Traveling to The Crystal Sea: Day 1 [Plot]

As the airship flew farther north toward its destination Liam Grinsley looked at the six children he had chosen for this trip. 'It's about time these kids start learnin' that Grimm don't fade meekly into the night.' He thought to himself.

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Declan peered out of the airship's window at the seemingly endless blue ocean. He had packed appropriate clothes for the trip, he wore a heavy blue coat over top his normal shirt and jacket, as well as heavy snow pants he had bought on his trip to the Aura Lenta Falls after he learned he was chosen. His gauntlets were packed away in his duffel bag along with several cans of food and other clothes.

He looked back from the window and around the airship, despite having this class for sometime he didn't know anyone else on the trip. 'Oh well...No time like the present to get to know people.'

Stahl from team JASZ (he still thought the name was stupid) leaned against the window, he too was wearing a heavier jacket to accommodate with the cold. Eisen Blatt was slung across his back, the sword/rifle causing him no small amount of discomfort due to the aforementioned leaning. But his pride was on the line and he would not loose to his own weapon!

At least, that's what he told himself as he rolled his shoulders again, trying to stiff the back ache with force.

Arthur was too prepared for the cold, with extra layers, and a huge woollen cloak he wears over his shoulders and reaches the floor. I really hate the cold. Why did I do this? Why?!

He rested his hand on his sword hilt at his waist and looked around the airship fr a familiar face, in hope for someone he knew to make the trip bearable.

Isabelle hadn't been looking forward to anymore trips away from Beacon ever since the journey to Autunno, but she figured that the only way to get better at fighting Grimm was to constantly fight Grimm.  After all, this trip couldn't be any worse than that place, right?  There were downsides, of course.  One was that she was the only female selected to go on the trip, and she hardly knew anyone here.  Also, she had to wear this stupid thick clothing because of the cold.  The list of items she had packed in her bag included snacks (in a small plastic box, to avoid their destruction), batteries, water, a sleeping bag, and of course, her swords.  Leaning her head back and closing her eyes, she decided to attempt falling asleep to pass the time.

IC:

What the f###. What the f###. What the f###.

The cold didn't bother me. I had a dust-powered jacket that wouldn't blow up in my face but still kept me warm. And I had my own abilities if I needed it.

But....what the f###! I didn't put my name up for this crap. Why am I here?

I sat in the corner of the airship's lounge, waiting for something to whack me out of my stupor.

The co-pilot of the airship came into the room and whispered something into Mr. Grinsley's eye before heading back into the cockpit. Liam stood up and looked around at the students in the room, miserable, bored, and cold. "Alright students!" He said in his hearty voice. "We are a few seconds out from landing in The Crystal Sea, so gather your things and prepare for the beautiful landscape!" As he finished his sentence there was a muffled *THUD* from the outside. "AHA! That's the signal now!" He walked over to the side door and pressed the button next to the door, causing the door to rise. "Go on now, step outside!"

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Declan picked up his duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder before heading towards the door . As he reached the door and looked out he saw....the ocean, as if they had landed on an impossibly calm part of the ocean. He hesitantly stepped out onto the surface. Upon doing so he, thankfully, found they they had in fact landed on solid ice, thick too if it could hold an entire airship up. As he marveled at the landscape he looked down at his feet to get a better look at the ice. As he did so all he saw was his feet over the endless blackish blue abyss below him. He jumped back slightly before gaining back his senses. he walked to the side of the airship and sat down against it. 'Vertigo....greeeaaat.'

IC:

"Huh.....Are we on ice, or what?" I thought out loud as I followed behind Declan.

Arthur wraps his cloak around him as he prepares himself for going out in the cold. As he walks to the door he looks out of the windows and sees a whole lot of nothing Well, this truly is exciting. He thinks to himself as he nears the door.

I wonder how long we will be out here. He thinks as he steps down onto the ice with a heavy thump.

Isabelle collected her things and headed towards the exit.  Looking at the ground, the ice looked too clear to be thick, yet it was capable of supporting all of this weight.  She stepped off, and sure enough, it didn't break.  Drawing a single blade, she would proceed to poke the ice a couple of times with the tip out of curiosity.

IC:

I sighed, clutching myself in slight embarrassment. It was a natural, instinctive reaction as I made myself smaller in the eyes of others.....

"Probably not the smartest thing to do, don't 'cha think?" Declan says to the girl poking the ice with a slight waver in his voice. 'Why don't you just cut a hole and push me in while you're at it?'

"If it can support an airship and a bunch of students, I don't think a small sword will do anything."  Regardless, she stopped poking it and put the sword away.  Looking around, she didn't see anything particularly spectacular.  "What now?"

"What's next is excitement, Miss Kyoto!" Liam bellows from inside the airship.

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" 'Excitement'." Declan says as he stands up to take a look around now that he had regained his senses. directly forward from the exit of the air ship the ice was flat and clear, far in the distance is what appeared to be the liquid ocean. He walked around the airship to the other side and looked off into the distance. He could see the flat, smooth surface gradually become more and more rough, several large frozen waves stood far away. along with the waves were several hills of frozen snow ranging from small bumps to hill half the size of a mountain. "I guess that's what's next." Declan says to himself.

"If you say so."  Isabelle had a hard time believing that.  Autunno was supposed to be exciting too, and that didn't exactly go as planned.  Her thoughts wandered to the Grimm.  What kinds of them lived in these areas?  She somewhat hoped that they would encounter Beowolves so that she could practice against them.  The most common type of Grimm just happened to be the ones that she was the worst against in battle.

"I don't really know what I expected, to be honest." Arthur states to no one in particular, after looking across the vast expanse of ice. "Why did we have to drop here in the middle of nowhere? This is literally the middle of nowhere." he calls back into the airship where Grinsley was situated.

Stahl walked off the airship and looked around. Well, to be more precise, he was looking at the other students and gauging their reactions; to Shard's impatience to Isabelle's idle curiosity. Not exactly the most encouraging band of rag-tag students, but it could be worse.

"The reason we landed here Mr. King is so you can become accustomed to the view." Grinsley said as he stepped off the airship after Stahl. "Most students need some time to get used to walking on what appears to be nothing. We used to land nearer to the research site but due to distortion that the curves in the frozen waves cause many students became nauseous." He said before banging on the side of the airship, the signal for it to take off.

Grinsley turned and watched the vehicle disappear into the distance. "Now..." He turned back to his students "... As you all know this place is know as The Crystal Sea, due to the ice that formed here in ancient times appearing as clear as glass. The research site that we will be lodging at is just past those snow hills." He points past Declan and toward the hills. "Now, this trip is about Grimm adaptations so remember to keep an eye out for any movement, as you learned in class the Beowolves and ursas have grown white fur here helping them blend in, making them more dangerous than the species back in Vale." He looked at the sun, halfway up the sky. "And remember we are near the northern pole which means the days are much shorter. So if there are no further question I say we move out post-haste! " He finished with a hearty laugh.

IC:

"Because white blends in with nothing..." I mumbled sarcastically.

"Become accustomed to the view? What view? I see no view!" Arthur says, gesturing to most of the nothingness they were situated in. "And it's ruddy damn cold." He goes on, more quietly this time.

"I guess you'll see when we get to the caves, Mr. King. Now, if everyone's finished complaining, we should get moving." Mr. Grinsley says gruffly, he looks around the group for a moment before turning and begins walking toward the ice hills.

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Declan looks at Mr. Grinsley walking away then back at the rest of the group. "Well, an indoor research building does sound nice right about now..." He picked up his duffel bag off of the floor, in doing so he looked down once more. The endless deep dark depths of the sea stared back at him. From the black depths several fish and other creatures can be seen swimming around aimlessly and.........a small movement at the blackest depth of the water. He shook off the feeling and began following his professor.

Stahl rolled his eyes, honestly. It made tactical sense, if the pale white hid everything, then getting accustomed to it was paramount to living for five more seconds.

Still, it was freaking cold, and really, really, white.

Which brought to mind a song Stahl heard once,

"White is cold and always yearning..." He sang to himself, following the professor.

Shard, without waiting for instruction, walks in the direction Grinsley pointed at.

((OOC, sorry for crappy post, but there really wasn't much for Shard to do))