On a Playful Wolf's Territory

[Takes place Friday, Week 16]

Pierce Michellis and Ron Rouge had been partnered together to go on a reconnaissance mission up in an area known as Persimmon Mount. The mountain was at one of the northwestern corners of Vale and was surrounded by thick trees that were the color orange through all seasons, hence its name. The people there were very few save for a handful of woodcutters and their families. The place was well protected by a couple of Hunters, but recently there had been sightings of an unrecorded Grimm but no concrete evidence had been found.

The two students would be there simply to gather more evidence as well as aid the hunters there. But since it was far out from Vale proper as well as something not geographically recorded in detail, the two were going to be guided by a fellow student from there named Rory Veiller. A rendesvous had been set up for the three to meet at the fountain in front of the Academy before a ship would come by to take them to their destination.

Ron yawned sleepily as he walked down to the fountain. He still didn't understand why he was sent on this mission with someone he never met before. Oh well. More friends to just disappear on me, again. It was obvious he didn't have high hopes for this mission. However, he was willing to carry it out, whatever it takes.

He had packed a few supplies in his pack, but he didn't know how long this trip would last. He walked up to the fountain not long after the sun had risen above the horizon. "So," he said to himself, "where are the other two?"

((OOC: Also, vide, Ron was in a thread the night between Wednesday and Thursday that week. Can you move it to Friday? Much obliged.))

As if on cue, Pierce materializes on the fountain, the boy lying down right next to the water's edge. He had a backpack on the ground beside him, his hand resting on it as he turned visible. "Here's one of the other two." He said, grinning up at Ron, extending a hand to him but remaining in his spot. "Pierce. Nice to meet you."

Ron activates his semblance and quickly speeds to Pierce's side, shaking his hand. "Ron, good to meet you as well. Nice cloaking semblance by the way," he adds. Looking around he says, "So that means we are just waiting on our guide... and then we can start the mission."

From the entrance, Rory was humming merrily as her short orange-red wolf wagged left and right.

"I can't believe I get to go home again," Rory smiled as she twirled her rifle, Fusilier, in a baton like manner. She could already hear the two she was supposed to meet talking. She stopped twirling her axe and clutched it tightly.

I hope I can make a good impression...I mean, I've just started here. I'm sure both of them are already better at fighting than me by a long shot.

She took in a deep breath and put on her biggest smile as she saw the two. She let off a big wave.

"Hey, guys!" she said running up to them. "You two must be the ones assigned to the recon. I'm Rory Veiller, by the way, and I'll be your guide in Persimmon."

"Very nice to meet you Rory," Ron says slightly bowing with his arm across his torso, "My name is Ron Rouge. I presume you are all ready to go?" he asks.

"Yep, our envoy should be here in a minute," Rory smiled brightly. "But before we go, a few rules. One, you can't use your scrolls in the area. Two, your merely there for recon, that means no fighting, no combat, unless absolutely necessary. Three, the people there aren't really fond of techy stuff, so it's best you keep your weapons sheathed and your gadgets out of site. Any questions?"

Ron chuckled a bit. "Techy stuff? I lived in a small hut on a hill from as far back as I can remember. Granted that's only two years..." Ron trailed off a bit before adding. "I also didn't realize that there was an airship to get up here, so I hiked up my first day. I don't think that'll be a problem for me."

"Nice to meet you, Rory." Pierce said, nodding politely at the girl. "You won't have any trouble with me, too. I grew up in the forest. Not a lot of scroll usage there. Though now that I think about it, my weapons aren't really that easy to hide." He added, opening up one Jaeger and closing it as he stood up and shouldered his bag. "Other than that, we should be fine. I'm pretty good with forests and mountain villages."

"That's great!" Rory smiled perkily. "I guess that must be why they picked you guys. Nothing beats the wilderness after all, right?"

She lifted up a determined fist and nodded.

"Alrighty, then!" Rory said. "The airship is up ahead. We'll be travelling for three to four hours before getting off to get on a buggy that will lead us to the mountain proper. Okay? Okay!"

Rory skipped ahead of them and led them to where the airship was. A tall woman with long blonde hair wearing an aviator's jacket was leaning by the entrance ramp.

"Ah, you must be the three heading to Mount Persimmon," the woman said. "Call me Aera. I'll be flying you there."

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Aera!" Rory said. "I'm Rory Veiller and this is-"

"Ron Rouge and Pierce Michellis," Aera said. "Yes, I know. Come on, hop on board."

Rory nodded and let the two follow after her. As they did, she'd turn around.

"So, tell me, have you done any recon missions before?"

Pierce followed wordlessly as Rory spoke to their pilot, nodding politely as he was acknowledged. Looks like she'll be doing most of the talking. He thought idly as he followed Rory onto the airship. "Huh? Oh, well...." He said, thinking of past missions he'd been on. "In Beacon, not too many. Back home though, we'd stalk prey and grimm a lot. Hours to days even, so I guess you could call me experienced?"

Ron thought about his time at Beacon so far. "Not really, my year has been pretty bland so far," he answered. "But I was taught a lot in the past two years about it. Really boring having to watch and listen to what happened in a town, but it also taught me patience," he added.

Ron was still confused why they were sending Hunters in training to this, more experienced Hunters could probably do better. Field training, I guess, he thought.

"Hm, well I guess that's a start," Rory said as she thoughtfully rubbed her chin.

Aera eventually led them to sit at three of four seats just behind the pilot's cockpit before moving there and closing the door behind them. A holographic screen appeared in front of them showing a small mountain surrounded by autumn trees.

"That's Persimmon Mount," Rory said. "It's actually one of the smaller mountains of a mountain range and takes about a day's worth to hike by foot. It's pretty wide and not that steep. In fact, some would call it a hill were it not its rocky exterior and interior.

"Persimmon Mount's locals are lumberjacks that take its wood from the rapid growing Bashbar trees, that's leaves are eternally a deep orange. Some people harvest the Bashbar fruits, tangy round orange fruit that, when cut in half, give of the shape of a star. The Grimm there are minimal. Beowolves and Ursi, but it's nothing that the Hunters can't handle.

"Three days ago, there had been reports of an abnormally large Grimm in the dark, but people weren't entirely sure because it would walk on two feet rather than four. They said it was around 15 in estimate and broke down a thick cluster of trees and also attacked a lumber house.

"We're going there to continue to observe as well as looks for clues on its whereabouts and its behavior if it appears. The most successful thing we can do is find its 'nest'."

The screen's image, manipulative through the remote Rory had in her hand, flashed pictures of dark woods with the said orange trees. Something darker than the night blurring past with red eyes.

Pierce's eyebrow arches high at the mention of the large grimm. "I... I think I've seen that before." He said, thinking back to one of his first missions to the snowy forest. "Ursa Superior. Fifteen meters high at least. It's fur is too thick for smaller blades and its entire front is armored. I don't know about the walking on two legs part though. When we faced it, the thing walked on four but stood up on two every now and again." Stopping, he realized he was ranting and talking too much before looking up at his two companions with an apologetic smile. "Er... sorry. Just an idea."

Ron waves off Pierce's rant and says, "An Ursa Superior seems pretty normal to me. It probably has some characteristics to it that distinguish it from looking like an Ursa." Ron gets a slight grin and asks, "Plus, where would be the fun in it just being a regular ole Ursa?"

Taking on an inquisitive look Ron asks, "In all seriousness, how long will we be looking for it and its nest?"

"Hmm..." Rory said. "It could be that, but they also said it sounded strange. It wasn't growling or howling. It sounded different. Like it was singing or something...but we'll keep note of that, that's a good start!"

Airship's taking off now, you guys better buckle your seats until I say its safe to take them off.

The airship soon lifted from the ground before Rory moved onto Ron's question.

"We're given twenty four hours to investigate after we retire tonight," Rory said. "We're going to look at the area that was attacked and the surrounding woods. We'll also be questioning the witnesses."

"Sounds like a plan." Pierce said, nodding his head as he listened. "It would be good to know what we're looking for and, if it ever comes down to it, what we're up against. Can't go in blindly and expect to come out safe and sound." Leaning forward in his seat, he rests his elbows on his knees and steeples his fingers, deep in thought. "Do we know how many witnesses there are?"

"Well, during the briefing, I was told there were two," Rory said. She flashed the images of two of them. They were middle aged, heavy men, both with beards though one had red hair and the other had brown. "And those were the late workers at the lumber shop. We'll see them after today."

Rory smiled perkily and leaned over to face the two.

"We'll be staying at my parents' cabin, by the way," Rory said. "So I hope you two don't mind living in the boonies for a while."

"Not a problem," Ron says in response to Rory's last sentence. "So you've said multiple times about us doing the investigating will happen tomorrow. What are we doing today, then? I mean how long will it take us to get there?" he asks.

"I grew up in a cabin in the woods. I'll be perfectly fine." Pierce said, smiling widely at memories of the home he grew up in. Hearing Ron's question though, he cocks his head to the side slightly. "Now that I think about it, yeah. I'm curious about that as well."

"Well, it's at the far border of Vale and another area," Rory explained. "Now that the time is one pm...hm, it will take us around four pm to get to the base of the mountain and another hour on buggies to get to the village proper. It's going to be a looong while before we get there. So today, we're going to be greeting the villagers and my parents. You can't have random strangers going through the lumber house and the woods, now can we? He he."

She scratched her head and grinned.

"They're probably going to hold a small little open fire banquet in your honor," Rory smiled. "The people are very hospitable, though they're not fond of technology. They treat unwelcomed outsiders quite brusquely. But since you're there to help, they should be more than happy to put their pitchforks down."

"That sounds great." Pierce replied, beaming at Rory, resisting the urge to ruffle the girl's hair. "It sounds like you grew up in a great place." He said, unable to keep his thoughts from back home. True, Vale was very different, lots of technology, bright lights, and everything a city promised. Home was where the heart is though, and though Pierce thought Beacon as his new home, he still remembered where his heart used to be.

"Honor?" Ron said slightly confused. "I hardly think we should be given a banquet for just showing up. If we actually find out what this thing is, then maybe, but otherwise, I feel like I would be just getting a free meal for doing nothing." Ron was starting to think about this too much. He contradicted what he said earlier with, "Never mind, I thought too much about it. It sounds perfectly great!" Ron turned his head out the window to look at the passing landscape trying to hide the slightly embarrassed look on his face.

"Think of it as motivation, Ron." Pierce said, playfully punching him in the shoulder, making sure the blow didn't actually hurt, only jostling him a bit. "If we eat then we probably'll have to find something to justify it. Besides, I think preparing a meal for guests is normal. Heck, I my family'd fill the table every time we had people visiting."

Ron laughs it off after the intentionally weak punch saying, "Yeah, yeah. I'll do that. It is good to know that we'll be going to place where the people are hospitable rather than pugnacious." Feeling a bit better, Ron turns back to Rory and asks, "So, anything else we need to know?"