Cuffed: Victoria and Noveria [Closed] [Plot]

The airship hovers over a remote area of the snowy forest. No other teams are in sight and the weather is a nice, sunny day. Opening the hatch, the two partners, handcuffed at the wrist, are pushed to the edge of the hatch. "Okay!" Prof. Strom yells over the engines. "Rules are simple. One: Dont die. Two: Dont kill each other as there are laws against that and you will fail. Three: If the handcuffs are removed at anytime, no matter it be Grim or you, you BOTH fail this course. Once the trial is over, the handcuffs will automatically open up and send a signal to me to come pick you two up." Professor Strom made a large grin, "Also, have fun!" He yelled, pushing the pair out the hatch.

(right hand of Victoria cuffed to Left hand of Noveria)

Great. This promised to be interesting, the partner she could deal with, the handcuffing she could deal with, being pushed out of the ship, that Victoria wasn't too fond of. Luckily, Victoria's partner was much smaller than her, so she decided to do them both an early favor and take the first hit herself. Victoria twisted herself in mid air so her back faced the ground and grabbed Noveria and pulled her in close, using her own back like a shield for the smaller girl. Victoria hit the ground with a thud and a small explosion of snow. A moment later, in the small crater she created, Victoria pushed her partner off of her and blew snow out of her face. "Alright. Off to a great start then."

Inhaling deeply after the landing, Noveria frowns. She really wasn't happy with her partner, but human female WAS better than human male. At least females were usually less aggressive. Besides, this one could have harmed her extremely easily during the landing, and did no such thing. So she would tolerate her, at least as long as she understood the ground rules. The snow was her home turf, her element, and there was certainly nobody at Beacon that would be able to match her here. But for now, she was silent, waiting to see what her partner did.

Victoria pulled herself off the ground to stand, her armor glinting in the sunlight. She casually lifted up her right arm, lifting Noveria to her feet as well. A short look around and Victoria spoke. "Noveria, correct? I'm glad to be paired with a faunus, your heightened senses will be useful. Unfortunately, the snow and cold won't really be doing me any favors." Victoria started walking north, giving Noveria a light tug. "Come on, we should make or find shelter." Victoria trudged through the snow with difficulty, her feet sinking severely and the cold and wet causing the joints of her armor to squeak with each step.

Reluctantly walking alongside the taller human she was paired with, Noveria snorts at the suggestion of shelter and shakes her head, and makes a note to discuss the bluntness later. Taking another deep breath, she frowns at the lack of detectable wildlife in the nearby area. "We can start there, sure, though it really doesn't matter to me. I was born in more harsh conditions than this... so this should be a breeze at any rate. I will say that I'm not picking up the smell of any animals in the area, though."

"Well, we've got plenty of trees to work with, lets start with a fire if there's no food. I have an idea." With that, Victoria knelt down in the snow and hunched over with a loud squeak from her knees, removing her ax from it's place on her back in the process. "Get on. I don't see why I should slow you down after all." Victoria was at least sincere, she knew when she was at a disadvantage and forcing her partner to walk at her sluggish pace wasn't another stress factor she was interested in dealing with.

Narrowing her eyes at Victoria's offer, Noveria shakes her head. While it was true that she'd have to slow down to let the other woman keep up, there was no way she'd be comfortable doing that. "Yeah... no. I'd rather continue at our current speed, so I can at least be ready if anything comes up. Besides, remember... I'm used to this weather. I often spent weeks at a time hunting with little to no movement through the hunting grounds. I could just sleep away this entire challenge if I so desired, but that isn't really fair on you."

Victoria stood and smiled a little, but quickly extinguished it. Noveria's behavior was indeed amusing, refusing to let Victoria do all the walking. "Suit yourself. The cold won't be an issue for my health, though it's clearly an issue for my agility." Suddenly, Victoria's ears perked, and her eyes grew sharp and focused. She readied her ax in her uncuffed hand and said offhandedly to her partner, facing in the direction of the howls. "It would seem you were mistaken. I trust you can fight with one hand?"

Sniffing again after hearing the howl, Noveria frowns. "I wasn't really mistaken... I can't smell them, but my sense of hearing is my real strength, so that might be why." Quickly grabbing Koroleva from its home, she readies the whip and instantly flicks it in to the secondary form, waiting for the combat to come. "I could and probably would fight no handed... but at least this time, I'll fight one handed."