Arlin

Anya blinked, drawing up short as Jack was retrieved. As they started way back, she glanced over at Lapis and commented, "...did you just shame a vampire lord into becoming your customer?" After a moment, she shook her head, it wasn't really that important. She did lean forward a bit, though. "Hey, um, Rhys. I know I'm still new here, so maybe that's normal-ish for you, but you got... really intense there. You okay?" Anya was not about to let a teammate neglect mental health, and she was in no possible way also doing it to avoid dealing with her own issues. Nope. Back at the vampire den, Anya just let out a sigh of relief. Clearly she still hadn't adjusted entirely to being here though, as the RACL hype just put her in mind of Jason. Time to once more keep busy. "I should be able to find him again, one moment." Then she dialed up her hearing again. If she could, she'd try to talk to Robin via her Semblance, let him know what was up and help navigate. If not, then at least she could figure out where he was. OOC Using Precision Sonar to locate Robin, and Ventriloquism to communicate if possible. Thokk, sorry about the commentary at a weird spot time-wise, but I feel it is when she would say something.

Anya wobbled briefly before stabilizing herself in the aftermath of the struggle. Alright, fine. If the situation and his grip made it difficult to peel his grip away from their classmate, then she would just have to see how good his grip was through a broken arm. It was a risk she wouldn't take, if she couldn't maintain her precision. Anya narrowed her eyes as Vlad started to fade from view, and from smell. But not from her hearing. "Not quite enough," she muttered to herself, awaiting the next moment Rhys closed with the enemy, and then unleashing a flurry of carefully aimed kicks. Mechanics Free- Configure Huntress to Compromised Integrity {11}, (Just base Weaken Resistance), Recitative Retribution {11}, Martial Training {11}, Diamond Dust {11} (Multiattack), Infused Dust {11} (Light descriptor on Damage), Pizzicato {6} (Strength 11 for disarm only), Precision Sonar {5} (Counters Auditory Concealment). Move- Stabilize. Mobility to Stabilize All-Out Attacking and Power Attacking for 5. Reaction- Preemptive Weaken 11 (Resistance).Weaken (Resistance) On hit, DC 26 vs Weaken (Resistance). Standard- Attack Vlad with Damage linked Strength.Boot to the... Arm On hit, DC 31 + MA / 26 vs Damage / Strength (disarm). EE: Do it again!Weaken (Resistance) EE Boot to the Arm EE Status: Fatigued next round, -5 defense, Deflect/Reflect/Redirect (with penalty), Counters Auditory Concealment, Partial Energy Immunity.

Anya scowled and swore briefly as Vlad made his hasty exit, but she didn't waste much time. She jumped and landed balanced on a trailing chain, one hand on Rhys' shoulder and prepared to use her Semblance as a partial shock absorber. As Rhys started his pursuit, Anya called back, "We'll get him back, Robin should be up soon to help!" It was probably more meant as encouragement than actual prediction, but Robin's resilience in a tight spot was not something she was about to underestimate. Once they had closed the distance on the fleeing vampire, Anya didn't hesitate, pushing off to reach and try to free Jack. The martial technique would not be easy, given all the movement and jostling, but it could work. Time to try for a different kind of putting Vlad off balance, though. "You call it self preservation, but all I see is a roach scattering at the merest flick of the light," she spat, her lip curling not with frustration, but with contempt. Mechanics Free- Configure Huntress to Combat Rhythm {22}, Glissando {11}, Pizzicato {6} (Str for disarm only), Diamond Dust {11} (+ Ranged only), Infused Dust {11}, Precision Sonar {5} (Counters Concealment only). Move- Taunt Vlad into attacking Anya. Taunt Deception (half ranks) Standard- Strength to disarm Vlad so he drops Jack, linked Deflect/Reflect/Redirect (SE, self only). Disarm Vlad Status: Normal, Deflect/Reflect/Redirect with SE, Immunity (mundane energy), Countering Auditory Concealment.

Welp, HP it is... HP Reroll Weaken HP Reroll Attack

There was something satisfying about being the one directing the destructive chaos rather than simply reacting to it, Anya mused. Time to add to the riot. Anya leapt down, a glow building in lines and the patches on her jacket, as well as along her boots. It hadn't been intentional, but a side effect of infusing multiple kinds of dust was that the light was a veritable cyberpunk rainbow of colors. Regardless of that, however, it was still light. "I brought the rave, time for the mosh pit," she said as she landed in front of Vlad, beginning a flurry of kicks. The lights flashed brightly whenever she made contact, though the slight pulse in time with the beat of the music might have been a bit overkill. Maybe. Either way, it was a bit of misdirection as Anya tried to undermine the leader's defenses in a far less noticeable way than she had the floor. Mechanics Free: Configure Huntress for Martial Training {10}, Compromised Integrity (Weaken Resistance 11, Insidious) {12}, Recitative Retribution {11}, Aural Assault {22}, Infused Dust {11}. Damage gains [Energy] [Light] descriptors. Move: Get up in Vlad's business. (F15) Reaction: Attempt to weaken Vlad. Recitative Retribution On hit, DC 21 Resistance vs insidious Weaken(Resistance) 11. Pretty sure even the 22 on the reroll doesn't hit Standard: Follow up for the smackdown. Boot to the Vlad On hit, DC 25/21 Resistance vs Damage/ Affliction [Impaired & Vulnerable / Disabled & Stunned / Incap]. Reroll makes it a 30 Status: Normal, Deflected, Partial Energy Immunity (Darkness) Rerolls to be found here:

The tears fell. Anya sagged for a moment, the weight of her mother's words evident. She had tried being vicious, but she wasn't a patch on the master. If pressed, Anya couldn't have told you why she even cared. She obviously had never been treated well, and yet... somehow she had still hoped to gain approval, someday. This struck deep. She couldn't break down now, though. More than anything in that moment, she wanted to just let it out, to grieve. But she was a Huntress, and she was needed. Anya turned to Brock, giving him a tight hug. "I'm here," she said softly, despite her voice breaking a little. By some miracle, she managed to pull herself together a bit more and forced a little laugh. "It looks like you have a full sister after all," she murmured. The forced levity fled quickly, though, as a thought struck her. "...although. This might make things hard for you, at home. I'm really sorry. It seems unlikely that I'll get to visit, now." If he pulled away, she would let him, but for now she kept up her hug. It was hitting her now, it was very possible this was the last she'd see of him. He'd been one of the few bright spots growing up, even if he was getting taller unreasonably quickly. Right now, she would be here for him. When she was alone again, this was going to hurt.

"I dunno about you guys, but this is taking too long," Anya commented, glancing around as the not-vampires scattered. "Nick, I can pave the way, but would you do the honors and install a chimney under these yahoos, with extreme prejudice?" she asked with a grin. As she did so, she kicked a few shards of Earth dust at the nearest foe, though it was for the purpose of distraction rather than accuracy. Beneath each of the vampires, the floor began to shudder and creak as she started to shake them apart. Mechanics Free- Reconfigure Huntress to Combat Rhythm {22}, Acoustic Aegis {11}, Compromised Integrity (Just the base Weaken Resistance) {11}, Resonance Frequency {22}. Move- Attempt feint at half ranks on V11, Set Up 2. +2 if Attractive applies. Feint Standard- Toss up a Deflect on the party with SE, target the floor under current enemy locations with Resonance Frequency via contagious/selective. RF Status- Normal, Deflected (SE)

Anya visibly leaned back away from her mother, flinching instinctively. She did not, however, take a step back, and she let out a small huff of a sigh before glancing apologetically at Brock. This was most likely going to cause trouble for him, but... this was a question that had haunted her for so long, and there was a very real chance her mother would never be caught off guard like this again. Her brow furrowed, then she met her mother's gaze. "How dare I? All I'm doing is speaking the truth," Anya said quietly. In the silence and attention of the room, her words would likely not be missed, but this actually worked in her favor whether she consciously noticed it or not. Ironically enough, she was pulling a tactic directly from Carmin's own playbook: when your enemy is in disarray, gather your poise and seem largely unperturbed to cement their social floundering to all spectators. "I did some research, in my time at the academy, you know. About human and faunus relations. According to every reputable study I could dig up, children of a union between two faunus of the same variety match their parents. Two faunus of differing varieties produce entirely random varieties in their offspring, but statistically far less likely matching the type of either parent. Children of a human and a faunus, however," she continued, glancing over to meet her father's eyes momentarily and returning, "have a roughly equal chance of turning out entirely human or entirely faunus, the latter matching the variety in the parent." Based on that and the situation, that left only a few possibilities. The original assumption was her mother had produced Anya with a bat faunus, which was unlikely both due to the rarity of bat faunus in general and her mother's personality. Or she was a faunus herself and had been with some other kind of faunus to get Anya by sheer random chance. Or- and this was seeming more and more likely to her as she turned the thought over- her father was actually her biological father. With his silver eyes. Anya let a pause linger as she set her jaw. "Now, let's consider that it is highly unusual for a faunus to have vision that is merely comparable to a human's, but hearing on par with, for the sake of argument, a bat." she said, coming off a bit less like a professor as her emotion started to bleed back through to her tone. Anya tilted her head sardonically. "So tell me, mother, how is it again that you can hear and react to sounds miles off that only I have been hearing?" she asked, reaching up to tap on one of her bat ears in unnecessary emphasis. Her vision blurred as tears formed in spite of her best efforts, but they did not fall. Later, she would probably regret doing it this way. It was the social equivalent of going nuclear, given the way information flowed through Atlas high society and the military. However, a lifetime of ill treatment, cemented by her actual father's words earlier and fused with fatigue into a molten ball of resentment. Before, there had been pain and loss and grief, but the idea that her mother had even briefly followed emotion and made an actual big life mistake had been humanizing. Sure, there had been frustration before, but at the end of the day Anya had simply wanted a fraction of the acknowledgement and warmth that had been lavished upon Brock. Instead, her mother had apparently decided that her own personal loss of face was more important than one of her children. And she hadn't even been shy about rejecting one child in favor of the one that supported her cover story. The lesser of two "evils." Eventually, she might regret doing it this way. Right now... Anya wanted her mother to hurt. "Did you even tell your son? Or your husband?"

Once again Anya was glad she'd been able to pick up the faster, subtler signing her new class used. She hopped down off the sleigh, trying to nod reassuringly to Ben and Nick. Cavalry's here, we'll get her back. Actually, that gave her an idea. If ever there was a time for something to lift spirits, this seemed a good one. Her skimming of a promising playlist was interrupted by, well, the vampires. Anya started up the music as she moved forward, outwardly trying to look completely at ease. "I've got you all covered," she said aloud, wandering into the den before extending a hand palm up at the enemies, gesturing back at herself. "Bring it." OOC Free: Set array to Precision Sonar {11}, Combat Rhythm {22}, Acoustic Aegis {11} Move: Getting in closer, but not actually in base with the vampires just yet. Presumably near Rhys. Standard: Putting up Deflect 11 with Secondary Effect on all allies. Status: Deflected, Counters/Pierces Concealment (Auditory), Counters Illusions (Auditory) Soundtrack

Anya Assessment

Perception for hearing, Insight on Ben reacting to Robin's comment

Description Race: Faunus (Bat) Gender: Female Age: 16 Height: 5'0" Weight: Little? Eyes: Silver Hair: Black Colors: Black, Grey/Silver, Green Appearance: Anya is rather small, even for her age. Her graceful movements tend to draw the eye more than her build, as her dance skills show through. Despite this, Anya avoids drawing attention to herself, and frequently wore a simple skirt with a hoodie to pull up over her brown bat ears. The ears are prominent enough that they still deformed the hood, but it was as much a coping mechanism as an attempt to blend in. Her boots are more weapon than fashion, but as they function as speakers, she often uses them to play music. In more recent days, she has shifted away from hoodies and skirts to a jacket with a number of patches (some of which are Dust infused) and shorts, as in the image above. Personality: Anya grew up sheltered and picked on, both at home and otherwise. As a result, she is somewhat quiet, though she actively tries to get away from this habit now that she is out in the wider world. It also leads her to be perhaps a bit too polite, as she is ever watchful for retaliation. Though she clearly has skills, her lack of self confidence leads her to attribute her successes more to luck and circumstance than anything. That being said, she finds refuge in music and movement, much of her uncertainty melting away as the melodies shift and she moves with them. In her time at Shade, Anya was able to come out of her shell. Well, eventually, after getting past culture shock at her newfound team mates and some what might be charitably referred to as well-intentioned bullying. Now she still remains quiet and cautiously polite, but much of the time she has more confidence than she used to. Backstory Anya's story begins, as so many do, with her parents. Her father, Mason Indigo, was an Atlesian military official. His wife, Carmin, married up and took to the life of an upper crust social climber as though born to it. Both were making reasonable progress towards their respective ambitions, and all seemed well... until Anya was born. With her obvious bat ears, there was no denying that the girl was a faunus. Unfortunately, it raised some serious questions. Neither of her parents showed any noticeable sign of being anything other than human, so naturally, rumors turned to a salacious explanation- that Anya's mother had had an illicit affair. With such rumors floating around, it is understandable why both parents found their ambitions somewhat stymied. When Carmin produced a fully human son a few years later, it only seemed to confirm the stories. Each of them responded differently to the pressure. Naturally, her mother kept her hidden away as much as possible- keeping her at home for events, hiring a private tutor, etc. Perhaps because she was a constant reminder of the scandal and the life she could have led, Carmin always looked down on her daughter. Mason, for his part, did his duty as a parent, but remained relatively cool, as he could never be truly certain whether Anya was his. While this was an improvement from her mother's treatment, it still left a fair bit to be desired. In any case, both of them blatantly favored their son, Brock. An intelligent and thoughtful boy, he acquired an affinity for dust at an early age, and has aspirations to become a researcher, something which would reflect well upon his parents and earn him a respectable place within Atlas. Of her family, he probably treated Anya the best- though he very much liked being the favorite, he seemed to get along reasonably well with his sister. Anya's home life was not devoid of happiness, however. Her tutor was a human woman named Onyxia Raye, a former Huntress. Much to Anya's surprise, Onyxia turned out to have no issue with the girl being a faunus, and seemed delighted in the girl's talent for instruments (especially the harp) and dance, encouraging them at every opportunity. When her Aura appeared and her father insisted that Anya be taught to defend herself, it was 'Miss Nyx' who found a style that could work with Anya's caution regarding her hands (see complications). She even taught Anya the basics of dust infusion, allowing the girl to make the boots that would become her weapons of choice. Unsurprisingly, the two became quite close over time. Although it was her father's suggestion that Anya try becoming a Huntress, she was the one who decided to apply to Shade. It is likely that, if he knows, he would disapprove of such a clearly inferior school, but on the other hand it would put her quite a distance away from the family, especially his wife. Her tutor was the only person Anya felt she could trust with the secret. Upon arriving at Shade Academy, Anya had a less-than stellar start with a group of other faunus. This was short lived, however, as the headmistress split her group and she found herself in the midst of a far more varied and unusual group of students than she ever could have expected. She grew the start of a spine, made a few friends, and earned a hearty reputation for spectacular application of combat footwear to Grimm noggins- the latter much to her chagrin. Even now, she isn't a fan of attention, but she hasn't had much choice in the matter. Here's hoping things continue to improve. For more details, see . Will try to add more specific links in rare moments where GitP is stable long enough. Mechanics Complications and Motivations Complications Put a Bag on her Head (Prejudice)- When she isn't being hit on, Anya gets the same abuse many faunus have had to deal with, sometimes both at once. Family Matters (Relationship)- Anya's parents had very different plans for her than the ones she made for herself. To this day, they had wanted her to go to Atlas Academy at the very least, to say nothing of plans for afterwards. Given their power and influence, they have the potential to cause trouble for her, even just to withhold information out of spite. Silver-Eyed Warrior (Enemy)- Stories of the power of those bearing silver eyes have persisted around Remnant. Scant though they may be, there are rumors that those stories have some factual foundation. Unfortunately, this potentially makes Anya a target of those who would oppose such power. Tiny, But Fierce (Quirk)- Anya often avoids conflict, but she has a tendency to get riled up when people are condescending to her or cast her as a pampered little rich girl. Motivations Proud of Your Girl (Recognition)- Anya desperately wants to gain her parents' approval, to show them that she is capable of great things and worthy of their affection. She does not really think it will happen, but she cannot shake the hope, so it continues to motivate her. Find My Place (Acceptance)- As an unwanted faunus child growing up in Atlas, Anya does not feel that she had much of a true home. Naturally, she seeks to find one, with friends to support her. Be Like Her (Doing Good)- Onyxia's occasional tales of her own days as a Huntress served as an inspiration to the young faunus. Now she, too, wants to help people through her talents.

Anya colored a bit at the compliment, though perhaps that was just the chill. "I mean, we can talk shop another time, but my infusion has been far more function than fashion... the latter hasn't really been a priority for me so I hadn't really considered aesthetic application." 'Clientele,' eh? Between that and the exacting and self important demands of said client, what little of Lapis' past she had seen were quite familiar to Anya, in their way. But to have that right alongside traveling with professional Hunters was a dichotomy that made it a bit surreal. Still, they probably had a fair bit in common. She certainly wasn't going to press for details here and now, but she had no problem dropping a hint for later. "I learned the basics from my combat tutor when I was young, and have more or less tinkered on my own since then. My weapons are pretty simplistic compared to most," Anya said, gesturing to her boots, "so my spare training time goes into martial pursuits, Semblance work, or Dust infusion rather than weapon tinkering like some students." She paused a moment, looking over the video and just blinking a moment or two at the sheer amount of detail, not just in the dress but in her new companion's memory. "Your meticulousness is downright intimidating. What I wouldn't have given to have someone like you working with me to tame Headmistress Kershaw's 'filing system'." This last was said with the bat faunus actually making air quotes by her face.

It had been a dark winter. If you had said that Anya had little experience with life being turned upside down, then clearly you had never met Team NJAS. Yet, for all that practice, it was still insufficient to allow the bat faunus to transition smoothly to her suddenly different circumstances. There had been a mountain of things to come to grips with, both due to the general scale of what was happening and the pile of personal problems. Perhaps fitting for the season, Anya had withdrawn somewhat, simply trying to do well in her new school. This did at least involve trying to get to know her own team and FLNS a bit better, but as had happened at Shade, she found herself leaning into interacting with her team more than other classmates, with the notable exception of fellow transfer Pyrrha. What personal effects she had managed to accumulate in her time at Shade had been sent over, most likely courtesy of Sky or Leonard- you know, the somewhat responsible ones. She had been surprised the secondhand harp she had found had made the trip safely, though she had largely left it untouched since then. It reminded her too much of a number of things that were lost to her, at least for the foreseeable future. She would get back to it eventually, really she would. Probably. Oddly enough, her new team reminded her of her old one in some ways, which definitely had helped. While Rhys was less generally grumpy than Ryuu had been, something about his stoic demeanor seemed familiar to Anya. Meanwhile, Robin and Bashe were clearly twins in a way only explorable through the wonders of fanfiction. Having him as the leader (at least officially) should have made her uncomfortable, but this was the sort of chaos she had grown accustomed to back at Shade. It made it easier to adjust, and Robin's enthusiasm was a bit infectious. Getting to know Lapis had been a slightly surreal experience- it was like looking at herself in a fun house mirror, kind of. The uncertainty, the worry about being useful, and the way he navigated conversations were pretty relatable, not to mention overlapping expertise. "I'm not sure if it is a RACL team maneuver, but Professor Wulf is certainly not shy about tossing Robin. At least he tends to bounce back," Anya commented. Her boots crunched as she moved through loose scree and whatever snow still remained from winter. She was actually wearing the mittens Chapi had given her, though she would be the first to admit she'd been caught completely by surprise by the gifts. The gloves she usually favored were many things, and among them was thin, so they had definitely come in handy for the weather. Anya looked over her team mates for a moment as she walked. "You know, I have to say I never expected to be on a team with multiple people with expertise beyond my own. It's probably a good thing, honestly. Rhys, I think you are the first person I've met with a nose better than mine, and thank you so very much for not being creepy about it," she added with no further explanation. "Lapis, where did you pick up your Dust infusion skills? I don't meet many other folks that tinker with it much."