[X] Experimental Round GB - Might expand and absorb other rounds to get stronger. Might also do nothing.
[X] An airship. They were going to travel in style, apparently.
It was seven in the morning, when Yang arrived at the airship docks. Behind her, her father, uncle and sister followed along, ready to say goodbye. Her dad had insisted on carrying her luggage for her- Some spare clothes, spare ammo, cookies, repair kit in case something happened to Ember Celica, everything she could ever need.
Qrow had insisted on carrying a flask of rum with him for some reason, and as he approached the docks where Miss Schnee's airship was schedules to arrive to, he uncapped it and poured it on his shirt, underneath a vest to hide the stains.
"What are you doing, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.
Yang's uncle smiled. "Don't worry about it, it'll just make this more convincing if she can smell it."
Apparently satisfied with that answer, Ruby returned to just following Yang, humming a song to herself as she did so.
It was weird, Yang thought. Ruby always seemed the sort to enjoy fast-paced, cheery songs. So the way she hummed what seemed to be a slow song was strange. Maybe it sounded my pop-esque with the instrument track, and not just whatever vocals Ruby was humming.
As the group stood around waiting for Miss Schnee's airship to arrive, the other two students assigned to Yang's group arrived as well.
The first arrived on his own, though Yang thinks she heard him saying goodbye to someone before he rounded the corner and came into her line of view.
Yang recognised him from school, even if the two didn't interact often. His name was Blast Yellowstone, and he was...
Well, on one hand, he seemed to have a bit of an ego. He was a showoff, a braggart, and was very open that he only wanted to be a Hunter because he thought it'd be cool.
On the other hand, he knew how to throw a party, was good for a laugh, and seemed to eternally be in the state of having fun. It was a common theory around school that, if Blast was any happier a person, Grimm would just outright melt around him.
"Oh, hey Yang." He called, as he walked over. "What a pleasure it is, to see such a beautiful girl such as yourself here. I was worried that I wouldn't have anyone to admire apart from my own reflection, when in fact, one of my assigned partners is beautiful and can have fun!"
Yang opened her mouth to begin bantering, but as she did, her instincts flared and her eyes darted to the side.
Her father was looking at Blast with a hollow smile on his face.
...Yeah, better save the semi-flirtatious interactions until he was out of earshot.
"You're late, Blast." Yang replied. "You usually like arriving early, just to make a show of it. What, did you take too long looking in the mirror today?"
"Yes." Blast replied. "It had been a good six hours, so the handsome visage staring back at me caught me off guard."
"Oh my god." A voice said from behind the corner. "Blast is here?"
Yang looked back to the source of the voice, and saw someone she didn't know as well. She'd met him once that she could remember, really. All she really knew about Piran Caledfwlch was that his Semblance was really annoying.
She hadn't worked out all the tricks in the five minute match they'd sparred in, but the fact that he could throw a pebble and hit her with a boulder was quiet vexing, at the time. Of course, she'd been able to punch through the boulders she had seen coming, but it took ages for her to figure out where they were coming from.
At the sound of his voice, Blast turned around. "Piran." He said in a flat monotone. "Great. Just what we needed. Yang knows what fun is, so that meant we had to have someone keep the stick up their a-"
Yang coughed, looking over at Ruby. Sure, her little sister probably knew what curse words were already, but as long as none were said around Ruby while Yang was around she could pretend otherwise.
"Is it too late to ask for a different group?" Piran asked. "I'd appreciate if I wasn't stuck someone who ruined a stealth test just so he could fight some Grimm."
"That was one time!" Blast objected.
"You were complaining about how boring being sneaky was for an hour before you saw your chance."
"You weren't having fun either." Blast objected.
"Waiting for a chance for an ambush doesn't fill me with joy, no." Piran admitted. "But I at least know when to hold back my displeasure to follow instructions."
"What a fun group you have, Yang." Qrow noted.
"I'm not sure I like that Blast fellow." Taiyang noted.
Yang saw the opportunity and took it.
"He's just happy to have someone easy to look at on his team." Yang noted. "I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon, the attitiude won't blast."
Qrow groaned. "Is it too late to actually get drunk?" He asked.
Taiyang looked at Yang, a real smile replacing his empty one. "Oh? What's this, Yang? Are you aspiran to take my throne as the Pun King?"
Ruby sighed, as she resigned herself to overhearing another one of these contests. Yang would usually stop once getting this kind of reaction, but that wasn't what she was punning for now.
Her father had declared war, and she intended to win.
"Your powers are weak, old man." She declared. "Xiao Long has it been since you were able to dish out some proper punishment?"
"Ha!" Her father barked. "You think you can look down on my pun power? I Schnee-r at your attempts to surpass your master. Admit defeat now, before you are forced to eat Qrow."
In the distance, Blast and Piran had stopped bickering, and where watching the pun-off. Piran had a horrified expression on his face, whereas Blast seemed considerate, giving a reaction to each pun, from a nod of his head to a thumb's up.
"You expect me to admit defeat?" Yang asked. "Yeah, alright. When I walk all over your pun attempts, de-feet will be all you can see."
There was a loud groan from everyone at that, and Qrow suddenly spoke up.
"OH LOOK." He said. "IT'S THE AIRSHIP. LET'S ALL LOOK AT IT. ESPECIALLY YANG AND TAIYANG."
"LET'S." Ruby agreed.
Father and daughter looked each other in the eye for a moment, then out to the sky. Sure enough, the airship was approaching the docks, though still a distance away.
Looking at each other again, Yang's father spoke.
"I'd need time to properly put you in your place." He smiled. "Let's just call this one a draw, then?"
"We both know you're just lion to yourself." Yang replied. "But I'll let you keep your pride."
Taiyang shook his head. "Too quick to change the topic there, my apprentice." He instructed. "You need to make the transition smoother."
By that point, the airship had approached the dock, and Qrow took a step forward.
"Time for the main scene." He decided.
He stepped forward in a drunken stumble, despite the fact that Yang knew for a fact that none of the rum in his flash had touched his lips. And he had denied earlier that he could absorb alcohol through his skin. And he had a class to teach later, and he never got drunk before a class.
What was he doing?
The airship door opened, and a young woman stepped out of the door, momentarily making Yang forget her uncle's antics.
...Man, if Yang looked half as nice as Miss Schnee did when she was older, she'd consider it a victory for her genetics.
The woman looked over the group for a moment, but immediately saw her uncle Qrow, and her expression faltered into disappointment. "Please no."
"Hey, Ice Queen." Qrow slurred. "Howsit hangin'?"
"No." Schnee refused. "I refuse to believe it. It's Seven Thirty. You are not drunk already."
"You'd be surprised." Qrow replied.
Miss Schnee took a moment, smelling the air. "Is that rum?"
"Aw, you do care." Qrow replied.
Schnee looked at him for a moment, before turning to Taiyang.
"Would it bother you much if I cut out his tongue?" She asked.
"I'll hold him down, if you want." Yang's father replied.
"So mean..." Qrow slurred.
"I don't understand." Ruby questioned. "Why is uncle Qrow pretending to be drunk?"
There was silence for a moment.
"...Pretending?" Miss Schnee asked.
"She doesn't know what she's talkin' bout." Qrow muttered.
"Can't you tell?" Ruby asked. "His stumble's completely different to when he's actually drinking, and he only slurs if he's sleepy."
"...If you've picked up on that." Qrow began. "Than I might need to stop drinkin' where you can find me."
"I..." Miss Schnee began. "Are you telling me you're pretending to be a drunken idiot for... What? To annoy me?"
"It's nice that you know me so well, Winter." Qrow replied, his slurring speech gone.
Winter looked at him for a moment. Then, a glyph appeared in front of her, and a vaguely draconic form appeared within it. Said dragon-thing, it's body a semi-transparent white, immediately lunged at Qrow, picking him up before he could react, and began carrying him elsewhere.
"Have fun Yang!" Qrow called, as he disappeared into the horizon.
Watching him disappear for a moment, Winter seemed to smile, before returning her face to a serious expression as she looked over at the group.
"Blast Yellowstone. Piran Caledfwlch. Yang Xiao Long. Please step forward."
The three of them quickly gathered into a straight line in front of Winter.
"What just happened?" Piran asked in a whisper.
"I've found a new role model." Blast whispered back.
Winter Schnee looked at Blast, but seemed to want to put the incident out of her mind.
"The three of you will be with me for the following month." Winter began. "We will be travelling between several villages outside the Kingdoms. At each village, we will deal with whatever problems they have, be it a Grimm buildup, bandit problems, or merely any small job that a newly graduated Hunter would do for funds while waiting for a bigger job to be made available."
Everyone nodded.
"Let me make this clear." Miss Schnee continued. "I do not know how you do it in Vale, but under my instruction, you will be expected to follow orders. If you do not, I will send you back to Vale immediately, and I am told that this will impact on your grade for the year."
Another round of nodding.
"This isn't just for the sake of convenience." Winter went on. "Nor is it because you need to learn how to follow directions. Outside the Kingdoms is a dangerous place, and if you do not do as I instruct, you could find yourself in a dangerous situation which I am unprepared to get you out of. I will not tolerate any of you making this more dangerous than it needs to be. It has been well over fifty years since a student has died on this trip, and I do not intend to ruin that record. Am I understood?"
"Yes, ma'am." Piran replied.
Winter nodded. "Very well. Has everyone got their luggage?"
"Hold on a moment." Blast said. "I left mine at the desk so I didn't need to carry it around while looking for the right dock."
"Go and get it, then." Winter said. She looked over at Taiyang, who was putting Yang's luggage down at that moment, then at Piran. "And you?"
Piran pulled a small cube the size of his thumb out of his pocket. Then, with a twist of his hand, he threw it into the air, and it expanded in size. "I've got mine covered."
...Just what was Piran's semblance? It obvious had something to do with making things bigger...
And smaller, apparently, as Piran quickly shrunk the box back down to put it back in his pocket.
"Very well, then." Winter Schnee continued. "We leave as soon as Blast returned. Everybody else, I recommend boarding now to save time."
Piran nodded, as he got onto the airship. Turning around, Yang looked over at Ruby and her father.
"I'll see you guys later, then." She said.
"Bye Yang!" Ruby called, waving. "Don't forget to call!"
Yang picked up her luggage from where her father had put it down. "I'll be fine. Hey, do me a favour and don't let dad think he can run around unchallenged pun-wise, okay?"
Ruby paused. "...He can pun all he wants as long as I'm not there."
"I'm hurt." Taiyang replied. "I can't believe my daughter doesn't think I'm punny-"
Ruby groaned.
"I'll miss you, Ruby." Yang said. "You too, dad."
"Be safe." Taiyang said.
Having said their goodbyes, Yang walked onto the airship, and began looking for a room to put her supplies in.
It's going to be a long flight, but Winter Schnee made sure to tell everyone where they were going first, and why.
[X] The town of Critalas, bordering a large forest, was reporting people going missing while scavenging for supplies. The forests weren't too dangerous, so were a good place to start measuring the strength of the students.
[X] A few mountain villages had reported wyvern attacks. While likely misreported, confirmation was needed so that inexperienced Hunters weren't send to deal with it. Winter was going to investigate, and the students were going to keep an eye out for lesser Grimm.
[X] A refugee town was reporting that it's numbers were getting too large for the town to supply, and were requesting Hunters to come in and clear a path to other nearby Towns. The people there had lived hard enough lives, any help they could get would mean the world to them.
