| Fan Fiction: | |
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| Hail Storm. Part I | |
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| Fan-made Characters | Saige Cristallo
Crystal Nelde Idina Caliber Sirce Marion Tianee Musk |
Description: To find what they're looking for, Team STRM travels across the land to the city fo Vale, a place some of them haven't seen for a long time. While tracking down the mysterious Whinter they've heard so much about, they get some unexpected help from another group of teenagers like themselves, and are in for more than they bargained when a member of Arondight Corps follows right on their heels. If anyone wants to make some progress, a battle is what it's gonna take. Let's just hope these two teams can keep it together for the weekend.
Checking In[]
The four teenagers walking the streets of Vale were walking so in sync, they were aligned like a group of baby ducks following a mother—or in this case, the brunette holding a scroll in one hand, and her suitcase in the other. The others were walking carefree and excited with their own luggage, bearing no such experience in the foreign land of Vytal.
“Oi.” The second member of their team and the olive-tone female behind the first took the time to both ask for a note of attention, tap her shoulder, and clear her throat—none of which were very effective. A roll of her eyes indicated she had put up with enough ignorance for one day, and spoke up, preferably out of turn. “Saige, you figured out where we’re supposed to go yet?” The brunette looked up from the spot she had pinpointed on the map and turned her head back to the redhead behind her.
“Yes, Tara,” Saige hissed, “though I figured it’d be lovely to take a stroll in circles on the way there.” Behind Tara, a boy with black hair poked his head out to get a look at the ongoing conversation, and could tell that they were on the brink of a fight.
Raine opened his mouth to speak. “There’s no need to get snarky with her.”
“Well, how else was I supposed to shut her up?” ...Yeah, something was off that day. Saige seemed a little more irate than usual, which, in all honesty, was just what Tara expected from their leader. She’d been up the last night and a half trying to organize their travel, with the luggage and directions for when they arrived in Vale. She was never so tired, not even when their Initiation was over.
Tara breathed a sigh and put two fingers down the collar of her partner’s tunic, yanking her to a stop where they stood...which was right in front of a crosswalk clearly occupied with passing cars.
“Look, I get it,” she breathed, spinning Saige around to face her and her teammates. “You want to get this overwith. But it’s not like we’re gonna find this ‘Whinter’ if you’re dead-beat and wandering the streets without a wink of sleep in over two days.”
Saige’s face lowered into a mild grimace, dark circles under her eyes. “Thirty-six hours. What’s your point?”
The boy stepped up next to the redhead and added to the argument, whether the girls wanted him to or not. Though he had a point. “The point is, we need to stop for the day. Take a break, relax, kick up your feet and eat, for Grimm’s sake! We’re half-way across the world, and all you wanna do is find some woman we barely know? Seriously?”
“...Yes.”
“No.” Tara lightly patted her palm against her friend’s cheek as if to say “Wake up!” before stepping back a foot or two. “We’re taking the vacation we asked for.”
Saige had no idea what to do, but take a deep breath, and let a second or two tick by before she was forced to give in. “...Fine,” she huffed. “I’m gonna go find a hotel to check into. I’ll call when I find one.” With that, she turned on her heels and back to the crosswalk, just as the light turned green. Her footsteps were heavier than normal, another exhibit of her exhaustion, but it was only a matter of time before she found a comfy hotel bed to crash on.
Her teammates watched on, exchanged smiles and hopeless head shakes before turning to their fourth member—finding her eating a snow cone without their noticing. Plus, her licking noises were unbelievably loud. After a second, Macy looked up from her treat and blinked.
“...So does this mean we can go sightseeing now?”
---
Hopeless, Saige thought to herself, one hand rubbing her forehead as she glanced once more at her scroll, analyzing the grid for a hotel nearby. They think we’re here to take a vacation, and yet, I still have to keep my promise to Professor Wolfgang. How perfect- Her thoughts were cut short when her body was slammed into by something else, preferably another person, and she stumbled back, dropping her gear to the sidewalk. Just wonderful...
“Here, let me get that for you.” A black-gloved hand she didn’t recognize bent down and got it before she could, raising up to her. Saige blinked and looked up at the kind gent...only to realize it wasn’t a gent.
“Uhm... Thank you.” she muttered, taking it back and pulling up the map once more.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes I-...” Oh, who was she kidding. The team leader had only been in Vytal for a few hours, and here she was practically lost in the metropolis. “...No, actually. I’m a little lost.”
“You don’t say.” The new acquaintance let loose a smirk and placed a hand on her hip, twirling a lock of her striking purple hair with one finger. “Where’re you headed?”
“Anywhere my team and I can eat and sleep.”
“Easy enough. Here, lemme see.” She took the map back and started tapping her fingers in all four corners, recalculating their placement, the cardinal directions, et cetera. Saige watched in curiosity, following her violet eyes as they moved across the screen. When they looked up at her, she was startled, and slightly recoiled. The smirk seemed to spread further. “Got it.” She then pointed to the map as a little icon of a lodge popped up, only a block from where they stood.
“Thank you...” she said unsurely, nodding her head with some form of content. “I think I’d be lost without your direction.”
“Aw, stop~.” the violet-haired girl playfully nudged a fist at her tattooed shoulder, then grabbed her arm and started to pull her back in the direction of the hotel. “Come on. I’ll show you around.” ...Well, that was new. Saige didn’t plan on an escort whatsoever, but here a stranger about her age was offering to show her the way to her destination.
“That’s very generous of you. I’m Saige, by the way.”
“Idina. Pleasured to meet you.”
---
“Aw, come on! Just one more store? Pleeeeeeeaaaase?”
“Macy, I’m sorry, but that was the fourth convenience we went to in the last hour. You have enough of your confectionaries to last you the whole trip.”
Quite a bit after Saige took off, the remaining three members of Team STRM were parked at a bench down the street in the other direction... Well, Raine was, anyways. Macy was pestering the poor boy to take her to another “sight to behold,” as she called it, and at the same time yanking at his arm. He felt bad that she wouldn’t get to do what she wanted, sure, but the lass had a satchel on her back that was already full of candy and cheesy souvenirs. Macy pursed her lips, biting the inside of her cheek. She really wanted to keep exploring, but as far as she could see, Raine only wanted to sit around. She swore up and down that in this way, he and Riley truly resembled each other. It was annoying as it was endearing although, unlike then... Macy stopped pouting and started smiling.
“Aw, fine... But can you at least run into that store and grab me a soda? I’m thiiiiirrrrstyyyyyy.” Raine slowly turned to look at her with a somewhat exasperated look plastered on his face, all the while maintaining a very mundane aura. Macy was a nice girl, sure, but she had her quirks. With a hopeless sigh, he smirked and shook his head, hoisting himself up off the bench.
“You never know when to give up, do you?”
“Nope~!”
Well, that was the end of that. The only male member of their team flicked his cape behind his back and over his quiver, as not to draw too much attention, and turned back to the convenience store right behind their backs. A hand pressed against the door, letting loose a little jingle as he entered. He gave a brief nod to the store clerk, and then turned to the refrigerator wall, gazing up and down at the many colorful bottles placed upon the shelves.
“...Which one did she want?” he wondered, crossing his arms in contemplation, pacing up and down the isle looking for just the right drink. Then, he spotted a bottle with a distinct cherry logo, and opened the door, swiftly yanking it out of its slot before letting it fall closed. He turned to walk away, muttering to himself, “Maybe cherry flavored will be just- Oof!”
A split second was all it took for Raine to slam into something and then fall back on his butt, the drink slipping out of his grasp and spilling on the floor. He sure hadn’t hit a shelf, let alone a magazine stand, but for some reason it felt human...almost plush, really. He rubbed his head and looked up, seeing none but a pair of crimson slipper shoes and tanned skinny knees.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Yup. It was a girl, alright. No boy would ever wish to have a voice that timid...or a skirt that short. He looked further up and saw a sweet face staring at him with some kind of worried look, albeit a little intimidated, and knew right away that trouble wasn’t in the vicinity. He smiled and shook his head.
“It’s perfectly alright. I should’ve watched where I was going.” The look on her face eased up and she blinked, before smiling a little herself.
“O-oh... Okay! Here, let me help you up.” She reached a hand down to clasp his, and it would have gone smoothly, had he paid attention to the puddle beneath his feet. This time, it took two seconds for him to slip, fall forward...and smack his face into something soft.
---
Tara looked at her watch and let out a sigh, scratching the back of her head. “How long does it take a man to buy a soda and get out of a store?” she asked, not expecting an answer, honestly. Macy was rocking her legs back and forth on the bench, waiting eagerly for her soda, yet she was sucking on a small lollipop.
“Dunno~,” she sang, still swaying. Then, something occurred to her. “Oh... I forgot to tell him what flavor I wanted.” Her teammate gave her a look of disappointment and rolled her eyes.
“Well that helped.”
“Aw, it’s okay. I don’t mind a surprise~!”
“Excuse us, please.” Macy looked up from her place in the middle of the bench to see two other females standing before her, one with cropped brown hair and a feather, another with striking cyan hair. She smiled and scooted over, allowing them to take their seats.
“Hello!” she greeted. The two newcomers looked to her with perplexed facial expressions, wondering why she was chatting with them. “I’m Macy! I’m not from here, but I’m on vacation~! Do you two live here?”
“...Yes.” The tall brunette seemed very terse about her response, albeit somewhat quiet.
“Well, it’s nice to meet some residents~. My friends and I came here for a good time. So! What is there to do around here, besides-”
“KYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”
Immediately, all four of the girls at the bench looked towards the store, just as the scream reached their ears.
“What was that?” Macy asked.
Tara’s eyes just barely narrowed. “Raine’s in there.”
“So is Crystal!” the girl with the antlers exclaimed. Four loud shing’s rung in the air, all four bearing blades, as they dove through the shop door to the source of the calamity.
“Crystal?” the brunette called. They spotted a glimmer of crimson hair at the far end, and raced through the isles to find her standing frozen in place. She seemed to go silent upon finding an unusual scene.
Her teammate came up next to her and gaped in shock. “Crystal?!”
Tara and Macy followed shortly behind, weapons drawn. Macy was the first of them to speak. “Raine, are you- Kyah!”
And then Tara... “Raine-...”
There, laid out before them, was one of the most awkward scenes anyone could hope to witness—Raine’s face was smushed into the newcomer’s breasts, and it wasn’t terribly obvious that the whole ordeal was a mere slip-and-fall type of incident. Poor Crystal’s face was as red as the rest of her clothes, and she looked ready to cry.
“Rainier Garrett Shiba...!” Tara was breathing flames between her teeth, and quickly yanked the poor sap backwards, curling her fist around his shirt. “The hell do you think you're doin'?”
He looked just as astounded as everyone else, trying to recollect himself. “Wha- No, wait! I just-”
“Wow, Raine. I didn’t know you liked girls that much!” There were two facepalms as Macy chimed in with a horrible selection of her words, and at the same time, the other girls were consoling Crystal behind them.
“S-s-s-sirce? Ti-tianee?” Tianee stood in front of crystal and patted a mitten on her shoulder, a look of regret in her teal eyes.
“Crystal, you’re fine now. That horrible man won’t bother you again.”
“B-b-but he didn’t-”
“By the way...” Sirce turned to look at the three-fourths of Team STRM and narrowed her glance into something slightly menacing. “What is a boy like that doing here in Vale?”
Tara’s gaze reflected something extremely similar, taking a long step forward with her polearm-gun swung over her shoulder. “He’s with us,” she spat, “but we’re not looking for trouble.”
“She’s right!” Macy was right on her heels. “We’re just here to relax~!”
“...Right...” Sirce seemed something along the lines of irate, extending a hand towards their redhead. “May I have your names?”
Tara stared for a second, before shaking. “I’m Tara. These two boneheads are Raine and Macy.”
“Macy, huh...? That’s an unusual name for a boy.” The poor guy couldn’t catch a break that day, could he.
“Er, he's Raine. Macy’s the squirrel with more souvenirs than luggage.”
"...Well then. My name is Sirce."
---
“So, you’re from Xervia?” Back at the hotel, Saige and her new tour guide Idina were checking in at a second-class hotel, leaning against the counter waiting for her room keys. The purple-haired vixen seemed at least somewhat interested in who she was, which turned out to be both reassuring...and somewhat unsettling.
“Yes,” she responded, flicking her brown hair back behind her left shoulder. “Siren Academy, to be specific.”
“Ah, cool. Cool. I’ve heard of that place, but never met someone from there.”
A smile appeared on Saige’s face as she breathed something between a sigh and a laugh. “Yes, well, it can get a bit crazy over there. I recommend you don’t travel near, unless you’re prepared to deal with dumbbells and black market terrorists.”
“The dumbbells, I can handle. But terrorists?”
“Long story.”
"I get it." Idina rolled her eyes and leaned her head in her hand, tapping her fingers anxiously against the countertop. The concierge behind the hotel desk was obviously busy, taking care of a line of guests before him. They'd have to wait a bit, so one of them took the risk of breaking the ice even further.
"So," Idina asked, "what brings you to town? You here for the tournament?" She was met with a look of slight confusion.
"Tournament?"
"Yeah. Beacon's having one in a few months, and the transfers are starting to flood in."
It was a shame that they couldn't stay too long. "Oh... Well, unfortunately, no. My team and I are only here for the weekend. We're trying to track someone down."
"Oh?" Now she'd done it—peaked a stranger's curiosity.
Saige nodded. "Someone who goes by the name Whinter."
"There's a lot of strange people here in Vale, but I've never heard that name."
"...Oh." She bit her lip in minor frustration. Before she could open her mouth to speak again, the concierge came back and placed five hotel keys on the counter, before resuming his menial duties.
"You disappointed?" Idina asked her, an eyebrow raised.
"A little. My headmaster asked me to do this for him, so if I come back empty-handed..."
"Is he that strict?"
"No. Just scary."
"...Ah, what the hell."
"I'm sorry?"
Idina rubbed the side of her head and looked away with some form of hidden irritation. "If you need help while you're here, I can call the rest of my team, and we'll spread out."
A glimmer of hope lit up in Saige's eyes, alongside a sweet smile. "Thank you. I hate to steal your weekend-"
"Hey, we needed something to do. Don't mention it." She returned a smirk and pulled out a holographic device from her own pocket, pressing a few numbers before it started ringing.
"Alright, I'm gonna call my friends and let them know where I am while you're doing that." Saige was only responded to with a shushing wave of her new friend's hand, before a click and another voice rang out, with a face to match on the screen.
[Idina?]
"Crystal, baby~!"
[What's going on?]
"Oh, one thing or another. I made a new friend, and she needs some help finding someone. You think you three can come help?"
[Wha- Well I- O-of course!] From what Saige was looking at, the girl with the red hair on the screen seemed both surprised and somewhat timid with her delivery—but she wasn't one to judge. Well, not much or out loud anyways.
"Great! We're at the hotel down the street. Where the hell are you girls?"
[U-uhm... About that...]
In the mean time, Saige had her own scroll pulled out, and a screen popped up with the dialing wheel on it. It disappeared shortly after, and Tara's face was on screen.
['Sup Saige?]
"Hey. Would you three mind coming to the hotel soon?"
[Why? You in a hurry to unpack and set out?] That look of doubt only meant Tara was so sure Saige was fed up.
But nope. She smirked. "Actually, someone offered to help us search."
[Really~?!] Tara was pushed off screen as Macy took her place, invoking only a humored expression from their leader. [We'll be right over~! Oh! Can we bring our new friends with us? Pretty please~?!]
"I don't see why not~."
[Raine, c'mon! We got some hunting to do! And get Crystal, Sirce, and Tianee so we can go!]
"Did she just say Crystal?" Saige looked back over her shoulder to see Idina staring in mild perplexity.
"Yes. Why?"
Idina turned back to her own device where her redheaded friend was still watching. "Crystal, who's with you right now?"
[Hm? Oh! Uh, let's see... There's a boy named Raine, a short black-haired girl, and another girl with short red hair.] She stopped for a second as a porcelain-tone hand tapped her shoulder, leaning over to hear something. [Oh! I gotta go! We'll head over there now with our new friends!] With that, Idina shut her device closed and put it away, turning around to find nothing more than a likewise confused acquaintance.
Saige let a grin cut loose on your lips. "...Well, it looks like my friends found your friends~."
"Heheh. How about that~."
"And, uh... I'm sorry. 'Crystal, baby?'"
"Hey, I roll a different way than most people."
"...I can respect that."
---
Six people, one four-sectioned revolving door. Yeah... Not a lot of room to fit. Thankfully, the six teenagers were able to squeeze in, shuffling into the hotel one by one.
"Anyone see Saige?" Tara asked aloud. The other four looked around, spotting the brunette and a violet-haired vixen sitting on a sofa at one side of the lobby.
Wait. Four?
"Wheeeeeee~!" They looked back to see the revolving door was still spinning, and Macy was inside, merrily twirling around.
"Macy! Quit goofing off and get inside!"
"Okay~!" Macy dug her heels into the floor, stirring up a cloud of smoke as the door slowly came to a stop. When she stepped out, it looked like someone had fired up a fog machine...and burnt the heels of her shoes.
"You have fun?" Tianee asked.
"Yup~!"
Raine sighed and rubbed his head. "Let's settle in so I can take a nap-"
Thunk.
Tara's polearm-gun lightly rapped the top of his head, before she slung it back over her shoulder and started dragging him along. "I don't think so, dummy. Saige said we're headin' out after we regroup."
"...Darn it," he groaned. As they made their merry way over, the other three resident Huntresses-in-training stared at them with some form of question. Tianee looked to Sirce and raised an eyebrow.
"How much do you want to bet that they'll take up our entire weekend?"
"No thank you." Sirce nudged them along towards the other group, regrouping with Idina and the other newcomers.
"Is everyone here?" Saige asked.
Idina felt like she didn't have to answer that, but she did anyways. "Well, two teams. Four people each. ...So yeah."
Tara stared indifferently at the violet-haired vixen. "Well, aren't you a sarcastic little sweetie."
"Ah, please. I've been called much worse." A little wave of the hand was the only indicator that she didn't care of the comment in addition to her back sass. The redhead rolled her eyes and leaned back, balancing her weight on her weapon.
"So!" Macy clapped. "Saige, who's your new friend~?"
"Hm? Oh, right. This is Idina. Idina, these are my teammates," she introduced, pointing at each comrade respectively, "Tara, Raine, and Macy."
"Raine, huh? That's a good name for a girl."
"Wha- Hey! I'll have you know-"
"Oh Saige~!" Macy broke in. Raine couldn't help but smack his palm against his forehead and drag it down his face. "These are our new friends!" The majority of Team CIST looked at them with slightly obscure consciences, before coming to the realization they were supposed to introduce themselves.
"Er, yes. I'm Tianee. These two are Crystal and Sirce." The deer Faunus waved a gloved hand, as the others greeted her companions. "I'm sure you already met Idina. We're Team CIST."
"Cyst?" Macy tilted her head in question.
Sirce shook her head. "No. Crystal."
"But the four of you are C, I, S, and T... Doesn't that mean-"
"Nope." Idina was quick to end her question before they moved on with the conversation.
"A pleasure," Saige retorted. "I'm Saige. The four of us are Team STRM."
"So, who'd care to tell us what we're doing here?"
"Oh! Uh, here." Saige pulled out her scroll and tapped the screen, pulling up a window with a wall of text. "We don't have a picture, but we have the info. Her name is Whinter. She's about 32 years old, six feet tall, and lives in an apartment somewhere near Beacon Academy."
"...Is that it?"
"Yes."
"That's not much to go off of..." Crystal looked down in contemplation, as Idina let out a sigh and crossed her arms.
"Look, Saige," she said, "I know I said we'd help, but this isn't much to go by at all. We need details. This woman could be fat, skinny, blonde, brunette, or anything for that matter."
Team STRM sighed in disappointment, scratching their heads as to what to do next. Surely they couldn't just go back home empty-handed. And for that matter, the air ship to pick them up wouldn't be back until Sunday evening.
Tara slumped down in an armchair behind her and crossed her legs. "Well, now what?"
Silence hung in the air for a good, awkward minute...until a light bulb popped up above Macy's head. "Oh! Since we're here, why don't we go sightseeing? I wanna see what the school is like~!"
"...A tour of Beacon?" Raine poked his head up to look at her. "Well, I don't see why not. Ladies?" Saige and Tara merely nodded in response, before he turned to look at the other four girls.
Crystal smiled. "We'll be happy to show you around~."
"We will?" Idina asked.
"We will~." Well, they couldn't complain if their leader wanted to do something nice. "Why don't you four unpack, and then come on over?"
"Thank you." Saige hadn't thought it possible, but someone in Vale was showing them an inkling of kindness. "We'll be sure to run over as soon as we can."
---
As Team STRM made their exit, the wind began to stir up. A woman watched from a building high above, eyes vacant of any interest whatsoever. Honestly, she wanted to do anything other than travel all the way to Vale—read a book, knit, take a nap, or even play chess. But no. Her supervisor had to assign her on a mission. The wind stirred up her dark blue curls, and her petticoat floated just barely with the current. With a mute sigh, she jumped off the rooftop and down to another, keeping a close eye on the teenagers below.
---
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