The Katissa Chronicles Part 2 (Now with 100% less Drake!) (Warning: This title may be a lie) [Openish]

Katy shook her head, giving her rifle a small pat. "Sure, I killed a bunch from a distance, with bullets. You got right up on top of them and still managed to kill the biggest one right away. That takes way more skill, I think. If I would have gotten out of the tree I'd probably be dead meat."

"It's.. it's tradition, I guess," she said suddenly, trying to explain her family's feelings. "Every generation of my family, going back a long while, has had Huntsmen and Huntresses galore. When my brother was still around and it seemed like he was going to be an incredible Huntsman my parents sort of let me be, but when he disappeared I think they realized that if I didn't become a Huntress then it'd be their fault that the tradition got broken."

She frowned, unsure if she was making any sort of point. "It doesn't really matter if I want to be a Huntress or not. I don't have much of a say in it. If I do poorly here, or skip classes, or stop reporting in every week, or a bunch of other stuff they'll pull me out of school and keep training me on their own. I dunno if you've ever tried to go up against real Huntsmen or Huntresses before, but it's not a fight you can win."

After a moment, she shrugged. "I figure they'll lay off a little if my brother ever comes back. So I've just gotta deal with it until then."

"But you weren't up close to them, and the fact that you weren't shows your skill as well! All I did was ambush one from up in a tree and kill it in one go! If you didn't cover me I probably wouldn't have been able to get away, and I'm not as good in a prolonged fight!" She said, trying to sound humble.

Melissa frowned, "And you don't get any say in it? That's... I can't imagine what that would be like... If my parents did that to me I'd probably have run away within the week!"

Her face suddenly took on a look of concern, "Y-You won't end up doing badly in class or anything bad right? I-I mean, it's not like I'm too concerned but Umm... I wouldn't want that tour to go to waste if you end up having to leave!" She said nervously, not hiding the fact that her concern very well.

Katy chewed on her bottom lip, obviously worried. "Well, I think it'll be OK. I'll just tell them I was practicing out here, and since that initiation thing hasn't happened yet I'm just getting in as much practice as I can. It'll probably be fine. It's not.. entirely a lie," she said.

With a resigned half-smile, Katy chuckled. "I tried running away once. That comment about going up against fully trained Hunters didn't come from nowhere. My first year at my last school I tried running off. I only made it about a week before my parents found me, and most of that time was only because they had to make arrangements and then travel from some job they were on."

Glancing up at the sky, Katy tried to figure out how long they'd been out in the forest, and how long it would take to get back. By her estimate it would be very close to dark out if they turned back soon, and while Katy was fine in the dark she didn't like the idea of fighting any more Grimm under those conditions.

"Maybe.. maybe we should head back soon? Before the sun goes down, y'know?"

Melissa was going to continue with her criticism of Cat(nope)'s parents, but decided to stop prying, especially since it was getting late and she had only met the girl a week ago anyways.

'And yet we seem so close already...' she thought.

"You don't need to tell them you even went to the forest though! It's not like they'll find out, most classes don't even take attendance! You should have fun, you deserve it! It's no fun to just study and train all day!" Melissa said, eyes sparkling at mention of fun.

"You're right though, we should get back now!"

Katy nodded, turning to head back the way they came, half lost in thought. She had fun, sometimes. There were things she did that she enjoyed. She liked her rifle, and she liked taking naps. And she liked food.

As lost in thought as she was, Katy missed the telltale rustling of the bushes nearby that almost always signaled when beasties had gotten too close. Letting out a yelp of surprise, she attempted to raise her rifle as a trio of somewhat large Ursa came charging out of the thicker woods, but wasn't quick enough. Luckily, her Aura flared up enough to protect her from the nearest Ursa's claw, though it still sent her flying a good dozen feet.

"Oww," she groaned, struggling to get back up. Taking a count, she shook her head to clear out the stars she was seeing. "Crap. Melissa, run! If you get away I can lead 'em off."

---

One of the Ursa let out a roar and split from the other two, turning to face off against Melissa, while the other two split apart from each other, heading for Katy and attempting to box her in. None of the three seemed ready to blindly charge in, but all three were obviously intent on getting an easy meal.

Melissa noticed the Ursa burst out of the bushes a moment too late, and could only watch as Katy was hit by one of them and sent flying away. Seeing the two Ursa converging on her, while she was still on the ground at that, and the one converging on herself, Melissa made a quick decision, using a quick burst from Soothing Mayhem to close the distance to Katy in a short second, standing over her protectively as the Ursa moved in.

"You run! I'll hold them off and catch up!" She said, tensing her muscles and holding out her naginata at the incoming Grimm, like a cat preparing to pounce. If any tried to charge her, it would find a blade protruding out of its throat before it got more than several feet.

Katy used her rifle to push herself to her feet, wobbling slightly. "Trust me on this! You circle around and get back to the school, and I'll lead 'em deeper into the forest. They aren't going to catch me in here, and I'll get back to the school in no time at all."

Bringing her rifle up, she took quick aim and fired at the trio of Ursa, but being this close the shot missed by quite a margin. Still, the loud thunderclap from her barrel had the desired effect, the Grimm froze in place, unsure of whether to charge again or not.

Katy gave Melissa a small shove in one direction, shouting, "Go!" while immediately taking off in the other direction, deeper into the forest.

---

The Ursa, hesitating only for a moment due to the incredibly loud noise Katy's weapon had produced, immediately all roared in anger. The loudness had not even hurt them! As a group, all three started to charge through the trees after Katy, ignoring entirely the other girl. The redhead had already been successfully attacked! That meant she would be easier to kill.

Melissa hesitated, trying to decide whether to trust Katy and get back to the school, or try to stop the Ursa from chasing the girl, despite her reassurances that she would be fine. Despite knowing how good the girl was at surviving in a forest and her experience with it as well, Melissa couldn't help but worry, wanting to help. She didn't want to run away like a coward either when someone was in danger...

But as she looked up, she realised she was too late to help out, as the Ursa and Katy were long gone, and she had no idea where either.

Melissa sullenly ran back to the Academy, deep in worry. What if her hesitation lead to Katy's death? Should she had helped straight away? Tried to find her? All she could do now was wait, and hope.

Several, Several Hours Later

Katy limped back into the school, her rifle in its secondary mode and serving the role of walking stick. That had.. not been entirely fun. Playing Hide and Seek with Beowolves was a lot easier than with Ursa, but Katy had eventually gotten them turned around enough that she was able to double back on them and escape to safety. Unfortunately she had used up all the ammunition she'd had, relying on the boom from her gun to confuse the beasties with the echoing.

"Ow..ow..ow.." she muttered to herself. She was cut up fairly badly. Nothing life threatening, but her Aura was doing its best to patch her up. She'd definitely be bruised for a few days.

((OOC: continued here!!))