Friendwork and Teamship [Private with Forest and Melina]

[Al Ciendra]

Grimm, Grimm, Grimm and more Grimm.
That's and the blazing of her flames was all she could see at the moment, as Al was in the midst of a horde of the beasts.
She was on an exterminate mission, as Beacon had noticed a few too many Grimm getting cozy in the Emerald Forest and instead of dealing with it themselves thought it was a great idea to send a few students to handle the issue instead of letting the professors or hired huntsmen deal with it.
Al was inclined to agree, as she rarely felt so alive when her axe was cleaving through the neck of a Grimm, making its head fly a few feet away as the flailing body collapsed and fell apart into dust.

She ducked under another claw swipe, rearing around and punched the Grimm in it's ugly mug, flame coating her fist which then blew the monster's face into pieces.
Another attack, this one coming in from the side, Al leapt out of the way, yet not in time, it wounds its mark hitting her square in the chest as Al tumbled backwards.
With a flip, she got back up, whirling around as a barrage of fireballs decimated the Grimm that were now rushing her.
She was panting heavily, the piles of dust evident of her work...yet she could hear more coming, maybe she should not have ran ahead?
...who cares, those two nerds were just slowing her down!

With a fierce battle cry, Al flew deeper into the forest, ready to meet the Grimm head on!

[Forrest Waldstein]

The plan was simple: stick together. Except they didn't. Thirty minutes ago when they were discussing the plan, Al must not have been listening or paying attention, and she ran off into the thick of it. Not to mention if she started a forest fire there would be hell to pay. It didn't help that Al was the fastest of the group, leaving Forrest but more so Melina in the dust. Forrest had to stick close to Melina, his Semblance's creations able to exterminate a variety of Grimm along the way. Maintaining his Aura on a small tree or two would be beneficial, as his Semblance's creations could deter Grimm. Besides, Al could handle herself in a fight. Forrest had firsthand experience with that.

Dammit, Al... Why didn't you stay with us?... Forrest mused, rebuking Al for her rashness. He had also agreed to the mission, albeit to protect everyone nearby rather than for the sheer thrill of it all. An adept survivalist, it didn't take long for Forrest to find Al's footprints, or much more obviously, the scars of battle she left behind. The scorched remains of Grimm were hard to miss. Forrest could also hear the sounds of battle a bit further into the forest. No doubt it was their missing teammate.

"Al isn't too far ahead. Let's go." Forrest called out to Melina as he went in the direction Al had gone. He went fast enough to get to Al fairly quickly but slow enough as to not leave Melina behind.

[Melina Caedus]

Why does she have to be so impulsive about this? Melina mused as she let out a dissapointed sigh. There she was, chasing after her fiery wolf friend who was storming into the fray without a care in the world. Al was a good friend to Melina, if not her best even. So upon hearing that Beacon offered local students to take care of the increasingly growing numbers of Grimm in the Emerald Forest themselves, she knew Al was going to jump at that offer, but she seemed to have underestimated her recklessness…
She probably shouldn‘t complain, given that she herself could be as reckless in the right circumstances. With her was Forrest Waldstein, a calm boy with a nack for tactics from what she heard. The ex-military medic engaged her mask, giving chase.

“Right!“ her mechanized voice rasped out of the contraption at a mere supposed whisper and the machinery supporting her legs beneath the armor whirring to life as she ran after.
She wasn‘t as fast, if only because she couldn‘t accelerate as quickly. That did mean she was lacking behind, however that also meant once she got going she could easily keep the pace.

As was when she chased through the thicket and a large Alpha Beowolf jumped out at her. Melina raised her shield charging into it, sending it flying with ease against a tree without slowing her down.
Her shield then shifted as Melina reeled Solemn Vow back so she could crash the blunt upper end into the Grimm‘s Skull, pulverinzing it and leaving a dent in the tree. It was as if her shyness was replaced by absolute focus.
She isn‘t going to let some mere Beowolves halt her advance.

[Al Ciendra]

Al kept charging forward, tearing through more Grimm, as maniacal laughter joined the scorched surroundings and dust piles in the traces she left on her path.

It was finally when she entered a clearing that Al was stopped, a giant foot stomped down in her path, an attack that Al barely dodged as she skidded backwards, getting a good look at what had stepped in her path.
A Geist, a body formed of rock and soil stood before her, easily 30ft tall, the Grimm staring down from above, its true body encased in a makeshift helmet made from a tree stump, the stumps roots were also crawling through its frame, making the golem body extra sturdy.

The other Grimm had retreated, not wanting to get stomped by the stone goliath.
Perfect for Al, she had grown tired of hordes, she drew got into a combat stances her axes glinting in the light of the clearing as she got ready to counter the giant's slow attack and then start smashing its body to bits.
There it was!
One of the arms rose upward to sweep across the forest floor, in an attempt to wipe her off the map.
Al got ready to jump, yet as she looked up...she saw something that made her freeze up, on the shoulders of the Geist's stone body sat a Griffon, Al's breath caught in her throat as a scene from 10 years assaulted her mind, yet, she shook herself free...but a second to late, the rock arm hit her square in the chest and sent her flying backwards.
Al was winded of breath, as she tumbled across the forest floor, only finally catching herself as she managed to dig her feet into the dirt...a crack could be heard, Al looked down at herself....her ankle shouldn't bend like that.

She tried to gather her breath, as both the Geist and Griffon were charging at her, shit...maybe she had to run?
No way, she could take them!
Her flames flared up again in roaring defiance as she stood her, she'd burn these two fuckers to the ground before they could finish her!

[Forrest Waldstein]

There she was, Al was within sight by now, along with a Griffon and a Geist. Things weren't looking too good for Al considering her ankle was twisted in clearly the wrong direction, yet she was still able to stand. She must've been so full of adrenaline that the injury didn't seem painful to her. All Forrest knew was that he had to save Al.

Get away from her you BITCH! Forrest thought venomously at the Griffon as he used Sylvan Anthem, branches exploding around its body, causing it to fall to the ground squirming in a futile attempt to break free. Forrest then turned his attention to the Geist, the body of which seemed too sturdy for his own attacks. Once again, Forrest used Sylvan Anthem, this time to immobilize the Geist. The roots cascaded up its legs and down into the ground, firmly rooting its legs in place.

"I can't hold it for long, take it out Melina!" Forrest ordered, focused on keeping the Geist immobile.

[Melina Caedus]

Melina burst into the clearing shortly after Forrest and quickly saw the precarious situation Al was in and witnessed as Forrest took out the Griffon with impunity. To be fair even the calm and shy Melina, got angry at the sight of her best friend being hurt, her foot bent in an unnatural way.

You dare…!? Melina thought as her gaze was now fixed on the Geist, a troublesome type of Grimm with a fragile base form. However, give it material to posses and they can become quite bulky juggernauts with bodies composed of wood, rock or sometimes even ores and metal.
The former rescue team medic had seen a few of these back in Atlas, one even in form of a Gigas Armor… a dreadful sight.
Raw power was needed here and an enraged Melina wasn‘t going to wait for a command...

Her shield readjusted itsself again as Melina grabbed her baton and extended it into it‘s staff form to connect it with the barrel mounted on her shield. Once locked in place, the shield disconnected from her metal arm, transforming itsself into the head of a mighty poleaxe. Just as she gripped the newly formed weapon with her prosthesis she inserted gravity dust shell from her arm into the haft of her weapon, it‘s head glowing in a forboding violet light.
Melina charged at the giant and with a powerful stomp, raising her weapon above her head catapulted herself into the air at an angle that saw her crashing down at the Geist‘s body.

“Hrrrrgh!“ she grunted with gritted teeth as she came down, swinging her weapon downwards with all the might her mechanically enhanced body could muster. The blade crashed into the wooden stump, that was the golems head, splitting it without issue and going on to cleave the rocky body beneath in twain, almost entirely down the middle. What Melina clearly lacked in speed, she made up for with strength.

Now Geists are tricky creatures, Melina was aware of that. It was likely that this one was going to abandon it‘s body in favor of staying alive. Too bad for it that Melina took this into account when attacking, as the gravity dust in her weapon activated just as the Geist, tried flying off.

“You are NOT getting away!“ Melina declared as her weapon created a powerful gravity well around her that magnified gravity to a point that made both the Geist and it‘s former, now crumbling, body crash into the ground. Melina was also affected, but thanks to her graft and mechanicly enhanced body was easily able to resist the force.
At the same time she extended her left arm towards the Geist, a wall of hardlight appearing beneath it that it crashed head first into, splitting it‘s mask in two and killing it. The gravity well expires the same moment she lifts her weapon off the ground.

[Al Ciendra]

Al was a bit dazed, from getting flung around by a fist three times her size, but her aura had not cracked yet, the endurance training she was doing with her semblance must have been paying off, she was still in this fight but...did she need to be?
The small fry had retreated, for now, she could hear their footsteps just around the clearing as they were looking for an opportunity to attack the now three huntsmen, but something was deterring them, Al didn't really know what, maybe it was the gorgeous sight of Melina destroying the Geist's body with a single strike, rending its rock apart and then trapping its actual body in a gravity well to crush it as well that made them shy away.
Al herself was stunned for just a second, she would definitely hype Melina up for that one, tell her how cool she was, the shy medic would probably only reluctantly accept her compliments, but Al would give them anyway, Melina deserved them after all.
Yet, then her gaze shifted to the Griffon and her blood ran hot, her eyes saw only rage as Forest was restraining the Grimm, it was of course a good move on his part, but Al just did not want to have another thing taken from her by this guy, those damn vines took her win the tournament, and now they would take her shot at sweet sweet revenge, revenge she waited for so many years.
Al stood, as stable as she could as her flames flared up again, this time a demonic blue hue engulfed the clearing as Al was completely covered in flames.
"HE'S MINE!"
Al roared over her flames as an explosion then ripped into the dirt, Al flung herself forward, in a flash of blue light she shot through the crumbling remains of the Geist, melting any rubble that could have hit her as she crashed into the falling Griffon, she grabbed it by its throat as she flew forward and then caused another explosion, sending herself and the Grimm crashing into the Ground.
Sylvan Anthems vines had burnt away long by now as Al sat on the Griffons chest, she had it pinned as the Grimm lashed at her, she caught its wrist, gripping them tightly as she burnt through them and made claws fall to the ground.
The Grimm roared as it tried to peck at her, flashes of that beak tearing into her face entered her mind, but Al ignored them, headbutting the beak with her mask, Al cackled as her fingers then latched onto the beak's connection to its face.
"Payback time."
With her fingers digging into it's flesh melting it as she went Al reared back, ripping the Griffon's beak from its head, flinging it to the side, as with manic laughter, her flames now fading as the Grimm was left dazed, she kept tearing into the Grimm, the particles, denoting the Grimm's passing, were already coming of its body long before Al stopped tearing apart it's head.
"Haaah...catharsis."
Al said, as she got up, ignoring her twisted ankle as she used her semblance to hover in place, she knew Melina would scold her if she put too much pressure on it.
"Let's deal with the stragglers."
Al said, as the last few Beowulf's approached the clearing again.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest was glad that the three of them seemed to be clearing out the Grimm effectively. That was, until he viewed Al's raw display of power against the Griffon. It was primal, vengeful, and downright barbaric. Forrest could only stand by, stunned at what Al had just done.

"...I'm gonna go deal with the stragglers now..." Forrest spoke after shaking his head, getting a hold of himself. The Beowolves advanced into the clearing where the three of them were. Noting that, Forrest conjured up a root to wrap around one of the Beowolves. Upon being caught in the root, the Beowolf squirmed and thrashed around violently. It wasn't just struggling to break free, it despised and feared the creation that was holding it up off the ground. The other Beowolves noticed the root created by Sylvan Anthem, looking noticeably demoralized by the sight of it. They took several slow steps away from the conjured root out of fear.

"Quick! Get the rest of them!" Forrest called out to his teammates, hoping they could easily dispatch the other Beowolves while their morale was broken.

[Melina Caedus]

Melina turned to Al, only to step to the side as Al shot past her in a display of savage vengeance towards the Griffon. She really must have had a personal vendetta towards those creatures if that was her reaction.
What startled her though was the sudden appearance of those blue flames that bursted forth from the fiery wolf. Melina had never seen them before and the sight did unnerve her somewhat.

Forrest then restrained a Beowolf, which oddly enough caused the morale of the rest of the pack to crumble as they hesitated. A curious reaction, but one Melina decided she would capitalize on as she stormed forward as fast as she could. She was very much worried about Al‘s injury, but given the faunus clever way of circumventing it, Melina had the time to take action against the Grimm first.

“Stay put, Al!“ Melina announced in an unusually commanding tone just as Pridwen‘s blade crashed down at the first Beowolf, beheading it in one clean strike. This roused those around out of their stupor, one lunging at Melina in retaliation. After all, hopelessness easily grows into wild desperation.
In response, the battle medic brought the weapon head closer to her and instead struck the jumping Grimm‘s body with the low end of her weapon, tossing her foe away to the side.
She then reeled it back to cleave another approaching Beowolf in front of her into upper and lower halves.
Pridwen crashed into the ground from such a wild attack, it seemed like she was wide open as the previously knocked away Beowolf had enough time to get up and lunge at Melina once more, ready to sink it‘s teeth into her.

Instead it was met with the white glowing apparition of a shield, knocking it airborne with a fierce shieldbash. Albedo, the shining knight in armor, emerged from Melina‘s body who then proceeded to spear the airborne Grimm and tossing it back to Melina.

“Hrrrgh!“ Melina‘s groan reverberated from her mask as she pulled her weapon off the ground and swung it with all her strength against the helpless creature.
It was as if she was playing a morbid version of baseball. The blunt end crashed into the soot black body, killing it with the impact and launching it‘s desintegrating body to the side. Albedo then hovered back next to Melina with a flap of her wings.

[Al Ciendra]

Al was very, very happy to continue her Grimm slaughter fest when she saw Forest give her a golden opportunity to do so, but, Melina stepped up telling her to stand down, the unusual commanding tone made Al's ears flick for a bit, she got a flashback of her stealing a cookie jar a few years ago and her moms choice of words.
"O-okay."
She said, as she floated back a few steps, instead taking to Forest's side, she hovered for a few seconds longer, as she watched Melina work, it was...actually a very beautiful sight, the sheer power Melina wielded with Pridwens combined form actually made Al's mouth stand agape, she HAD to see Melina fight more often, but, that could wait, as Al landed she could feel the bones in her foot ache badly, she was good at ignoring pain and just fighting through it but this HURT, the control of her flames slipped as Al just landed her butt on the soft grass of the clearing with a gasp of pain.

Guess that her lift-off especially juiced up with her amped flames was a liiiiittlee too violent for her already banged up foot.
So, when she defiantly tried to stand back up and her foot made a noise it definitely shouldn't, Al remained seated, trying to prop up her leg a bit so she'd not lay it down anywhere weird.

[Forrest Waldstein]

The last remaining Beowolf was still held aloft by the root conjured from Sylvan Anthem. Seeing as Melina had taken care of the rest of them, there was no need to keep the root around much longer. Looking over to the Grimm, Forrest outstretched an open hand towards the beast before closing it into a fist. The root clamped down hard on the Beowolf, crushing its body into lifelessness. The billowing smoke from its body made it evident that this Beowolf was no more. With that, the root began flaking off into ashy wisps as it disintegrated. That's when Al fell down into the grass. Noticing her trying to get up, Forrest tried to stop her.

"Al, wait! You'll only make it-" he said before hearing a loud crack from Al's foot as she defiantly stood up despite his warning.

"worse..."

Forrest knelt by Al's side, making sure she didn't make the same mistake again. Noticing Al was trying to prop up her leg, Forrest helped by conjuring a log beneath her leg, allowing the back of her knee to remain supported by the log.

"Melina, I think we need your help!" Forrest called out to her as he took out a small medical guidebook from one of his pockets, frantically flipping to a chapter that dealt with extremity trauma.

[Melina Caedus]

Upon the defeat of the last Grimm Melina disengaged Pridwen‘s Poleaxe form by transforming the head back and reattaching it to her prosthesis. She then put away the pole as well and ran her way back to the others as Forrest called for her.
She stomped across the clearing with Albedo not far behind. Kneeling down near where Al‘s foot she prepared herself to treat it.

“No matter how much this might hurt, I need you to hold still. Okay Al?“ she only commented through her mask, not caring for any protest that Al might muster. She didn‘t want to hear any complaints from her patient, especially since she was technically at fault for this. Even then, when it came to injuries, Melina was usually hyperfocused and difficult to distract.
She lifted the wolf‘s leg up a bit to gently pull off the boot and anything beneath for her so get a good look on the full extend of the injury. It wasn‘t pretty, a foot was definetly not supposed to be in such a position. She hoped it was just a dislocation instead of a fracture, since she couldn‘t heal broken bone on the spot. In any case first things first, realigning the foot.

“Albedo, hold down her leg.“ she commanded and Albedo started hovering next to her, firmly grasping Al‘s leg with a strenght unbecoming of the phantasm. Melina decided to enhance it‘s strength by fueling it with more aura, since she needed Al to be still for this to go smoothly. On the bright side, the soothing cold Albedo‘s touch emitted seemed to dull some of the pain.

“Forrest, after I have corrected Al‘s foot and bandaged it, I need you to create a splint or cast for it. While I seriously hope it isn‘t fractured, we need to make sure that she moves the foot as little as possible from now on until we can get Al back to school for proper treatment.“ she looked at Forrest with a stern gaze for but a moment as she instructed him, quickly directing her attention back to the foot.

She gave Al a quick nod and then did her best to realign the foot. The pain was undoubtably going to be excessive and agonizing. Once back in place a compartment of Solemn Vow opened revealing what was essentially supplies you‘d find in a first aid kit. She wraps a bandage around the foot, giving a nod to Forrest once it was secure.

[Al Ciendra]

Well, all of this was a little embarrassing, she was having her ass saved by two other people after her fuck-up, but, she was to exhausted to really protest, even though she hated having Forest's damn vines be the ones to prop up her leg.
She was tempted to move her leg away, but this was when Melina returned, and she had some very firm instructions, she was very okay with listening to her.

Al, was largely silent for the procedure, between the initial injury and her last blunder Al had enough time to get used to this injury,
so she was silently nodding along as Melina told her to stay still, which she did Al only fidgeted when Albedo touched her, the cold and normally probably soothing touch felt pretty bad to the pyromancer whose body was normally much warmer than a normal person.

She was more busy to think of how she'd explain her running off, but she was having a hard time coming up with a good explanation for her dumb idea, she just really wanted to murder the most Grimm and her impatience got the best of her with her, in comparison to herself, slow teammates.

Then, her foot was realigned, Al gave a small grunt, yet remained mostly silent, as she turned her foot a little, it felt a bit better to move her foot again, she pushed Albedo of her leg, in a gentle yet insistent manner to get the message across that she did not enjoy Albedo's touch.

"Hey, sorry for running off, I just got too into it."
Al sighed as she shifted a little, as much as she could without moving her leg of the log.
"And also sorry for making you worry about me and patch me up again, thanks for that by the way."
Al lifted her mask a little, facing away from Forest who was gathering material for a cast, showing Melina her smiling face, just to let her see she was being sincere and thankful for her help.
She did push her mask back up again just to make sure Forest didn't see anything.

Speaking of Forest, when he put on the cast Al once again held still, without much of a response, only when the wood hardend around her leg did she twitch.
"Are we done now?"
She asked, moving her leg a bit to feel if the cast sat correctly, it did...how was she going to get back to Beacon though?
With a wood cast on her leg there was no way she could fly lest she'd burn the thing and standing let alone walking did not feel great currently.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest quickly skimmed the section on resetting dislocated limbs as Melina made her way over to help Al. Diagrams were especially helpful since reading pages worth of material wouldn't be feasible for Forrest in this moment. He got the gist of it, more or less. By the time he put away the medical guidebook into his pocket, Melina instructed Forrest to make a splint or cast for Al's foot. He nodded to Melina and searched for a relatively thick branch about the size of Al's foot. Considering where they were, it didn't take long to find a suitably sized branch.

Channeling his Semblance into the branch, he was able to snap it off the tree without much effort. Catching the thick branch as it fell, Forrest continued using his Semblance to effectively mold the material into the shape of a splint, sloughing off any unnecessary material as if it was being whittled. It didn't take long for the branch to take the form of a splint. The good thing about it was that it was made of preexisting plant life that Forrest didn't create, so he didn't have to expend his Aura to maintain its form. Noticing the nod from Melina, Forrest made his way over to Al to set her foot into the cast.

"I'll try to make this as painless as possible for you, Al." Forrest said as he put the cast on Al's bandaged foot, manipulating the flexibility of the wooden splint with his Semblance to make it easy to slide on before returning it to its original hardness.

[Melina Caedus]

Albedo did relent and let go of Al‘s leg as she insistently pushed her off, however remained where she was kneeling for the moment.

“Don‘t mention it.“ she off handedly answered and looked over just in time to see Al having revealed her smile. For but a moment one could see content and a smile in Melina‘s face, even though her mask blocked the mouth completly.

Eventually Forrest came back and formed the cast around Al‘s leg. It was something that seemed so natural to the guy, the wood forming as fluid as Al did her fire puppet play when they first met. How simple yet useful controlling natural elements could be.
Melina remained silent and focussed throughout the remaining procedure, that was… until they were finished.

“Good, that should do it. Now that we are done here...“ she complimented Forrest on the work finishing with a sigh. It was the last sentance she said in a calm and professional tone, before she looked at Al with a worrysome look.

“Heavens Al! Never make me worry like that ever again!“ Melina complained, her voice cracked behind that mask of hers. Some might call it whisper-yelling… if that was even a real thing. For the others it just sounded like she was complaining through a voice filter. Nonetheless, Melina seemed completely switched out… gone was the stoic, ever ready battle medic, and in her place was the worrywart that Al had come to know throughout their interactions at Beacon.

At the very least she calmed down quickly, choosing to reserve her medical and tactical rambling for when they got back, presumably at least. In truth she couldn‘t be mad at the fiery wolf for too long.

"You'd think you would have learned some restraint." she commented at last. Who was she kidding? Had her friends life been on the line she would ahve been just as reckless. Best not mention that.

“Albedo, carry her.“ she commanded her phantasm at last, who then flew past Al and picked her up from behind. The angelic knight knelt down, essentially hugged the fiery wolf, and then picked her off the ground. Al was flying again, just not with her own semblance and the warmth she is so familiar with.

[Al Ciendra]

Al knew what came next, it wasn't the first time Melina patched her up after all, the stoic demeanor was only temporary and soon...there it was.
Al felt a little guilty for making Melina worry, choosing to remain silent and just rub the back of her neck.
"Yeah, you know better than anyone at Beacon how me and restraint don't get along."
Al said, sighing as she yet wondered where Melina was moving toward...was she not going to prop her up?

That was when Melina gave her phantasm that command, and Al was scooped up by Albedo into a huh.
"W-wait!"
Al said, as a shiver ran down her spine at the cool touch of the phantasm, which was once again pretty uncomfortable for the pyromancer, she yet gave it some thought, Melina and Forest needed their hands free and Albedo couldn't get tired from carrying Al.
"...fine, at least carry me a bit more comfortably."
Al said, before Albedo shifted her grasp to carry Al bridal style, which, was much better, Al wrapped her cloak a bit tighter around herself, blanketing herself from Albedo's cold touch.

As the group went onward, Al snuck a few gazes at Forest, he had been awfully quiet for some time, man, this second impression he got of her was probably not all that great, well, it was kinda his own fault, he was the one that got under her skin by taking her win.
Al, as she said, wasn't good at keeping her cool, but she did keep herself a little in check especially when around Melina, more due to wanting Melina to worry about her, but today she did just lose it, wanting to show Forest how much stronger she was than him, well, she did kill more Grimm than him, by far, but it would have been a much better look for her without breaking her ankle.
"How far are we from the school anyway? This whole situation is so embarrassing."

[Forrest Waldstein]

Just got too into it, and yet she only thanked Melina despite my contributions... Forrest mused, deep in thought as he followed Melina and Al back towards Beacon. Al's apology didn't sit right with him, he was so fixated on mulling it over that he did not realize the quick glances from Al.

Did I do something to upset Al? I did everything I could to help her... Forrest pondered, his musings continuing to gnaw at him. He just wanted to get along, but he noticed a lack of appreciation towards him. He wanted to get to the bottom of it, but figured that discretion was the better part of valor. He seemed to rise from his melancholic musings when Al piped up.

"Not too far, maybe ten minutes away by now..." Forrest replied aloofly, noting the familiar surroundings near the edge of the Emerald Forest. He thought of ways to approach Al about the whole situation, but figured that it would be best for Melina to not be a part of that conversation. He approached Melina, hoping she'd be receptive to the plan he thought of.

"Melina, let me carry Al. It's less taxing on you and more efficient if I carried her. Besides, I think Albedo makes her feel uncomfortable." Forrest whispered, quiet enough to ensure Al was not in earshot. He got the sense that Al would be more compliant with this if it seemingly came from Melina.

[Melina Caedus]

Once they started moving back to Beacon, with Albedo now carrying Al bridal style instead, Melina noticed some strange tension in the air around her. She looked back and forth between Al and Forrest, nervous that they both were being so quiet now. She started fidgeting with her fingers, struggling to convince herself to say something.

It was when Al askeed how far they were when Melina was just about to answer as Forrest took the opportunity to speak up instead. The medic‘s attempt to speak up was muted as she instead decided to remain silent instead. She could feel a stinging feeling where her prosthesis was… or rather where her right arm should be, just about where the shoulder mount was. It prompted her healthy hand to grasp the spot as if trying to brace it or similar. It was then that she was approached by Forrest. He was whispering, so Melina disengaged her mask.

“Does it?!“ she whispered a bit shocked after letting out a restrained gasp, consequently glanzing at Al in the corner of her eyes. She noticed how curled up in her cape the fiery wolf was in Albedo‘s arms. Forrest‘s argument started to make more and more sense the longer hse observed her. How had she not thought about that Al was more used to warmth due to her semblance? It made her wonder if Al had ever mentioned that... or worse yet if Melina had fogotten. If she did, she probably could not forgive herself. The stinging feeling in her shoulder grew more intense as Albedo moved instinctively closer.

“Al, would you mind if I left you in Forrest‘s hands for a moment?“ Melina asked nervously, struggling to find a reason other than the strain of her aura to do so. After all, her own well being was her last concern.

“I...I would like to scout ahead… to make sure there aren‘t Grimm that could‘ve sneaked past.“ she asked meekly, racked with guilt and nervousness.

[Al Ciendra]

Al, was still looking at Forest, so when he moved to whisper to Melina, in a range he thought may have been out of ear shot for her, Forest may have forgotten about the fact that she could hear much better than him, despite the fact she didn't say anything, even as she could see the signs from Melina, she looked to Albedo, the phantasm no doubt noticed them too by now, Al wanted to help her friend but Forest seemed to want to talk.
Al, sighed as she gently ignited a flame under her, not very gracefully floating out of Albedos hands and parking herself in Forest's embrace instead.

As she did, she yet gave Melina a quick passing pat on her robotic arm.
"No worries Melina, thanks for everything, as always."
She hoped this would help ease her friend's nerves, if not, she give her plenty of hugs later on, when they could share a private moment mask's off.

When Melina and Albedo went ahead, Al then turned to Forest, a heavy sigh escaping her as she let her shoulder's sag.
"Sorry."
She simply said, tapping at her chest plate for a bit before she went on.
"...for...just not keeping my cool and drawing you both into my mess, I'm usually a little better at this but...never mind, this is stupid."
She shook her head, crossing her arm, she had at least gotten most of her apology out.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Holding out his arms to carry Al, she not-so-gracefully used her flames to float herself over towards him. Forrest was once again caught off guard by how warm Al was to the touch, but remembering it was just a byproduct of her Semblance, his worries were quelled. As Melina went to scout ahead, Al turned to Forrest, sighing and then apologizing. She fumbled the latter half of her sentence, causing Forrest to raise an eyebrow at her half-finished apology. Sighing, Forrest decided to say his piece.

"I'm glad you took responsibility for what you did, I just would like know why you ended up doing it in the first place. You're lucky that you didn't end up with more serious injuries, and that Melina was around to help patch you up. I mean, I hate Grimm as much as the next person, but overexerting yourself is very dangerous..." Forrest began, making sure that his next choice of words were kind, yet firm.

"You're an invaluable teammate and a good friend, but I get the sense that you're holding a grudge or something. Everything seems fine with you and Melina, but I feel that you have a certain coldness towards me. I just wanna be a good person, and seeing you treat me like that..." he added, his voice cracking at the end under the stress of his emotions.

Stop, don't cry... What would the both of them think if they saw that? Forrest thought, composing himself and burying his emotions deep within. Having successfully stopped any tears from welling up, he continued.

"It hurts, you know?..." he finished, his voice barely cracking this time. Despite his voice sounding mostly normal by now, Al's acute hearing could probably still pick up the nuances in his speech.

[Melina Caedus]

Albedo was about to hand Al over, when the fiery wolf decided to do that herself by using her flames and thus fell into Forrest‘s embrace. Not very gracefull, but good enough it seemed. Melina, upon feeling the pat on her robot arm, felt a little surge of warmth that felt comforting just as a stinging feeling was about to set in around the arm. With that, Melina only gave an approving nod and a hesitant smile to them as she then went ahead to scout the area. She picked up the pace, getting into a decent jogging tempo with Albedo floating silently behind her.

Once having gotten a lot of distance to them she slowed down, presumably to take in the surrounding better. Except not really, she instead did so because her arm was starting to hurt… the one that wasn‘t there anymore. The phantom pain had been growing for a few minutes now, her armored left hand desperately clutching the upper arm of Solemn Vow, she tried feeling something in the mechanic limb, until she instead felt something cold lightly smack against her head.

“Ouch. Wha- What… was that for?“ her soft voice whispered as she covered her head with her hands and looked to the source, that being Albedo who floated next to her shaking her head at Melina with crossed arms. Despite the lacking expression… Melina could tell exactly what she was trying to tell.

“I know… it‘s just… they needed a moment.“ Melina‘s whispering devolved into an even more silent mumble. Albedo clearly wasn‘t happy with neither Melina‘s flimsy excuse of scouting ahead, nor the fact that she just up and left them. On the plus side… Melina was distracted from the phantom pain.

[Al Ciendra]

Was... Forest gonna cry over her being annoyed with him?
Well that was...very sweet but also a little concerning when it came to the guy's mental health, she nonetheless found herself lost for words for a little bit, Al had to just take a deep breath and think for a few seconds as she looked at the ground then back to Forest.
"I'm...not good with this stuff, emotions and so on, but lemme just..."
Al sighed once more as she floated out of his hands and onto a nearby wood log instead, she couldn't do this while Forest was holding her that close and in a rather embarrassing pose.
"Alright, so...a few years ago, I got...I got mauled by a griffon, it's why I wear my mask, after recovering I launched myself straight into training to become a huntress for the next 8 years, and now I'm here, to say the least I uh...didn't do much besides training for a pretty big part of my life, so, fighting is all I'm good at, and I AM good at it, but, you beat me, fair and square, which wouldst be that bad if it wasn't for our semblances and also the fact that our fight was the first time I tried...thinking, usually I just do things by instinct yk gut feeling what ever, but I tried to outsmart you, and it backfired hard, because you got me to overthink."
Al paused for a bit, taking another sigh.
"You got in my head, you made me doubt myself, made me think I was weak enough to be beaten by a guy with a semblance I directly counter, you made me think I wasn't a good fighter even though fighting is all I'm good at. But I realize now, I messed myself up more than you did me, not that you aren't a good fighter you really are..."
Al finally took a break, letting Forest think her confession over.
"And, I apologize, like I said I'm not good with emotions, I did not make you want to feel like this."

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest listened intently as Al explained her side of the story, sitting down beside her. Needless to say, he certainly could empathize with having a Grimm inflicted injury. He could almost feel the burning pain from the scar on his right shoulder blade from the Razorwing attack as if it just happened again. The injury likely would've been way worse had Silvanus missed the shot, so Forrest certainly considered himself lucky that day. He caught himself reflexively rubbing the scar as Al mentioned that she had gotten mauled by a Griffon.

She continued on about how she dedicated her life to training since the incident for eight solid years. Again, Forrest knew the feeling, as he started rigorous training since he was five. Al then explained how she began overthinking despite their respective Semblances. Now that was a shock to Forrest. He recalled how confident she appeared just before the match began, realizing that it was all just a front after all. Her confidence made him question his own abilities, forcing him to take the defensive for the majority of the match. Al finished her piece, and after Forrest took a deep breath, explained his.

"You know I was scared the whole time, right? The way you carried yourself with confidence before the match began made me think you had it in the bag. On paper at least, it was a wash. Fire beats plants every time. That's what I was thinking the whole time. The pressure you were putting on me forced me to think quickly on the fly. You're just too strong to beat head-on, so I had to improvise quite a few things in the match..." Forrest said, hoping his genuine words would put Al at ease.

"Also, sorry about the Griffon incident. I really feel bad that you had to endure that... I've got a scar from a Razorwing on my shoulder blade, so I know what it's like to have something against Grimm." he added, trying to empathize with Al from another angle.

[Al Ciendra]

Al loosened up a little as Forest leveled with her, as they sat the on the wooden log, she listened to him as well, when it finally clicked that...Forest wasn't stronger than her, at least not when it came to their actual battle prowess, she blew his semblance out of the water when it came to their destructive capacity, what Forest was however and likely would always be, he is smarter than her, he didn't overpower her but outsmarted her, a small chuckle escaped her upon the realization, next time they fought she knew how to handle him, she'd keep that to herself for now though, as Forest continued to talk Al could not help herself but smile a little, it was weird but thinking that Forest was actually scared of her and admitted that beating her head on was impossible made her feel pretty good about herself.
"Thanks...that means a lot coming from the guy who beat me, but, make no mistake I was confident but like I said that changed pretty quickly when you started kept tricking me, I got frustrated back then, angry even after you won."
Al sighed as she looked at him, him having a Grimm injury sucked, but it was only one scar, Al did not want to talk down to Forest considering this was a nice attempt of his own to connect with her, but she felt a little twinge of annoyance when he tried to compare a single scar to her injuries, but kept it there as she could see the signs of how painful a memory it was for Forest to recall.
"Grimm do suck a lot, but...I don't think you understand what I mean when I say I got mauled."
Al said, as she took another deep breath, this one being a little shaky as she pulled away her hood and reached for the straps of her mask, slowly she removed it, as instead of the hollow black of her mask lenses one green eye and a rigid gray one now looked back at him, Forest got a good look at Al's face, or what was left of it as the wolf faunus managed a weak half smile, which, Forest could see the muscle's moving as her mouthed moved the scarred mass barely hiding the bone of Al's cheek.
"This is what it took for me to take the path of a huntress."

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest was a bit shocked when Al decided to remove her mask, unveiling her mutilated visage. Looking at the state of her injury, not only was his assumption wrong, but he also felt incredibly bad for Al. Forrest took a moment to observe Al's face, noting the exposed cheekbone and muscles of her face, the one eye grey and cloudy from the trauma, and her one good eye which was a vibrant emerald green. He felt tears well up in his eyes as he took in Al's mauled face, speechless for a brief moment. Forrest quickly moved over, tightly hugging Al as he felt himself uncontrollably sobbing out of sympathy.

"I'm so sorry... you didn't... deserve this..." Forrest managed to choke out between sobs. He tried to eke out a few more words, but his sorrow was too intense to form coherent words and sentences, the end result being incoherent babbling between intense sobs. Forrest loosened his grip as his emotions began to subside, eventually letting go of Al after a minute or so.

"I'm sorry... I know you're not good with emotions like you just said, I just couldn't hold them back anymore..." Forrest apologized again, wiping the remainder of his tears from his eyes as he started to regain his composure.

[Melina Caedus]

Melina had distracted herself for quite a while with actually looking around for anything within the thicket of the forest when she heard sobs in the distance from where she originally came. It illicited an immediate response from the combat medic that had her turn and run back to the other two, Albedo following close behind. She engages her mask again and once she got closer she could see that Forrest was just wiping away something from his eyes. Melina wasn‘t dense enough to not understand what the sobbing meant, so she slowed her return a bit just to give them a bit more time.

“Is… is everything okay?“ she asked to the two of them, her enhanced voice rumbling from her mask once she got close enough. She gave herself a mental reminder for what alleged reason she ran ahead. “T-The way up ahead is safe, just so… you know. It seems we managed to clear this area... fully, I might say.“ she spoke with a bit of a umble in her words, not knowing if she was interrupting something or what to even say. Yet there was tinge of authority in her voice… a remnant of a time where she would have loved to take charge when it came to rescue missions. Her right arm stirrs a bit, her shoulder rolling reflexively... there was this annoying itching again. It was clear she felt uneasy.

[Al Ciendra]

Well, this is not how Al expected Forest to react...well, to be fair her frame of reference was rather small outside Azmarine, there was just 4 people and...well, yeah Forest's reaction was similar to a certain bat maybe all boys reacted like this, but if Forest's reaction was similar was his reasoning too?

She didn't know and was unlikely to find out, but now with Forest drenching her cloak with his tears, she sighed as she held him a bit closer, rubbing his back.
"It's okay."
Al said a little awkwardly, as she tried to make him feel a little better.

Soon, Forest pulled back, looking at him, Al could not help but feel a little bad for him...maybe she shouldn't have shown him?
"No worries, my face is a bit much to look at, but it's the reason I'm here, why I fight, to prevent pain like this from happening to someone else."
Al explained, managing a genuine yet somewhat melancholic smile.

Then, Melina came back, Al turning to look at her friend.
"It's all good."
Al said, flashing Melina a smile with her face now on full display to the medic, not that Melina was new to the sight and neither was Al to the way Melina was holding her arm...maybe it was a bit awkward especially since her cloak was still drenched but she opened her arm's to Melina...normally she'd just hug tackle the medic right this moment, but Melina would probably have panic attack if Al strained her foot further.
"Forest gets one, and so do you."
Al turned her gaze from Melina momentarily to the phantasm behind her, a short look of understanding shared between the two, or at least as much as Albedo could express.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest normally bottled up whatever emotions came up at any given moment, but that was too much to bear for him. On the bright side, it was needed. The occasional cry helps plenty of people, he figured. Although Forrest would have preferred to make it back to his dorm before breaking down like that, there wasn't much he could do in that moment.

"That's a very noble cause, it's something you don't have to fight for alone." Forrest replied with a similar smile and unshakable conviction, as if to show solidarity in such a cause. Just then, Melina had reappeared from the trees approaching them.

"We're okay." Forrest added as he noticed Al outstretch her arms towards Melina. Respectfully, Forrest stood up and took a step back to give space for Melina should she decide to take up Al's offer. He couldn't help but smile at the wholesome situation though. He lost a rival and gained a friend (maybe two), an absolute win in his book.

[Melina Caedus]

Melina was holding her robotic arm anxiously. She was genuinely surprised by Al revealing her face like that. She remembered how Al usually went through the effort of making sure her mask is safely secure, never really showing what underneath. Her hand gripped her prosthetic tighter, the pain intensifying up until Melina saw Al opening her arms.
The medic hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between Forrest and Al. It almost seemed like she wasn‘t going to take the offer.

But then she just bolted forward, embracing Al in a hug just tight enough for her to not hurt the faunus. Her eyes fluttered shut as she practically melts into the embrace, her body warmed by Al‘s semblance induced warmth and the phantom pain in her arm dissapearing in the process. Satisfied with this result, Albedo vanished, the aura construct melding back into Melina‘s being. The atlesian let out a sniff, noticing her mask was still engaged due to the sound being less than pleasant. She disengages it, her mouth now visible again as Melina rested her chin on Al‘s shoulder.

“T-Thank you. I… I really needed that.“ she manages to whisper. Her voice, while soft and more like an almost tearful whimper, showed hints of her wanting to linger like this just a bit longer. She couldn‘t remember the last time she had been hugged like this. It may have been years ago, maybe even before she joined the military. The relief of feeling such an embrace again made her sigh with satisfaction, a sound rarely ever made by the medic.

[Al Ciendra]

Al kept a calm smile as Melina took a second before she decided to join the hug, but, was more than happy to see Melina so happy about the hug, even with the metallic limb of her friend crushing her rib cage a little, which made Al wince just a little, she yet pulled through without bothering Melina, instead laying her own chin on Melina's shoulder as she hugged her back and pulled her cloak over Melina, warming the medic up a bit more.
Al just nodded as Melina said this, giving her mechanic arm a little nudge.
"I know, it's the least I can do for you."
Al was happy to remain like this for a long time, for the sake of Melina's happiness, but she did feel that someone may have been a little left out.

Al looked over to Forest, giving him a smile as she lifted her left arm for him to join into the hug.