Finnek Frolic

Finnek Forest's blue leaves tinted the light that made it through a slight blue as well. It was early morning, and the air was cool. The sky was clear, and the forest itself was alive with the sounds of the normal woodland creatures that lived in places like this. Across a log, the pink-haired cat faunus called Veta, balanced and walked quickly. She easily kept up with her two companions, whom she had insisted wake up so they could use their free time to hang out properly. They'd all been rather busy since classes had started, after all. And Veta herself was busy trying to learn how to lead a team since they'd all met a few days ago, weird as her teammates could be. Not to mention how hard she had to work to keep up with the others in the normal ways. As she hopped off of the log, she wondered if this was the same log she'd balanced on when they fought their first grimm and won, but didn't voice it.

"This forest really is pretty," she commented as she looked around. She placed her slightly chilly hands into her jacket pockets and fell back in beside her best friend, Liona. "Don't you think?" she asked the two of them, making conversation to break the silence that had overtaken the group, likely due to it being so early. Veta wasn't sure when they woke up, but she was always up around now to practice and study a little extra.

That morning, Liona had been awaken by the sound of knocking on the door to the GLSS dorm room. Yawning, she had been the one to open the door and find Veta on the other side, wanting to drag her and Gabriel out to the forest for an early morning walk. So that's where they were now, surrounded by the great blue color of the Finnek Forest. It was a beautiful morning, and the ambient sounds were just so relaxing. They made the world seem calm and serene, the breeze moving all around the trio. It just felt so nice...

The sound of Veta's voice woke Liona up. The red headed Faunus had asked if the blonde agreed that the forest looked pretty. Liona looked around in momentary confusion. It seemed that she had fallen asleep a but as she walked. That would have been bad if she ran into a tree in her slumber. "O- oh, yeah, it looks *yawn* great." She turned to Gabe. "It's Really early..."

The rising sun had dragged Gabriel up with it. And so he'd been sitting on his bed reading quietly until there was a knock on the door. He'd slept rather well now that he was sleeping on a bed. Something he hadn't done much of at the academy until he'd met the rest of team GLSS. Since he was around people he HAD to get used to, he'd been making an effort to stick kinda close and get to know them.

This was especially easy with Liona, who was answering the door. She seemed to want to talk to him more than the other two, and really seemed to avoid them when she could. Despite this, she seemed friendly and talkative, and so Gabriel had gotten along with her fairly well. Because of this, and that he knew Veta, he was roped into going with them to the Finnek forest. So he was dressed and armed, in case they ran into trouble.

And that's what had him in the wonderfully blue tinted forest in the early morning. The breeze was perfect, there was a lot of sunlight, and it was open and full of fresh air. He had a certain spring to his step as he led the group, his tail swishing happily as he walked. When Liona yawned and addressed him he stopped walking and turned around. "Is it? I guess I kinda got used to waking up at sunrise when I was younger. There's something invigorating about starting the day... at the start of the day."

Veta had barely noticed how early it was, herself. Apparently Liona was the only one who slept in. Though Veta didn't mind. Liona had more natural talent than Veta did, for one, and didn't need to, she supposed. She peeled away from Liona slightly so that she could stick her arms out and walk across another large branch, event hough it wasn't very far off the ground like the log was. Something was fun about balancing. Maybe it was being a cat faunus. Who knew? "I get up early all the time," she agreed with Gabriel. "It's pretty nice to get to see the world before it's crowded with people. Even if I do rather like having the people around," she grinned.

As they kept walking, the sound of a waterfall could be heard in the distance. That was where Veta wanted to head. It was far too cold to swim, but just to be near such a beautiful sight would make this walk perfect. Two of her closest friends at the academy were here after all, and unlike her team she didn't get to see them every day. She flipped around and started walking backwards, facing Liona. "So, I haven't got to see you really since we got teams picked out. Tell me everything!"

Liona sighed after hearing that the other two were used to getting up this early in the morning. She supposed that she should be too, she used to get up early for training, But that had been before Syne. Before having a rather comfortable bed to rest on, and before not having her mother haul her out from under her covers every morning. The Blonde had avoided any morning classes like the plague. This had given her a love for sleeping in, a love that was apparently not shared by her friends. She gave another yawn before listening to Veta's question.

The girl had asked for any details or anything interesting that had happened since teams were formed. It was true that Liona had nott seen her best friend since teams were created, so they would have much to catch up on. Liona rolled her eyes a bit. "Our team is lead by a human. That black headed one from our hunt last week, Gisen. And the other human constantly reeks of alcohol. It's a nightmare."

"Liona, you wound me," Gabriel said in a carefree voice as he put both hands dramatically over his chest like he'd been stabbed. But he decided not to fall over. This time. Then he dropped his hands to his sides and looked at the two. "It's not a complete disaster. I'm there too you know. And I usually let you sleep in."

"It's not as bad as Liona makes it sound," Gabriel continued with a small shrug and an tiny sigh. "...Though, yes, those two leave something to be desired. I... do not care much for being ordered around, and Sav is usually drinking when he gets the chance. They don't seem like inherently bad people though. But we barely know them, so it could be as bad or worse than Liona describes it. I'd like to think we're just looking for common ground at the moment."

Veta's right ear twitched as Liona complained about her own team.  She supposed she shouldn't be surprised that her friend wouldn't be able to work well with humans after that display the day before school started. Oh well, she thought to herself as her ears drooped slightly. Gabriel insisted it wasn't as bad as Liona made it sound though, which made Veta grin a bit. Oh how she'd hoped she would get them in her team. But it couldn't be helped.

The pink-haired faunus nodded. "My team isn't all roses and sunshine either, but maybe that was on purpose? Maybe there was supposed to be something to teach us things." She shrugged. "I dunno. I guess none of us know Headmistress Lilac all that well, so I can't say for sure." she shrugged, returning to her frolicking. Her teammates were really nice - save for the way Yuuki pulled on her ears when he got a chance. But they were a little oddly clingy, and she found she didn't have much of a personal bubble around them whether she wanted one or not.

"Wait... alcohol. Oh right! That teammate of yours I uh... ran into twice now." she didn't bother stating again that this was the man that had made her lunch miserable not too long ago, not to mention the fact that she'd saved his life whether he would admit to it or not in their second meeting. "Savalith," she nodded. "Yeah you've got your hands full with him. He's kindof a selfish jerk." she nodded, "Although, he has had his moments. I still don't like him, but you guys might be able to clean him up."

Up ahead, the waterfall burst into view. There was a small pond that turned into a stream. The waterfall was a bit shorter than she'd imagined, but all in all it was a very pretty spot. She hopped up onto a log that was perched partially over the water, held down by another one. It was entirely possible these trees had been knocked down by the now-deceased deathstalker that had lived in these parts. She was standing over the pond now, and it was surprisingly clear and pretty. She looked back at her two friends as she twisted her body without actually moving from the spot, giving them a pleased grin. "See? Totally worth it!"

"You sir. are the only thing keeping me from succumbing to insanity." She told Gabe before another yawn. She kept her hands in her jean pockets as she decided to jump onto the log after Veta. Gabriel went on to water down Liona's reaction. She supposed she might've been giving the Humans in her team a hard time, but she was already convinced they were bad. She just didn't know how bad yet. Of course, she hadn't really been talking to them to find out. Instead, she was actively ignoring them until she actually had to say something to them.

Veta mentioned that her team wasn't quite perfect either, though Liona could have told her that. She was the only one of her kind on her team. At least the blonde had Gabe to keep from suffocating. When Veta mentioned that this all might be a plan from the headmistress and that none of them really knew much about her, Liona simply nodded her head and refrained from saying anything. Any word could lead to suspicion, and then the shadow would appear. Liona wanted to stay far away from her mother's shadow. Also it seemed that Veta Knew Savalith, and Liona was surprised to hear her say he was a selfish jerk. Sure, Liona already knew this, but it was so odd coming from Veta, who saw good in EVERYTHING since they met. "Nice to know you can see a bit from my side of things."

Liona's blue eyes widened as a spectacular sight came into view. Veta had found a sparking pond and waterfall, an the golden blonde Faunus assumed that this was why she dragged them out to the forest so early. She looked back at Gabe and Lio with an expression of triumph, asking for confirmation of worth. "No kidding, this is a great spot!"

When Veta mentioned Savvy, Gabriel's chipper mood dipped slightly. He had mixed feelings about that human... but then again, the two barely knew each other. The alcohol had him curios, but he hadn't partaken yet. Partially because of Liona's negative view of it. "Yeah... he's something else."

"Well, I'm glad I'm useful for something at least," And the hands were back behind his head. The dip in his mood was gone, and a carefree smile was in it's place. "Not that I hate humans, but it's nice to be working with a fellow Faunus. It's also nice to be hanging out like this. I didn't think we'd get to after teams were picked."

Gabriel let out a whistle at the spot Veta had led them to. He picked up his pace until he was at the water's edge. Stopping he looked down at his reflection, the grin back up at him was mildly unsettling. He then turned to his companions and pointed to his reflection. "Do I always look like a creeper?"

Veta looked down into the water as Gabe asked his question about always looking like a creeper. She gave it a casual glance, then looked back up to him with the most serious expression she'd used so far. "Kinda yeah." She shrugged and turned around to face her friends rather than the scene around them.

"There's a lot going on already," she told her friends, looking at the two of them. She was starting the beginnings of showing her more leadery side she didn't even know she had, taking on a slightly more leader-like demeanor as she spoke. "I mean, it hasn't been all that long and already things are different from when we met the day before school started," she shrugged at Liona, giving her a friendly grin. "So, that's why I woke you up so early. I found this place on a walk through the woods and you two are the best friends I have here. I wanted to make sure there was a time we could share it, you know? Who knows what else will happen in the future?" She actually sounded a bit like a leader, though she wasn't meaning to.

Looking down at his reflection, Gabe asked the two Faunus girls if he always looked like a creeper. Liona didn’t think so, but the question made her laugh a bit anyway. ”No no, You look completely normal, honest.” She didn’t know how convincing she sounded, but at least she meant it. Veta on the other hand was a bit more serious. She turned to face her friends, and the look on her face made Liona stop giggling. The Red head explained that she had brought them there so early because she wanted to make sure there was a time that she could spend with her two best buddies. Life always changed, but friends were forever, right? Liona guessed she could understand, they all had different schedules, and Veta was even on a different team.

Smiling Liona gave her friend a big hug, nearly knocking both girls into the waters below. ”Don’t worry so much! Our dorm is right down the hall from yours. I’ll personally make sure the door’s always open for ya.” It was nice to have a friend that cared like that.

"Heh," there was a small chuckle from Gabriel when they had differing opinions on his question. He honestly didn't care, outside that maybe it might have been why he struggled to make friends. Shrugging, he listened to Veta.

Her words filled him with a mix of inspiration and resentment. On the one hand... she was casting away her freedom. He could see her taking on the responsibilities of leadership. Of course, if he'd been chosen for leader he probably would have done the same as Veta. Or at least tried to. On the other hand... it was inspiring to see his friend be that... strong.

"Careful not to knock her into the water," Gabriel laughed as the two teetered for a moment. His aloof grin had not faded, even when his thoughts were jumbled. But he'd pushed those to the back of his head for the time being. "I don't think either of you brought spare clothes."

"Liona's right though," Gabriel linked his hands behind his head as his ears twitched. "Our door will always be open to you. And you know some of my hiding spots too, if you need me. We don't know what'll happen in the future, sure. But it never hurts to be ready to help out."

Veta grinned from ear to ear, the energetic girl's less leader-like demeanor kicking in again as she gave Liona a big hug back. Her eyes shifted between her two friends as she pulled away finally, easily staying on the log with her catlike sense of balance. "I really appreciate it you two," she told them as her black cat ears twitched between them. She gave a grin that allowed one of her catlike fangs to poke over her lip unintentionally. "I'll come visit when I'm not too busy," she nodded. "Or when I just need a break from people. I'm not used to sharing a room with such an... interesting group," she chuckled.

She hopped off the log after a moment, a few inches from the bank of the water. "Well, let's not let our trip end here! Let's go see what it's like from the top!" she grinned, pointing animatedly at the top of the waterfall. She took off ahead of the other two, but slowed down enough for Liona to catch up. Gabe too, if he hurried.

"Heh, it should be fun," Gabriel chuckled in response. He was happy to see his new friends in such high spirits. Considering their job was technically a grim job that needed doing, things were going rather well. But it made him wonder just how long that'd last.

At the sound of the race, he shook his head. He should focus on the present rather than the future. It'd always been his way to do so, and there wasn't a need to change it now. So he watched as Veta and Liona ran ahead as he grinned slightly.

"Don't forget about me!" He said as he began running forward. He wasn't as fast as Liona though, nor was he honestly trying to pass them. Keeping up was enough for him at least.

Veta was rather surprised at Liona's speed when she was actually comparing herself with her. That must be her aura - one that boosted speed. The faunus had been studying a lot about auras and grimm and everything else she could get her hands on as a team leader. Veta's kept her safe. Even the strongest of blows were reduced a great deal in power against her. Unfortunately, that didn't help much in a foot race. She couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as Liona tore away from the other two.

They reached the top, but not before Liona had had plenty of time to begin celebrating. "You're definitely fast!" she told the other girl as she bent over to catch her breath now that they were at the top. "I never noticed how fast when I was focusing on grimm." Veta had to admit she was a bit jealous, but she enjoyed the differences in talent between hunters. Everyone could contribute differently, and that was what made teams strong, in her opinion. At least Veta had made it second up the hill.