Piers Garetson, Emilie Peterson

Piers nodded and continued to follow Emilie down the cave they were in. He let the sarcasm pass him by without commenting on it or letting it get to him, it was a tense day for both of them and people handled their stress in different ways. Although it did certainly cheer him up to see some dry land at long last. He quickly pulled himself out of the water and relished the feeling of not having water surrounding him on all sides.

As soon as he saw the fork, Piers made up his mind which way to go. "What kind of a hunch to do you have? Do you think something's following us or coming after us? Also I think we should try the right path this time."

((OOC: I have the maze pre-made, which is why I give the directions in my posts. At the moment, you guys aren't really near a fork. Just a note for the future. ))

"Sure, why not?" Emilie said. She'd switched Splendor to claymore form, and was using it's heat generation to great effect. It was only 1 or 2 minutes before she felt warm and dry.

"What kind of a hunch to do you have? Do you think something's following us or coming after us? Also I think we should try the right path this time." Piers asked.

Emilie thought it unlikely that something was following them, but the possibility always existed. From what little she'd heard about previous initiations, the goal was normally something along the lines of "get to this place" or "grab something and get back alive". As for which path to take, she didn't really have a preference.

"Ok," she said, putting on her shoes "lets follow your hunch."

(OOC: Duly noted, I'll avoid making directions in the future.)

((OOC: My apologies as well, I didn't realize you had the maze planned out.))

Piers didn't hesitate to get close to Emilie's sword once he realized what she was doing with it. He was used to being cold and wet like this, but he wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to dry off either. Once they were both set, continued following Emilie down the cave.

"I like your weapon by the way. You definitely have something handy there." Piers replied with a smile as he took out his weapon again to use as a walking stick. He figured a little bit of conversation would help ease their tensions, now that they had worked together a little bit.

Emilie's mouth actually twisted into a smile at Piers praise of her weapon. It truly was her pride and joy.
"Thanks, I made the claymore modification myself." She said. "What about your staff? That wind ability is fairly useful." Though her initial response to this boy had been less than ideal, she found herself starting to like this boy. His upbeat attitude was in contrast to her own, and she somehow found it refreshing.

Piers's smile grew as he saw Emilie relax slightly, there were few things Piers enjoyed more then being helpful to others.

"I've always had a mind for defense, so I made Serenes to help me out with that. In some ways its even better than a shield, I can use it to reach out and block attacks against other people. And being able to launch blasts of wind here and there helps me move people out of harm's way, or stop harm's way from coming close to anyone."

"Although I'm starting to regret not making a gun or something to carry. As I'm quickly learning today, there's not much I can do when I'm in water or against something flying. I think I was very fortunate to get paired up with you."

Emilie was actually somewhat interested in what Garetson was saying. It seemed fortunate that a defense-centered student was paired with her. Their abilities seemed to compliment each other perfectly. Still, there was the one question that had been bugging her about Piers, and the extent of his power.

"Piers... how much can your aura heal? If it's too little I can't fight all out. At my highest strength I have maybe a minute before my muscles start ripping themselves apart. It would not be in our favor if that happened to early in the trial." Though she was almost certain his healing wouldn't be enough, it never hurt to ask.

Also, she was just itching to get a chance to use her full power.

"Not that much!" Piers's eyes went wide as he answered Emilie's question in shock. A shiver went down his spine as he thought about the idea of muscles ripping. It certainly wasn't something he wanted to try to treat.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to jump like that. I just...well, the idea of muscles ripping isn't pleasant. I'm only really good at fixing simple stuff. Scraps, cuts, burns, anything like that I can fix during a fight without having to have you even slow down. Anything more like broken bones, deep wounds, muscle tearing, it would require more time and more energy. I guess really it depends on how bad it is, but we'd probably be looking at maybe...an hour? A couple of hours? I haven't really tried before, so I can't say for sure."

"At the very least, I could make sure you didn't end up crippled permanently...if you really had to do it."

Emilie huffed again. "About as much as I expected, but hopefully it won't come to that. If the scroll's right, the only thing that would need even close to full power is those mole things."

She really couldn't comprehend what Piers found so disquieting about heavy damage. She'd dislocated her shoulders more times than she could remember, and probably torn as many muscles. Was he so sheltered he hadn't seen that? Or perhaps the better question, was she in the abnormal situation? Somewhat curious she decided to hazard a question.

"So... how'd you grow up Garets? Always wanted to be a hunter?" At the very least the question would help pass the time.

Garets? Was it a nickname? A mispronunciation? He had never been called that before, he found it interesting.

"Hmm...I guess I didn't start wanting to be a hunter until I was older. I grew up in the agricultural district, mom was a farmhand and dad worked over in the industrial district at a factory. We always had to do extra stuff on the side so my sister and I could go to school, so I spent a lot of time helping other people. I guess after a while I just wanted to make a career out of it so I figured becoming a Hunter would be the best way to do it. Even if I'm not the best at combat, that just means I can be the Hunter that helps Hunters."

"What about you? What brought you to Beacon Academy?" Piers found the conversation to be relaxing and enjoyable. It always helped to know who you were working with, especially since they'd be working together for a long time.

Emilie really should've been expecting the return question, but it still caught her off guard.

"Well... I grew up in a bad part of town. My folks had a small shop. In that area, it wasn't uncommon in the least to see a mugging every week or so. You learned to defend yourself real quick. Unfortunately for me I got a little too into it. I tended to land people in the emergency room. My parents basically said that I could either learn to become a huntress, or get turned out of the house. I chose the former." She said. "I didn't have a hell of a lot of choices."

She paused.

"It's not like I hate it though, it's just not what I always assumed I'd end up doing." She continued to wade, in a relative silence. She had never been good with conversation and had essentially exhausted her known topics.

"I hope we get wherever we're going soon."

Interesting, Piers never expected to meet someone at Beacon whose first choice wasn't to become a Hunter or Huntress. He didn't think any less of her for it, in fact he was happy to see Emilie here. It seemed like a good outlet for her energy. It was better than the alternative.

It was better than becoming what his sister had...

"I guess you're pretty eager to find a real fight, huh?" Piers asked simply. "I'm sure we'll have no shortage of those while we're here at Beacon. Just...try not to get yourself torn. Of course if you do, I guess that means I'll get plenty of practice healing people. Hmm...makes me wonder if there's a way I could use my semblance to stop muscle tearing."

Piers went silent for a moment as he contemplated the possibilities of what he could do when he was even stronger than he was now. It made his smile slip into a grin of pride and excitement.

"By the way, how are you with academic stuff? I know it's kind of weird to be thinking about right now, but eventually we're going to be tackling papers and research projects instead of Grimm."

"By the way, how are you with academic stuff? I know it's kind of weird to be thinking about right now, but eventually we're going to be tackling papers and research projects instead of Grimm."

Emilie didn't even want to think about it. Of course she knew that it would be necessary when she applied, but there wasn't a lot she could do about it.

"I suck, to be honest, I've never had a knack for actual schoolwork. Spent too much time in trouble to really learn anything." She said. "I know I'll need to work on that, but it's really not my focus right now. What about you? You any good at that?"

"Heh, some days studying felt like it was the only thing I was good at." Piers replied with a chuckle. "I'm not a natural when it comes to academic stuff, but at least I'm good at studying. Sometimes I think it's better to be good at studying than to be good at a subject. I usually ended up spending all my time in the gym practicing with my weapon, combat was what I struggled with at Signal. I uh...I almost didn't make it into Beacon because my combat scores weren't great."

"That was always because we got tested individually. Everyone else has semblances that they can use in combat for themselves and there I am all alone with a power that works on everyone but myself. I had a few people tell me that Beacon would be a waste of my time with the fighting skills I had, but I figured I could make it here since I'd have a team to always work with."

Piers paused for a moment when he was struck by a realization. "You know what I just remembered? The whole team stays in the same room together, we're going to have roommates by the end of the day."

Emilie listened as Piers talked about his time at Signal. Good at studying, not so good at combat. She'd observed the latter, but was happy that he'd at least gotten the former down. She zoned out for a minute as she imagined what her life would be like in his position. Not destroying her own body in combat, actually needing to try for her scores in training. Coming back she began to speak.

"Yeah, it was almost the opposite for me. My scores in every area except combat were at the bare minimum to enter Beacon. I honestly think I wouldn't have been accepted if not for..." Her mind searched through what she'd just heard Piers say while she had been daydreaming.

"You know what I just remembered? The whole team stays in the same room together, we're going to have roommates by the end of the day."

Roomates.

She hadn't even considered that. Blushing furiously, she was glad the darkness hid most of her face.

"Yeah, I guess your right," she said, only partially recomposed. "I wonder who else will be bunking with us?"

"I just hope they'll be people we get along with." Piers responded without paying any heed to Emilie being flustered. "It'll be a nightmare if the team can't work together. I did meet a few people the first day here and they all seemed to be pretty decent, so I look forward to it. There was one guy named Roy, he seemed pretty on the ball, I definitely wouldn't mind being roommates with him. There was someone else too...can't remember his name...but he had blue skin. It had something to do with having lived up in the mountains. And a white beard too! He looked way older than he actually is. Nice guy though, very well spoken, I kind of felt like a country bumpkin having a conversation with him."

"Would be nice if we bump into another guy and girl team though, that way no one has to feel singled out. Not that being the only guy would really bother me, dad was gone all day usually so I was the only guy in the house. That and my sister and I shared a room up until we started going to Signal together." Talking about his home flooded Piers's mind with nostalgic memories, all of which pleasant enough to make him laugh out loud a little bit.

"I remember the rules for sharing a room with girls pretty well still. Knock twice before you enter, underwear on the ground won't bite you, and leave the seat down after you're done. Of course...I think I did that last one more because my sister could beat me up in a fight than any other reason."

"What about you? Did you bump into anyone before initiation that you hope ends up with us?"

"Ah, I met two girls in particular, a Rachel something-or-the-other, and a girl named Robin. Rachel was a faunus, and seemed pretty decent, though too quiet for me. Robin frankly just pissed me off, kind of reminded me too much of myself if that makes sense." Emilie said. How much further would they have to wade? It had been eerily silent, and they'd seen nothing of notice for a while. She was beginning to wonder if they cave further back had been the correct path.

"Sooo.... you said you had a sister? I never had any siblings. How'd it work out for you?"

For the first time out of combat, Piers's smile disappeared completely and was replaced with a contemplative, almost regretful look. "It...it worked out pretty well up until last year. Selena was a good sister to have growing up, she was protective of the whole family. She was always smart enough to be able to see trouble brewing a mile away and she could usually talk her way out of it pretty well. The few times when talking wasn't an option...well, she was also pretty handy in a fight. Even when we were just kids smacking each other with tree branches and sticks she'd knock me on my ass nine times out of ten."

"We went to Signal together at the same time. My birthday always fell a few weeks after school registrations so while I'm almost a year older, we were always in the same class together. I think when we were living at home we were pretty isolated from the rest of the world, so we experienced a lot of new stuff at Signal. For me it just made me want to help people more, seeing how much one person could do and how much the world needed more people to help out others."

"But Selena...I think she just saw how broken stuff could be and didn't think it was worth trying to fix. She left Signal before we graduated and I haven't seen her since." Piers let out a sigh that was equal parts frustration and sadness. "Not that I have to worry how she's doing, every now and then I find a small news report about someone matching her description stealing or other stuff she shouldn't be doing. Haven't caught her yet so I guess I can assume she's healthy and safe."

Emilie winced at the story.
"Dammit," she thought "already I've managed to emotionally wound someone. Initiation isn't even over for..." She let the thought die.

"I'm sorry to hear that, she's probably doing fine." Emilie said. "I'm sure she thinks she's doing the right thing." She said, attempting to be consoling. It was not her strong suit to say the least, and was likely ineffective. Trying to desperately think of a new topic of conversation, she decided to inquire more into his schooling.

"I'd like to hear more about your time at Signal." She said.

When would this tunnel end?

"The unfortunate part is that I know she's doing it because she believes its the right thing..." Piers practically muttered the response, but was quickly pulled out of his thoughts about his sister by Emilie's request. It surprised him a little bit that she wanted to know more about his life, Piers was starting to wonder if he'd ever talked longer than this with anyone else besides Selena.

"Well...let's see. I didn't really have the most exciting time there, I spent most of my time studying and practicing. Had to deal with a few people who thought they were all that just because they could swing a sword around really hard, but problems like that corrected themselves pretty quick once my sister found out. I tried my hand at dating a handful of times, but never really had anything come from it. My whole family has a hard time connecting with others, it's kind of a miracle my parents even managed to get together. Of course, I think the endless drama of ever exploding relationships around me in school might have soured my opinion of dating too."

"What was your experiences in school, Anything fun or exciting? And what kind of shop did your parents own, I remember you saying they had a shop."

"As for the shop," Emilie began "it was just a small general goods store, one of the places where you could find just about anything that you'd need everyday. It was pretty dull most of the time." With a slight pause, she continued "School life on the other hand was actually pretty exciting. I never got much done in the classroom, but during combat practice was the best. People don't expect a girl to have such brute strength. The looks on their faces were hilarious." Her smile faded a bit. "As for extras... I didn't really do too much, I was in trouble a lot, and I scared most of the boys away so dating really didn't work out." Her speech petered out.

"Actually, I'm kind of surprised you aren't sick of me already. I tend to suck at first impressions to say the least."

"I get along with everyone." Piers replied with a bright smile, his mentioned skill being something he was a little proud of. "Personally I think first impressions are overrated. They can make good people look bad and bad people look good. I've learned that if you want the right impression of someone, you have to get to know them. And believe it or not I enjoy your company. You're an interesting person Emilie, getting to know you has been nice."

"In some ways, you actually remind me of my sister. She was unassumingly tough and always aced her combat practice too. Although...she always had guys chasing after her, I think she liked the attention."

Piers paused and thought for a moment, reflecting on a piece of nostalgia from his past. "We lived close to the town general store, at least what we considered close in the agricultural district. We always used it as one of the gathering spots, it was where you could count on everyone coming to eventually so it was a good place to spread news and stay up to date on stuff around the area. Was your parent's store anything like that?"

Reminded him of his sister. Listening to that, and basing it on what little information she had, it seemed quite accurate. In fact, except for one turning outlaw and the other becoming a huntress, they sounded almost identical. Garetson asked about the store her parents had owned.

"Nah, not really. The thing is, in that area of the city at least, no one knows anyone. Everyone's anonymous. You know your friends and maybe your neighbors, but everyone else is a blank slate. People would buy their stuff, then leave." She pondered a moment. "The closest thing to a gathering area I can think of might be the park. There was a small patch of grass about a block from where I lived. You could occasionally get the sort of atmosphere you described there."

They walked on, wading through the water.

"Hmm, that's something I kind of miss from the agricultural district." Piers responded as he continued to walk with Emilie. "With so few people in any one area, you got to know each other pretty well since you were always bumping into each other. There was the general store, the farmers, the farmhands, the sheriff, the bar owner, the cafe owner, the school teacher, and...well, that's pretty much it."

"I do like the city parks though, there's a lot of fun to have exploring the fields and forests but I like how nice and neat the city parks are. It takes some getting used to navigating all the streets and buildings. Have you done any traveling outside the city before?"

"Not really," Emilie began "There really isn't a lot of money in shopkeeping, especially in the city. Whatever you're selling, another dozen are doing the same. We couldn't afford to travel much at all." She paused. "Actually there was one..." She wasn't quite sure if she felt like continuing. "Well, suffice to say that I got to see one of the few things I've ever admired. It was the one place I'd be willing to call breathtaking." She said. Emilie had already opened her heart more than she ever had before today, and felt like keeping this one secret closed. She didn't like showing a more feminine side of herself.

"What about you? Did you do any travelling?"

"We did a little bit of traveling, usually we'd go on a trip some where once a year when we were little. We'd go see mom's parents on the other side of the district, or dad's in the industrial district. Although we stopped going a few years before Selena and I started going to Signal. They really had to save up so we could go to school. Probably...should send them a letter or something, I haven't talked to them in a while..."

Unfortunately for Piers, he didn't pick up on Emilie's hesitation after she answered his question. "What was that one place like you said, the one that you admired?"

Emilie bit her tongue. She'd thought she'd sent the cue clear enough. Even though it was almost certainly her fault, she felt the urge to lash out at Piers. She stopped herself, and began to answer.

"Oh, um... it was..." she struggled to think of a plausible lie. "ummmm... it was a waterfall. My parents had taken me to see it as a congratulations for getting into Beacon." She said. In actuality, she'd only been able to see "her place" because she'd been forced to help transport a delivery to another shop. She only felt a little bad about lying to Piers, and quickly tried to change the topic.

"So..... parents? How were yours? You said you planned to send them a letter?"