Third time's a charm [Solo/Hunt]

Day: Friday __ Location: Kompress Beach __ Time: 1730

The sand warmed by the rays of the sun, the soothing sound of the waves splashing on the shore, the cry of the seagulls flying above in the sky. If it wasn't from the fact that school had started once again for another year it would have been the perfect day for a swim, even of fall had finally arrived. It's not like Marissa would have took the time to swim while she was here anyway, she was here on a mission. She had read a report about Grimms being seen in the area so the girl decided to investigate and hunt down the creatures that were threatening it and the people who could have enjoyed their time at the beach.

Of course right now it was only Mary and K-9, no one could be seen except the two of them for as far as she could tell, which was good. She didn't want any civilian that could be easy targets for Grimms if they did show up. The report didn't say what type has been seen around but she was determined to find out and eliminate the threat. She began her patrol with her dog, going from north to south along the sandy shore, accompanied by a flock of seagulls that were flying right above her. Marissa then began to hum, which quickly turned into a soft singing. "I walked along the avenue, I never thought I'd meet a girl like you~..."

Battle Info:

Griffins were smart. Smart enough to know that if humans gathered on a hot plate to present their bacon to the sky, they would be rather stupid not to partake. They were not however, smart enough to realize that the girl taking a walk on the beach was not scantily clad enough to be easy prey.

It is therefore with the certainty of predators that they screeched. A deafening screech that would paralyze most. Terror would add sweet bitterness to their evening snack.

In a formation born of practice, the griffin squadron dove. The smallest one, still unmarred, spread its claws to snatch the quadruped creature. The second one, missing a few feathers dove to drive his claws into the human’s shoulders and drag her away from the ground. The third one, bulkier and exhibiting bullet marks on its white plates, waited a wing span before following, aiming for the legs once the girl had become airborne and defenseless.
It would be over in an instant.

Or so they thought.

Battle Info:

Tip #1 when encountering an enemy which hasn't noticed you yet: don't give away your position! The loud screech coming from behind made both Marissa and K-9 to quickly turn around to face the Grimms that had targeted her. They had to be the ones from the report, the ones that she had come to take down. It was a good thing that she didn't have to spend the day trying to look for them. Mary was even rather happy that they showed up so quickly.

Knowing where the enemies were with their failed stealth, Marissa and K-9 were able to dodge the attacks that were directed at them. The metal dog lunge to the side away from the Griffon's claw while Mary did a tactical roll to avoid being grappled before aiming her rifle directly to the biggest flying creature as it was approaching, unleashing a barrage of shots directly at it, aiming for the torso and the right wing. The girl noticed the old bullet impacts on the beast's armor, she snickered wondering how would feel the searing heat of plasma against its body.

Standing up from her crouched position she was after rolling, Marissa was slowly walking sideways while keeping her rifle pointed at the Griffon she just attacked before unleashing another bunch of shots at it, aiming for its legs in an attempt to impair the beast. With some luck, from the potential wounds to its wing and its legs, it would have a hard time moving. In the meantime, while the girl was taking care of the biggest Grimm, K-9 was keeping an eye on the other two and would alert Marissa when they come at her. It was one of her companions role, being a scout while she was busy doing something, it this case killing something.

Battle Info:

Taken aback by the unsuspected agility of their prey the two smaller griffins flew by and had to make sharp turns to change their course.

The larger griffin was shot several times, plasma bolts leaving marks among the dark feathers. Its wing and leg were still functional enough, but the shot that landed dead center in his chest made it loose momentum. He had lived through worse however and fear was a concept foreign to him. He screeched as he retracted his wings to land, claws scratching through the sand. He finished his landing past the lady soldier and took the opportunity to strike her with his back legs, bony hooves wiping through the air.

The smallest griffin aims to puncture the dog creature with his beak on his next fly-by, while the other will attempt to catch the girl unprepared and land on top of her to pin her down.

Battle Info:

Glad that all of her shot had landed, even though the proximity did made it easier to hit her target, Marissa grinned as she kept moving. Being a ranged weapon user against a creature which had to get close to attack, it wasn't safe to stay at the same place. Plus, with the other two Griffons, she couldn't afford to be singled out if she didn't move. Still walking sideways past the Grimm's landing trajectory, she stayed far enough from its hind legs as it tried to strike her. Mary would have been stupid to stay so close to the beast but she wasn't too far either, just far enough so she would be practically assured to hit from that distance. Raising her gun once more, she unloaded everything she could on the Griffon, showering it with a large amount of plasma all over its body.

Shooting so much though, Marissa ended up overheating her thermal core and had to change it before using her rifle again. Waiting a bit for the case to cool off, she looked over at K-9 who was distracting the smallest Grimm simply by its presence, which was good. The dog was facing the flying beast and sidestepped out of the way while barking, the bark having a metallic echo to it. The girl looked around for the third Griffon, which was quickly approaching her from the side. It didn't land on top of her though, but right next to but it was enough to make Mary freak out a bit as she backed away with a couple steps. She removed her thermal core from her rifle, like any magazine would before placing it in her refrigerated pouch all the while walking backward to create some distance with the creature while not moving too fact so she could grab another core from another pouch.

Battle Info::

The larger griffin smelled the satisfaction of its prey. That feeling of confidence. He knew that smell. A hunter. But it also knew the taste of a hunter. Bacon was out of the question, but maybe he could still get some tough jerky. All he had to do was use his wing mates.

He grabbed the griffin that landed next to him, neck in its beak, and dragged it in front of him as he charged the little soldier, effectively soaking all the hits. As he got close enough he threw the smaller griffin at her violently and immediately crouched, ready to pounce if she dodged to either side.

The last griffin finally landed and tried clawing for the quadruped, cawing angrily. If fly byes didn’t cut it, he wasn’t afraid to get up close and personal like its seniors.

In the corner of its eye it caught a glimpse of their charge tactic. Hopefully not too much like its seniors.

Battle Info:

This was probably the most unortodox technique that Marissa has ever seen used by Grimms: using another one as a shield. Sure it meant that she didn't land a single shot on her actual target, but at least it wasn't like she missed totally, since the other Griffon got hit in the stead of the bigger one. And of course not expecting the meat shield tactic, she wasn't expecting the beast to be thrown directly at her afterward. Getting rammed by the thrown Grimm, she fell backward, dropping the thermal core she had in the sand while rolling backward to recover and create some distance between her and her enemies.

K-9 on its end was simply dodging and weaving in order to avoid the clawing coming from its assaillant, but couldn't dodge everything and was hit once in the face but it wasn't that bad. Barely a small dent in the dog's plating. It was barking in response to the cawing, keeping it distarcted as much as possible while Marissa was dealing with the other two.

Mary was crouched in the sand, facing the two Griffons with one less available thermal core that she had moments ago but at least she still had one still usable. She figured that if she dealt with those two creatures she would be able to use the core she dropped against the last standing Grimm. Reaching for the core in her pouch, she slid it in her rifle and was ready to shoot, which she didn't lose time to do. Aiming her gun at the smallest of the two, she was going to get rid of it by unleashing a barrage of bolts at it, mainly aiming for the torso and the legs. She felt confident enough that she didn't mind if they would try a similar tactic to earlier, she could feel that one of them would fall soon enough, only to never rise again.

Battle info::

The mid-size griffin was smoking, from the previous blasts, struggling to get up as it was showered again by the plasma bolts. Its life ebbing away, turning back to black mist, it still crawled with every ounce of strength it had left towards its prey. It would not be denied its moment of glory! Basking in the blood of a hunter!

Before having it skull crushed by the larger griffin charging through, swiping its claw furiously at the young soldier. It took a short pause to screech sharply, before pressing the attack.

Meanwhile, the smaller griffin was battling the mechanical dog, trying to trample it under its hooves. As it recognized the signal from the wing leader it rushed through, leaving the dog behind and went to position itself behind the girl to cut her retreat.

Perhaps the death of its wing mate meant he was first wing man now. Perhaps he’d get some of the tastier parts.

Battle Info: