Instead, the only noise at the moment came from the gentle, distant hum of the air circulators, and the nervous fidgeting of the only other person in the nearly empty student lounge.  Said girl was sitting on a chair near Verra’s perch.  Verra herself was on one of the broad windowsills, her back against the wall and her shoulder against the glass.

Verra had seen this particular girl a few times before - she was part of team QRTZ, though she couldn’t recall the girl’s name.  She knew the nickname she had, though, given to her by some less-than-savory bullies in the school - Broken Bird.  Given her constantly distressed wings and inability to walk straight up, it was no wonder she’d gotten the epithet.  Verra would never sink to using it, but she couldn’t help but agree that it was a little appropriate.  She also couldn’t help but think of what those wings would feel like wrapped around her, like a warm, feathery cocoon.

“So, uh,” the girl blurted out, snapping Verra from her idle thoughts and causing her to focus on the shifting, wing-smoothing girl.  “All done exams?” Verra nodded, smiling.  “Yes, I am.  My last one was Dust physics, earlier this morning. What about you?”  She seemed nervous.  Talking to fill the air, Verra figured.  Some people couldn’t take silence. The girl nodded as well.  “Yeah, me too.  Math.  I thought it went okay.  Pretty sure I missed a few, but, whatever. How’d yours go?” “About the same,” Verra said with a small shrug.  “Not perfect, but I am at peace with that.  The semester is, for me, over.  I can do nothing now but wait.”  She took a moment, a letting a small silence settle.  “What’s your name?” “Quirina.  Uh, Azure.  Leader of team QRTZ.”  She stuck out a hand.  Verra leaned forward from her spot and shook it, a nice firm handshake.  She could feel a slight tremble in it.  Quirina really was nervous energy. Thus, she put on a nice easy smile.  “Verra Foraoise.  Leader of team Veilflower.  Not the best name, but even that one took us forever.” “What are the letters?”

“V, M, F, W,” Verra said with a deep and story-telling sigh. “...Vmmfwuh.”  Quirina giggled at the vocalization.  “That’s really bad.  And you got Veilflower from that?” Verra shrugged, wearing a crooked, sheepish smile.  “You try coming up with something on the spot for those letters.” Quirina went silent for a moment.  Verra could see the gears turning.  “...Verminflaw?” she ventured, clearly unsure of the answer herself.  It drew a chuckle from Verra, who flashed Quirina a look of bemused disbelief.  Quirina flushed a little, withdrawing in on herself, turning away from Verra’s eye contact.  “Can we just pretend I didn’t say that?” “If you like.  I’m sorry for that, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”  Verra’s bemused disbelief melted into a reassuring, warm smile.  She sat up fully from the wall, dangling her legs over the windowsill.  “What shall I pretend you said instead?” “Pretend I said something about how awesome the name Veilflower is.”

Team VWMF (Veilflower)

Full Name: Verra Foraoise (prnc Foreesh)

Theming: A quiet forest clearing.  Dark green.

Appearance: Short cut, straight, dark red hair and unnaturally royal blue eyes that seem like calm pools.  She has vitiligo, giving her splotches and patches of white all across her normally tan skin.  She’s very well toned, with low body fat and a runner’s physique.  Most distinctively, she has three deep set scars, claw marks running from her left temple down to the right side of her chin, right across her face.  She has soft, gentle features and a crooked-yet-charming smile.  5’ 5”.

Weapon:  Claíomh Socracht (prnc clive so-craft).  In melee form, it is a longsword with edges that retract into the blade and reveal a chain, turning it into a chainsword.  In ranged form, it is a longbow, firing normal and Dust-infused arrows.  It features a forest green, dark brown, and black color scheme, with delicate engravings along the blade and bow.

Semblance: Verra can step into a surface and exit in a different location, as long as it is the same surface (such as stepping into one tree and leaving via another tree), so long as the two locations are physically connected.  She travels as through sprinting and retains her momentum, and can take other people and things with her.

Other: Verra projects an aura of calm about her, and is a rock-steady point of quiet for others.  She will go to the library during finals week to study and read, and other people will just naturally congregate around her, finding her mere presence to be relaxing and soothing.  She seems to channel a forest clearing at all times, a warm summer breeze rustling the treetops and gently kissing those who sit and enjoy it as it blows by.

Fighting: Verra is an all-around fighter compared to her teammates.  She is not as skilled at in-your-face fighting as Fallon, nor is she as adept at distracting as Willow, but she can change between either as the need arises equally well.  She tends to fight surprisingly, coming at opponents from unusual angles, suddenly appearing next to them as the loud cacophony of a chainsaw fills their ears.

Mentality: Verra is stability for others.  She is calm, collected, and more empathic than most.  She enjoys time spent along, often reading or simply watching the world and people pass her by, and no silence near her is uncomfortable or awkward.  She’s not a doormat or easily cowed, but she undervalues her own worth and tends to be everyone’s emotional crutch too often.  All failures are due to her, all successes are due to others, and all injuries are her fault.  She means well and is fairly stable, but she refuses to burden others with her own troubles and will all too willingly take on theirs.

Full Name: Willow Wisp

Theming: Trickster of the wind.  Pastels.

Appearance: 5’ 7”

Weapon: Ghost Angel, a spiked meteor hammer loaded with spaces for Dust ampules for a variety of effects.

Semblance: Create flashes of light in a variety of colors, intensities, and durations.  These can range from a small, flickering orb of candlelight to a bright, blinding burst that can disorient and distract opponents.

Fighting: With a weapon that contains such weighted power, Willow can hit hard, but often hits more fast or annoying.  Her semblance lets her easily distract their foes or disorient them enough for the heavy hitters to dive in, and the chain connecting the two ends means she can easily grapple or even choke her targets, holding on tight to giant monsters as they flail around.  Her ampules of refined Dust give her additional options to hassle her targets, with bursts of fire or ice alongside her fireworks or meteor hammer.  When she needs to attack with force, she whips the ends of the hammer around, but she more often instead is there to harass, distract, or draw attention - all of which she is quite good at.

Mentality: Willow is a brat.  More to the point, she has an ego, and desires above all else to become a rich and famous Huntress.  She is a bundle of energy, loud and aggressive and demanding of attention - so long as things are all about her, she’s happy.  She pretends to be self-reliant and cocksure, but is insecure about what others think of her and tends to overcompensate accordingly.  She hates being seen as a coward, often going for dares or being easily pushed into things, even if she’s not comfortable with them, because she has the need to prove herself to everyone.  Her early fighting style tended to clash with the teams, and she got in the way more than she helped as she wanted to always be in the spotlight.

Full Name: Melody Coral

Theming: The Little Mermaid.  Blues and greens.

Appearance: Long red hair, a dusting of freckles, and sun-tanned skin with blue-green eyes and Mediterranean features.  A swimmer’s build, streamlined and taut.  Plenty of freckles all over.  She possesses a natural glow, an appealing charm that draws others to her.

Weapon: Trishula, a trident.  As a melee weapon, it also serves as a tuning fork and amplified for Melody’s semblance.  It’s also able to fire the head of the trident, which can serve as a harpoon that can reel in enemies and reel Melody to her target.

Semblance: Melody is an adept singer.  By creating harmonic vibrations with her voice at a certain low tone, she can disrupt the balance of her opponents.  With high tones, she can fascinate and bewitch them, clouding their minds.  This effect works best against a single opponent but can be used against multiple, and naturally, only one can be used at any given time.

Fighting: Melody, like Verra, is adaptable.  She is not as quick or annoying as Willow, nor is she as powerful and offensively relentless as Fallon, but she can aptly perform both of their roles if need be.  She hums and sings while fighting, throwing her opponents off their fighting groove and allowing her to take advantage of this.  She prefers to stay out of arm’s reach, maintaining the space that her polearm gives her.

Mentality: Melody is calm, but a happier and more optimistic kind than Verra’s quiet confidence.  She is glad to be in control over some aspects of her own life, and is often suspicious of those who attempt to get close to her - she has no desire to be under anybody’s thumb, and she resists authority of almost any kind if they try to pin her down.  She’s no anarchist, but she and Verra clashed early on - not because Melody wanted to be the leader, but because Melody hates being under anyone’s command.  Being from a rich family, she is the social one of the group, able to easily juggle conversations and handle social engagements, along with offering a considerable amount of financial assistance to the group.  She is often the group’s strategist, seeing the larger picture in engagements.

Full Name: Fallon Melaine

Theming: Urban vampire.  Purple and black.

Appearance: Pale blonde hair with a dark brown undercut, with small braids that are capped with beads on the non-undercut parts, very pale lavender eyes.  She has pale skin pockmarked with scars on her arms and hands.  She possesses striking features that are more gentle and curved than angled, and she has an unearthly, ethereal beauty to her - beauty that tends to attract attention.  She appears small and frail, and she hides her considerable physical adeptness well.

Weapon: Corvus and Orion, twin katanas that turn into twin gatling pistols.  

Semblance: Against an Aura, she is able to leech some her target’s Aura with every melee attack against them, channeling her semblance through her weapon.  Against Grimm, she instead leeches some of their bestial nature, granting her additional physical prowess.  She also gains more bestial traits - her skin turns gray and eventually black, her eyes glow red, and her hair turns pure white - and her attacks become frenzied and wild.  These traits fade over time.

Fighting: Against anyone but Grimm, Fallon is disciplined, but blunt.  She tends to be the front-line combatant, possessing the highest physical strength of the group and the most endurance.  She uses her guns to close the gap and prefers melee combat whenever possible, with powerful strikes that hit like a train.  Against Grimm, she loses all sense of discipline and turns into a deadly whirlwind of blades, attacking them relentlessly and with demonic fervor.  The more she attacks, the wilder she becomes, throwing herself entirely into the fight with no regard for defense.