Professor Riven's classroom (open)

My new classroom. Keyhl thought as he entered the room. He looked around at the empty coliseum like seating and the desk in the front. His bag made a thud as he dropped it into the desk. A large grin came upon his face as he sat in his new chair and promptly began to spin like a middle schooler. Slightly dizzy from spinning Keyhl stopped and stood at the chalk board. There he wrote his name in large letters for the entire room to see. Contempt with his work he sat back in his chair, placed his feet on his desk, pulled out a large book from his bag, and began to read. He sighed joyfully as he thought on what his new life as a teacher at Syne would be like. And now all i need to do is wait until the students start waltzing in. I wonder what kind of students I am going to have?

Sonata Elswere was wondering through the hallways towards her next class. She hadn’t been to this class yet, what with the new semester just starting and all. Grimm studies, if she recalled correctly, and she usually did. She wasn’t a fan of grimm, but she was a fan of learning new ways to destroy them, so this class was probably going to be highly useful.

Right now, however, Sonata had her reading glasses on and was thumbing relatively quickly through her current novel, never looking up but easily dodging the other students as she made her way through the crowded halls. Finally entering the classroom (she looked up only long enough to make sure she wasn’t heading into the wrong one), Sonata noticed that she was the first arrival. She hadn’t tried to be, but apparently she was. “Hello,” she told the teacher sitting at the desk as she meandered towards the seat she wanted, still barely looking up from her book.

Warren walked down the halls of Syne, notebook in hand, as he headed towards his next class. He was familiar with most types of Grimm already, having learned quite a bit about them before ever entering the academy, but even so, Warren was not against the possibility of learning more.

He was just about to enter the class when a young girl, with her nose in a book, walked in right before him. "Hey! Careful!" Warren said a little angrily. He sighed and shook his head, before walking into the classroom. Warren gave a nod to the teacher as he entered, studying him for a moment. He looked a little on the young side for a teacher. Warren glanced at the board on the wall, quickly reading his name. Once he was sure he'd memorized it, he proceeded to his seat, dropping his notebook on his desk, and pulling a pencil from his pocket.

Keyhl placed his book on the table, and raised a brow as a young girl cave buried deep in a book entered. followed by a seemingly disgruntled male student. More students followed them in mostly coming in ones or twos. He removed his feet from his desk and leaned forward pushing his bag to the side of his desk then stood as the bell rang notifying the beginning of his class.

"Welcome everyone to Studies on the creatures of Grimm. For those who haven't already noticed my name is Keyhl Riven, but you will call me Professor Riven or Mister Riven." Keyhl pulled out a thin notebook from his bag and opened it. He slowly looked over the notebook while pulling a pencil from is vest pocket. "Well then I believe we will start with attendance." He worked his way down the list of names marking each one as he went. "Sonata Elswere?... Warren Novack?" He questioned as he reached each name.

Professor Riven had yet to actually start class, but since it was her first day, Sonata didn't keep her book out during attendance. She set it down, the page memorized without her ever marking it. She adjusted the glove on her right hand - she kept it on most of the time in case she needed it. After all, she'd learned you never knew when grimm would attack even the safest seeming places, and she wouldn't be unprepared again. Sonata heard her name, perking up ever so slightly, giving a slightly chipper (for her, anyway) "Present." As she looked up, she pushed her glasses down to get a better look at the teacher. He seemed pretty young, no more than ten years her senior. Surely he was talented,then. She brushed some of her greyish hair out of her face, her intelligent blue eyes surveying the teacher and class calmly. She knew a few of the students already, though mostly by name and third party information alone. The teacher, however... was a mystery. Sonata enjoyed mysteries.

Warren offered a raised hand and a quick "Here," as his name was called for attendance. Warren glanced around at the other students around him, looking for familiar faces. Other than the girl who nearly bumped into him earlier, there weren't too many people. Sonata Elswere was apparently her name. A strange name, in Warren's opinion, but it was simply starting to seem like everyone in this school had some rather unusual names.

He flipped open his notebook, a rather tattered looking thing, the page opening to a decent sketch of a Beowolf with a number of notes and scribbles written in the margins of the paper. Warren wouldn't call himself the best artist, but his own work in designing his Dust Carapace had led to learning a few things about drawing, and he was proud of what he was capable of. He waited patiently for the class to start, tapping his pencil against the desk.

Rayne was running late as he ran around another corner dodging a random student towards his classroom. He was running late and luckily he remembered the hallways to the classroom due to another students help. He stopped in front of the door and opened the door, coming in with the teacher doing attendance. He winced as some eyes turned towards him as he shut the door and quickly made his way to the closest seat.

Xidkoh was taking his time walking in a self-righteous manner and not paying any attention to others. He found his way along the paved path walking at a pace that a turtle could almost beat. He admired the make up of the campus but still gave off an aura of not caring. 'I'm going to be late to class.' Xidkoh thought 'Well no need to speed up keep things consistent.'

He continued his nonchalant walk to his class. He didn't care to be the perfect student, or the goody two shoes. All he cared about was what immediately effected him, and class, didn't affect him until he got there. Though sooner or later he had to walk in to hose doors, which he did as soon as he reached them. He then made his way towards an open seat.

Keyhl looked as the two late comers entered the room, and shook his head in disappointment. " Rayne Hill and Xidkoh Rogue i presume?" He asked asked rhetorically. Not making a very good impression  on their new teacher. Keyhl closed the attendance book and looked over the class. He pulled a large text book out of his bag and placed it on the desk in front of him. "Okay Sonata Elswere, Warren Novack, Rayne Hill, and Xidkoh Rouge. I want you four to each name one of the creatures of Grimm, and tell me what you know about that specific creature."

Let's see what these ones know. This will be interesting. Keyhl thought as he walked around to the front of his desk. He leaned back on his desk hands at his side prepared for whatever his students might say no matter how off base or crazy they might be.

Sonata stood up when asked what she knew about Grimm, her usual neutral expression on her face. It was impossible to tell if she could even feel feelings when she wore that expression. She could, of course, but being expressive wasn't her strong suit. She cleared her throat before speaking, putting her fist up to her mouth to stifle the sound. "One type of common grimm is the Urza," she started out with the grimm she hated most, for her own personal reasons. "They are stronger and tougher than beowulves, but usually slower, and found in smaller numbers." She recited her knowledge as if she were an encyclopedia. "An advantage we have over urza, aside from our aura, is the fact that they are not known for being intelligent like some of the bigger grimm." Sonata pushed her glasses up. "Professor Warwick at Beacon, however, wrote a book hypothesizing that sometimes a less intelligent animal is more dangerous and unpredictable than they seem." She wasn't sure if this teacher would disagree with that or not, but she knew firsthand that an urza could show up just where one thought it was safest and tear apart everything in an instant.

Warren quirked a brow as he, along with a few others, were called upon to give a quick brief on what they knew on Grimm. The first one to go was Sonata, who stood up and recited some information on Ursas. Warren stood up next, following Sonata's example, giving a quick glance back down at his notebook before speaking. "Beowolves are amongst the most common types of Grimm. They are stronger than your average human, and yet are the weakest of their kind. They are extremely agile and determined, and are known to work in large packs." Warren finishes with a nod and sits back down. Sure Beowolves were a commonly known type of Grimm, and weren't exactly too hard to narrate about, but hey, it fit the teacher's criteria.

Rayne would clear his throat and give an answer after hearing the first two.
"There's the death stalker, a grim that looks like a scorpion, with a black exoskeleton with white plates. They have a golden stinger that they use in tangent to their claws as an attack and the claws are also used to defend itself. It's pretty resistant to most attacks and very strong overall,"Rayne would say stating what he knew about deathstalkers.

Xidkoh continued sitting as he smugly said "Well the King Taijitu is a snake like grimm which a single one consists of a white snake and a black snake. The Black snake has the same designs as a normal grimm, while the white snake has grey and red detailing." He adjusted his gloves as if he was expecting a fight even in class, before continuing by stating "And as to what the first student said, the intelligence of a opponent should not challenge a fighter who actually knows what they are doing."

"Good" Keyhl commented blankly. These ones seem to be intelligent, well except for Xidkoh. I've seen his type before, arrogant, he's gonna get someone killed if he's not careful. He thought as he opened the text book that he had lifted from his desk. "Let's see here, I guess i will begin with the Nevermore." Keyhl began reading from the textbook. "has a mask-like, white bony structure overlaying the upper front of its head which includes a dorsal spine. It also has four glowing red eyes, two on either side of its head. Two clawed "fingers" extend forwards from the outermost wing joint. The Nevermore can throw feathers from its wings which act like a volley of arrows with an effective range in the hundreds of yards. Nevermore has the ability of easily swooping down for an attack, and has a tremendous amount of strength being able to destroy a large stone structure with a single hit."

Sonata looked over at Xidkoh, of the same silent opinion as her new teacher. She showed no hint of annoyance or concern, though she couldn't help but actually feel a bit of both. Hunters who thought they were amazing and had everything under control were the ones who didn't make it, from what she had learned in all of her studies. She raised her hand, waiting until the Prof. Riven acknowledged her.

"If I may, sir, knowing what you are doing is no reason to believe the unlikely will not happen," she pushed her glasses up on her nose. "We as humans and faunus are prone to error even at times when we should not have to worry about messing up. While not likely, it should be taken into account." She glanced over at Xidkoh as she said it.

"Appologies, Professor, I could not leave it alone. As for the Nevermore, they are one of the more dangerous grimm and not just because they can fly and shoot large missile-like feathers. How would a huntress or group of hunters best approach an encounter with one of those?"

Warren glanced between Xidkoh and Sonata as the girl stood up to speak once again. He agreed with Sonata in his head, somewhat. Xidkoh seemed... Arrogant. That wasn't a trait that Warren particularly liked. He knew, first hand, just how the world could come around and knock to the floor. Being all knowing and all capable was impossible, though that didn't stop Warren from trying his best to get as close to being all knowing and all capable as possible. Still, there'd always be flaws.

He sighed quietly to himself. Sure, Xidkoh could probably do with a bit of eye opening in Warren's opinion, but this wasn't a matter to get himself involved in. There were plenty of people Warren didn't like, but that didn't mean he needed to stick his nose into each and everyone of them. He would simply sit back and watch things play out. It was a little bit more interesting than what the teacher was teaching, no offence to Mr. Riven. Warren had simply learned about most of this a while ago.

Rayne looked between every student in the room, gauging their reactions, already disliking Xidkoh, who looked like he wanted to pick a fight. Sonata, if he heard her name correctly, said something that he agreed with what she asked the professor, but he wondered if she read the answer out the the textbook word for word. Even he had trouble remembering every detail from any book, but with the deathstalker, he knew a lot about due to the elder that he lived with always going on about them. He wondered how the professor would answer Sonata's question and really hoped there wouldn't be a fight or a fighting test. He really didn't feel like fighting on his first day much less his first class as he was still waking up even though his blood was pumping from the run from the dorms. He saw Warren sitting not too far and nodding towards him, just as a friendly gesture. Now his attention was on the professor.

"I am merely saying that, the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. A clever fighter not only wins, but excels in winning with ease, he wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what creates the certainty of victory, it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated." Xidkoh said in a surprisingly not smug at all tone he seemed serious. It was as if he had memorized every single word, and took them seriously.

"Excellent question Sonata!" Keyhl said closing the text book. He placed the book on his desk and began to pace the length of the front of the class. "Because of it' immense strength and ability to fly it makes the Nevermore quite the challenge to defeat. There are several ways to defeat a Nevermore, but the most successful method requires at least four huntsmen and or huntresses. Now the weakest point of the Nevermore is it's neck making that area of the creature a prime target. This strategy has three phases. In the first, and easiest, phase you must attract the Nevermore to your location, now the how of this is up to the individual teams. The second phase consists of a mirage of attacks from the huntsmen and huntresses during which the team must spread out their attacks as not to wear themselves out. The third and final phase must be done quickly and precisely. The team concentrates their efforts to put all their force behind a single blow to the neck."

Keyhl paused in the middle of the room, and faced his class. A dire look on his face. “There are other methods for defeating a Nevermore although those methods are more dangerous. I will warn you now, a Nevermore is not to be taken lightly or by yourself.” Keyhl dropped his head slightly and slowly shook it. With that he returned to his desk and sat against it again.

Sonata had been completely content with that single statement she'd made to Xidkoh, regardless of how he answered. She wasn't trying to be argumentative, only logical. Logical was the way she tried to live her life, even if it didn't always work. Besides... she was too tired to keep arguing, even if she didn't seem like it. Sleep wasn't something she ever 'tried' to do. Still, she had to participate in class. Learning things like this was why she came to Syne after all. "Your advice is to never take on a nevermore alone," she said, raising her hand again. "What if you are caught in a situation where you have no choice? Is there a tactic one could employ to increase their odds of success?" Sonata already had a good idea of what she would try in the situation - she was better at range anyway. Still, knowing what to do would be greatly beneficial should it come up... right?

Well, that ended rather simply, Warren thought to himself. He supposed that was a good thing. Nobody bruised their egos and was looking for a fight, and everything just went along as it was minutes earlier. Sure, it was a boring way to end things, but fighting in the classroom probably wasn't the best idea.

Warren's interest in the lesson piqued slightly as the teacher began speaking a little more in-depth on Nevermores. Warren had learned a couple of the basics of them, but his lessons had never gone too in-depth on how to properly fight one. He spoke up once the girl, Sonata, had spoken her piece. "Caution is the better part of valor, isn't it? I'd imagine you'd do your best to dictate the fight on your own terms. Seems like a good idea with a power advantage over you. You do your best to leverage every other advantage you have over them."

Rayne was glad that it didnt explode into a fight, not that the professor would allow it most likely, but who knows. He listened to the professor explain about the nevermore's weakness when Sonata asked him about it and was surprised overall at how serious Xidkoh sounded from being cocky not a few minutes ago. He wrote them down and began writing out a scenario of how he would take out a nevermore, which only ended with no possible way to do so. he even added, possible other hunters with long range weapon, mid weapons and close range, but nothing came up. He knew he wasn't a leader and most of his idea's were just straight forward though. He tuned himself to listen to what was happening from his own little drawing spiel and paying attention.

Xidkoh's mind wandered from and back to the class as he preformed one of his favorite mental exercises, which consisted of plotting the deaths of those around him. He used this method to test his observation and strategizing skills. For example, if he wanted to kill someone with a trap on the door they would have to seem like the kind who wants to leave class as soon as possible. Either way he continued this exercise as he went through everyone in class including the professor.

He had heard the girl wondering about advice to fight a Nevermore alone. Xidkoh wondered upon this query before raising his hand and partially sarcastically saying "I believe the proper etiquette when fighting a nevermore alone starts with getting the hell out of there and ends with getting the hell out of there."

Keyhl's face grew somber. "There are some, a very small number of people, who have defeated a Nevermore on their own. The best possible way is to remove the Nevermore's ability to fly. This is much easier said than done." He stood from his desk and with a stern look about him regarded the class.

"For those of you who think you can prove something by defeating a Nevermore on your own i offer this warning. A close friend of mine when I attended Beacon decided that he was going to defeat a Nevermore on his own. We found him a week later spread out in seven different locations... at least the pieces we did find." Keyhl remembered the sight like it was only the day before, they hand only ever found half the body, and that half was almost unidentifiable. He walked behind his desk and sat in his chair letting the class take in what he had just said.

Professor Riven had lost people to grimm too, it seemed. Sonata had come to believe in her short time at the academy that perhaps her reason for joining wasn't exactly uncommon. Not that it mattered, because her reason was her own, and it was what drove her. He could say what he wanted and fear that she actually planned to fight a nevermore alone, but the truth was, even though she had no problem being alone, she only wished to know in case such an unwelcome scenario actually happened. She was perfectly content to read her books and do things the smart way until that day came - if that day came.

The Professor had sat at his desk, letting the students think about what he'd said. She suspected it was to intimidate them into not trying something stupid. Judging by the looks on some of the students' faces, it was probably working. Maybe just a little bit too well. She clasped her hands in front of her mouth, obviously not the one that wanted to speak again this time, even with Xidkoh annoying her with his sarcasm. Sonata wasn't easily baited, if that was what he was trying to do. She wondered what the others had to say on this subject.