The Phantom and the Angel

The Phantom and the Angel Part 15

"Alright students! Is everyone in their assigned groups?...Good! Remember, keep near your assigned instructor, do not break formation unless ordered to, keep your emotions under control as best you can." Mr. Sepia shouted out to the group of students milling about in Signal's courtyard "And for those of you who have your own weapons already, remember you are not, I repeat not, authorized to use live ammunition unless your Huntsman or Huntress escort tells you to! Anyone who breaks this rule will face expulsion!" The professor finished as he went to look over his own group.

Safira couldn't help but gulp nervously as she adjusted the straps of the sheath at her side, the metal sword held within feeling far heavier than it should. It was finally the big day, the first day that most of the students would have their first encounter with an actual Grimm. With them being only two months into their third year, the professors decided that now was the best time for most of the students to be introduced to the creatures they would be spending the rest of their lives fighting against.

Not that they were just being thrown to the wolves- ok well, maybe not so much thrown to wolves as just put in front of the wolves- without preparation. Their Huntsmen and Huntress classes had focused on the specific species of Grimm that they were likely to encounter within the area of Patch or Vale, hunting in a team that you might not necessarily know personally, and finally on how to retreat properly from a fight they could not win just in case things went south.

"It seems kinda pointless to me for them to be telling these kids to try and think happy thoughts. Just looking at the crowd I'd assume that we're going on a death march." Safira heard Sarah scoff from somewhere overhead, Safira looking up from her sheath to see what Sarah was talking about. And sure enough, just looking around at the surrounding students Safira could see a look of anxiety on nearly everyone's face. Not that Safira could really blame them. It wasn't exactly easy to stay calm with the knowledge that they could be facing down Beowolves, Creeps, or possibly something even worse in just a few hours. "Although, I have to admit that I'm a little surprised your so calm." Sarah commented, Safira shrugging slightly in response.

Well, I mean, it's not like I haven't seen Grimm before. Safira admitted, the Faunus suppressing a shudder at the thought of the Antlions of that faithful day. And compared to those ambush Grimm, a Beowolf doesn't seem that bad.

"...While I don't necessarily disagree with you, don't ever underestimate a Grimm. They are creatures that have been hunting both Humanity and Faunus-kind for longer than recorded history. I'm sure that plenty of Huntresses thought along those same lines before being cut down. Promise me you won't be like that. Promise me that you won't take any fight, against a soulless creature or otherwise." Sarah's serious tone, and equally as serious question, took Safira completely by surprise. Though now that she took the time to think about it, she really had been pretty arrogant to think that a Beowolf was somehow going to be an easy fight. Sure, she had the advantage over the others in the fact that she had already seen what a Grimm could do to an unsuspecting person, but that didn't mean she was going to be any better in a fight against one than anyone else.

Sorry Sarah. I promise I won't ever think of any fight as something simple. Safira swore, her tone just as serious as Sarah's. Said ghost, having flown down from wherever she had been hovering earlier, stared into Safira's eyes for a long moment before nodding her head and looking around at the group Safira had been assigned for this excursion.

"...I don't see Yang anywhere. Did she get assigned to a different group?" Sarah asked, Safira sighing heavily before nodding once.

Yea, in the group her dad's leading to boot. Nepotism at its finest. Safira snarked, earning a disembodied snort of laughter from the hovering ghost. I think I got one of the Vale Huntsmen as a leader for this thing, since I didn't recognize the name.