First Lecture of the Year

[Azoireda Ikteris]

Az beamed at Mr. C's question. "Sure can. The results aren't really all that predictable when it comes to reactions or stuff with moving parts, though. The effect is always stronger the closer you get to me. Plus it can get kinda hard to see what's going on in real time."

When he'd finished explaining what to do, she grabbed an old tuna can, a handful of nails, and a crystal, and carefully set the crystal on top of the nails before replacing the lid. How to seal the lid... ah! Reaching into her pouch, Az produced a small flashbang. Setting the IED can on the ground and spinning it back and forth a little to set it slightly into the dirt, she cracked open the little flashbang and poured the powder around the edge of the lid before closing her eyes, looking away, and striking the powder with the ignition switch. With a bright flash and a soft 'thwump', the lid was welded back into place. "That should do," she announced to no one in particular before looking around to see how her classmates were getting on from her position about 20 yards away from the nearest person.

[Asterion Khryseos]

Were anyone to look into Aster's eyes, it would become clear to them that his brain was straining to manage concentrating on two things at the same time.

On the one hand, he paid as close attention to Copperfield's lecture as humanly possible. Though he perhaps wasn't the sharpest knife in the pack at the best of times, that was no excuse for not putting in the effort. That aside, if he was going to blow things up, he wanted to do it well - and listening closely lent itself to that.

On the other hand, Al's proposal had him picturing the possibilities, and thinking about the sheer enormity of the explosion that they could conjure up by cramming the tin to its bursting point. He had to actively resist the urge to smile at the mental image of something similar to the final stages of his Semblance going off, to say nothing of the vague glint that lit his eye at the idea.

Once he was certain that their teacher wasn't paying attention to them, Aster leaned over to Al and began to whisper to her.
"He's probably watching us. I'm gonna put in a few nails so he doesn't think we're..." He didn't finish, but the glance down at the tin laid out in front of him more or less indicated what he was thinking. It was a surprising amount of forethought, given that Aster didn't usually think more than a couple of seconds ahead when it came to anything but what he was going to eat for dinner, but that flash in the pan seemed to be the limit of his 'brilliance.' No sooner had he dropped a few nails in, than he started cramming Dust into every available inch of space.

In short order, the tin was about as full as he could make it. While he could potentially have crammed more Dust in, that ran the risk of making the already-bulging tin impossible to close. Once he was certain that everything was in place, and that there was nothing more he could do with it, Aster set about closing the container - though his solution was far less elegant than welding the top back on. Like he had so many problems before, Aster solved it with brute force, and started bending the edges of the tin inwards, while crumpling parts of it to create some kind of impromptu seal. Perhaps not the most effective or efficient method, but hopefully, it was enough of either to work.

[Al Ciendra]

Al knew that glint in Asterion's eye's all too well, she herself responded with an eager nod of her head.
While her bull friend was being careful, Al uses his carefulness to disregard any pretend play, hiding herself behind his tall body Al stuffed as much combustion dust inside the can as she could!
Which was a pretty fair amount, with no nails taking up any unnecessary space she could feel the can vibrate with pure unstable power, though a nail was needed to set of Mr.C's contraption Al had a much more straightforward solution.
A bright blue flame appeared at her fingertip, Al casually welding the can shut, but also leaving an ever so tiny and harmless spark in the can, one that she would keep alive using her semblance.

As she was done, she turned over to Aster raising both can and mask, the latter only slightly.
As she flashed him her signature fanged grin.
"This is gonna be good!"
She shook her can just to show how full it was, as there was not a single rattling noise.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

Copperfield watched with interest at his student and how they might construct these. He spotted Az doing something quite ingenious. She took the components of a device she had to seal it closed. Although it probably got close to setting the whole thing off, it didn't and sealed the metal well enough. He kneeled down next to her. "Yeah, that should do. Just remember about the heat that causes and keep it away from the Dust Crystal. If you make sure to put the crystal in the middle, should be fine." He nodded with a smile before he got up and moved around to a few others.

It wouldn't show, but he was ready to use his Semblance and the Dust he had on his person to make a shield at a moments notice. Of course he'd have to see one being mistreated in order to bring it up in time, explosions were fast and violent and he wouldn't be able to make a shield base on his reaction speed alone. He was still only human.

While his back was turned, that's when Al and Asterion made their moves and made very dangerous bombs.

He came around to see Asterion's can crushed close. Well, certainly a solution for him. It would afford enough pressure to create a satisfactory explosion, he supposed. None of these would be military-grade, but that didn't stop them from being dangerous. Then his eyes moved to Al. She had opted to weld her can shut, but unlike Az's chemical reaction which would only be hot for a moment, Al was welding it with an open flame. He only saw the last second or so and didn't see how jam packed it was. But from the glowing hot metal and how she shook it for Asterion...

His eyes widened and he took a quick step back, a hand pushing Asterion and other students away as a transparent blue shield appeared infront of him. He was fully ready and dreading that bomb about to explode right in the poor girl's face. His mind was already going over how, if her Aura didn't shield her, her hand was going to be pretty much lost and...

It didn't go off. And after five more seconds of staring at it, it still didn't go off. That must have been some of the dumbest luck he had ever seen. He was so distracted he didn't notice that it didn't rattle.

"Hey Al," He said, using a tone of voice one might use with a child who picked up a dangerous weapon. "I think yours is going to be the first we test. Why don't you throw it way over there, huh?" He asked, pointing away from everyone.

[Al Ciendra]

Al did not get the reaction she really wanted, as everyone just kinda stared in shock at her, she did want to have a reaction, but not to her, the bomb she was holding was meant to be the star, so as everyone, including Copperfield was staring at her Al suddenly felt very, very small.
Her ears flattened to the top of her head as she held the bomb closer to her chest, which had already cooled down of course, she welded it yes, but she was fast enough, it didn't blow up!
Well, not yet, the miniscule and harmless spark she had put inside wasn't even enough to light a sheet of paper.
Al hugged the thing closer to her chest as the eyes of her mask were pointed to the ground.

Upon Mr.C's request, she looked up, seemingly having collected herself a little, but then realizing that she was just being put on the spot more than before.
"Sure."
She took a deep breath, she really wanted to make this a surprise and blow everyone away, with her genius idea not the bomb, but being put on the spot like that she really did hate it, Al could feel the right side of her face itching as she stepped forward and lifted the bomb in a thrown position.
"Here goes."
She launched the grenade just a bit further, to make sure that everyone was safe behind the protective line, she didn't add any of the nails, so the blast would not throw any of that with it at least.
She threw the bomb, it hit the grass, no reaction.
No nails to agitate the combustion dust after all.
Al was just debating on letting it lay there, have all that worry be for nothing and hopefully get all the attention of her.
But, Al wasn't smart, nor did she want to disappoint Aster and herself.
So with a quiet flick of her wrist the spark inside the can grew into a full flame and with a loud BOOOM the Bomb went off, a shockwave hit the shields, making the trees rustle as the sound of it would be noticeable back in Beacon Gardens, it left a sizeable hole in the ground, grass and dirt luckily being the only thing thrown about.

Al's ears were ringing now, even if someone would try and talk to her the only thing she'd hear was the rumbling of the explosion echoing in her ear canal.
Well, at least the display was more than worth it, she looked at Aster, she really hoped he liked it, otherwise this would not have been worth it, at all.

[Azoireda Ikteris]

Kaboom-boom.

Well, not quite, actually. It was more of a WHOOOM than a BOOM, and it wasn't three-stage (though most grenades wouldn't be).

That said, the blast radius was impressively large. This girl certainly knew what she was doing when it came to anything 'fwoosh'. Catching Al's eye, Az gave her a big smile and a thumbs up - if Az's ears were still ringing, she could only imagine how deaf the other girl was right now - no sense trying to talk for at least another few seconds.

I wonder who's next...

[Asterion Khryseos]

Aster - as boisterous and nigh-on braindead as ever - gave a reaction that should have surprised precisely nobody. Throwing his hands up in seeming triumph, and letting out a loud cheer, he seemed to look at the explosion more like a fireworks display than her testing a deadly weapon. Yes, his ears were ringing a little. Yes, he was sure that, were he stood an inch closer, the tips of his hair might have been singed. But there was no denying the fact that he found explosions exciting, and that had been a very exciting explosion.

Without missing a beat, he turned around to Al, and raised his hand for a high-five. He didn't say a word beyond the cheering, but given the fact that he was grinning form ear to ear with a childish look of glee in his eyes, it was likely fairly obvious that he approved of it.

[Al Ciendra]

Al could not hear Aster's cheering, but seeing him this excited was a huge weight of her chest, especially now that the attetion had been shifted from her to the blast she just created.
She raised her hand in response, high fiving Aster, hard, if her ears weren't already playing static the slapping sound would have made her flinch.

Al only turned as she noticed that Az approved as well, she had almost not seen her, considering how bad her peripheral vision was that was no surprise, yet she still showed her a thumbs up, it seems Az is a woman of culture as well, Al nodded to herself in thought.

Then she remembered something, no someone, very important and turned to Mr.C to see...

[Professor W B Copperfield]

Copperfield wasn't so much scared for when the makeshift bomb would hit the earth, he was more afraid of how she threw it. If she jerked her arm back, even remotely forceful, it could explode literally in her face. Luckily it didn't explode. That was a relief. What wasn't a relief was the can hitting the ground and not exploding. He... wasn't sure how it wasn't exploding. An anomoly, he was sure of it. But duds and explosives not going off were almost always worse than them going cold. It meant they could explode at any moment, that someone would have to go out there and check it, maybe detonate it remotely. Of course no one would go out there, not on his watch. He could slag the thing from back here, make it ex-

That thing made a crater in a massive rush of sound and force. Holy crap, that thing was meant to send some nails and tin metal shrapenal to annoy a big Griim or kill a small one if you were lucky enough. Not send chucnks of earth flying into the air. She had must have mashed Combustion crystals into it to give it that power. He was glad they were outside where none of the force would get focused down a hallway and into his students, the explosive sending it's energy and shrapenal out in every direction. A few pieces bounced off his shield, sending concentric circles of blue light across his shield.

Az, Aster and Al seemed to trade glances and thumbs up. He shook his head and lowered his shield. "Alright, Az, you're up. After her, it's you Aster. If Al packed hers, and you guys seem like good friends, I don't want those ticking timebombs sitting in your hands." He was a kid once. He knew how it could be with friends and doing stupid stuff. Az he was far less worried about, she just seemed supportive. Aster on the other hand... That can needed to be disposed of.

[Azoireda Ikteris]

It would appear that she was next. Stepping up to where Al had thrown her device from, Az hefted her own device once before giving it a solid, sidearmed toss in the same general direction.

The can sailed gracefully into the crater, bounced off the slope, and promptly exploded into a much more modest fireball, the nails in the can flying in all directions. The few nails that managed to clear the hold that Al had made didn't make it very far, but the crater itself was peppered with nails.

"Not quite as big a statement as yours, Al," she said after turning around to look at her classmates, "but I'll take it." The good mood was truly infectious: she couldn't keep a smile off her face.

I need to figure out a better way to close them, though...

[Asterion Khryseos]

The explosion wasn't as impressive as Al's, but Aster's was nevertheless enthusiastic about it. An explosion was an explosion, after all - regardless of how strong it was, he couldn't help but feel compelled to celebrate it happening. With a broad, beaming grin painted across his face, he turned to Az and smiled, hands crossed tight over his chest.
"Nice one!" He shouted, flashing her a friendly expression before turning his attention back to the space in front of them. It was a simple gesture, but Aster was a simple man. Hopefully, that would be enough to convey his feelings about it.

Besides, he had a grenade of his own to throw, and was far too eager to strut his stuff to stand around and dole out encouragement. As much as he loved cheering his classmates on, the allure of stuffing a tin to the brim with powder and hurling it into the distance was so tempting a prospect that he couldn't resist stepping up to the plate a moment later. Part of him wondered - did he want to throw it into the crater with the other two's, or did he want to put on a show and upheave a different section of the ground?

Aster was not a precise man, and whether it was fighting Grimm or sealing tins, brute force was the only answer he knew to give - and that much was made apparent in the throw he eventually decided to go for. He took careful aim, stood still a moment to discern the direction the breeze was blowing, even gazed out at the middle distance to see if there was anything of note. And then, he just... chucked it. Propelled by nothing but sheer strength, it veered off to the side, missing the crater by a wide margin, but nevertheless soaring further before the impact ignited the Dust within.

His was a spectacle somewhere between Al and Az's, though no less enthralling to him for it. He'd not packed as much Dust into the container as Al had, having had to stuff some few nails into its confines in some vain attempt at looking like he wasn't just in this for the explosions. And on the other hand, he'd not packed in as many nails as Az had, having wanted to watch an explosion go off and be sanctioned by his teacher. The result was a detonation that threw up a large mound of earth, and with it a few nails that embedded themselves into the ground.

Aster's fist pumped, and a cry of genuine excitement left him. He didn't care what anyone else thought of that explosion - to him, it'd looked exciting, and felt amazing.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

Az's make-shift bomb was solid. Pretty muchh exactly what he had told the class to make. Al's was a bit big, maybe she had packed in a few extra Dust Crystals. but Az's was solid and he gave her an approving nod after it went off. "Good throw, nice make."

And then it was Aster's turn. He hucked it far, that was good, but it just about blew a crater the size that Al's had! Though he knew that the boy had put some nails into it from the fact that one struck the plexi glass all the way over here away from the bomb, and stuck in. The nail's head stopped it from going any further, and it was right at Copperfield's eye level. In a scholarly manner that was collected and of his station, "Bozhe Moi!" He swore and flinched back from the glass.

Once Copperfield collected himself he turned to the class. And in a completely calm, professional manner that was not at all fueled by any heat of any kind and with a smile on his face, he said, "SOME PEOPLE DON'T LISTEN TO DIRECTIONS!" He huffed out a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I guess I should expect this sorta thing... You guys are all bloodthirsty little savages that want bigger guns and bigger ammo." He let out a sigh and then looked to the sky. "If anyone else packed their tins with extra Dust, please just throw them now." No one else did.

He clapped his hands together and looked at the main trio. "Az, A+. You followed directions. Aster, Al, B's at best. You made competent bombs, but need I remind you that you made such devices surrounded by your peers with substandard equipment. So substandard that it was practically fished from the garbage. I'm actually impressed. I'm also shocked we didn't all explode from Al's device. Maybe we have a Luck Semblance among our class or Az's Semblance delayed it or something. But in the future, I would beg of you not to be so reckless. You could really get yourselves or others hurt. But I'm not failing you because those were magnificent explosions and would surely kill a Grimm or three if you used it on them. I do always like seeing a good Boom."

He looked back towards the craters. "Boy, is Honeydew going to wring me for this one. She might even be on her way now. If you don't want to be around for me to point the finger, I would suggest heading back to the classroom." He wasn't looking at them. "I never saw you leave, and I'd suggest just staying in the classroom until the rest of us return. Or you can stay and watch a few more tin fireworks." Was his last words to them for the time being, moving to the other students and directing them to throw and watching the results.

[Azoireda Ikteris]

Az didn't need telling twice. "Doubt I had anything to do with that, Teach," she said as she began walking backwards toward the building. "I have to use effort and Aura to extend the range beyond myself. Thanks for the hands-on lesson, see ya next time!" With a cheerful smile and a wave, she took off back for the building. She was pretty sure Professor Monarch was already a little annoyed at her, and she did NOT want to be anywhere near the scene of a recent explosion in the first week of school.

A+ on her first day? HELL yes. Here, at last, was something she'd excel in. She gave herself a big fist-pump in celebration as she headed for the library to pick up the books she'd need for her essay (who assigned essays the first day of class? that was just WRONG).

((exit our heroine, through the front door, stage right))

[Asterion Khryseos]

To call the look on Aster's face sheepish would have been underselling it. What had once been childlike awe at the sight of a bomb going off - one that he'd made, no less - had quickly turned into unmitigated embarrassment at being lambasted for his actions. For once in his life, Aster deigned to remain quiet, having no reply he felt was worth piping up with in mind. The most he could do was nod, mumble his acknowledgement and agreement, before scurrying off before another teacher had his head for his actions.

Perhaps the most galling part of it all was that he didn't really have anyone to pin it on but himself. He'd ignored explicit instructions, and instead just made something that was more likely to burn down the forest than act as any kind of effective Grimm deterrent. The joy he'd felt at being able to share the experience with Al wasn't gone entirely, but there was little doubt that it'd been very greatly diminished. Just a look at his face was enough to show that. Nevertheless, he figured that it'd be best to move on and not dwell on it - not openly, at least - and kept moving forward.

He’d just have to make up for it in the next lesson.

((That does it for Aster, I believe.))

[Al Ciendra]

Well, Al certainly didn't expect professor C to be such a killjoy, she had thought that he would also get a kick out of some explosions with how much he liked showing off back in the classroom, but noooooooo when his students did it, it was a big deal!
To say the last Al was grumpy, tapping her feet on the forest floor with her arms crossed as she yet stopped herself from giving the professor any lip, she wanted to get along with her teachers, it would be way better than having them as enemies as they always held the longer end of the lever and Al would have to spend 3 whole years with a stickler like him.
She simply stared back at him, not giving him a response as without a word Al left, following Aster.

She could see that her horned friend was looking pretty glum.
Suppose he took the professor's words much worse than her, maybe she could cheer him up ?
She jabbed his side gently as her other hand held a little figure, it was very apparent that it was a ridiculous rendition of Professor copperfield, his body being way to lanky and head to big, as Al spoke up in her most monotone yet smart ass voice possible.
"HURr dUrr hey KiDS lEMme ShoW Ya A LIVE GrenAdE iN A CLaSSrOOm, SUrELY ThIS iS A gReat IDEA bECaUSe i aM SMaRt, NOw gO makE SOmE OF yoUr OWn bUt BE cAreFul wITh theSE lIvE GReNadES, They COuld hUrT soMEBodY, OH NO GreNaDEs expLdOE WHO cOuLD SeE tHIS cOMIng ?!"
With an exaggerated flail the mini professor blew up, Al looking to Aster hoping her show of theatrics had cheered him up a bit.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

Az had to make an effort to use her Semblance past herself, eh? Good to know.

It was obvious to him that while Az was happy, Al and Aster were less than so. Maybe sending them off to the classroom was a bit too much like punishment, but he really was trying to protect them from any immediate fallout of this. If he was honest, their enginuity to make these tin cans into more than just distraction grenades was wonderful. Dangerous, reckless, but wonderful. He had a hypothesis that Al used her Semblance somehow to keep hers from exploding.

Also, it was day one of class, and kids were kids. They were still trying to find boundaries, how far they could push things, and he had taken them outside to make grenades. He let out a long sigh as other students launched their grenades. He should have had another activity planned. Hindsight was always 20-20. He was still a new teacher but he was the experienced one, he should know better. Maybe he could talk to them tomorrow. He didn't particularly care about making sure he was a likeable teacher, he had stopped caring about other's opinions when he was about 3 years old. But he cared about individual relationships. And he would be teaching these kids for the foreseeable future, and he'd rather be known as someone respectful, knowledgable, and someone to turn to in need of help to these kids, not some jerk teacher who beat them down on their first day because they wanted to have fun with dangerous compounds.

He was able to call them in after class, right? Yeah, teachers could do that. Just for a little chat.