A Headmaster's Best Friend (Private)

[Wilhelm Blackwell]

Mountain Glenn was one of the last places in Vale anoybody would want to be caught in the middle of the night. Yet here Will was, picking through the crumbling buildings and ruined faceades of what used to be part of the city in an effort to expand it's borders further into the wild unknown. The street sign above him read "Jay Street", which he knew led Eastward, so he traveled that direction. The Hunter's quarry was close, and he knew it. The freshly torn timbers of the building he had just left was a sure sign that an Ursa marking its territory was in the area, and judging by the size of the markings, this was the big one that had been terrorizing the guardsmen on this edge of the city walls. He caught its tracks heading down the street, deep gouges left where its claws had dug into the pavement as it walked.  He continued on down the street, his gauss rifle shouldered, keeping to the sidewalk where he could dive into one of the nearby abondoned buildings for cover if necessary.

The seasoned Hunter heard a noise that sounded like it was coming from behind him, and lifted his head from the tracks, turning to face the direction he thought it had come from. It sounded like a whisper, like somebody saying something indistinguishable because it was so low. He checked all around him to make sure he wasn't being followed, knowing his brand new position as Beacon's Headmaster and his former involvment with the military could make him a possible target for the White Fang's terrorist actions. He realized the acoustics of the place could have caused a sound coming from ahead of him to sound as if it were being whispered behind him, due to the flat surfaces of the buildings and the perfectly empty streets. He turned and continued tracking his prey, but glanced over his shoulder every so often just in case.

A few moments and forty yards later, he caught the sight of a large black mass as he checked the corner of an intersection. He ducked behind a nearby pile of rubble, shifing his position quietly into the half-destroyed building it had likely come from years ago when its front wall collapsed. The interior seemed like it had been a bank of some sort when it was populated, thought exposure to the elements revealed peeling laminate desks and the torn fabric office chairs that had been partially sun-bleached. Will peeked out of a broken window, finally catching a good eyefull of the Ursa he had been stalking. It was huge; probably 25 feet tall and half a ton of pure muscle and bad temper. It was definitely an Ursa Major judging by the size of the thing, its sharp bony quills protruding from pitch black fur and skin.

But something else caught his attention that threw him off completely. It was staring down a small dog, probably a puppy, before it swiped the little thing off its feet. At first, Will thought the dog was done for, but he noticed something crucial in the moment of impact between the two: a flash of light green just as the Ursa's claws connected with the puppy. 'Its Aura is impressive, for such a small thing,' he thought to himself, gripping his rifle and getting ready to charge the Grimm. The dog was flung through the air and slammed against a tree planted alongside the sidewalk, slumping to the ground, probably unconcious. Before the Ursa could pursue and finish it off, Will slammed through the window shoulder-first, making a dash for the huge Grimm.

[Whisper]

Life was a confusing thing now... Nothing smelled the same as it had since she had been born, there was nothing soft or safe about her world anymore. Worst of all, mother was gone. Just as she had started to be able to taste foods other than mother's milk, everything she knew was ripped away when the human that had been taking care of the young dog carried her out to this abandoned place and left her. All she wanted was to get those warm, safe things back and be with her mother again. She had to find some trace of mother and follow it to her.

Everything looked hopeless though as the half grown husky wolf roamed the crumbling remains of buildings, taking in every scent. It seemed like the only things she could find here were scents she had never smelled before. Another new scent hit her nose though as she put her nose to ground. It was a scent that made the fur on the back of her neck stand on end and her legs stiffen up. Even if the pup had never smelled or seen this thing, she knew to fear it. She whimpered very quietly to herself as she felt hot breath stir the fur on her back. The next thing she knew, the pup was in the air, then things went black as her head hit a tree.

[Wilhelm Blackwell]

The Ursa barely even noticed Will as he charged it from behind. He fired off a round from Valorious Haste into its flank, the heavy round knocking the Grimm off-balance. The Hunter put himself between the small dog and the bear-like Grimm, flicking the selector on his weapon's grip, causing it to slide apart and reconfigure itself as a lucerne. He planted the blunt end into the ground and his left hand on his hip, looking at the Ursa as it composed itself.


It quickly counter-attacked, throwing itself at Will, claws outstreched and jaws ready to clamp down on him. He smiled at it, activating his semblance. The Grimm stopped dead in its tracks, pressed against what appeared to be an invisible wall. His semblance flared navy blue, revealing what had stopped it; a physical wall projected by his Aura the size of the Ursa. "Is that the best you've got?" Will asked, jokingly. He took his pipe from the pouch on his belt and placed it in his mouth, striking a match on his wrist guard and lighting the tobacco within.


He took a single puff and blew the smoke towards the Ursa, letting his Semblance down. He took the lucerne in both hands and smashed the blunt end into the side of the confused Grimm's face, throwing it to the ground. He pressed the advantage, thrusting forwards with the spear point multiple times, piercing its flank in multiple places. It roared angrily and swiped at him, a move he easily dodged by jumping over it. He flipped the weapon, bringing down the beaked end into the monster's bony mask and through its skull. It roared one more time before finally succumbing to the wounds the Hunter had inflicted on it, falling limp to the ground, its body beginning to evaporate immediately.


Will took another drag from his pipe, turning to make sure no other Ursa were around. Satisfied, he turned his attention to the little animal on the ground. It was definitely unconcious, but upon closer inspection he noticed a few things that were different about from most stray dogs. It wasn't just a small dog, it was young. Judging by the size of the paws, it would grow to be quite large someday. It was clearly a wolf dog, probably the reason it was left out here to begin with. Beacon's Headmaster was outwardly a tough and hardy individual, fearless by some definitions of the word. But a select few knew of the soft heart that he possesed, and as he knelt down he felt that soft heart influencing his actions.


He took pity on the small thing, and presumed it to be a female once he picked her up. She was so small and fragile that he almost couldn't believe the flash of Aura he had seen come from it. He took his leather knapsack off, and removed the bedroll from within, tossing it asside. He gently placed the dog inside, keying a button on his scroll. He shouldered the bag as he stood, looking to the sky and watching for his transport to arrive. A vertibird would be on its way shortly to pick him up and take him back to Beacon.

[Whisper]

Whisper came to when she felt herself being jostled around in a small soft space. Her head hurt so much that she couldn't think straight. She whimpered pitifully, but that only made her head hurt more, so she stopped and clamped her eyes shut. Something had happened to her, but the only thing she could remember was feeling sad and lost, then the smell of a grimm, then nothing. Everything after that smell was just white with pain.

After a few moments and more jostling movement followed by the sound of some large man made machine, she noticed the pain in her head decreasing little by little. Where am I? the little wolf dog thought. Once her headache was more manageable, she turned her muzzle toward the opening of the bag she was in and peeked her head out to see where she had ended up.