Flint's eyes narrow, and Neon takes a step back, her roller blades making scraping noises against the ground.

"Are you threatening me?" The cat steps in, her eyes narrowing. Her tail flicks with anger, causing the bands on its' end to jangle.

"I'm more afraid of this than you". The blonde boy scowls, shaking his hand. "And yeah, if you set in motion events that could kill me, damn straight I'd punch you".

"Fair enough". Flint steps forward, putting a hand on Neon's shoulder. "Hey, back off kitty-cat. He didn't mean nothin' by it".

Neon rolls her eyes. "Just keep it chill, okay?" She looks around, the trees doing a good job at obscuring their vision of the mountain, until she climbs a tree handily, peering over at the mountain. "Heh, looks like some people already made it to the first checkpoint". She slides down the trunk. "Let's go!"

Ten minutes later, Neon growls her anger, as another hill forces her to angle her feet at odd angles to avoid sliding back down. "Really? Mountains are so annoying!"

"Neon, we all hate hills". Flint shakes his head, the gravel crunching under his feet. "You're not the only one wearing city shoes".

"Honestly, it's just you two". Chromata shrugs, fiddling with his gauntlet. "Cappollo and I are wearing boots. We all knew we were dealing with rough terrain. Why didn't you switch footwear?"

Neon pouts. "Roller blades give me really fast movement".

"And I couldn't find another pair with a Dust compartment in the heel". Flint adds. "So I didn't really have a choice".

The rest of the trip to the mountain is uneventful, silent except for the constant complaints of Neon. As they walk from hill to hill, a beacon lights a section of the mountain up.

"Will you please shut up?" Asks the bird boy, about half a mile from the camp. "I'm used to literally flying everywhere, so I'm pretty sure you being used to roller blades being faster isn't that much compared!" Silence prevails for a bit.

"Ironic, you asking for quiet, all things considered". Flint gives the bird boy a small grin, which the leather-clad boy responds to with a middle finger raised.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. The guy with a stupid-loud voice wants quiet. Ha, ha". His biting sarcasm gets a raised eyebrow from Neon and Cappollo.

"Said like that, you sound like you hate your semblance". Flint notes. "It's pretty cool, man".

"Every time I sneeze, I shatter windows if I'm not careful". His voice is deadpan. "I can't go skiing because a cry of happiness can set off a damned avalanche".

"...Oh". Neon winces, putting a hand on the bird boy's shoulder. "Sorry". She smiles, and Chromata nods, smiling back.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"There it is!" Cappollo points up the mountain, to where a campfire blazes. A few tents have been set up, and no few of the prospective hunters pore through the crates left there.

"Basic rations, not even MREs, just dried noodles and that crap?" a scrawny boy with green spiky hair and a scar across one arm complains loudly as he sifts through the care package.

"Best we get used to it now". Talis gently nudges the boy aside, and as he does, the boy clenches one fist. He pulls a cord from a pocket on his vest, and for lack of a better term, plugs it into the tip of his pointer finger. The cable begins to move, as if alive, and a yo-yo removes itself from his pocket. Blades pop out of the wheel-like device, and it revs like a saw.

"At least we'll have some real meat to go with it". A grey-haired girl comes from behind Chromata, a headless bear carcass held proudly over her head. "Caught this guy running through the forest". She raises her voice to Chromata and the other three. "Hey, slowpokes! You wanna eat? Help me prep this thing!"

Over the course of the next half-hour, the rest of the class make their way to the campsite. The flat ground on the mountainside is large enough to fit them all, but only just. Chromata and Enyasi gut the bear, while the others quickly set up tents and get water boiling. Tents quickly fill up, everybody doubling up, but the bird boy, focused on the meal, pays it no mind. The sun sets, and the group of hunters begin to retire for the night. The sun sinks beyond the horizon, and a Beowolf's howl echoes through the

"Talis, I'm bunking with this sunhsine girl!" Enyasi bobs up and down. The blonde girl strums her guitar, smiling. "See you in the morning".

"I'll be in the big tent, going over my armor". Talis ruffles the wolf-girl's hair, and she chuckles. "See you in the morning". He enters the pavilion. His armor hisses as the back splits. He steps backwards, out of the suit, and it stands under its' own power. He tilts it over, laying it down on the ground, but a muffled curse from the back of the pavilion grabs his attention.

"Dust-Damned ice queen". Chromata's holding a piece of stray metal, chipping at a gauntlet. "Magnetic electric dust on an Earth core, enough to-"

"Your equipment can't hear you". The big man says darkly. "So if you don't mind, my hydraulics could use recalibration". He towers over Chromata, his crew-cut and stubble doing very little to detract from his intimidating build. "And for that, I could use some silence".

"Well sorry, mister Paladin". He fires back sarcastically, not even looking up. "It's not like I've been killing Grimm and doing this crucial test of our measure as huntsmen without the main reason I'm so lightly armored or anything!" His voice carries well beyond the tent, and the tent's side impacts with a soft thud.

"Shut up, you two! I'm trying to sleep!"

Chromata rolls his eyes, not bothering to respond to that, and he goes back to his gauntlet. Talis blinks, looking over the bird boy's shoulder.

"That's a magnetized earth/electric array". The big man stares, confused. "Easy to break, even for a kid".

"Yeah, well I can't break it, big man". His voice is defensive. "And pulling it off isn't working".

"...You have the strength to break them".

"Well I'm not going to". He scowls.

"..." Talis picks up one of the bird boy's boots, and a second later, the Dust crystal falls off. He waves the boot in front of Chromata's face, and the bird boy stares.

"...How?"

"I can neutralize the electricity". He waves his hand, and electricity arc from the crystals to him. The Dust arcs off, falling to the ground. One of the earth crystals shatter with a loud crack, and Chromata's eyes widen. He covers his mouth as fast as humanly possible, taking a step away in the same motion.

The big man tilts his head, then picks up the leaking crystal, taking it outside the tent and chucking it away. "You okay over there?" The bird boy's face is ghost-white, but he nods, taking his hand away.

"...Do you have Dust Reactionary Syndrome?"