Team 2 (eyeblaster3 and Drake Ferrox)

OOC: after landing eyeblaster3 and Drake Ferrox will post here.

Once launched Drake glances back for but a moment, the last possible glimpse of the others before he turned his attention to the task at hand. He kept the Talons crossed across his chest, angling himself forward, waiting for the opportune moment.

Then, as he started to descend he brought the Talons around, roaring as he did so, triggering the flamethrower. Flames arced, dancing along the blades and trailing behind him as he started to roar, letting his anger out. With a sharp motion he brings the Talons forward, aura flaring along their edges, flames dancing about him as he started to descend into the canopy of the forest. The blades are designed to shear through whatever may be in front of him, the force of aura and flame designed to cushion his landing, which though heavy would become a tumble...

Leaving a trail of flame several dozen yards behind him...

Straudd pushes off of the launch pad, adding a little more momentum to his flight. He points his arm, covered in Black Judgement, back towards the rapidly disappearing cliffs, and blasts a stream of fire behind him. He uses the force of the blast to flip over in the air, and aim his make-shift surfboard at the trees below. He quickly scans the forest for a fallen tree or slope he can land on, but he sees none. 'OK then,' he thinks, 'I'll just have to make my own.'

He sweeps his hand in front of him in an arc, forming a blade of fire that slices through the trunk of a tall tree. It topples to the floor, and Straudd jets towards it, his legs braced for impact. He surfs down the log, shaving off a string of bark as he goes, and zips off the end, before coming to a halt, safely on the floor of the forest. He picks White Judgement up from the floor, before looking up, trying to see others landing. However, he turns and starts to run when he sees the canopy above him ignite into flame. 'I didn't do that, did I?'

As Straudd runs through the forest he comes across a large gash in the shape of an arrow on a tree. The ground around the tree showed no signs of being distributed recently. It could have been left by a student to help them find the temple, or perhaps by a creature for some reason. Would he follow the arrow where ever it may lead or ignore it and chose his own path.

Drake looks about, cracking his neck, moving his arms as to keep himself limber, brushing dirt and debris from himself following the landing and then takes that moment to survey the area around him. Of course he now had to find someone. With luck they wouldn't be an excitable child. With luck it might even be something he could unleash his personal demons upon.

At that he smirks beneath the mask, letting out a short, sharp laugh for but a moment before immediately snapping back to his usual serious self. There was a task at hand. Find the temple, claim a relic. Everything else could be done during that task. No need to push himself too far. He glances behind himself for a brief moment, surveying the damage done by his descent and shrugs, turning back to take his first steps into the forest, Talons at the ready for whatever he may come across.

Straudd stops as he sees the arrow carved into a nearby tree trunk. He walks up and examines it more closely, trying to discern whether it was made by a person or by... something else. After a few seconds close examination, Straudd shrugs his shoulders, unable to decide. Eventually, he cautiously walks in the direction the arrow indicates, activating Black Judgement as he does so.

As straudd followed the arrow the forest began to thin around him until her was standing at the edge of a small open field. In front of him there was a large feral cat, slightly smaller than a lion attempting to catch butterflies that were flying around the field. Visible in the distance through some trees was a small white pillar with a yellow block at the top.

Drake followed a rough path through the forest, plenty of branches were in the way of him before he entered a field about 15 yards to his left was Straudd.

The sound of a tree crashing boomed across the field coming from the direction where Straudd could see the pillar which looked larger now than it had earlier. The cat in the field paused for a moment from it's butterfly catching. It stood on it's hind legs and looked around before dashing away from the field and into the trees.

Drake growls cutting through branches and undergrowth with the Talons, making the most of the fact he effectively had two fists full of machetes to chunk through branches and foliage. He kept himself focused, glancing about, listening for voices...or other noises.

Then he comes to a clearing, stopping, glancing up toward the tall and rather ominous pillar. The yellow block of course was probably significant. Probably a relic that they were meant to obtain. He takes the first few steps into the open and then pauses, glancing around once more.

With a deep intake of breath he spots Straudd and then he simply shrugs, waiting to see if the stranger spots him in turn. This moment of quiet apathy is interrupted however, the thunderous boom of a falling tree causing him to turn in its direction, bringing the Talons up to a ready, aggressive stance, a flicker of flame dancing across the blades...

Straudd looks over at Drake as he pushes through the undergrowth, He opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by the sound of the falling tree. He drops into a combat stance, his face serious, Black Judgement extended in front of him and moves towards Drake, taking slow cautious steps, focusing on the forest where the noise came from.

When he gets close, he says 'Looks like we're partners then big guy.' He considers his new teammate's weaponry, considering the vicious talons and the canisters of... something, maybe fuel at his belt. He gives a small smile, before saying 'I'm Straudd, but we can get on with the rest of the formalities later, because it looks like we're either gonna have to deal with whatever made that noise, or get going. Your call.'

Drake glances to his side, eyeing Straudd carefully, assessing him for a moment as a potential threat and then shrugging. He was right. As per the rules of this exercise they were now partners for the next four years, should they survive this initiation.

His face is difficult to see, mostly hidden under the face-scarf and he keeps himself combat ready, pointing toward the direction of the pillar. Its meaning seemed clear enough. It was visibly and significant, a likely place for these relics they were searching for to be stored.

"We fight. Whatever it is...it is truly a worthy adversary. A guardian perhaps. That direction is likely the one we must head so we fight. I trust you are not afraid."

His tone is sharp, yet calm. His entire nature is calm and controlled. There is no fear. No concern. No worry. Drake had been training for these moments since the incident. He was living the dreams of the ones lost to honour their memory...

Straudd nods his head in agreement. 'The quickest way to that pillar is through whatever it is.' He squints towards the treeline, trying to make out what this thing might be. 'We should take it slow though, we still don't know what it is. We should try and identify what we're up against before we go charging in - It could easily be some of the other Initiates. However, if it is Grimm, we should try and lure it back into this clearing to deal with it - that way, we'll be less likely to start a forest fire and put ourselves in danger.' he says, indicating the flames flowing across the surface of both of their weapons. 'You ready?' Straudd asks.

A tree fell forward onto the field with a resounding crash. Walking into the field from behind the fallen tree was a large death stalker. It's large white tail standing almost straight with it's golden yellow stinger at the top. If the boys connected the dots they would realize that the "tower" they had seen through the trees was the tail. (ooc: hence why it got larger) Behind the Death Stalker lay a path of destruction, many destroyed trees, most of which had gotten caught by other trees and not crashed to the ground.

The scorpion let out a loud chirping like sound at it looked at the two teenagers. It ran forward towards them and swung it's claws at each of them, the right at Drake and the left at Straudd.

"Well now...looks like we're the lucky ones. Evasive maneuvers!"

With that and with the claw swing Drake tumbles to his right, his aim to avoid the swing and let it go wide, turning once he regains footing to slash at the exposed arm. He needed a few moments to assess the situation, to figure out exactly what he was up again.

He looked the beast over, assessing the coverage of the armoured plating and noted the tail. That was their 'relic'...or so they had initially thought. Chances are that was not their relic and perhaps they had been fooled. He glances to Straudd, remembering his earlier words about a forest fire.

"Straudd! Lure it into the forest. It is larger than us, we have the advantage of size within our surrounding there!"

Again, once more his voice is completely calm. There is no panic. No worry. No fear. Despite the creature's immense size, despite its open aggression and their situation he remains calm, assessing it, looking over its body and also underneath when he can, keeping his movement fluid, tumbling back to keep himself moving.

Straudd leaps backwards, aiming a blast at the ground in front of him to assist his jump. He lands, looking over the colossal opponent before him. When he sees the golden stinger suspended above the beast's head, he almost laughs. He mutters under his breath, 'Well, now I feel stupid.' He then hears Drake, suggesting to lead it to the forest. 'He's right' Straudd thinks. 'While the clearing would be a better option against a smaller opponent, the wide-open space makes it unsuitable to fight something like a Deathstalker.'

Straudd then reaches under his pauldron, cranking Black Judgements output up so the flames enveloping the surface flicker a fierce blue, while shouting 'I'm on it!' He then sprints round to the left of the Deathstalker, before aiming a barrage of small but intensely hot fireballs at the unarmored areas around the legs, hoping to get the beast's attention, ready to make a swift dash into the forest if the monster turned his way.

The Scorpion let out a out chirp of pain at the blade sliced it though not damaging the arm too much.

It watched as one of it's prey attempted to run away whilst the one one stood. It swung it's tail aiming to hit Drake.

The fireballs struck it's legs and it spun around lifting it's tail back up from the strike and turned to the right looking at the teen who had run and chased after it swinging it's tail several times at the boy.

A low growl and another near miss, tumbling once more though slightly concerned about the speed of the tail. The response to its swing is another backhanded swipe of the Talons, triggering the flamethrower with a jerky motion to spread out a splash of burning fuel at the offending extremity.

Then he watches it chase Straudd, moving quickly himself, following up behind, looking over the creature yet again, attempting to ascertain its weakest spots. The underbelly for one...Hopefully Straudd could keep it distracted, leading it through thicker undergrowth, turning its great size against it. If they could get it trapped or bound then they could figure something to do with it.

Even if it meant ripping it apart from the underbelly up. He'd like that.

Straudd flips backwards onto his hands to dodge the Deathstalker's first strike, then pushes off the ground, launching himself back into the air. He then flips back the right way up, and, still in the air, launches a blast of fire towards the Deathstalker's face, which sends him flying backward towards the trees behind him, out of the range of the tail. Straudd's feet slam into a tree trunk, and he jumps back down to the ground.

Straudd sees Drake launching flames at the tail, and Straudd swipes his arm horizontally, sending an arcing blade of fire towards the Deathstalker, aiming low across the beast's claws and face, intent on keeping the monster's attention. Straudd then moves back into the relative safety of the trees, and jumps and blasts the ground, leaping up into the canopy. Straudd stabs the blade of White Judgement into a trunk, anchoring him to the tree, and waits for the Deathstalker to follow him into the forest.

The death stalker caught as face full of fire from the teen. It reeled backwards covering it's face with it's claws. It felt a burning sensation as Drake shot fire at it. It turned towards him ignoring Straudd for a second and swung it's right claw at Drake.

An arc of fire struck it's side and it turned back to Straudd who was now at the tree line. It swung it's tail towards the teen three times. The last strike would cause it's tail to get stuck in a tree.

"Hah!"

Another tumble backwards as the claw is swung at him yet again. Eventually this would get tiring and Drake knew this. It would be wiser at this point to let Straudd take the creature's full attention before attacking it again. But for the moment at least...it was being set on fire and that actually felt good. It would be suffering and deserved no less for its mere existence.

He backed away, letting it turn back to Straudd and then grinned as he watch the tail lash forward a number of times before getting stuck. Burning, molten fuel would be running down it, dripping between armoured plates and seeing it get stuck...well, fire spreads.

To him it was another window. He darts forward, Talons back, moving behind the creature. Its tail was stuck, in theory it would be somewhat exposed. That's all he would need, focusing his aura to the Talons and triggering the flamethrower as he brings the Talons out in two upward slashes as he nears the Deathstalker, aiming to send out a focused burst of twin 'blades' of flame into the underside of the beast.

"Keep it up Straudd! This is what we need to be doing!"

Straudd pushes off a tree trunk, moving away just before the spot where he was standing was struck by the Deathstalker's huge stinger. The tail rears up to strike again, but Straudd dodges in the same manner, the tree he was anchored to taking the hit as Straudd leaps deftly to another tree trunk. Straudd dodges the third strike by pushing off the tree, towards what should have been the ground. Straudd almost falls as the 'ground' he has landed on shakes, and he realizes he has landed on the Deathstalker's back. He looks hurriedly around for the stinger, which would ruin this almost perfect opportunity, and grins as he sees it embedded in a tree trunk, in the very place where he once was.

Straudd crouches down, the Deathstalker's erratic movements almost throwing him off. 'Now's our chance - hit him right where it hurts.' he thinks, giving a little smirk as the beast desperately struggles to remove it's tail. Straudd looks down at the monster's back, quickly trying to identify where the armor was thinnest. After identifying what appears to be the weakest area, Straudd brings back his arm, clenching his fingers into a fist. Straudd focuses, and the flames covering Black Judgement move down his arm, congregating on his fist and changing from an intense blue to a super-heated white. Straudd's fist glows with enough heat to melt rock - 'And hopefully this thing's armor as well' Straudd thinks as he brings his fist down, hard.

The deathstalker let out a flurry of loud painful chirps (Okay, I hate the fact that Scorpion's chrip) as the two teens proceeded to burn it's backside. It Swung it's claw and knocked over the tree it's tail was stuck in, freeing the creature. It ran backwards away from the the trees into the open.

It began jumping and flailing around wildly attemping to get the teen off it's back. It pulled it's tail up and swung repeatedly trying to hit the teen that was on it's back, several of the strikes missing entirely and inflicting more pain on the death stalker.

Drake watched this, amused as Straudd was now effectively riding the Deathstalker, forcing it to stab itself. His next plan would be a work of insane genius. He noticed the beast was not as heavily armoured underneath as it was on top. And right now its priority was the one on top of it.

He darts forward while it is distracted, carefully watching its movements. The plan was insane and yet simple. The next 'window' of opportunity he would take, throwing himself into a slide underneath the deathstalker, raking the Talons across and into its underbelly. As he did so he'd trigger the flamethrower, sending three sharp bursts of flame up into the underbelly and into the creature at different points of his raking slide.

He would help rip this thing apart from the inside out....

Straudd pulls his fist from the hole it melted in the Deathstalker's armor, the flames around his fist spreading back across his arm and changing back to red. Suddenly, Straudd feels the Deathstalker's body shake and watches as the tree the stinger was impaled into disintegrates as the beast moves back into the clearing.

Straudd blocks a strike with White Judgement but is knocked backwards as the stinger swings down at him wildly. He lands on the monster's head, but loses his balance and ends up falling right in front of the Deathstalker's set of glowing red eyes. Straudd scrambles back a little, before regaining his composure and getting back to his feet. Feeling a little melodramatic, Straudd brings both his arms back, before attacking the Deathstalker's front set of eyes, stabbing using White Judgement's sharp pointed tip on his left arm, and launching a stream of flames with Black Judgement on his right.

As Drake slid under the death stalker it began to bleed, It's body catching on fire as the flame thrower kicked in. It's legs wobbled and it fell to the ground on Drake. It was unable to move as Straudd stabbed it's eyes, darkening it's last moments of life as it bled out and burned. The smoke rising into the sky and the corpse releasing a horrible smell as it burned.

The beast was falling. The beast was done. He starts to laugh, the things unfortunate demise triggering the more twisted part of his damaged psyche, even as it starts to wobble and sway, plummeting toward him. No. Not this day.

"Straudd! Get off!"

He brings the Talons around in two, crossing forward slices, his aura flaring and a sound not unlike gunshot heard as the falling Deathstalker receives a point-blank Shockwave. Now at this point a lot depended on the poor thing's current structural integrity. It'd either be launched skyward and away from Drake...or effectively ripped in two by the kinetic force of the shockwave at that point.