Matt slumped down in his seat, along with a sizable plate of food on the table in front of him. The dorms may not have been up to the highest standards, but at least Lodestar didn't skimp out on the food it served. While not 'gourmet' by any stretch of the imagination, it was clear some attention was paid to freshness and quality, alongside an impressive variety of eggs, pastries, and vegetables arrayed for their consumption.
Taking a look around, he was pleased to see that Rufus and his ilk were nowhere to be seen. Good - he wanted at least one meal today to go without any problems or drama. He might even be able to get Elva to drink another glass of milk, if he's lucky. He lets that thought hang in his mind for a moment, before snorting to himself. 'Yea, right. Like I'm ever that lucky.'
Biting into a bagel, he sees Elva and Claire enter shortly afterwards. He almost calls out to them, but remembers his manners, as his mouth is still full of food, instead waving them down. He swallows his mouthful of food as they approach. He notes the bags under Claire's eyes with a small chuckle. "Heavy reader, huh? I saw that big stack of books you brought back to the dorm."
Jade awoke early that morning. Or rather, at her normal time since she'd slept in the previous day (probably thanks to the Initiation). She dressed quietly in her workout clothes and made her way out into the dim light of the morning. From there, she began to jog around the campus for an hour.
She returned to the dorm approximately the same time as Amber was awakening. She got ready for the day as quickly as she could so as to stay out of the way of the hurricane that was the small team trying to get ready for the day.
Once everyone was ready, she made her way to breakfast. Elva sat with her brother, creating a general direction of movement that Jade was happy to follow. Sitting with people from Team MJSC was quite a bit more appealing than risking sitting somewhere awful like near Team RFUS.
Taking a seat on the same side of the table as Elva, Jade began to speak. "So how's everyone?" she asked no one in particular.
GM post to come soon, just thought I should have Jade do something in the mean time.
After collecting a small plate of eggs and bacon and a cup of coffee, Claire scanned the cafeteria for some seating. Even through eyes that refused to stay all the way open, she managed to spot Matt waving at her and... Oh, Elva was here too. Of course, it would be hard for anyone to miss her leader, really; at nearly six and a half feet, he had some long arms to wave with.
Making her way over to the table (and managing to stay mostly upright too!), the faunus clonked her food and drink down across from Matt's place, before sliding sluggishly into her seat.
"Heavy reader, huh? I saw that big stack of books you brought back to the dorm."
Grunting noncommittally, Claire took care of the most pressing matter first: chugging down a gulp of scalding hot coffee. The dark liquid, its bitterness partially offset by a moderate dose of cream and sugar, sent a blissful wave of pain and energy shooting through her throat and and stomach, which in turn slowly spread throughout her body. Finally her mental gears were cranking into action.
"Gaaaaah~," the girl gasped, setting the cup, now missing a good fourth of its contents, back down. Coughing briefly, she stared down at the still steaming coffee, bemused. "Jeez, remind me to let that cool down for a minute next time. Was almost boiling, I swear to Dust.
"Oh yeah, and speaking of," Claire continued, finally looking up to address Matt properly. "Yep, figured it'd probably be a good idea to spend some time getting prepped for class today, ya know? It was just supposed to be a brief refresher, buuuuuut I might've gotten a bit carried away," she finished sheepishly, starting to poke around at the rest of her breakfast. "Dust isn't really my strong point, and the library had some really interesting volumes I'd never seen before! Really want to spend some time getting into the nitty-gritty of it, when I get a chance.
"How about you, Mr. Leader? You know anything good about Dust?"
Amber glanced back as Jade walked into the dorm before looking over at her empty bed. She should've realized that their leader was already up and about sooner.
"Out for a morning workout, huh? Maybe I ought to join you tomorrow, since it pays to keep in shape." she said with a smile before going back to getting ready for breakfast and class.
Once she was dressed and clean, she trailed behind Jade with a wide yawn as they all made their way to the Mess Hall, joining Matt along with the rest of Team MJSC. As soon as she had her breakfast, which consisted of a small pile of donuts along with a bowl of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes, she deliberately sat right across from Matt.
"How about you, Mr. Leader? You know anything good about Dust?"
"Hopefully as much as he knows about Aura Manipulation, which is a lot." she said with a small smile, all while waiting for the perfect opportunity to ask about tutoring.
All she needed was a foot in the door, so to speak, and then she could not only improve her Aura control, but get to know the boy with the fantastic ass and impressive strength.
"Jeez, remind me to let that cool down for a minute next time. Was almost boiling, I swear to Dust."
Matt raised his eyebrow, more than a little amused. Elva did the same thing with cocoa all the time, despite his warnings to always check the temperature before she took a gulp. "I don't drink coffee, but I'll keep that in mind. My advice, though - if it's so hot you can't pick it up by the cup's base, you probably shouldn't drink it."
"How about you, Mr. Leader? You know anything good about Dust?"
"Hopefully as much as he knows about Aura Manipulation, which is a lot."
Now it was his turn to choke on his drink - a glass of milk. He hadn't even seen Amber approach, let alone sit down, and if the flush on his face was any indication, he certainly wasn't expecting any praise for his performance yesterday.
"W-well, I don't... uh..." He looks around nervously, avoiding eye contact. "I-i'm just the son of a Dust miner. So, I really just know how to handle the raw stuff without blowing it up. Other than the really simple stuff everybody knows, like the basic types." It was true, to an extent - raw Dust was still a rich man's weapon, even among Hunters. Sanctuary had, however, taught him the basics of processed Dust usage in their... junior year? That seemed so long ago now... funny how time seemed to fly. "You know, fire, wind, lightning, and earth. I don't really know much about the advanced stuff, but I think you can combine them for other effects."
The next hour for dinner was a blur for her, food was eaten and she barely noticed Elva's reaction to milk, too engrossed in her thoughts. Henry was an Aura multiplier of some sort, and the girl in black was a subtractor. Finishing her food and a barely uttered announcement she was going to the Library.
Once there, she woke up, for lack of a better term. Though she gave the building a second glance, Emerald Springs hadn't had this kind of depository of knowledge, as much as she wished it had. Grabbing a handful of books on Aura-ific individuals and a few on Dust, she went through them trying to learn what she could before the next day.
After being forced out of the Library by something about "Closing Time", she returned to the dorms, a book titled "The History of Dust Vol. XIV" under her arm with a checklist of things she would need to remember for tomorrow's class, which would arguably be her weakest subject, she sat down on her bed and reviewed the basics of Dust. She did that late into the night, until she started drowsing and realized she'd been reading the same sentence for ten minutes straight. Finally, reluctantly, she put the book aside and slept.
[hr]
Waking up at the normal time, she dressed and went for a run again, same as she had the day before. Returning to the room, just as Amber banged awake. Dressing quickly, she started for the food building again.
"So how's everyone?"
"Nervous," Di replied quietly,"I don't know much about Dust..."
Finishing her food, she wanted to up and start for class, but a feeling in her stomach kept her from it, she didn't know about this class and wasn't anywhere near as confident as with any other, Emerald Spring hadn't had too much use for Dust in anything beyond the most base of forms for firearms. And as she had "skipped" most of the schooling her companions hadn't, she hadn't learned what they had, only barely being able to craft her White-Dust inlaid Icarians because it was the easiest to manipulate without practice.
Grabbing a light breakfast of jam on toast, some fruit and a glass of juice, Elva wandered after Claire to the table where her brother was seated. They were soon joined by Amber and Jade, with the latter taking a seat next to Elva. Tackling her toast with gusto she listened as her friends chatted, almost choking with laughter as Amber embarrased Matt with a random compliment. If that girl kept this up things were sure to remain entertaining.
"I don't know much about Dust..."
Swallowing loudly, Elva looked to Di who seemed uncharacteristically nervous about this class. "What's there to know? Just put it in your weapon and away it goes, easy peasy. I don't know why we need a class wholly dedicated to it frankly." Elva said this while patting the pouch attached to her waist, which contained the canisters of red dust she used for Labrys' jets.
Picking up an apple and munching into it, she smiled at Di trying to appear confident. In reality she was a little nervous herself, despite her heritage that was pretty much the extent of her dust knowledge. She'd never really paid attention when they were taught about it at Sanctuary.
"I appreciate the offer, Professor, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. Besides, I think Zaan is right where he belongs with Steele as a leader... isn't that right?"
Schwarz let the jab fall on the floor, not meeting Rufus' gaze or even expressing a reaction, as if he didn't even hear. Instead, he simply let duPrince finish, took his new text, and left.
Finding a quiet place to study the book, Schwarz pondered on not only the Aura techniques described in the book, put also on Rufus' insult. As much as it grated Schwarz to admit, Rufus stood on better ground when it came to their bouts of egotism (though Schwarz would never call it that). So long as Schwarz was in a position of apparent follower, it didn't matter how good he was, Steele's ineptness would overshadow it.
However, there was a clear solution: since there was little doubt that position of leader was fixed, Schwarz would circumvent it. Schwarz would tie his strings around Matt under the guise of helpful tutoring, mentor-ship, and perhaps even friendship. Eventually, he would be able to play the boy like a well-strung violin, and Steele's reputation would rise out of the gutter like a phoenix; with Schwarz, of course, able to take all the credit of this transformation and beating Rufus by leading the group without the position being handed to him on a silver platter.
"Yes..." Schwarz whispered aloud with a slight smirk on his face. "...like a Zaan should."
Even with his plan in place, Schwarz decided to continue to read duPrince's textbook for a while longer before returning to the dorm. Once he did, he found that most of the team had already gone to sleep. Schwarz followed suit, deciding that the tomorrow would be the best time to begin anyway, with the Dust class no doubt the best place to "lend a helping hand" to Matt.
The morning routine was much like yesterday's, but this time the rest of the team actually got up and conducted their business properly, instead of being forced to rush into class just before the bell like the day before.
Schwarz gave Matt space as he prepared for the day, hoping to isolate him during breakfast. That plan didn't work out, unfortunately, as Schwarz got caught up in picking out a good breakfast and was beaten to the punch by those who wanted to sit with him and didn't have to worry about satisfying a refined palate.
Just as Schwarz was nearing a free seat by Matt (which he noticed involved sitting with...undesirables, leading Schwarz to make note that he would need a longer shower tonight), he heard a perky girl say something about Dust that made his stomach turn.
"What's there to know? Just put it in your weapon and away it goes, easy peasy. I don't know why we need a class wholly dedicated to it frankly."
"Because finesse is the better part of valor." Schwarz remarked while deliberately trying to take as much sting out of it as he could, much against his basic nature. "Knowledge about Dust can turn even the most basic of weapons into a tool that can cleave packs of Grimm with ease. Hordes even, as we all saw with Barca's demonstration on the bridge."
Jet let Mat's slight slide for now, the rest of the day's events pretty much confirmed that both of the siblings were a little bit... different. Regardless, the Faunus fiddled about with his Scroll for the rest of the evening, taking his frustration out on Beowolf sprites. When that grew too boring, Jet went to bed. Hopefully, his performance in tomorrow's class would be better than that farce. Well, anything could be better than that. Still, there was no denying the creeping realization of how little Jet knew. Sure, he could handle the Dirge pretty well but went it came to the finer points, Jet was kinda lost.
The Following Morning...
Getting up on time was a good start, no, it was just a decent start. Such things were expected of even street sweepers. A tired Jet marched off to breakfast once he went through the usual morning ritual of brushing teeth, washing his face and getting dressed. In his almost zombie-like state, Jet simply concentrated on getting some porridge, mixing some jam into it and shoving the sweet mixture into his mouth. He'd never been a morning person, more of a night owl than an early bird. After finishing the porridge, Jet went about getting some precious caffeine into his system, becoming more awake with every drop.
Amber suppressed a laugh as Matt choked a little on his milk at her complement, his face just beginning to turn red. The corner of her mouth twitched upward at that. The fact he was blushing was pretty cute.
"W-well, I don't... uh... I-i'm just the son of a Dust miner. So, I really just know how to handle the raw stuff without blowing it up. Other than the really simple stuff everybody knows, like the basic types. You know, fire, wind, lightning, and earth. I don't really know much about the advanced stuff, but I think you can combine them for other effects."
She blinked at that. Yet another Dust miner's child, huh? She opened her mouth to point out the odds when Elva spoke up.
"What's there to know? Just put it in your weapon and away it goes, easy peasy. I don't know why we need a class wholly dedicated to it frankly."
That was enough to make her smirk and shake her head. But as Zaan decided to chide her teammate for her simple and straightforward outlook, Amber took that as an opportunity as she turned to Matt.
"By the way Matt, I was wondering. You're pretty impressive with Aura Manipulation. And you had to see just how bad my demonstration was. Do you think you could tutor me during my free time?" she asked with a slow, coy smile.
"I-i'm just the son of a Dust miner. So, I really just know how to handle the raw stuff without blowing it up. Other than the really simple stuff everybody knows, like the basic types."
Claire listened intently as Matt stuttered out an explanation, still grinning slightly. She was beginning to think the young man didn't particularly like being the center of attention, especially considering the way he responded to... who was the other girl again? Amber? Amber's comment. It was too bad the Huntsman-in-training didn't know anything special about Dust though; Claire would've loved to hear more about how the actual mining process went. There were some things books just couldn't convey, after all.
But before the Faunus could speak up, Elva and Mr. Zaan added their own thoughts to the conversation. "..."Knowledge about Dust can turn even the most basic of weapons into a tool that can cleave packs of Grimm with ease. Hordes even, as we all saw with Barca's demonstration on the bridge."
Finding herself nodding to Mr. Zaan's response, Claire picked up on that same thread. "Mr. Zaan's right," she began, addressing Elva more than anyone else. "Sure, ammunition's the quickest and easiest way to use Dust, especially against Grimm, but there's so much more to it than that! Back before the kingdoms had learned how to build and use firearms, they had to develop all sorts of other ways to use it. They would use actual crystals or powder to enhance their own fighting capabilities, weave it into their clothes as a sort of protection or counterattack, or even use it to augment their Semblances' effects! Of course, they'd use that just as much to fight the other kingdoms as they would the Grimm, but hey, progress is progress."
Pausing and pursing her lips, Claire leaned back in her chair, thinking back to Barca's performance during their initiation. "...Yeah, if today's course lets us get actual, hands on experience with Dust in its basic forms, then it could be invaluable. More variability means more ways to fight, which means better chances of winning."
Done with her contribution, the young woman refocused her attention on the rest of the table.
"By the way Matt, I was wondering. You're pretty impressive with Aura Manipulation. And you had to see just how bad my demonstration was. Do you think you could tutor me during my free time?"
Huh? Cocking her head, Claire shot a confused glance Amber's way. Granted, Matt's display yesterday had been pretty impressive, but so had that other Faunus on team JADE. Wouldn't it make more sense for her to ask her own teammate for help instead of-
Wait... Was she... Oh. Oh. Ohhhhhhhhhh.
Barely suppressing a giggle, Claire bent herself over her breakfast, doing a poor job of fake eating. Well, something like this was to be expected, what with the students trying to adjust to a new home, routine, and people to interact with. Sex was a good way to alleviate mental stress and strengthen the body, certainly a great tool for future Hunters to rely on.
Though she personally hoped Matt would be open to Amber's advances, Claire knew better than to offer her thoughts on the matter. That was one social faux pas she had no intention of breaching.
Claire and Schwarz were not helping to calm Elva's nerves about the Dust class. She found herself fervently wishing that she'd paid more attention back at Sanctuary. The classes had been so boring though, always with too much of a focus on safety, proper handling blah blah blah. Hopefully Lodestar's classes were more hands on, if they got to play around with some of the things Claire mentioned she may actually be interested in learning for once.
As Amber continued her blatant attempts to ingratiate herself with Matt, Elva hid a grin by shoving her face full of food. That was one thing Lodestar had done right by her so far, the food was excellent (when it wasn't exploding in her face that is).
Matt rolled his eyes as Elva brushed off the importance of Dust usage. He doubted she actually thought that, and was just trying to save face because of her lackluster ability to pay attention in that particular course. Schwarz and Claire were quick to chide her for her apparent ignorance. It didn't really surprise him all that much that they knew more about Dust than he did, even with his more 'practical' experience - Schwarz was, well, a Zaan, and Claire was the sort to bring back half a library for a quick review session.
That being said, it wasn't like he was entirely ignorant about Dust's applications - far from it, in fact. Most weapons worth using incorporated it in some way into their design - most of Irdenkrieg's steel frame, for example, was alloyed with processed earth Dust - and while he was confident in this practical skill, he hadn't really ever thought about the theory surrounding it. He knew that it was found in four basic forms - fire, lightning, wind, and earth - and that it was mined as shards of crystal. Further, it reacted to a person's Aura in a way that let it release energy like a battery. But the nitty-gritty details, like how much Aura it took to safely activate a raw crystal, or the methodologies involved in controlling it... well, he'd hardly ever worked with raw Dust before, so there wasn't much reason to dwell on it.
Now, though... only the most promising Hunters-in-training got into Lodestar. Maybe now he could afford to use raw Dust, if only because the Kingdom would supply him... maybe it really was time to consider Dust's other uses.
He's brought out of his thoughts by Amber turning to face him, a coy smile at her lips. "By the way Matt, I was wondering. You're pretty impressive with Aura Manipulation. And you had to see just how bad my demonstration was. Do you think you could tutor me during my free time?"
Matt's initial reaction is one of surprise. Sure, he was decent enough with his Aura, but one of Amber's own teammates(Di, was it?) was just as impressive. Why would she...
Realization dawns on him, and he can feel his heart skip a beat. He feels his mouth drain of moisture, and he swallows to try and steady his suddenly shot nerves, as he suddenly becomes very acutely aware of his surroundings. He... he had to be misreading this. He was a loser. Women always took one look at him and promptly kept going, on to partners that weren't pathetic or cowardly. This had to just be a friendly request... right?
"Last I checked it was discretion, rich boy,"Di said, wiping her hands clean with the napkin she'd picked up,"Hope your tutors got paid well to have you as a student."
She was still unsure of herself and her knowledge of Dust, but she felt slightly better knowing more than him in this instance. Even if his surname brought...unpleasant memories to the surface.
Amber's attempt of...whatever it was she was doing with Elva's brother wasn't of any concern to her. She was here to learn and become a Huntress, not look for partners.
Sweeping her eyes around the cafeteria, she noticed some feathers poking out behind the largest mug available in the room and instantly became intrigued, bird Faunus had been rare in Emerald Springs, she'd only seen two in her life, an Ivory Blauw, her adoptive "grandmother" who'd died years before, and another one with the White Fang she'd seen the night before her - she quickly glanced back at Schwarz and winced slightly - ill-fated activism attempt.
As the mug lowered, she looked at his face and couldn't quite place him. He was an Owl obviously,and he had been in her Aura Manipulation class yesterday, but why would she know him? She hadn't seen an Owl that night she didn't think, and why would a White Fang member be here of all places?
Biting her lip and turning back to the table,"So, uh...,"She started nervously,"We ready to get to class now?"
Elva's giggle at Matt's awkward comment was muffled by her mouthful of toast. Swallowing loudly she grinned evilly at him.
"It's rather warm in here isn't it Matt? You're looking rather flushed. Anyway, you should have some time after class today right, why not do it then?"
Despite the fact they were technically the same age, Elva loved to play the little sister role. Still grinning, she picked up her juice and drained it in one gulp as Di turned back to the table.
"So, uh..., We ready to get to class now?"
"Ready when you are." Elva replied, stacking her dishes and standing up.
Elva and Di pointed out the fact they needed to get to class, drawing Jade from her thoughts. Jade quickly finished her breakfast and stood up. She grabbed her weapon and started her way toward the class. Jade went slowly as she did, gesturing to Elva to speak with her. Once they were out of ear shot, Jade spoke up. She'd noticed Elva looked nervous so Jade tried to calm her down. In her experience, nerves made difficult tasks impossible. "Don't worry too much about the Dust Mechanics class. From what I've heard, the first classes are all just tests to determine what we already know; where we stand if you will. No one's good at everything so if Dust's the hard class, I'm sure we can find a way to study it. If the teacher seems nice, we can just ask for extra help after class okay?". From there, she waited for Elva to respond before quickening her pace to catch up with the rest of her team.
Since they were already on campus, getting to Kaiju Kong Hall wasn't a long prospect. In contrast to the day before, Kaiju Kong Hall wasn't some old converted church. Rather, it was an ultra modern building. The building couldn't have been more than a handful of years old. The building was very tall and angular - like everything on the campus - though much smaller in terms of square footage than most buildings. It seemed more like a watch tower than a learning hall.
The building had a set of double doors as the main entrance with an emergency exit on the opposite side. The inside was visible through large panes of glass. Inside, the outer circumference of the building was a simple walkway with a staircase leading up ninety degrees from the door. The center of the building sunk into the ground as a sort of in-ground amphitheater. Said theater had several long desks and benches around at different levels like a typical school auditorium. The rest of the area was different than normal for these long curved benches/tables had several places for dedicated dust equipment to be hooked up. Fume hoods could be pulled into place over the tables.
The floor level was also different. For one, it was larger than most lecture areas. The reason for this was all the specialized equipment; canisters of powdered and crystallized dust of all varieties, an eclectic collection of dust-alchemy flasks, beakers, and other containers, burners and evaporators and more specialized pieces of equipment for which had no common name. Finally, on the back wall was a large lecture board and in front was a large table covered in notes with a dark haired woman sitting behind it.
She was dressed in a lab coat with a pair of thick glasses on her face. Beneath the coat was a blue shirt and a pair of black pants; neither tight nor loose fitting. She seemed to be fully engaged in a book - one written in some unknown foreign language if you could judge the book by it's cover - though she seemed to react as students made their way inside.
Team RFUS was already there; sitting near the middle and toward the left side while Team MECH was taking a seat near the right side front as the first of Teams JADE and MJSC entered.
"It's rather warm in here isn't it Matt? You're looking rather flushed. Anyway, you should have some time after class today right, why not do it then?" Matt's flushed face turned an even deeper shade of scarlet at his sister's prodding. He made a mental note to have a conversation about emotional boundaries with her later, as he tried to sputter out a response. "W-well, I... I need- study! Yea, th- we have History tomorrow, and I, uh, need to study for that!" 'Smooth.' He chided, inwardly grimacing at his awkward display.
"We ready to get to class now?"
"Yes, class! We should... we should go to class now!" Matt stiffly motions to stand, gathering up his plates with as much speed as he can muster. Today was going to be a long day, he could already tell...
[hr]
Matt releases a held breath as he takes his seat in Kaiju Kong Hall. Having finally regained composure, he took in the sights surrounding him, suitably impressed by the state-of-the-art facilities. There were all kinds of apparatuses for manipulating Dust in every form imaginable, from several machines he vaguely recognized as being refitted refining equipment to engineering equipment of all stripes. The last time he'd seen anything even remotely like this was back at Sanctuary, and their facilities paled in comparison to Lodestar's.
A sound to Matt's right brings his gaze to the lecture hall's far corner, revealing a sight that make's Matt's stomach turn - team RFUS. They speak to each other in a hushed whisper, their eyes occasionally sweeping the room. For an instant, Matt thinks he notices Rufus himself meet his gaze, before turning away with a smirk. Matt returns in like with a frown - he wasn't going to let them ruin another day for him, too. Giving the room another scan, he notices something that brings him out of his angry funk - team MECH filing in, taking their seats next to one another in preparation for the next class. Matt chides himself for having forgotten to thank Henry for his help yesterday, giving them a friendly wave - one Henry and Erik return with varying levels of enthusiasm.
As the last of the students file in, a sharp voice clearing their throat snaps Matt's attention to the front of the lecture hall. Professor Francis, having earmarked her book, stands in front of her desk, black eyes carefully regarding the students in front of her. Like Abah, her gaze is intense and piercing, though it(much to Matt's relief) lacks her intimidating quality - instead substituting it for a spark of passionate energy. Once she is sure she has the attention of the entire class, she begins her address. "Welcome to Dust Mechanics. I am Professor Victore Francis, and I will be your instructor." She turns to the chalkboard and writes her name in clear print letters, punctuating each word with a line underneath. "Dust forms the very basis of our civilization - our fuel, weapon, shield, and so much more. I assure you, for every use of Dust you have considered, there are dozens you have not - regardless of how learned and experienced you think yourself to be. The purpose of this course is to broaden your horizons - and to make you think of Dust not just as a simple tool, but a brush with which to paint reality."
She pauses for a moment, letting her words sink in, before continuing. "Before we go any further, I will make one thing exceedingly clear - in my class, I care nothing for who or what you are beyond these walls. Rich, poor, human, Faunus... none of those things matter to the vile creatures of Grimm." She spits the last few words out with a scowl. "The people you will be charged to protect as Hunters will find titles and lineages little comfort. What they- andI - care about is your ability. This introductory lecture will be geared towards demonstrating to me and your peers what you do know - a foundation from which we can build."
She steps back, leaning back on her desk. "Now... do we have any volunteers?"
For this next segment, you will have three options.
1. Flat DC 4 Lore check to demonstrate an understanding the basic theory behind Dust usage. Anyone can attempt this.
2. If you have an Aspect or other backstory element that justifies knowledge of Dust based technology over theory, you may attempt a DC 4 Crafts check instead. Any equipment necessary to attempt it is present.
3. If you have a Semblance that could be mixed with Dust, you may attempt a DC 2 Lore check to know the theory behind it and then a DC 4 Aura check to try and 'mix' it with Dust.
Amber's smile widened a little as Matt looked surprised, but nodded, offering this upcoming weekend for their first tutoring session. But when Elva spoke up, Amber couldn't hold back a snicker.
"It's rather warm in here isn't it Matt? You're looking rather flushed. Anyway, you should have some time after class today right, why not do it then?"
"I am free tonight..." she said thoughtfully, her eyes locked on Matt's face behind her bangs.
Matt only blushed more intensely, making a hasty excuse that she simply shrugged off. He looked nervous, and being teased but his sister certainly didn't help matters. It was certainly entertaining though, she couldn't deny that. But when Di asked if they were going to head to class, Amber had to nod, getting up and following the others as they made their way to Kaiju Kong Hall.
It looked not only newer, but much more sturdy than their own Beowolf Hall, and as they strode inside she couldn't help but look around in interest. The various forms of Dust stored there, and the specialized equipment was a not-so-subtle reminder that while her dad mined the stuff, she only had some basic working knowledge regarding Dust.
She also took note of the fact that both Team RFUS and MECH were already seated, and she leveled a glare at Umbra and Ochre themselves. Once she took a seat herself next to Jade and Elva, their teacher spoke up.
"Welcome to Dust Mechanics. I am Professor Victore Francis, and I will be your instructor. Dust forms the very basis of our civilization - our fuel, weapon, shield, and so much more. I assure you, for every use of Dust you have considered, there are dozens you have not - regardless of how learned and experienced you think yourself to be. The purpose of this course is to broaden your horizons - and to make you think of Dust not just as a simple tool, but a brush with which to paint reality."
She seemed to pause for effect, and when she continued her gaze seemed to intensify even further if it was possible.
"Before we go any further, I will make one thing exceedingly clear - in my class, I care nothing for who or what you are beyond these walls. Rich, poor, human, Faunus... none of those things matter to the vile creatures of Grimm. The people you will be charged to protect as Hunters will find titles and lineages little comfort. What they- andI - care about is your ability. This introductory lecture will be geared towards demonstrating to me and your peers what you do know - a foundation from which we can build."
After that she gave a nod, stepped back and leaned against her desk, asking for a volunteer. With a small frown, Amber looked around before noticing a specialized band saw among the various forms of equipment, as well as a collections of raw Dust crystals.
Getting up, she made her way from where most of the other students were seated and strode over to the safety gear, making sure to put on some proper gloves, a breathing mask and safety goggles. After all, if there was anything about her dad's work that really sunk in, it was the fact that Dust was dangerous if handled incorrectly.
When she stepped up to the various raw crystals, she picked out a rather average-looking green 'Earth' crystal and looked it over before turning to the band saw and starting it up. Then she took a deep breath and started to carefully cut the crystal, making sure that she didn't put any of her fingers in the saw's way. She didn't dare focus on anything but what she was doing, knowing that Rufus and his lackies would probably get a kick out of getting her to cut off a finger or two.
When she was finished, she turned off the band saw, then walked over to Professor Francis' desk and set down a simple cube. With a nod, she took off her safety gear and made her way back to her seat silently. After all, she was mostly at a loss of what to say, hoping the demonstration would be enough.
As they left the hall and made their way to Kaiju Kong Hall, Elva's nerves returned in force. What would happen if she screwed up big time and wasted a whole load of expensive dust? What if she exploded again and blew up the classroom? If they kicked her out of Lodestar where would she go? Matt would come with her if that happened wouldn't he? But then he'd miss his chance just because of her...
Working herself up more and more, Elva jumped as Jade addressed her.
"Don't worry too much about the Dust Mechanics class. From what I've heard, the first classes are all just tests to determine what we already know; where we stand if you will. No one's good at everything so if Dust's the hard class, I'm sure we can find a way to study it. If the teacher seems nice, we can just ask for extra help after class okay?"
Taking a deep breath, Elva exhaled loudly and smiled at Jade. Her words made her feel a whole lot better, they were exactly what she'd needed to hear. This must be why Jade had been made team leader.
"Thanks, I'm sure it'll be fine. Let's just hope we get a better teacher than yesterday."
Feeling a lot happier, Elva skipped along as they entered the towering building.
[hr]
Watching Amber cut the green crystal, Elva was impressed with her technique. It wasn't flashy but the faunus girl showed a surprising amount of delicacy and control. Standing up and approaching the table of raw materials, she inspected the multitude of vibrantly coloured crystals and powders. A long and narrow yellow crystal caught her eye, picking it up she felt something of a strange affinity with it.
'Oh I remember now, yellow means lightning. I guess I'll take this one then.'
Not confident enough to use the large saws, Elva took a hammer and chisel from the tool table. Securing the crystal in a vice she gently chipped away the rough edges, trying to smooth it as best she could.
"Oops!"
She'd put too much force into that blow. Now a long crack ran through the crystal's length, ruining it's natural symmetry and beauty. Letting out a sigh, she took it out of the vice, hoping it was still acceptable enough.
The classroom/laboratory combination was impressive, to say the least. Allowing herself a few minutes to fawn over the diverse (and certainly expensive) resources available, Claire wandered around the room, watching over the shoulders of other students or poking simply poking around with things herself. Though she easily recognized most of the pieces of equipment scattered across the hall, there were some devices that even the Faunus struggled to put a name and purpose to, reminding her once again of just how many different applications there were for Dust.
But there'd be time to ooh and ah over the fancier bits of machinery in future classes. For today, Professor Francis had delivered a simple, if not necessarily easy, assignment: Prove that you knew how to use or manipulate Dust in some manner. And Claire had no intention of flubbing it.
Briefly, the young woman toyed with the idea of showing off with some grand display. Creating a temporary simulacrum of herself, negating gravity in a set area, align some equipment to her personal electromagnetic field; something along those lines would certainly make for a hell of a first impression.
But, she reflected, screwing up an attempt like that would likely make for an ever more noticeable impression... And not exactly the sort of one she wanted to make. No, going for something basic would be best, a demonstration complex enough to prove she understood the principles behind Dust manipulation, but simple enough to reliably perform.
Mmmm... And that might be the perfect one to go with.
It didn't take long for Claire to gather the necessary resources. A handful of small Dust crystals, a cutting saw, and a fusing iron. There wasn't any need for any of the larger pieces of equipment; all of this could be done by hand.
Cutting Dust crystals was supposed to be a dangerous task, if done in high concentrations and without the proper equipment. Luckily, Lodestar had seen to fit to provide everything needed to do things safely. The torch and safety goggles were state of the art (not that it was hard to get state of the art goggles), and crystals themselves weren't particularly pure, so the odds of them blowing up and setting everything on fire was reduced by a fair amount. Carefully, Claire took the saw to the stones, using the spinning blade to slice the Dust into smaller, more manageable bits. Soon, she had a pile of multicolored shards arrayed before her, fragments of Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. Finding the Air crystal already made had been a nice surprise, though she supposed it was only natural that the school would have a good supply of the common combinations on hand.
From here, it was a matter of blending the Dust crystals, fusing them together to create new colors and effects. Though the powerful stones didn't always follow the same physical laws that more standard elements were subject to, Claire always liked to imagine the binding process as some combination of math and painting. At least, that was how the books had always presented it; certainly you had to keep track of the amounts and physical attributes of the Dust you were working with, but you also had to pay attention to the hue of the crystals and anticipate what shade the final result would be.
Though she may not have had much personal experience with Dust, Claire's understanding of the theory behind the process was apparently solid enough to give her the edge she needed. Blue and red made purple, so Water and Fire fused to embody Force. Likewise, azure Air and green Earth formed teal Resistance.
This next step was the tricky bit. It wasn't enough to just have the proper sorts of crystals. You had to compensate for their size and strength, making sure that the opposing energies were as equal as possible. That was the downside to this particular combination; too much of one or the other would simply result in a heavily diluted version of the more powerful Dust. Moving to one of the more stable table saws, Claire shaved away portions of the stones, carving them into pyramidal prisms, the Force one tall and slender, the Resistance squat and thick.
After a few trips to the electronic balance and some minute adjustments with the hand saw, the two crystals were equal in mass, at least out to six decimals. Then, there was only one last task: Binding the crystals together at their bases, Claire grinned as the unified stones merged together, their coloration melding into a uniform violet. She'd seen this particular shade enough times to know she'd gotten it right.
There wasn't such a thing as a truly unstoppable force or immovable object, not in Remnant at least. But a moderate amount of force, when opposed by a moderately strong resistance, would only really result in one thing: Balance.
Sending a spark of her Aura coursing through the Dust, Claire set the stone on its tip, watching in satisfaction as it balanced perfectly. Flicking it with her finger, the Faunus set the crystal spinning like a top. The difference being, that while a top would eventually succumb to gravity, this Dust would keep rotating perfectly until it ran out of power.
...Which, given its size and quality, would probably be less than five minutes. Still, it looked pretty while it lasted. So that was nice.
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