A Common Enemy (Private: Pericles, Simab, and Grise)

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles cracked his neck tiredly within the empty lecture hall. He stood with his hands on his hips as he looked over the chalkboard. Various papers were posted against it, alongside many diagrams and notes scrawled together. On the main desk of the room, a few book could be seen propped open.

Sighing, Pericles spoke to himself, "There has to be something here. I know there is, it just doesn't make sense otherwise. If I could just find the time to visit the sites, themselves, then I'm certain I could determine the answer."

[Grise Heldar]

*The door opened loudly as a tall, grey, armor-claded woman entered the room. She looked left and right, before reporting her attention to the stranger.*
"Hello. I am looking for a teacher. Might you know where I can find one ? It could be urgent."

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles turned at the noise of the door, before tilting his head in curiosity at the woman who marched forward, her outfit looking like it took inspiration from the Great War, "Greetings to you as well, stranger. There's usually at least one professor in either the library or the cafeteria, however, if the matter is urgent, perhaps I could be of assistance?"

Pericles set down the paper he had been perusing moments before and questioned her further, "Of what matter is this urgency derived?"

[Grise Heldar]

*She nodded as thanks.*
"It might not be much, however... I just came back from a trip in the Emerald Forest, and there was no Grimm. And I mean, almost none at all. And that's... That's weird. That's not normal. There should be Grimms there, why are there none ? There should be !"

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Noticing that the woman before him was becoming quite impassioned about her concerns, Pericles raised his hands in a gesture of non-hostility, "If I may, honorable stranger, I believe that I might be able to help."

Stepping back away form her, Pericles walked over to the chalkboard and slid down one of the panels to reveal a blank canvas to work upon. Pericles began to write, talking as he did so, "To discern the exigence of such abnormal phenomena, I would require more information, could you recant your travels to me: Timing, location, path, reasoning?"

Finished sketching, Pericles had drawn out a bare-bones map of the area surrounding the Emerald Forest.

[Grise Heldar]

*Grise took a long breath, trying to calm her overwhelming emotions.*
"It was around 30 minutes ago, since that's usually the time necessary to walk from the forest to here, so in the middle of the afternoon. The path was a straight line, and I have to admit that I was deeper in the forest that what a student should be allowed to be. I was acccompanied by someone named Ethan, and we encountered a single pack of Beowulves in this area, wherehas the Grimms are usually abundent and I heard no records of any large-scale extermination happening recently."

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles inquired further as she spoke, sketching out on the board as he did so, "Did you take a straight line into and out of the forest, or just a straight line back? What bearing were you heading? This Ethan individual, do they have an active Aura? How deep would you say 1,000 meters, 5,000 meters, more? Were there any notable landmarks that you came across? The pack of Beowulves, how many were there? Were there any Alpha Beowulves? Were they all at least matured, or were there juveniles? Where did you find the pack? What was the original purpose of your venture into the forest?"

[Grise Heldar]

*Grise answered quickly and precisely.*
"Same way in and out. We had not particular destination in mind. Ethan is a student here, so I would assume yes. We were getting near the heart of the forest. We came across another student, whose name I did not catch, but who manipulated flames, and created a pretty big burn mark on the ground, which could serve as a landmark. They were around a dozen, but I don't remember seeing an Alpha... Though it could've been killed by this other student before I arrived. I believe they were on the younger side. We headed straight back after fighting them, so it was near the heart. I intended to train myself, and I met with Ethan in there. I believe he had the same goal."

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

"Hmmm..." Pericles hummed as he tapped the chalk on the board for a moment before he began to sketch, "If you reached the heart of the forest you must've been heading roughly North-East from Beacon. You didn't mention the canyon, which means you had to have traveled more than 45 degrees East of North. Ergo, there's very little chance that there was some larger Grimm in the area from the ocean that caused a disturbance in their regular patterns." Pericles sketched out the path Grise described.

"The area East by North-East of Vale is sparsely populated, what few towns used to be their were abandoned after the fall of Mountain Glenn. Except for..." Pericles paused as a possibility entered his mind, "The only place that I can think of drawing so many Grimm away from the Emerald Forest would be if they had sensed negative emotions all the way in Oakhearth. Anything else doesn't make much sense, you'd need at least a large village to cause a notable impact on the Grimm population in the forest, and by your account, the change seems quite extreme. While I'm certain that the Rangers of Oakhearth could handle the influx of Grimm, it still might benefit them to receive warning ahead of time. Assuming of course that the Grimm haven't already reached them and it's taken us a considerable amount of time to notice their absence."

"With that in mind, I do believe that your early assessment that this is grounds for an emergency, albeit a minor one, are warranted." Pericles quickly shut several books and cleaned up as best as he could in the short time he had. Grabbing his pack, Pericles walked over and held the door open for her, "Shall we be off to recover a Professor? Though, I hope you do not mind I request your name?"

[Grise Heldar]

*She nodded.*
"I believe it would be for the best. My name is Grise, Grise Heldar. I'm from team GNJR, we arrive from Mistral a few weeks ago."
*As they went out, Grise admitted :*
"The reason why I am so nervous is because of one of my teammates... She recently sneaked in the restricted section of the library to read about some 'legendary' Grimms, and one of them is called 'The Cannibal' and it eats other Grimms, and it is said that the lack of Grimm is a sign of his return. It might be stupid, but I need to ensure that nothing goes wrong, as the leader."

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles bowed and clasped his hand over his chest, "Well met, honorable Grise Heldar of Team GNJR, I am Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias, son of Dryo Alcmaeonidae and Ramses Ozymandias, studier of lost echoes and buried tales."

"Hmm..." Pericles ran a hand through his mane in thought, "This 'The Cannibal' as you refer to it sounds like a syncretic myth of the Vacuoan Chupacabra, which in turn was inspired by old Vacuoan folklore. That is not to say of course that I completely doubt your theory. There is much madness in divinest sense after all, and perhaps the absurd is the surd when the situation itself is improbable. As well, many myth find their root in the misconception of the truth, and perhaps there once was a Grimm capable of bypassing the standard growth cycle of their species by consuming its brethren. If the surd rings true, then out of tune it is not. In which case we may very well be amidst the inks of history, still yet drying as the black blood of Grimm slaughtered splashes across the parchments of our fates."

[Grise Heldar]

*She didn't really understand everything he said, and to be honest he was being a bit too wordy for her taste, especially when the situation needed some action now.*
"I see. Thank you for your expertise, but I would really like to report this to a teacher. Do you know where I may find one ?"
*She was trying not to tap her foot against the ground.*

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles hummed for a moment in thought as they walked out of the room, "Perchance an individual who would fulfill such a title could be spied within the professor's lounge. Though, I would forge no guarantee if itself could be a forgery."

It didn't take them long to reach it, raising his fist slightly, Pericles firmly knocked upon the door to the tune of 'Shave and a hair cut, two bits'.

[Grise Heldar]

"I don't think that any impostor could or even would choose to hide itself between teachers at a Hunter's academy. Not only would it be dangerous and reckless, but the pay isn't even that good. And if said impostor somehow manages to pass well enough as an actual teacher, well, what difference does that makes for us ?"

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles laughed with a deep rumble, "Either your miscontrusion is deliberate, or it is not, irregardless, it is none the less humorous and witful. I had scratched at the sands to determine you were solely the martial type, but perhaps I was etching instead of uncovering, miss Heldar."

[Professor Simab Zibaq]

Simab had been enjoying another cup of his luxurious lavender tea at the moment when he heard a knock on the door to the tune of "Shave and a haircut, two bits". Simab took a brief second, sipping the tea before setting the teacup down on the saucer. He then stood up and walked over to the door.

"Don't worry, Copperfield! I've got a pot brewing right-" Simab stopped mid-sentence as he opened the door, noticing a pair of students at the entrance to the teacher's lounge. He blinked with his nictitating membrane, realizing that it was, indeed, not Copperfield this time.

Now... Simab thought as he collected himself and cleared his throat, recognizing the pair of students that stood before him.

"Ahem! Right, Pericles and Grise... How can I help you two today?" Simab spoke.

[Grise Heldar]

*She bowed, even though her bearthing was still a little ragged.*
"Hello sir. I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but I just came back from a trip in the Emerald Forest, and... I couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be far less Grimms than usual. Might you know something about this."

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles bowed as well, "Good morrow, Professor Zibaq, I hope we cross paths today with your personhood in fair health. As my current associate has imbibed to you, the Grimm population of the Emerald Forest appears from our current vantage to be acting in an irregular manner. Within the heart of the forest, their numbers have dwindled considerably, and the cause is as of yet as clear as the waters of a mire and as opaque as the eyes of the blind. The location from my determination is situated roughly East-by-Northeast of our current stand, and your wisdom in this matter would be lauded and eagerly scribed."

[Professor Simab Zibaq]

"No need to apologize, Grise." Simab began as he turned to Grise. Then he focused on the pair of them.

"I'm not an expert on Grimm like Professor Wednesday, but I have a few bits of knowledge to offer. First, Grimm aggression fluctuates frequently and irregularly. We have specialized experts to track their movements and behavior, but even then, its still about as accurate as predicting the weather. Second, if they are being led east-northeast from the Emerald Forest, then it is safe to assume that they are brought that way due to negative emotions, or residual traces thereof. I believe the only settlement out in that direction is Oakhearth..." Simab continued, his thoughts drifting to Oakhearth.

The Rangers are an elite and well equipped militia force, but average soldiers cannot take on Grimm like Huntsmen can. If it is true that they are fighting greater numbers of Grimm, then they are definitely fighting an uphill battle... he mused.

[Grise Heldar]

"Oakearth, you say ?"
*She seemed to have calmed down a bit, as she straightened and her expression went back to her usual focused, yet neutral look.*
"So it was just a settlement being attacked... What would be best for us to do, professor ? It is quite late, and I don't know how many students might be ready to undergo such a mission.
On the other hand, I am ready, and amongst the more experienced here."

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles, despite the dour circumstances couldn't help but feel somewhat proud that through his earlier musings, he had ended up coming to the same conclusion as the professor, someone of great wisdom and experience. Admonishing himself to settle only on a tight lipped smile, Pericles spoke, "I am glad to hear that you settled on the same hypothesis that I did professor. Though you certainly did it with far more precision and efficiency than I."

Turning to Grise, Pericles spoke, "While an honorable idea and time is certainly of the essence where quick action would be of high value, in these circumstances even by Bullhead we'd arrive far too late to make a significant impact. For all we know, the Oakhearth Rangers may already have made contact with the Grimm. Regardless, I suppose that a warning message wouldn't be remiss."

Pericles then turned back to the professor, "Though the knowledge eludes me in the present moment, does Oakhearth possess a CCTS relay tower? While I'm certain that other methods of sending a message could be explored, those avenues will no doubt pale in comparison to the effectiveness of the tower."

[Professor Simab Zibaq]

"Not a bad idea, Grise, though I would have to discuss such matters with the other professors." Simab began before turning to Pericles.

"I appreciate the compliment, Pericles. Oakhearth did finish constructing a CCTS tower in recent years, which has made communication easier. However, if the Oakhearth Rangers have already made contact with the Grimm by now, a warning message would be redundant." he added, mulling over potential solutions to the problem.

The more I think about it, sending an expedition to Oakhearth sounds like a good idea. It may be risky for some first years, though. Advocating for an upperclassmen to join the expedition would probably be the best option, considering the other professors have too much tying them down at the moment. Simab thought.

"I cannot make any guarantees on it, but I will discuss the possibility of sending an expedition to Oakhearth in the near future with the other professors. If such an expedition is approved, we would send a message to Oakhearth over CCTS to notify them of the incoming support. As for the matter of who exactly to send, all professors would have to agree on how many to send and the skills of those being sent." Simab spoke to both students.