feeling he wasn’t quite accustomed to being as small as he is. Eventually he got the point where he was crawling along on his belly and his head kept hitting the ceiling. He has long ago stopped being able to see his friends, and he had no way to communicate at this distance either since he couldn’t shout. 

Finally he got frustrated and grabbed onto the feather that served as an earring on his left ear and spoke a quick spell, the familiar buzz of magic took over and within moments he had shrunk down to his minsh form, this form being barely four inches tall the space that had felt cramped now was open and wide. Four scurried forward to get through the tunnel as quickly as possible. 

Scurrying along the hall he soon came to a small door, Four opened the door noticing how only in minish size would anyone fit through. Whatever this was it had clearly been designed for him.

As he went through the door he found himself in a room bearing four doors each with weighted switches in front of them. Though the room was still minish sized. Walking over to one switch he stepped onto it causing the door in front of him to open, testing a theory he momentarily stepped off causing the door to go shut again.

Sighing Four grabbed his sword which had shrunk down with him and called upon its latent power, the feeling of his mind being pulled apart took over and soon Four minish heroes stood staring at each other. 

“We’re on a time limit.” Green signed. “Never been split while small before.”

The others nodded while Green continued, “Where’s Shadow?”

Blue raised his hand, the usually hot tempered hero signed deftly unused to having to think about that, since Green usually handled it. 

“Take one door each.” Vio signed to his brothers and they nodded taking up spots in front of each door. Once they did the doors opened as Green counted down, 3, 2, 1, go. Quickly all four took off down their hallways.

____________________________________________________________________________

As they scurried down the hallways each copy encountered twists and turns. It was like being a mouse in a maze, and their frustration only grew higher.

“I can't do this anymore!” Blue said to Shadow flopping down on the tunnel floor. “We’re never getting out, I’m just going to wait here for the others to find me.”

“They won’t be able to find you here, and you know what happens when you stay apart for too long.” Shadow warned, normally he wouldn’t have been very talkative but Blue needed the encouragement, otherwise the dark knew he would just sit here and fume until exhaustion overtook them from being apart for so long. “We really will be stuck here forever if you don’t get moving.”

“You’re just as bad as Green.” Blue’s voice mumbled inside their head as he stood up and kept going.

Soon they ran into a new room, this one big like the four hallways, but had only two doors. 

Above them was an inscription “Two doors, one will lead to your reward, the other will lead to your death, choose the right door or perish.”

By this point Blue was exhausted mentally and physically, he was annoyed and he was tired. The few hours of sleep they had gotten only served to make his irritability worse. Noticing the three other tunnels on the wall behind him Blue and Shadow decided the others would likely be there soon.

In line with that prediction the others slowly arrived, first Vio, then Green and finally Red. 

“So, which door do we choose?” Vio signed after Red finished hugging them all. It wasn’t often they were separated anymore so Red had to get his hugs when he could. 

“Why don't we open them both and see?” Blue offered passing on the suggestion from Shadow.

“We might not be able to go back once its open.” Green signed looking at the doors and the surrounding area. 

“It says to choose the ‘right’ door so we should take the left.” Vio signed.

“Why?”

“It's a reverse idea, putting what seems like the right answer but is actually wrong.” Vio explain giving a calculating look over the door.

“Legend did say Veran was cunning. Let's do it.” Green affirmed nodding his head. The four of them headed to the door almost knocking into each other. 

“Oh right.”

____________________________________________________________________________

The once again merged Four opened the left door and carefully walked down the hallways it bended and twisted but never turned, after a time he noticed it began to get bigger again, and bigger, until he could have fit in it a full size. Speaking the reverse incantation Four grew back to full size as his animal like minish features reverted to normal Hylian.

Once he was full size again he heard voices not far away. So he continued forward quickly and soon found himself back in the original hallway, with the other four heroes he had awoken with.

When they noticed him emerging Wild and Twilight ran to him.

“What happened?”

“Did you find the way?”

“It's been hours.”

He signed as quickly as he could without losing meaning, telling them about the tunnels and the maze, and then finally the doors. As he reached that point in his story a voice drifted out.

“So the rat has made it through my maze, and in only a few short hours. Pity, I had hoped it would take days. You may proceed.” As Veran’s voice drained away the hallways warped and turned from the cramped space into a wide hallway once again with a staircase rising in front of them.

“I did it.” Four signed looking up at his friends. His stomach grumbled loudly and his last thought before passing out was “I forgot how much energy that was going to take.”

[polandspringz]

1 for the rat hunters

I decided to make this one be about how the team meets Primal and Ratborg! There is a bit more to Ratborg’s character and Primal when it comes to Lab and the rat companions’ knowledge of things, but to the rest of the team this is completely new. Also, I decided to make this a prequel to a certain event with an important member of the squad.

“Lab, where are you taking us?”

“Yeah, it’s early for us to do a hunt. I mean there are a ton of rats out, but if we were actually spotted-!”

“Exactly. This is risky, even for you. What’s up?”

An animalistic growl was the last to join the chorus of voices whining behind the leader. The sky had just turned black as the sun had fallen along with the world and everything began to turn over to night. The colorlessness above them was less darkness and more clouds that began to fog up the stars and moon that were starting to peek through. Lab walked on ahead, ignoring the protests of his comrades, smiling internally even though his robotic face couldn’t express it.

Ratthew squeaked on his shoulder, communicating with Ratgo and Ratdall in the squirming, rat filled hole that used to be his liver. Some whiskers nudged against his neck, tickling him under the collar even though his mechanical parts extended down towards his collarbone. A human hand came up to pat the small creature.

“You know who we’re visiting… All of you always had better clockwork than I ever did,” He mumbled, “I think it was one of you who told me it was time anyway.”

“Sals, what’s Ratthew saying?” Poland whispered from the back, walking alongside her bear companion (friend? Sister? Adoptive sister? Lab wasn’t quite sure he remembered what the whole deal was with that) who was the most recent addition of their little band of hunters. He was keeping a steady distance from the group though, as he was a wanted fugitive, so he doubted that even with her superior hearing, Sals couldn’t guess what had been exchanged between the rats.

A red feather drifted over head onto the sidewalk in front of Lab. He glanced up. Pigeonbach was frozen in the air, recognizing his mistake.

“I thought Sals was in charge of Pigeonbach?” Vince exclaimed as they watched Lab expertly, as if trained his entire life, reach out a hand and the bird woke from its paralysis spell and swooped down to perch. Walking up and down his arm, Lab turned around to regard his team with a sigh.

“I am the one the rats trust. Never forget that,” as Pigeonbach and Ratthew moved to sit by his bicep, Lab motioned towards his abdomen, pulling slightly at the lapel of the tied trench coat. There was no need for any reveal, any elaboration could be done in words, without dragging literal skeletons out of the closet, “They chose me, so they will always listen to me. Now, are you going to keep questioning me, or can we continue on?”

Despite his anger, a few minutes into their walk again, Lab began to open up.

“We are going to the bank. We are meeting someone there. Say nothing, do nothing, just watch me. I’ll explain everything later, because it is going to happen very fast, okay?”

They rounded the corner, the large columned and marble building standing tall at the end of the street. Nowadays, very few humans wandered around outside because of the invasion, but a few still mingled about amongst the small rat bodies scampering over the crosswalks and sidewalks. Lab looked at the sky. He flicked Pigeonbach off, and tucked Ratthew into his coat pocket before breaking off into a sprint. Vince, Sals, and Poland gave each other curious looks before they scampered after, being slowed down by trying to avoid stepping on any of the scurrying citizens. They weren’t as fortunate to be emitting a signal to the other rats that a large rat, or someone disguised as a very large rat through smell, was plowing through.

They ran across the street after Lab, who had now gone still and was staring up at the sky, his green light bulbs in place of his eyes let out rings of light that were just visible above his tilted back head as he watched something invisible to them. Sals’ nails clicked along the pavement, and Lab whipped around and threw his arm out with a shout-

“Stay back!”

In a flurry of ember and orange lava, an explosion gushed out of the roof of the bank, the waves of heat and energy throwing the group back towards the grassy area they had dashed across, Lab and Vince who had been in the lead being thrown back down on the tar of the road. Windows screamed as the fire shoved against their panes and within the fraction of a second that followed Lab’s warning they were thrown open and shattered, columns and ornate carvings reduced to rubble that flew over their heads. Finally, the waves condensed back in, and the rush of air and sound collapsed back to the center of the rising, bubbling, yellow and black foaming explosion and the crackling and hissing of the gas and heat could be heard at last as everything settled.

“What the hell just happened?!” Poland shrieked as the team all she leaned on Sals for support. Everyone was rushing to their feet, except for Lab, who sat up on the asphalt and stared into the flames, watching even as rats and people raced past them all in a flood of panic. Vince was yelling something at Lab, anger evident on their expression as they tried to wrench him to stand, but their leader merely flopped back down, and was it their imagination or did the lights on his head appear to glow a little brighter as he watched the dance of the fire?

“The screams all sound the same…”  A voice whispered on the hot wind that whipped the fire around the debris, building it higher and higher.

“She’s here…”

All of the rat hunters looked towards the flames, watching as a shadow began to blur and smear behind its wall of energy. Soon, the brown smudge became darker, like a blot of ink that had splashed onto a golden parchment, and then it burst through the wall into the gray light on the other side, and it was pitch black against the inferno burning behind them.

Them. There were two figures, a humanoid one and then a smaller dot, a different blot closer to the ground, standing on two legs as well. Sals and Poland moved closer to Lab and Vince, disbelief on their expressions as the two figures began to strut forward towards the group.

“I will explain everything soon. Now, allow me,” Lab said, standing up and going to meet the mysterious figure halfway.

“You know Lab, I just can’t understand them. Even after all this time, Ratborg is the only one that has ever sounded different.”

“What have you been doing to Ratborg?”

“Nothing. But when we set the place ablaze, it’s never like what you read it books. Nothing blood curdling, nothing chilling. Only-”

“-only squeaks. Well, it’ll change soon.”

“Hasn’t changed in years, buddy. Doubt I’ll find anything satisfying in this town.”

Lab’s posture changed, and if he had eyes, they would be narrowed to slits with suspicion, “Nothing?”

The woman smirked, “That’s right,” She tucked one hand into the deep pocket of her indigo leather coat and rubbed a finger back and forth above her lip, a wicked, wild grin evident on her face, “Nothing but a bank chock full of burnable money and checks made for wedding gifts.”

“A wedding?”

There. was a beeping noise, and the two looked towards the bipedal rat with hulking round, iron shoulders that had ceased it’s twitching motions and was glaring down the road.

“Time?”

Two more beeps, the second one cut abruptly short before the rat scurried forward. The woman pulled a cigarette box out, and deposited one stick into Lab’s hand before she brushed past him, both hands hidden within her coat and her head bowed.

“Looks like I’ve gotta blast. Won’t even have time to leave my signature. You know it well enough by now, right? Can you do me this favor?”

Her rat was already down the road. Police sirens and fire engines were wailing on in the distance. As quickly as the other rat hunters blinked, she had ran off, and their leader was hunched over the sidewalk in front of the bank, ignorant to the embers falling on the concrete around him.

“Lab, get back? What are you doing?”“We need to go, now! If they see us here, we’re already dead, but if they see you, you’re surely to die right away! Let’s go!”

Sals bit the stick out of Lab’s hands, spitting it out suddenly when they realized the thing began to sizzle and fizz with her saliva. It was chalk.

“What’s going on?” She growled. Poland nodded jerkily and followed Vince’s example and grabbed one of Lab’s arms.

“What did you take us out here? To see this?! To get us framed?”

“It’s not like you to question me,” He quipped, and the girl curled away, eyes overcome with shame, “But, you should know before we go, that woman was Primal, a hunter from outside of town.”

He squatted back down and began to draw, arcing the chalk into elegant curves and rings as he spoke, “She’s our informant, striking places like this for big information that we can’t normally get if we want to keep some anonymity.”

“There are other hunters outside of the city?”

“She helps all of us. She knows the stories and information on all the rats ruling on this side of the world. Speaking of which,” he drew one more thick solid line across the draw, solidifying the symbol into the ground just as the fire spread to a tree that stretched over their heads, the green leaves swallowed within seconds as the fire rained down like hail upon them, “It appears while we were out hunting, our good friend Rat King Cora went and got himself hitched.”

Somewhere, deep within a chamber inside the castle walls, a girl sits on a plush bed. The windows are open. It is daylight on this side of the kingdom still. A large rat with a crown sits across from her in a chair, waiting patiently, a human maid takes back the water glass from the girl. Her head bowed, her hair tied up, tentacles beginning to take shape as she adjusts to the mutation, she holds a hand over her throat, and breathes out her first of many warbled sentences.

“Woomy.”

[katymacsupernatural]

Loose Stones

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

1500 Words

Written For: @amanda-teaches and her Unlucky #13 challenge and 

@spnangstbingo

Square Filled: Suffocation and Building Collapse

Warnings: Angst!! 

Dust particles floated through the air, congesting what little air you had left. With nothing but a stone wall on either side, dirt beneath you and concrete above, you were trapped. Trying to take slow, shallow breaths, you moved forward, crawling on your hands and knees, only to bump up against more stone. “No,” you cried, struggling to turn back around.

It was dark, the only light coming from the glow stick Dean had given you. Enough light to show the stones that had collapsed in front of you, trapping you in the small basement. “Dean!” You called out, coughing as dust filled your lungs.

“Y/N?” His voice came out muffled from where the stones were piled up. “Are you in there?”

“Dean, I’m stuck! It collapsed, and there’s no way out!” You coughed, the air quality poor.

2 Hours Earlier

“Dean, I don’t like the looks of this place,” you muttered as Dean pulled off to the side of the road. Across from you was the house in question, if you could still call it a house. Built mainly of hand-carved stones, it had sunk down on one side, part of the top falling down to the side. It looked like it could collapse at any moment, and you didn’t want to be fighting a witch inside. “Can’t we tempt her outside or something?”

“We need to get in there, and get rid of her witchy ingredients as well as her,” Dean insisted, much like you knew he would. “And this place has been standing for years. It will survive a little bit longer.”

Still unsure, you took your gun out of your bag, making sure it was filled with witch killing bullets. Following behind Dean, you tried to calm your breathing. After all, this was only your second hunt, and your first time going after the witches that Dean absolutely hated. “You okay?” Dean asked you, seeing that your hand was shaking a little. “You can stay back. Sam and I won’t think anything different of you for it.”

“No, I’m coming,” you insisted. Sam left your small little group, rounding the back while you and Dean went through the front door like you owned the place. “Are you sure this is the best way to go about this?”

“She’s probably busy mixing her potions. And anyway, it gives Sam a chance to surprise her,” he whispered, checking each room as he walked past. You came to the back of the house where the kitchen was located, and also where Sam had entered.

“See her?” He asked, both of you shaking your head.

“There’s a basement!” You exclaimed, pushing open a door, seeing the dark stairs leading down below. The entire house was dark, covered in cobwebs. The floor faded, some of the boards cracked. Same with the stairs leading down. Covered in dust, it looked like they hadn’t been used in years. “I’ll check it out, you two check the upper floor.”

“Y/N, are you sure that’s wise?” Dean asked quietly, and you nodded.

“Dean, I need to learn. And besides, I don't think anyone’s been down there in years. I think I’ll be okay.”

Not convinced still, Dean was about ready to argue when a scuffling could be heard from the floor above. “Dean, it’s okay. Go!”

Still torn, Dean followed Sam back to the front of the house while you stared at the stairs in trepidation. “I’ve got this,” you whispered to yourself.” With the glow stick Dean had given you earlier, you carefully took the stairs down into the cool and dark room. The boards creaked under your feet, one actually cracking, and you let out a little squeal.

Still, you kept going, finally stepping onto the dirt ground of the basement. Stones were crumpled around, no furniture left except for a table in the corner. It wasn’t a tall basement, barely high enough for you to stand up in. The ceiling sloped as you went, and you could see that by the time it ended you wouldn’t be able to stand. It was narrow, maybe five feet at the most, with a small little nook at the far end.

Feeling claustrophobic, you turned to leave when you heard an evil cackling by the stairs. “This will be too easy,” the Witch exclaimed, muttering a couple of words in Latin before she raced up the stairs. Turning to follow her, you heard a rumbling, and you looked up to see the stones start to rumble, the stairs cracking. “Oh no!” You cried, rushing towards the stairs, but they toppled to the ground, leaving you trapped.

The stones closest to the door started to fall, and you could do nothing but take a step backward, away from the danger of being hit. Another step, and then another, before you found yourself caged into that tight little nook. With the stones falling, you curled into a ball, protecting your head, trying to stay away from the collapse.

It seemed like an hour later but must have been only seconds before you were completely entrapped. A huge pile of stones blocked your exit. Hoping that maybe something had broken free, you crawled to the back, trying not to cough with the dust floating through the air. But it was no use. Stone walls on both sides, concrete where the porch started above you. You were completely and utterly trapped, with the little air you had contaminated with dust and debris.

“Dean!” You called out, coughing as dust lodged itself into your throat.

“Y/N!” Dean’s voice called out from past the stones, muffled and hard to hear.

“Dean, there’s no way out!” You exclaimed, feeling a little light-headed already. There wasn’t much air in your tiny little space, and what little bit there was contaminated with dust. Coughing again, you tried pushing some of the rocks away, stumbling back when the roof started to move once again.

“We killed her!” Dean told you, and you could hear rustling on his side. As he struggled to move some of the stones, one from the ceiling fell down, landing on your leg before you could move.

Screaming in pain, you pushed it off, wincing at the broken bone sticking out of your jeans, blood already running down your leg. “Y/N!” Dean screamed, digging even harder at the stones, and you glanced up to see the stones trying to fall once again.

“Dean, stop!” You cried, ripping off your flannel and wrapping it around your leg, crying out at the pain.

“Y/N we’ve gotta move these rocks!” He tried, just as another one fell, almost hitting you in the shoulder.

“Dean, they’re falling. If you move them, I’ll be buried alive!”

“I don’t know what else to do,” he said. “There’s no other way to get you!”

“Try Cas!” You insisted. “Dean, I don’t know how much time I have left in here. There’s not much air.”

“Hold on. Please, sweetie, just hold on,” he pleaded with you before he went silent. Wrapping your arms around yourself, you tried to make your breaths shallow and slow, wanting the air to last.

Minutes ticked, and you could feel yourself getting weaker and weaker, your body begging for oxygen. But the stones were piled too tight together, no air pocket to be found. “Y/N, he’s not answering.”

You could hear the anguish in his voice. Dean was always able to save people, and you know how hard this had to be. “Sammy’s still trying, but Y/N, it’s not looking too good. I’m going to try moving more rocks, okay sweetie?”

“It’s our only hope,” you wheezed, hopefully, loud enough for him to hear. Curling in the corner, you cringed each time a stone rattled above you. A couple smaller ones fell to the ground, one bouncing off your shoulder, ripping your shirt.

Dean continued to work, grunting and cursing as he moved the rocks. Weak and hurt, you leaned your head back, unable to keep your eyes open any longer. “Y/N, how are you doing?” Dean asked.

Try as you might, the words refused to leave your lips. Your body refused to follow any orders, and you almost felt as if you were floating. Your pain was gone, and you knew that whatever Dean did, it would be too late.

“I love you,” you finally muttered, hopefully, loud enough for him to hear as you gave in to the bright light beckoning you on, the wings rustling in the distance.

Dean/Jensen Tags: @acreativelydifferentlove @a-girl-who-loves-disney @akshi8278 @anokhi07 @aubreystilinski @bebravekeeponfighting @bobasheebaby @brindz30 @colette2537 @crusadedean @darthshreydar @dean-winchesters-bacon @deanwinchesters-impala67 @haelyn @horsegirly99 @ikeneasul11 @imascio08 @its-not-a-tulpa @just-another-winchester @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @librarygeekery @mlovesstories @msimpala67 @love-charmer-sketch @michirutenshi @pisces-cutie @ria132love @ruprecht0420 @shadowhunter7 @sizzlingbearpolice @sleep-silent-angel @sortaathief @superseejay721517 @thegrungequeer @thewinchestergirl1208 @torn-and-frayed @wonderfulworldofwinchester

Forever Tags(CLOSED):@16wiishes @4401lnc @algud @amanda-teaches @andkatiethings @andreaaalove @angelsandwinchesters @anspgene @artisticpoet @atc74 @be-amaziing @bemyqueenofdarkness @bohowitch @buckysmetalgoddamnarm @bumber-car-s @brooke-supernatural16  @brunettechick @camelotandastronauts @captainradicalpassion @chelsea072498 @clairese1980 @captainemwinchester @darthdeziewok @destiels-new-girl @donnaintx @dont-you-dare-say-misha @dslocum89 @duckieburns @docharleythegeekqueen @emmazach @emilicious-7 @emoryhemsworth @ericaprice2008  @esoltis280 @essie1876 @generalgoldfishldrm @goldenolaf25 @growningupgeek @herbologystudent252 @heyitscam99 @highfunctioning-soiciopath @hms-fangirl @hobby27 @ichooseeternalplaces @imboredsueme @internationalmusicteacher @ithinkimadorable-67 @iwriteaboutdean  @jayankles @jensen-gal @just-another-busy-fangirl @karlee-fay-my-wayward-son @keelzy2 @leanbeankeane @lifelovelaughangell123 @li-ssu @littleblue5mcdork  @lowlyapprentice @luciferslucille @maui137 @mellowlandrunaway @mogaruke @nanie5 @natashacamillaus @newtospnfandom @​offbeatsilhouette @offbeatwriting @percussiongirl2017​ @pilaxia @pizzarollpatrol @plaid-lover-bay25​ @roonyxx @ronja-uebrick @rosegoldquintis​ @roxyspearing​ @samanddeanmyheroes @sandlee44 @shamelesslydean @sillesworldofwriting @sgarrett49 @skyewardolicitycloisdelena91 @smoothdogsgirl @spnbaby-67 @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester @spnwoman @sunskittlex @starry-chaos @superbadassnatural @thebikiniinspector @theflameontheinside @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @tina8009 @totallovelesson @tunadean @vvinch3st3r @walkslikesummeractslikerain @whimsicalrobots @wildlandfox @winchesterbrothers-inc @winchesterxtwo @winchester-writes @worldwidehansum @zombiewerewolfqueen

[readyfleettruckparking-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fleetconcepts.com/freight-forwarder/find-dependable-freight-forwarding-companies/

How to Find Dependable Freight Forwarding Companies

Discovering a good freight forwarding company is vital to the growth of your service. Whether you’re seeking information regarding choosing a freight forwarder or are simply searching for out precisely what they do, Fleet Concepts has you covered with The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Freight Forwarder.

So What Exactly is a Freight Forwarder?

A freight forwarder is a company that organizes shipments. Think about them as travel representatives for freight. Freight forwarders are the experts who recognize exactly how completion to finish delivery procedure functions.

Freight forwarders come in many sizes and shapes. A few of the smaller sized forwarders are essentially trucking companies or transportation brokers and are not involved in global freight forwarding. Some focus as ocean freight forwarders or as air cargo forwarders. Tiny freight forwarders commonly restricted their reach to a few prominent countries where they have a functioning connection with a regional freight forwarder. At the back of the scale, the bigger freight forwarders are basically global freight forwarders.

What Solutions Do Freight Forwarding Companies Provide?

When it comes to the shipment, right here’s a shortlist of the service that freight forwarders give:

Freight forwarders prepare all the documentation, make the bookings, as well as organize settlements needed for each sector of the shipment that they are in charge of.

They act on your part with numerous other celebrations associated with the shipment, air cargo carriers, any other freight forwarders associated with the delivery, and also trucking companies.

A lot of freight forwarding companies provide a customs brokerage solution because they are both a clearing and forwarding agent and also may act upon your behalf with customs agents.

If something fails or is at danger of going wrong, freight forwarders step in and also fix. When it involves working with you, as the freight forwarders client, here’s the support you need to expect:

When you first make a booking with a freight forwarder, they will certainly discuss what you require to understand, as an example on vital freight files as well as on just how the shipment will advance, They are the specialists, as well as can educate you on almost anything else that you would love to recognize, about freight.

Where called for, they will discuss choices and give suggestions.

As the shipment advances, freight forwarders should maintain you notified, particularly if at any point, the delivery faces a significant risk of delay.

Why Do I Need a Freight Forwarder?

The degree to which you can get by with or without a freight forwarder can be broken down into the four complying with scenarios.

Handling It Alone Without A Freight Forwarder

Much fewer individuals use travel representatives nowadays, so why not avoid the intermediary and also organize the shipment on your own, or with simply the aid of a customs broker?

This is where the analogy with travel representatives breaks down. For many shipments, it merely isn’t feasible to organize global freight online with sea or sea carriers.

And also even if it was possible to do without a freight forwarder, it is a dangerous game for novices to play. A lot of points can go wrong in freight, and they commonly do. You need to address your bases with freight insurance.

Your Distributor’s Freight Forwarder Sets up The Entire Shipment

Your distributor might be a professional in manufacturing or trading, yet they will not be freight experts.

If they have a setup with a regional freight forwarder who can manage an entire global freight shipment, it is unlikely to be that far better an offer than you can set up. When it comes down to it, the supplier will be wanting to redeem their prices.

If they on-cost the freight fees, they have little reward to secure a great price. That suggests you will probably be paying filled with air freight charges.

If they use a sale/freight bundle, they are most likely to pump up that price.

Your Supplier’s Freight Forwarder Prepares The Shipment Within The US

This is a timeless trap that sees inexperienced importers falling under at all times. Lots of vendors supply to prepare the shipment regarding the port in the US. If you only add neighborhood trucking costs, it looks like a good deal. But there are other costs entailed.

This shipping arrangement typically makes use of one of the “C” incoterms, particularly the CIF incoterm. These incoterms have several defects for an importer consisting of a common situation where the importer is held hostage to inflated prices.

You Employ a Freight Forwarder to Prepare the Freight From the Factory or Foreign Port

If the concept of learning 4 various options feels like way too much info, that’s specifically why you should be letting a freight forwarder manage the delivery. You require a partner to deal with it for you. That companion is your worldwide freight forwarder.

Asking for a Rate Quote

Have your items as well as all set to deliver? Time to obtain a freight quote.

Adhering to this fast checklist to ensure you’re taking a great look at all your options.

Depending on the freight forwarding company you message or talk to, they may not remember to request for all the information upfront. Which slows down their turnaround to provide you a quote.

You can easily overcome this by simply complying with the info below:

Contact Information

See to it that you possess the complete addresses for pick-up if the shipment is door to door, including postcode (go back to Alibaba if required for this), and also complete location address. Zipcodes are occasionally enough yet the even more details, the better.

You may need to offer the name of the port of origin. All airports and also ports have an international code (e.g USLAX for the USA, Los Angeles airport terminal if it is port to port or port to door (surprisingly, among the biggest freight forwarders requests for this for door-to-door also).

If a person other than your firm is obtaining the delivery, have their call information prepared as well.

Weights And Measurements

Supply the complete weight of the shipment. You can possibly still manage in pounds, yet distributors and progressively freight forwarders think in kgs. You can get this information from the packing checklist.

If your delivery includes a mix of boxes, pallets, etc, you will require to detail the number of each type.

You will certainly have to give an overall cubic volume, also called “CBM”. Use this simple cubic meter calculator. If there’s an Overall Volume field on an application form, you will probably be required to round to the nearest digit.

Actual Weight VS Dimensional Weight

This isn’t something extra that you should prep before asking for a quote, however, it’s much better to find concerning this now than when you call to query why you have been estimated for the “wrong” weight.

Shipments that are relatively lightweight for their volume are typically uneconomical for carriers to deliver. The freight sector thought of a formula to bill lightweight shipments at a lucrative weight based on the delivery’s volume. This considered weight is named the dimensional or volumetric weight. Utilize this chargeable weight number cruncher to see what wish weight your delivery will be priced estimate at.

Product Description

International freight generates HS Codes, basically an international index of item kinds. The main item name and also code should get on the commercial billing but it’s ideal to check anyhow, utilizing an HS Code lookup device. It pays to check this due to the fact that an uncorrected error can cause hold-ups in customs clearance later.

Services moving shipments need to know the Schedule B code, although the exact same big forwarder that requests “port of origin” for door-to-door shipment likewise requests for the Schedule B code for imports to the United States as well.

Steps to Discovering the Ideal Freight Forwarding Service

Perhaps you recognize whatever about your operation, the very best devices, also the latest in customer shopping routines. However, possibilities are, you get blindsided by freight. There’s a great deal of that going around. You need a trusted ally in the freight market, a representative working on your behalf.

There are probably over 100,000 freight forwarding service companies worldwide. That seems like being spoiled for selection. Nonetheless, that’s usually not the instance for a sector typically called being nontransparent, implying clients get little visibility into prices and also service degrees.

This checklist sets out how to deal with picking a freight forwarding service provider.

First, take into consideration if your shipments have unique demands.

After that consider just how much your shipping could narrow down freight forwarding options.

What to watch out for if you are motivated by rate.

What to keep an eye out for if service is more vital to you than cost.

And lastly, just how to look for both wonderful service and also a good rate.

Consider Whether Your Shipments Need Specialized Assistance

There are some commodities that many freight forwarders don’t handle, such as automobiles, family removals, and also mass commodities like wheat. Not all freight forwarders manage large shipments, either, so you’ll certainly require a huge or specialized forwarder if you want to ship a complete metro train. An even more common group of exemptions that many smaller sized freight forwarding companies won’t deal with is hazardous cargo. Don’t be deceived by the name, as it consists of some seemingly tame products, like toys using batteries.

Another essential factor to consider is geographical insurance coverage. Not all freight forwarders ship to all parts of the globe. Smaller freight forwarding firms often have a quite minimal network of forwarding companies in various other nations that can act as representatives for local delivery or pick-up as well as customs clearance. They’re bound to cover your country’s most typical trading companions, however, if you import, state, from Bhutan as well as China, you ought to remove this very first with a potential brand-new freight forwarding company.

Think About the Scale of Business You’re Offering the Freight Forwarding Company

Collaborating with name-brand international forwarders has its benefits. They have the muscle to secure great prices and preferential treatment from the huge air and sea carriers. But being prominent means that the bigger freight forwarding companies have to make choices. Their bigger clients generate much more profit, as well as it’s just natural that in especially active times of the year, bigger clients will certainly obtain favoritism to the detriment of smaller consumers. Right here’s the sort of solution, smaller sized services can expect. Just 35% of large freight forwarders replied to a small business’s quote request in a recent mystery buying study.

Allow’s face it, you need to be able to rely on calling your freight forwarder when essential. If your main factor of call is going to be an 800 number, that’s an indicator of exactly how valued your company is to them.

Naturally, the opposite is likewise true. Although regional forwarders can generally give their tiny customers much more size as well as are much faster to respond, they might not be as affordable on price. This is one thing to take into consideration if you are determined to go with the cheapest price.

Are You Looking First And Foremost For A Wonderful Price?

Most freight forwarders will claim to give premium service, however, they are all aware that winning a new consumer typically comes down to price.

However, deciding on price alone can be tricking. For example, some freight forwarders mark down the very first shipment to win the sale yet make up for it with on subsequent shipments. Additionally, some forwarders conceal charges in the conditions to make their quote cost look extra eye-catching than those from even more truthful rivals.

There are obviously forwarding companies that lead with price. That probably implies a reduction in service. Depending upon the services they dropped, as an example, some freight forwarders focus on just one shipping lane or only in air freight that may not affect your company. Yet, know, some freight forwarders cut back on basic customer service degrees. Numerous things can and do fail in global shipments. That affordable price may return to bite you. If you get a quote that is significantly more affordable than other requested quotes, see if you can figure out how they had the ability to damage their rivals.

Or is the Freight Forwarding Providers Service More Vital?

Your shipment deserves greater than the delivery worth, it’s required to grow your operation, so you desire a person you can depend on with your valued items.

The tales you have actually read about the variety of containers shed mixed-up are urban legends. In fact, just an extremely tiny portion of containers goes missing every year. Much more generally, shipments do obtain shed, swiped, damaged and also postponed. If this seems to happen often with your shipments, it’s time to start trying to find a much more trusted freight forwarding company.

Several bigger freight forwarding companies are likewise 3PLs (third-party logistics companies) who focus on offering wider assistance (contract logistics) for their customers. They can offer valuable solutions for importers, like superior delivery monitoring and also warehousing. The tradeoff, naturally, is likely to be on cost.

Yet service isn’t almost breath it’s additionally about quality. Great antique customer support. Freight forwarding takes a lot of collaborating. Airlines, sea carriers as well as particularly customs representatives aren’t forgiving of incorrect, incomplete or late paperwork. If your freight forwarder isn’t on top of your shipment, it runs the risk of being delayed as well as sustaining unneeded service charges.

As a logistics company, your freight forwarding service needs to communicate regularly and also transparently with you. If you stand by a week to get a freight quote before shipping, that may be an excellent indication that you could be waiting to obtain status updates on postponed freight. A good freight forwarding company will provide status updates, promptly alert you of any kind of issue, as well as just as promptly function to settle them, for example, if a problem occurs at customs or the storage facility, or when a shipment lags timetable. If this isn’t happening, after that it’s time to begin searching for a new freight forwarder.

Good interaction is important with freight costs too. Freight quotes shouldn’t call for deciphering. They need to not have actually concealed costs or consist of unreasonable terms and conditions that get the forwarder off the hook.

Expert Shipping & Logistics Secrets

A terrific collaboration requires each companion to understand what is called for of the other. Not long after picking a brand-new forwarding service, meet them to review what you both anticipate in the way of interaction and. Your freight forwarder needs you to promptly get on top of any type of documents they send your way. You’ll most likely want to know more about the procedure, the essential files required, at what points in addition to the delivery you will certainly get updates. You’ll wish to settle on what point you desire to be alerted of prospective problems. In this manner, you can ensure you improve freight solutions.

The electronic forwarder is a new breed worth taking into consideration. They compete for smaller importers by offering a far better solution. They can do this since procedure automation allows them to run a more efficient organization, it minimizes mistakes as well as quicken inner procedures. The incorporated customer user interfaces deliver an exceptional user experience. There are few of them still, and they are still developing capacity. In particular, not everything is automated yet, as well as they are still developing their geographic insurance coverage.

Can You Get Both Great Services Along With Reasonable Prices?

Up until recently, freight forwarding has mostly been offline. Getting rates from freight forwarders typically takes days. You’re not going to get a schedule of prices, only a response to a specific shipping quote request. It can be tough, also, exercising simply how cost-effective your freight forwarding company is in their service. Often, the only method to learn is by individual experience because there hasn’t been anything at all in the form of online freight forwarder scores. With importers having very little exposure right into pricing or solution, it’s not shocking that most of them are paying out through the nose for a substandard service.

This is what it boils down to when looking for the ideal freight forwarder for your company. First, consider whether you have any type of uncommon shipping requirements. That will remove several of the smaller freight forwarding operations. After that take into consideration just how essential your service might be to the freight forwarding provider. What you take into consideration next depends whether you are managed most by price or service. Finally, there is now an option that lets you go with both service and rate.

[for-a-flower]

Part One: Only Takes One

        Sunlight beamed down on a group of paths and wooden structures positioned in the midst of an expansive, forested section of land.  Several miles from the village perimeter, a mountain peak rose from the lush trees.  Its foggy, rounded top could be seen from the village’s dirt paths as people walked from place to place.  Some of the humans carried staves, some books, some swords.  The little village seemed quite full of activity as men and women moved down various paths greeting each other.  A young girl walked by among them, listening to their conversations as she passed.

         "I can't believe our village has grown so large this quickly," said one.

         "I know.  It used to be much smaller and quieter," another responded.

         "I can't find my street. Someone direct me," one said.

         "Again?  Just stay at home if you can't find your way around," said another.

         The girl continued down the narrow path ahead of her.  She hadn’t bothered to lift her head or look around as she passed the adults.  Even though she was surrounded by people as she walked, she felt alone.  Her red eyes were focused forward.  They didn’t drift from the path once until . . . she had entered the center area of the town.  She stopped.  Her eyes glanced over a large bed of well-kept yellow flowers.  She moved toward them, a smile slowly coming across her young face.  These weren’t just any flowers.  They were called Golden Flowers.  Each bloom rose at least twelve inches from the ground and was decorated with five shiny petals.  Sometimes there were blooms with six petals.

          The little girl stood in front of the flower bed, admiring them for a while. She was remembering how she used to come here more often to look through the flowers for ones with six petals.  It was similar to those who look for four-leafed clovers.  She considered it good luck to find a Golden Flower with six.  But today there weren’t any.  Eventually her smile faded again and she turned to continue down the path. For several more minutes she walked slowly until she neared the village edge.  She reached a small, wooden house built on the very end of this particular path. She approached the sturdy structure to open the door.

          A cooler air surrounded the child when she stepped inside.  She gave the door a sudden pull, slamming it shut behind her.  Through a doorway to her right, she could see her mother pause her cooking to glance out to the front room.  The little girl huffed and moved farther in to flop down on a wooden chair.  She crossed her arms and glanced down at the worn, wood floor.  Her mother took a pan off the contained fire in the kitchen, set it on a counter, and left the room to join her daughter.

          "What's the matter?  You look surprisingly . . . annoyed today," she asked.

          The girl glanced up at her.  "I'm bored."

          "Oh.  Well you're always bored.  I don't know what to do about it."

          The girl glanced away.  "I want to go to the mountain."

          Her mother stepped back with a look of surprise.  "W . . . what?  Why?"

          "I want to see what's there."

          "Everyone already knows what's up there . . . except you apparently."  Her daughter huffed.  The mom sighed, running a hand through her own dark hair.  "How far?"

          "Half way?"

          The woman shook her head.  "No. Absolutely not."

          The girl stared up at her from the chair with a completely serious expression. "You don't think I can make it?"

          "It's not that.  It's dangerous.  I'm willing to let you climb part way but not that far up," her mom said.  The girl continued to stare. "Look.  I'll let you go, if you promise not to go farther than two miles.  People have gone up there before.  And they don't come back.  I don't want you to be one of them."

          The girl nodded.  "Okay."

          "You won't go farther than two miles?"  The girl shook her head, reddish hair flowing with the motion. "Is that a promise?" She nodded.  Her mom sighed.  "Alright.  You can go."  Her daughter smiled and got up from the chair to head for the door.  "Be careful."  The girl opened the door without bothering to say goodbye, hurried out, and shut the door behind her.  Her mom shook her head, rolling her eyes.  "Kids."  She turned to go back into the kitchen.

           The girl's gaze locked on the mountain ahead, she rushed through the village with a smile on her face, passing by structures to the left and right. People asked where she was going in such a hurry.  But she didn't bother to respond, much less acknowledge their presence.  She left the village behind her, crossing a field as she entered the forest and ran for the mountain’s slope.

          She ran up the steep slope of the mountain side, through the trees and underbrush of the forest.  Sunlight flickered between the leaves above as a soft breeze blew through her nearly shoulder length, reddish hair.  Birds sang in the treetops.  She lost track of time as she enjoyed her journey up the mountain.  She didn’t how far she had gone and she didn't care.  No point in going back now.  She was already so close.  The child continued on and on as the slopes grew steeper and rockier.  As her energy began to dwindle, she pulled herself up one more ledge to stop and stand at the top of the mountain.  Though an amazing landscape stretched out all around her, extending far into the distance, she wasn’t interested in the scenic view.

          Her red eyes glanced ahead across the mostly rocky ground.  She saw a large hole and slowly approached to peer down into it.  It seemed to be endless, dropping into a dark void below. Vines and moss hung down from where they grew near the edge.  As she stared into the dark, the little girl couldn’t be sure how far the drop was.  She contemplated the risks of a fall.  One thing she did know, was exactly what she would find down there.  A little smile returned to her earlier expressionless face, before she took a deep breath and jumped off.  Cool air rushed past her face as she fell straight down into the dark.  Several seconds later, she hit the ground much harder than expected.  The young child could only wince in pain before falling face down on the cold ground beneath her, motionless.

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[dyde21]

Mechanic 15: The Practice

I’m very very sorry how long this chapter took to come out. I’ll explain why after the story, but I hope this makes up for it a little. Oh, and if you have seen Captain America: Civil War you may recognize a scene from it. >.> Also I mention Ren’s Semblance so spoilers if you havent seen Vol 4 in it’s entirety.

Uhh and anyone who’s a follower of mine for a while will recognize my OC’s in here. They won’t be in the remaining chapters, so I hope you’ll bare with them for this one, sorry. I try to avoid dragging my OC’s into my other writings. >.> I hope they’re okay, but they wont show up in the rest.

XxXxXxXxX

Pyrrha cupped her hands in front of her mouth as she cheered loudly.

“You can do it! Nora! Ren!”

Jaune leaned forward next to her. “Come on guys! You got this!”

Pyrrha was excited, but Jaune was practically falling out of his seat as he leaned forward, watching the fight intently.

Next to the pair, Jane let out a hoarse call, but it could barely reach Pyrrha's ears. Pyrrha looked over sadly. Jane had fallen rather ill at the beginning of the week. It was still the middle of the week, and the doctor had said that they expected she would be fully recovered by the festival, but that meant she was unable to participate in final round of 2v2 battles being hosted.

By extension, that meant Pyrrha also had to the sit the day out. She was confident in her teamwork, and knew that their team wouldn't have made some last minute jump in strength at the final practice. Nor was it Jane's fault for getting sick. But, when Jaune had texted her that morning that he was going to be dropping by with his sister to check out the final practice round, she really wished she would have been able to show off to him again. After all, she knew he liked watching fights, and while her big plan was to make him proud at the festival, today could have just been a little bonus to cheer up his spirits after being sick. Instead, he was a little convinced he had been the cause of Jane's sickness somehow.

But what happens, happens. So she'd settle for spending the day watching fights with him and trading commentary.

Down on the stage Nora and Ren were plenty excited for the match. Nora always loved a good match, but Jaune cheering her on really had her engines running. Ren was a little more calm, but if Jaune was counting on him to win he wasn't going to let his friend down.

Glancing over, he saw Nora going toe to toe with her half of the pair. Their opponents were visiting students from Vacuo and they were a bit of a handful.

Ren's foe was an average looking guy, but he was a slippery one. He seemed to have a knack for evading, almost none of Ren's hits could land cleanly. Ren was glad he had been the one matched up against him, out of their team he had the best chance of aside from Pyrrha, who likely would have had her hands full with her sword and shield combo. His bladed sub-machine guns provided him the perfect assistance for someone who seemed so keep moving so fluidly.

Nora on the other hand seemed to be having a blast with her partner. He was a bear fannus, and he certainly looked the part. The massive man towered over all the other students in the room. His strength seemed to be a match for Nora as well. Every time the man's massive club collided with Nora's hammer the ground would shake slightly from the impact. There were some seriously powerful hits going on. But Nora's foe didn't seem to be too strong.

“Nora! Mine then yours.” Ren called out after a moment. They were at a stalemate, and if things kept up this way it wasn't clear who would win. They needed to use their teamwork. After all, no one here shared the past Ren and Nora did. They couldn't keep up with their teamwork.

“Gotcha Ren!” Nora said cheerfully as she hopped up, landing on the massive club of her foe as he swung. Riding the momentum, she flew off the other side, skidding to a stop behind Ren's foe.

Before the oaf could realize what had happened, Nora was dashing forward.

“Right, Ren!” She ordered as she swung her hammer as she ran, readying her strike.

Ren sighed as he continued his assault. His opponent was clever, clearly the brains of their duo. Knowing Nora was approaching, he prepared to dodge to the left to avoid her strike. What he hadn't expected was to feel Ren's powerful kick slam into his side, pushing him to the left.

Before he could recover his balance and dodge, Nora's hammer crashed into his side like a train, sending him flying across the room and off the raised platform they had made to simulate the tournament on a smaller scale.

“Nora, we went over this. If you're giving directions to me, and we're facing opposite ways the sides are flipped. My right is your left, and your right is my left.” He explained. He knew his partner well enough to know she would slip up in the heat of battle. Luckily, he knew what she meant and that confusion had let them get the upper hand. Now all that was left was...

Ren's eyes widened as he leaned backwards, seeing the massive club pass inches above his nose, right where his head had been. The bear Fannus seemed enraged at the moment.

A moment later Nora's hammer appeared though and slammed into the man's chest, sliding him backwards.

“Tch.” Nora let out an annoyed sigh, she had meant to send him flying with that hit. She was having fun playing with him before, but now it was getting boring. Plus, now Ren was in his line of fire and she wasn't about to let him get hurt.

It seemed the man wasn't too fond of his friend being sent flying though. His strikes were getting faster and stronger. Nora raised her hammer, but was still sent flying across the ground.

“Nora!” Ren called out in worry.

The large man stumbled towards her as he raised his club. Pressing a switch, the club glowed red suddenly. Ren recognized instantly it was similar to Weiss's rapier. Dust was infusing the weapon. With his strength, adding dust would be a disaster.

As he raised his club above his head Ren slammed his hand down on the ground. Nora faded to a dull gray suddenly.

The large bear fannus was about to strike down when he paused. He had completely lost track of the little girl that was before him just a moment ago. He turned to try and find her, when the sound of electricity crackling filled the arena.

A moment later Magnhild slammed into his side, Nora letting out a scream of effort. At first, it looked like nothing would happen but a heartbeat later the man's feet left the ground and he went flying, skidding off the platform as the buzzer rang out.

“Match over! Victory goes to Ren and Nora!” Glynda announced.

The crowd burst into cheers and applause, the home team being a little more favored in this group. Nora and Ren moved back to their teammates and friends.

Glynda waved her crop, the various pieces of the shattered floor flying back to their proper place and repairing themselves. “Now then, it's been a long day but it seems we finally finished our matches. It's a shame Jane was sick today, as they were not able to compete. Also my apologies to Tyler and Ashe who were also forced to abstain due to a lack of opponents.

Jane just looked down, fidgeting with the end of her shirt. She really didn't want to be the reason Pyrrha couldn't practice. She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder, though Pyrrha just smiled at her comfortingly. There wasn't anything to be done.

“Hold it.” Alice's voice rang out, causing team JNPR to look up, and Jaune to flinch instinctively. That was never a good sound for him.

“Let Jaune and Pyrrha be partners. This is just practice, and they're as experienced as the other first years here in working together.”

Glynda sighed. “While their sparring was fine last time, I could hardly condone an unofficial student pairing fighting in such a setting.

“Jaune can do it!” Jane croaked out. She was disappointed that she couldn't fight with Pyrrha, but she felt foolish for not realizing Jaune had been there too. She had been dragged to train with them some mornings when Pyrrha wanted Jaune to spar against a foe with her style, and she knew he had come far. Still perhaps not quite on the level of normal students, but Pyrrha's latent ability would be enough to cover up for his weaknesses.

Jaune just looked helpless, realizing his future was once again out of his control. “I don't want to drag Pyrrha down. What if she gets hurt?” He offered, glancing over at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha was just as shocked as Jaune was. She hadn't considered the option, not because of Jaune's current level, it just hadn't crossed her mind. She had only thought of him as someone in the stands. Though, now that she thought about it she felt confident that they could certainly practice in a match together. They were as comfortable with each other in battle about as much as she was with her team from their sheer volume of practice. Before she could voice her thoughts, a new voice chimed in.

“Yeah, I wouldn't want my sister to hurt Alice's baby brother.”

Alice's head snapped to the side as her eyes narrowed. “Oh don't tell me their opponents would be...”

Smirking, a tall brunette crossed the arena as she rested her hand casually on the katana strapped to her side. “Yup. My little sister and her partner.”

“Ali.” Alice said with an irritated sigh. Of course. They hadn't seen each other since they were students at the academy, aside from once on a mission. “What, only Tweedledee is here? Where's your twin, Tweedledum.”

Team JNPR and RWBY, who had joined them, were standing in quiet awe. They hadn't seen Alice be so aggressive to someone like that before, Jaune being in danger aside. They glanced over to Jaune curiously.

Jaune currently was hiding behind Pyrrha a bit. “That's Ali. She was one of my sister's 'friends' in school. They fought. A lot.” He offered, bad memories flashing through his mind.

“Someone who can match Alice?” Yang said with a appreciative whistle.

There was a crack, almost as if someone had snapped and another brunette appeared quite literally out of nowhere, flicking Alice on the head. “That's not very nice to call me Alice. It's been so long too!”

Alice let out a frustrated growl. Of course she had to be here too. “Speak of the devil...”

Realizing they had a bit of an audience, the newcomer smiled, offering a hand to Pyrrha who happened to be the closest. “Hi there! Nice to meet you. I'm Ami, Ali's sister. Twin, if you couldn't tell.” She chirped happily.

Pyrrha shook her hand, tilting her head slightly. “Pleased to meet you. I'm Pyrrha. My team is Jane, Nora and Ren.” She offered.

“Ruby!”

“Weiss Schnee.”

“Blake.”

“You guys look identical...” She flinched as she was hit in the side by Blake. “Yang.”

Pyrrha smiled. “And I think you know J-” She was cut off as Ami once again vanished from where she was standing, appearing in front of Jaune and wrapping him in a big hug. She swung him in a circle, holding his head against her chest. “Jaune! It's been so long! You're so grown up.” Ami said warmly before letting the poor boy go.

Jaune just smiled, a little dizzy from being spun around. “It's good to see you too, Ami.” Jaune had met the twins a few times before, again from many visits regarding his sister's “trouble” in school. The pair were often the other half of the trouble, but Ami was far more pleasant to be around. In fact, it was usually her sister who ended up in the trouble so Jaune and Ami would often play together when he was young.

Pyrrha smiled, the teeniest bit jealous of seeing Ami cling onto Jaune suddenly.

“Don't worry about those two.” Alice offered to the group. “Now why are you here? You had to come babysit your sister?” She asked.

Ali just returned her challenging glare. “We're proud of her so we came to watch. Why are you even here? Last I heard your brother doesn't attend here.” She said, casting a slightly apologetic glance at Jaune. She hadn't meant it in a rude way, she didn't have anything against Alice's brother.

“We came to watch his girlfriend fight. But it seems both of us couldn't do what we wanted.

“She's not my...”

“He's not my...”

Both Jaune and Pyrrha cut themselves off. Were they boyfriend and girlfriend? They hadn't exactly... talked about it. After their night out and... kisses... they just kind of kept things as they were. Neither was exactly sure about what they “Were” at the moment.

Ami just squealed. “Awww they mimic each other. They are so cute.” Ami said, letting out a happy sigh. Ah, young love.

“You really think your brother can keep up with my sister in a fight?” Ali challenged, raising an eyebrow.

Alice smirked. “Don't underestimate the men in the Arc family. Besides, he's been trained by the Pyrrha Nikos.”

Ali was caught off guard. She knew Pyrrha had seemed familiar. Perhaps the match would be a little fairer after all.

Ali and Alice stared each other down for a minute, before turning to Glynda in sync. “They're fighting.” They announced.

Glynda's fist clenched around her crop. “Now listen here. Don't think you two can barge into my classroom and orchestrate fights with the students.”

Alice cracked her knuckles as Ali drew her sword a few inches. “Perhaps we should spar for old times sake?”

“That could be fun.” Alice said, a dangerous lilt in her tone.

Both teams stepped back in fear. The aura surrounding Alice and Ali had suddenly gotten menacing and dangerous. Alice was a handful enough when she was angry, but Ali seemed to make the situation worse. Surprisingly though, Jaune had been the one to step between them, raising his hands, though they shook a little.

“I don't want to get kicked out of here. Last time you guys fought they had to do renovations on the building.”

Glynda threw up her hands in defeat. “Fine! We'll let the students fight. However, if anyone is harmed it will be on your heads.”

Alice and Ali both threw up scouts salutes. “Scout's honor!”

“Neither of you were scouts...” Jaune mumbled quietly.

Glynda got the stage ready as Ali and Ami went back to talk to their side.

Alice threw an arm around Jaune's shoulder. “Nice job on selling the threat. I wasn't sure Glynda was going to let us do it.”

Jaune just shook his head. “I thought you two were being serious. I didn't want you guys breaking the place.”

Alice just laughed. “Go get ready. You can't lose to that brat's little sister!”

Jaune was surprised when Alice handed him her backpack with a wink, finding his armor and weapon and shield in it. “When did you...”

“Always be prepared.” She offered ushering him off towards the changing room.

Jaune paused, looking to Pyrrha. “Are you sure you're okay with this? Jane?”

Jane just smiled, before sneezing. “Thanks for letting Pyrrha get some practice. Just don't get hurt, okay?” She said with a sniffle.

Pyrrha smiled warmly. “I have absolute faith in you. We'll just do our best. What happens, happens. Besides, it seems you have a bit of a legacy to keep going.”

Jaune sighed, scratching his head before looking up and smiling. “Then let's do this!” She said before following Ren to the lockers to borrow his locker.

Pyrrha just chuckled before heading over to hers to get ready. She hadn't be expecting a fight, but fighting along side Jaune was something she hadn't realized how much she wanted to do it.

XxXxXxXxX

Jaune and Pyrrha stood on the platform.

“Remember your defense Jaune. Play it safe, and we'll work together. Leave the offense to me, I'll be counting on you to watch my back.” She offered, hoping to calm the obvious nerves that were building up in him.

Jaune nodded, making sure his armor was all on tightly. He had a feeling that he would need it very badly soon enough.

“So you should know our opponents right? Ali and Ami have another sister?” Pyrrha asked, stepping closer. She was both determined to win this fight with Jaune, and make sure he wasn't injured in it. Knowing as much as she could about her opponent would help even the playing field, as she figured once Ali recognized her she told her sister, and Jaune still hadn't discovered his semblance.

“Kinda. They aren't related by blood, they adopted her when they were young. They're all orphans, you see. But they're as close as me and my sisters. Her name is...”

“Ashe! Nice to meet cha!” A voice suddenly chimed out from across the arena. A raven haired girl a little shorter than Pyrrha stood across from them sporting a pixie cut, and a shirt that read “hot stuff” on it, underneath a fashionable jacket.. A long metal box hung at her hip, and a strange tube on the other hip. From behind, a long cat tail swished playfully from side to side.

Pyrrha smiled politely. “I'm...”

“Pyrrha Nikos. I know. He wouldn't shut up about you for a while.” She said, a hint of jealous creeping into her voice as her smile faltered.

Next to her a male, slightly taller than her sporting black shaggy hair walked up smiling nervously. “I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to.” His snow fox ears on the top of his head drooped slightly.

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she recognized him. She had been the student she fought in the beginning of the year. He had been the one to freeze her weapons, and send her to Jaune's shop.

“Hey Tyler.” Jaune offered with a wave. They had met through his sister eventually, and he had done some work on his weapon and armor.

Ashe just giggled, throwing an arm around his shoulder and kissing his cheek. “I know. I just can't help it, I get a little jealous when my boyfriend is fawning over another girl.” She said, shooting a meaningful glance at Pyrrha who's eyes widened.

Tyler blushed red. “I wasn't fawning... it was just a good fight. It was good motivation.” He mumbled, embarrassed about being called out like that.

“So your partner isn't enough motivation for you?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tyler's eyes widened. “That's not what I meant! You know I'd do anything for you.” He confessed, before realizing what he said and blushing a deep red. He let out a groan of annoyance.

Ashe just snickered. “I know, I know. You're just cute when you're embarrassed.” She said, leaning over to give his cheek a peck in apology before grabbing the sword at his waist and handing it to him. “Sorry for teasing you. I'll make it up to you later.” She offered before grabbing the long box at her hip.

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other, before blushing and looking away. They may be in some sort of relationship, but they certainly weren't as open as Ashe and Tyler seemed to be about it.

Ashe raised an eyebrow but Tyler leaned over, whispering something in her ear.

“Oh I see! You two are a thing! But shy. Got it. How cute.” Ashe squealed slightly. “Nothing to be embarrassed about it.”

“You're one to talk! It took you guys forever to admit you liked each other, longer still to be comfortable. It took us all to bring you together.” Ami lamented from the side.

Pyrrha chuckled as she saw Ashe's face burn red in embarrassment. She was about to make a comment when her eyes widened. In a blur of movement, the long metal box in her hand had unfolded, growing into a powerful metal recurve bow. Meanwhile, her other hand had opened up the tube, and pulled out a small tube. A press of a button and it had extended into an arrow, was nocked, and fired at Ami before Pyrrha had realized she was holding her breath.

The arrow whizzed through the air with shocking speed, straight towards Ami. Before Pyrrha would even react to the sudden attack, Ami's hand shot up and caught the arrow with a frown.

“Rude.” There was a crack and Ami was standing next to Ashe, handing her the arrow back. “Don't waste your ammo before a fight.” She scolded, flicking Ashe on the forehead.

Sighing, she ruffled Ashe's hair. “Good luck to both teams!” She said, calling over her shoulder. She turned back to Tyler and Ashe for a moment. “Jaune's not a proper student, so don't go overboard. This is just training and we don't want any accidents. I'll be watching, but I trust you guys to be smart out there.” Looking over her shoulder at him, she smiled warmly before turning back to her sister and her partner. “But don't underestimate him either. That Arc family is scary, plus he's had a great teacher. So be on your guard.” She offered, before patting each of them on the shoulder and vanishing with a crack, appearing next to Ali who just handed her back her bowl of popcorn.

“Without further ado, let's start this final round. Jaune, and Pyrrha from team JNPR versus Tyler and Ashe from team BATT.” Glynda announced. “When someone's aura hits the red, they are out and you are not to attack them as they exit the field. If you fall out of bounds you are eliminated. Fight fair, and begin!” She announced.

She was about to wave her crop when Ashe's hand shot up.

“Wait! I almost forgot.”

With a sly smirk at Tyler, she suddenly handed Tyler her bow to hold before she took off her jacket. This left her in just a tank top. She wasn't done though. Reaching down, she quickly undid her belt before tossing it on her jacket. Reaching down she began to undo her boots as well.

There was a wolf whistle from the audience, but a sudden glare from Ali sent a shiver down the audience. Suddenly no one wanted to make any jokes.

Jaune was looking away, feeling a little uncomfortable about his opponent stripping in front of him.

Pyrrha was confused and slightly embarrassed as well.

Tyler was just unabashedly staring at his girlfriend, transfixed by her gaze as she smirked at him, one hand on her hip as her shoes joined her belt and jacket.

“Take off your belt.” She said with a wink. “Or do you need help?”

Jaune covered his flushed face, Pyrrha gasped in shock.

There was a crack and Ami was standing next to Ashe snickering. “You're having too much fun. Stop teasing Tyler, and it looks like Jaune and Pyrrha are about to pass out.” She scolded, still snickering at her sister's antics. Ashe could be a flirt with Tyler, but Ami knew it was all talk. She liked to tease him, but both her and Tyler were taking things slow.

Ami handed Ashe a pair of sneakers as she gathered up her clothes, and took the belt a still blushing Tyler had offered her.

“Why the outfit change?” Pyrrha had asked, thoroughly confused and embarrassed by the actions. Judging by Glynda's expression, she was also looking for a proper explanation for the unneeded delay.

“We're up against Pyrrha Nikos. I'm not sure that wearing metal is our best bet. I just forgot to remove it before hand.” She explained honestly. Looking over at Tyler, she saw he had recovered his composure, though he still seemed a bit tired of feeling flustered. She mouthed an honest “I'm sorry.” to him. Maybe she had taken it too far, but her sister had a bit of a bad influence on her.

The second Glynda's crop was lowered an arrow whizzed through the air, bouncing harmlessly off Pyrrha's shield. It seemed this was going to be a fast paced fight. She was about to step forward, when Jaune suddenly shoved her backwards, bringing his shield up. A moment later the arrow she had forgotten exploded into a small ball of flames. Pyrrha hid slightly behind Jaune, bracing him against the explosion. A second later she was at his side again, her shield raised. “What was that!?”

Jaune smiled apologetically. “I didn't get to explain earlier. Ashe's semblance is fire. She can set herself or anything she touches on fire and manipulate the flames of it to an extent. There's some limitations but she's dangerous! Her arrows aren't normal arrows.” Jaune offered.

Pyrrha was a bit intimidated, she had to admit. She wasn't expecting that. Combined with Tyler's ability  to sap the heat from what he touches and freeze things solid, they were a dangerous pair.

“I really wish I knew my semblance right about now.” Jaune offered with a nervous laugh in his voice.

Pyrrha smirked. “We won't need it.”

Jaune tightened his grip on his sword. “I hope you're right. You focus on Ashe, I can't keep up with her range. I'll try to take Tyler.” He offered.

Pyrrha nodded. His plan was simple, but solid. That was one many aspects of potential she saw in Jaune. While fighting technique may not come naturally to him as it did to her, his battle instinct was rather sharp. He learned from his mistakes quickly and could find a strategy to face a new threat. This had kept Pyrrha on her toes while training, forcing her to keep changing to avoid him adapting to her, though her experience and talent kept her with the upper-hand. For once though, she was glad it was on her side. They may need it in this battle if they wanted to win.

Pyrrha switched to her rifle and fired shots off at Ashe, separating her from Tyler as Jaune closed the distance to him. Ashe was quick with her bow, and the arrows were a live threat until they exploded, meaning Pyrrha had to stay on her guard. The arrows were metal, but she couldn't properly manipulate them with the speed they were being fired, so she'd have to face them without her semblance.

Deflecting arrows and guarding against their explosions would only last so long, so Pyrrha rushed forward. She was relying on her agility to close the gap, as she narrowly dodged arrow after arrow, continuing to move so they couldn't catch her in their explosion.

At last she had managed to close the gap, when she saw her chance. Bashing up with her shield, she deflected Ashe's bow upwards, spinning the girl around. She struck out with her sword, but was surprised to find it collide against a staff.

Ashe smirked, as her bow finished transforming into a long bo-staff. She swung her staff around, slamming Pyrrha in the side of the head with it and forced Pyrrha to back up.

Pyrrha winced, having been caught off guard by the transformation. It seems the fight wouldn't be easy close up either. Glancing over, she saw Jaune was struggling against his own opponent.

Jaune and Tyler circled around each other. Both guys were sporting a sword and shield, though Tyler's was a bit different. His sword was froze solid, extending it's reach and size, and his shield was a small metal buckler that was also frozen, expanding it's range.

Jaune knew he had to be careful. If he touched Tyler's ice for too long, it could begin to freeze him too. That was what had done the damage to Pyrrha's weapons. Luckily his sword had no moving parts, and his shield was only useful extended at the moment so he wasn't too concerned about that.

Letting out a yell, he dashed forward.

“Come!” Tyler said with a grin. Jaune was a pretty good friend to him, so he was excited to fight with him. But that didn't mean he was going to take it easy on him. This was supposed to be practice after all.

Tyler met Jaune's blow with his own, and soon they were trading slashes. Tyler was more experienced than Jaune was, so he was dictating the flow of the battle. Still, he had to admit he was impressed with Jaune's growth. He certainly wasn't someone he could brush off. Still, Tyler wouldn't lose.

Ducking one of Jaune's swing, Tyler swiped his frozen sword at Jaune's feet.

Jaune was caught off by the strange action, but when he tried to rush forward, he stumbled and fell forward.

His right foot had been frozen solid on the ground. He barely had time to bring his shield up as Tyler's swipe slammed into it.

Jaune flew backwards, slamming into the ground as his frozen foot kept him rooted in place and had caused him to arc and land on his back.

“Pyrrha!” He called out, knowing he needed help if he was going to avoid being eliminated right then and there. “Pass!” He called out.

Pyrrha hopped backwards, dodging another arrow as she knew what he was saying. It had only taken a moment for her to notice his foot and realize his strategy.

Firing off a few rounds with her spear, she forced Ashe to back up before she switched to a spear and launched it at her, knocking the hot head back.

Turning with a powerful spin, she launched her shield like a discus, as it soared across the arena. It slammed into the ice around Jaune's foot, shattering it before ricocheting into Tyler.

Jaune caught it, and threw it back towards her to the best of his ability. Luckily her semblance let her correct his slightly off course throw. She focused on her spear, sending it back towards her but it was going to be too slow.

Ashe was back on her feet and aiming an arrow at Pyrrha's defenseless form. As she was about to fire her arrow, she failed to notice Jaune approaching. He had realized what situation Pyrrha would have ended up in after throwing both her shield and spear, so he had started running to intercept.

Jaune slammed into her side with his shield, knocking her over.

Running back to his partner, he took a guard next to her. “You okay?”

Pyrrha smiled. “Thanks for covering me.”

Jaune smirked. “You saved me first. I would have been out.”

“Then it's goo-”

“Ashe! Now!” Tyler's voice rang out.

Looking over, they saw Tyler kneeling on the ground, both palms planted on the ground. Between them was a large ice dust crystal. An icy mist was flowing out from his hands as you could see the aura around his hands pulsing.

Ashe stood up, smirking. Leave it to her partner. With a massive jump, she did a large back flip, landing perched on Tyler's back like a bird.

Bracing himself for the impact of Ashe on his back. At the moment she landed, he slammed his hands down on the ice crystal.

There was a massive cloud of dust that exploded out from them, obscuring the area in a mist.

Jaune and Pyrrha coughed, swiping away the dust around them. They tried to move to find a clean spot but found they both had their feet frozen to the ground. In fact, the entire ground had been frozen solid in an instant.

Immediately Jaune slammed his sword into Pyrrha's feet beginning to chip the ice away as Pyrrha fired a few rounds towards Jaune's. They had to be free soon.

“Stay together!” Jane called out from the stands.

“You can do it!” Ruby called out eagerly.

Yang raised an eyebrow. “That was a lot of ice.”

Weiss nodded. “That was rather impressive, it seems his semblance is very powerful when combined with Ice Dust.” Weiss explained. It was a bit similar to her semblance with dust, but his seemed to be on a different level, though she had a feeling he would be out of luck when it came to other types of dust.

“But it's not without cost.” Blake noted, gesturing to the screen. Tyler's aura had dipped significantly when he used that move. “That takes a lot of trust in your teammate to use that. It leaves you vulnerable.” She remarked.

Jaune and Pyrrha were free soon enough, but it was too slow. Ashe was already sprinting towards them, her feet blazing. She stepped with enough force, and combined the the fire surrounding her feet, the ice melted and cracked instantly underneath her steps, allowing her to roam free.

Jaune and Pyrrha tried to stay together, but their feet were slipping and sliding on the ice, it was impossible to get any sort of solid footing on the floor of ice.

“Pyrrha, block!” Jaune called out but Ashe was too quick.

A flying kick from the raven haired girl sent Pyrrha flying and sliding across the ice towards the edge of the arena.

Jaune turned to try and help her, but noticed Tyler and barely had time to throw up his guard.

Every time Tyler stepped, his foot would freeze slightly to the ice, keeping him solid in place, before he'd free himself when he needed to take another step.

Jaune managed to block the hit, but he was still sliding backwards.

Desperate to stop her momentum, Pyrrha jammed her sword in the ground, holding onto it for dear life.

She saw Ashe aiming at her with her bow again, and she knew she was in trouble. With a wave of her hand and a massive effort, she unleashed her semblance. At the last moment, Ashe's bow aimed downwards as her arrow exploded in front of her, sending her sliding backwards.

Pyrrha quickly scrambled towards the spot of melted ice from the explosion. Back on solid footing she saw Jaune struggling against Tyler.

“Jaune! Touchdown!” She called out, firing a few rounds at Tyler to force him to back off for a moment.

Jaune was hesitant, but knew the situation was desperate. Raising his sword with both hands, he slammed it down onto the ground with all the force he could muster.

While not nearly as impressive as he had seen Yatsuhashi do before, it did it's job. The ice in the area around him cracked and shattered from the sheer force of his aura-infused strike.

But that meant he was still trapped to this small circle.

Pyrrha wanted to help him out more, but she saw Ashe approaching. She knew if they continued to fight separately they might lose. The arena was no longer fair game, and both of them had great control of their semblances, something that had been missing from her fight with team CRDL.

Struggling to guard against Tyler's continued onslaught, Jaune was thinking the same thing. “Client 1! Finish this order then move on.” Jaune called out.

Pyrrha understood his plan, thankful they knew each other well enough to understand the coded call outs with no real planning.

Spinning around, she hurled her shield again at Ashe who was readying an arrow. The shield and arrow collided mid air, exploding directly in front of Ashe. Ashe stumbled backwards, trying to regain her composure. She quickly knocked another arrow, but failed to notice Pyrrha's glowing shield slam into her from the side as Pyrrha manipulated it with her semblance. In a panic it had set off Ashe's arrow yet again, sending her flying even farther away, her bow sliding away from her.

Zooming towards it's owner, Pyrrha's shield flew towards her as she sprinted towards Tyler. This was their chance.

Jaune parried Tyler's strike, knocking his sword up. Tyler wasn't done though. His hand shot out and grabbed Jaune's that was holding his shield. With a release of his semblance, Jaune's hand began to freeze over.

Desperate, Jaune ripped his hand free, but that had meant he had to let go of his shield. His shield clattered across the arena, leaving him with just his sword.

Tyler was about to flash out with a strike when he felt Pyrrha's sword cut across his back. His aura had absorbed the blow, but it had hurt. He swung around with a strike towards Pyrrha, but she blocked it with her shield.

He brought his shield up to block Jaune's counter, throwing a kick towards Pyrrha. He swung back with momentum towards Jaune with his sword, but was surprised to see Jaune holding Pyrrha's shield as he blocked his attack before Pyrrha's kick connect to his side.

Soon Tyler was completely overwhelmed. Pyrrha and Jaune were flanking him, trading blows when he tried to focus on the other. Periodically they would pass Pyrrha's shield back and forth, blocking strikes as they whittled down his aura quickly.

Ashe screamed for him, but she couldn't get there fast enough. The two explosions had hurt her more than she was expecting and it took her too long to recover.

Desperate, he had caught Pyrrha's shield mid-air, but it was too late. Both Jaune and Pyrrha struck down with a blow as the buzzer rang out. Falling to his knees, he stared at the ground. Tyler's aura had dropped into the red.

Immediately Jaune and Pyrrha both stepped back, breathing heavily. Tyler was eliminated, and they wanted to make sure he could leave safely.

Tyler forced himself to his feet as he began to stumble towards the stairs off the platform. His shoulders drooped and his face was cast in shadow. He barely looked at Ashe as he passed her. The ears on his head drooped low in shame.

“Tyler... are you okay? I'm sorry.” She stammered out. That's when she saw it.

Tyler had sniffled and offered her a heart-breaking smile. “I guess I wasn't good enough. Do your best.”

He said as he staggered down the stairs. Ami had appeared with a crack, quickly throwing her arm around him and helping him. She could only imagine how he must be taking the defeat.

That's when the murmurs started.

“He lost to Jaune.”

“Jaune isn't even a student.”

“Pyrrha was busy with the girl most of the time.”

“I guess the ice was just for show.”

“How weak.”

“He's just a Fannus after all.”

“I hope I get matched against them in the festival.”

Tyler's form seemed to droop even more. His girlfriend's fist clenched at her side as she saw her precious partner walk away so defeated.

Jaune and Pyrrha were both panting, feeling bad. Those watching didn't understand. Tyler had been a serious threat. That wasn't something to brush off. Jaune knew he couldn't have won on his own.

“Good fight!” Jane called out hoarsely, feeling awful for the boy walking away.

“Poor girl. She can do so much bette-” The murmur was cut off by an explosion.

The wall of the room now had a massive crater in it as Ali stood there, her fist still lodged in it. She was breathing heavily, as if restraining herself as she glared at the audience. “One. More. Word. I dare you.” She sounded out, causing everyone to instantly shut up. Surprisingly, Alice moved over to Ali and put a hand on her shoulder, calming the girl ever so slightly.

Alice knew Tyler and Ashe trained as hard as Jaune and Pyrrha. While Tyler had more practical experience than Jaune, he had grown up mostly alone before he had met Ashe when they were younger. Ali had grown to care for the boy like a little brother, and Alice could sympathize with what she must be feeling.

Jaune and Pyrrha were suddenly aware of the temperature of the room spiking. It felt like they had entered a sauna.

“Please keep all comments respectful.” Glynda ordered to the audience. “Now then, the match isn't over. Resume!”

Jaune and Pyrrha stood next to each other, looking at Ashe. Looking carefully, they saw she was practically shaking. Scratch that, she was visibly shaking in anger.

“Pyrrha. Be careful. When it comes to Tyler, Ashe ca-”

He was cut off as he saw her throw something in the air, before dashing forward, and explosion of fire propelling her at a fast speed.

They were caught off guard as she suddenly appeared between them, hand spread wide. Her usual playful smirk was gone, a deathly serious gaze in her eyes.

Practically in slow motion, Pyrrha and Jaune turned their heads as they saw what she had thrown up before falling between them. It was a large dust crystal. Fire dust.

They both barely had time to raise their shields before she slammed it between her two fists.

The three students were suddenly surrounded in a massive ball of flame, Pyrrha and Jaune rocketing out of it away from each other. Both of them had been scorched in the explosion a little.

Ashe hadn't emerged unharmed from it either, but she dashed towards the now isolated Jaune. Her semblance proved a useful shield to flames, albeit not perfect. Drawing her bow, she fired 2 arrows behind her, one being blocked by Pyrrha's shield but the second one hit the ground next to her, sending her flying farther away.

She turned back to Jaune but Jaune was already desperate to counter attack, terrified of the huntress going after him.

He swung his sword, and managed to knock her weapon away.

“That's it! Keep her unarmed! You can finish this!” Alice called out victoriously.

Ali, though still murderous, was a little calmer next to her. “You know, Ashe has received a lot of hand to hand training. Almost an unhealthy amount.”

Alice faltered. “From you?”

Ali shook her head, gesturing to where Ami was consoling Tyler. “My sister.”

Alice felt her stomach drop. “Jaune! Run! You can't beat her unarmed.” She changed her mind.

Both of the twins were strong huntresses in their own right. While she often fought with Ali, Ami was one person she refused to fight in hand to hand combat. While she wasn't very powerful from a range, Alice had never seen Ami lose in a fist fight. No Grimm who had met her daggers ever survived. If she had been training Ashe, who may not be a prodigy like she was, Jaune was not prepared. He had learned only the basics of hand to hand, as Grimm weren't very big users of fisticuffs.

Jaune had gotten the message too slow though.

Jaune still hadn't recovered his shield, too distracted by Tyler's exit to move towards it. He swung his sword, but Ashe caught his wrist. Turning, raising and slamming it down onto her shoulder Jaune let out a gasp of pain as he dropped the sword. His wrist was burning in pain, and if he didn't have his aura he was pretty sure his wrist would have just been broken.

Following through, she flipped him over her shoulder. Raising her leg straight up, she slammed it down in a flaming Axe kick.

Barely managing to roll and avoid the kick, he felt her grab his collar.

Ashe ripped him up off the ground, before slamming her fist into his gut. Two kick jabs to his chest, followed by a hook to his chin which left him dazed. She circle stepped around him, hiding behind him as she saw Pyrrha ready her rifle but but she was unable to get a clean shot with Jaune between them.

Ashe's hand began to glow red hot as she glared at Jaune, a murderous look in her eyes.

She placed her hand against his chest plate.

“Jaune!” Pyrrha called out desperately.

Instantly, the experienced huntresses in the room knew what would happen.

“Ashe!” Glynda scolded raising her crop.

Alice had leaned forward, a pissed off look on her face. Before she could propel herself forward, Ami had appeared in front of her, a hand on her shoulder. “Wait.”

Ali herself grabbed one of the crystals hanging around her neck, but Tyler spoke up.

“Ashe! Stop.” He called out in a hoarse voice.

Ashe's eyes widened as her thoughts cleared up. The glow on her hand faded significantly before she spun around, throwing Jaune as a massive explosion emitted from her glowing hand.

Jaune rocketed across the arena as the buzzer sounded. He sailed off the platform, but Alice appeared in his path and caught him safely. Glancing up at the screen she saw his aura was still safely in the red. The explosion had been scaled back enough.

Ashe snapped her head back to look at Pyrrha, who was also staring at her.

Pyrrha knew that the situation was dangerous. Both of their aura's were low after this long drawn out fight. But Ashe reminded her of Yang, and she had a feeling even if Ashe was a little more level headed she was still pissed off. Her powers would be peaking at the moment, and she wasn't sure if she could handle her for long. Pyrrha never had explosive force, rather relying on skillful blows to win fights, and as Ashe had seemingly discarded her weapon and was void of metal, her semblance wasn't going to help her out either.

She dashed forward, firing off a few rounds from her rifle to keep her back.

Ashe dodged from side to side as she closed the gap, keeping her arms tucked close. Her right hand glowed as she threw a punch. It connected with Pyrrha's shield, and the explosion sent it flying away.

Pyrrha didn't have time to call it back to her as Ashe kept up her onslaught.

Using her semblance as much as she was was a risk. There was a definite blow-back every time she released a burst of flames from her hands and she was going to feel it tomorrow.

Pyrrha winced as she felt another punch connect to her side. This girl hit very hard.

Knowing the fight was reaching it's climax, Pyrrha knew it would end soon. Both of their aura levels were reaching the end as well.

Separating, they stared each other down. Neither wanted to disappoint their teammates who were watching eagerly from the sidelines.

Ashe clenched her fists as they glowed a bright red.

Pyrrha reached out her hand as she backed up, preparing her last plan.

Ashe rushed forward again, the temperature of the room rising as she prepared for the strike.

At the last moment, Pyrrha stepped around her. As expected, Ashe was ready for that. She spun out with a glowing backhand, it heading straight for Pyrrha's face. At the last moment, it collided with something hard as the explosion rang out, causing her to stumble backwards.

Pyrrha stood, bracing herself behind Jaune's glowing black shield. She had moved it to block Ashe's attack at the last moment. Summoning all the strength she had left, she let out a pulse of magnetism as she repelled the shield with all she could.

The shield shot away from her, slamming into Ashe. Off balance, Ashe couldn't properly react and the shield rocketed her backwards, sending her sliding off the edge of the platform.

As she hit the floor the buzzer rang out.

“Match over! Victory goes to Jaune and Pyrrha!” Glynda announced.

Ashe stood up from the ground, in shock. She had lost. She began to walk around the arena, but soon Tyler met her halfway.

She stared at him through frustrated tears, disappointed she couldn't finish up the victory. Tyler just smiled and pulled her into a tight hug, wallowing in a similar frustration. Still, it had just been a practice match.

The audience erupted into cheers and applause. Both Tyler and Ashe started clapping for Jaune and Pyrrha who were both now up on the stage, smiling. After a moment they turned to their opponents and called them back up on the stage with them. “Great fight. That was very close.” Pyrrha offered, clapping for them as they joined them up there.

“Thanks for letting me live my dream of fighting as a huntsmen.” Jaune said a bit nervously.

Ashe sighed and rolled her eyes, her tail flicking behind her. “You two are too nice to stay mad at.”

Tyler just smiled and fist bumped Jaune.

Glynda smiled despite herself and addressed everyone. “With that, classes are officially done. You all are free until the festival, I suggest you begin making sure you have everything prepared, reflect on what you learned today, and rest up. Dismissed!” She said, turning back to the quartet. “That was certainly an interesting match to end the day on. I'm glad that none of you were seriously injured. Now then, please clear the stage so we can return this room to normal.” She said, shooing them away.

The group made their way to the rest of team RWBY and JNPR as Glynda began to clean up the stage.

“That was amazing!” Ruby gushed. “You were all so cool! First Tyler was like 'FWOOSH' and everything was frozen. But then Jaune was like 'AUGH' and broke the ice.”

Next to her Nora was grinning. “But Pyrrha was the coolest. When she was dodging the arrows?”

Yang walked over, throwing an arm over Jaune's shoulder. “It seems my fellow blondie has really grown. You were holding your own out there.”

Jaune just stammered. “Pyrrha did most of the work. I just tried to survive.”

“You did great.” Ashe said, her tail suddenly lowering. “I'm sorry I kinda lost it there. I don't like seeing Tyler disappointed like that.” She muttered, her tail wrapping around Tyler's leg as he grabbed her hand. “I didn't mean to almost hurt you. Honest.”

Jaune shook his head. “It's okay. I'm sorry all the students were like that. I thought you guys were scary as hell up there.”

Ashe just laughed, letting out a sigh of relief that he wasn't mad. She really hadn't want to hurt her friend, she can just get a little ahead of herself in fights.

Soon the group of students had started dissecting the match, bickering about who did what.

Jaune tugged on Pyrrha's hand. “Can you follow me for a second?” He whispered to her.

Nodding curiously, Pyrrha excused them from the group and moved off to the side a little. “What is it Jaune? I thought you fought admirably.”

Jaune just stared at her, a complex series of emotions crossing his face.

“Jaune? If something is wrong you can talk to me you know.”

“Pyrrha.” Jaune started out. He took a deep breath. “Pyrrha, would you go out with me tomorrow night?” He said, staring at her nervously. “As my girlfriend.”

Pyrrha just stared at him in utter shock. So they were going to be a couple? She had kinda hoped they were, but neither of them seemed to be willing to ask if it was official.

Her pause made Jaune's heart race. “I mean, I know it's bad timing you have the festival in a few days. You should be with your team. I just thought that maybe... er... so-” He was cut off as Pyrrha slammed into him. He felt her lips press against his as she kissed him.

This had effectively cut off all conversation from their friends as they turned to stare at the pair with a range of expressions from scandalized to amused. Yang let out a wolf whistle and Jane was fervently taking pictures.

Ashe leaned over to Tyler. “I feel like they're just rubbing it in now.” She muttered, her tail anxiously behind her. She turned her head when she didn't get a response from him, surprised when she suddenly felt his lips on hers. She melted into the kiss for a moment, before he pulled back, and moved her in front of him, wrapping his arms around her waist possessively.

Ashe just giggled at her boyfriend's antics. She leaned her head back into his shoulder, they could let Arkos have the moment.

Pyrrha realized she had an audience and quickly stepped back, flushed red still. “In case you couldn't tell, I would love to go out with you tomorrow. On a date.” She said, embarrassed at her own words.

Pyrrha suddenly staggered as Jane slammed into her from the side, before staggering the other way as Nora slammed into her from the other side.

“It finally happened!” They cheered in unison.

Ren walked over putting his hand on Jaune's shoulder. “Congratulations.”

Jaune just grinned, blushing slightly.

Soon the older siblings joined the group, mercilessly teasing their respective younger siblings.

“Well we'll have a truce today. Come on, we're taking you all out for lunch.” Ali said, glancing over at Alice.

“Yeah so hit the showers. We're leaving in thirty minutes, our treat.” Alice said, letting her grudge go with Ali. Today was a day to celebrate, both her brother finally officially getting together with Pyrrha, and all their hard work for the Vytal festival.

The group cheered and moved to go freshen up and change for the surprise treat.

As Pyrrha waved goodbye to Jaune and walked towards the women's showers she couldn't help the smile on her face.

Her heart was soaring, it had finally happened. Jaune and herself were officially a couple. Even if they had already sort of been one, it was out and public. Pyrrha couldn't feel happier, they could be eliminated in the first round of the festival and she'd still be riding high.

Pyrrha couldn't find the words to express how happy she felt about meeting Jaune, and that he ended up becoming such a large part of her life. She knew she would cherish every memory she had made with him so far, and looked forward to making many more with him. Wherever her life lead her, down whatever path may come, she knew she would be fine with it if she could walk it with Jaune.

XxXxXxXxX

I’m really really sorry for the delay with this chapter. As some of you may know I entered an art contest mid February. It was a really important chance (that I totally screwed up) and I wanted to try and do it right. So I wasn’t able to do much writing. I was able to sit down and write a prompt or two that was in my head, but this chapter took pretty much all of today for me to write and I couldn’t really do that before. But the contest is over, and I will likely be able to power out the remaining chapters in this story before I find a parttime job and start my new courses. This also means I have plenty of free time to finish up the prompts that are still sitting in my inbox.

I really am sorry for how long this took, and I hope the length made up for it. Thank you for all the kind words you’ve sent me, and I hope you have a wonderful freaking day! :D