Chapter 13

Alister was taking his first steps onto the Atlas academy campus, despite his distaste for Mantle even he was impressed by the architecture of the Atlas building. Alister looks at all the students around him then he felt a creeping anxiety in his stomach but he clutched onto his suitcase, checked if his gasmask was clipped on his hip which it was despite the many times he checked before. Alister took in a deep breath "Alright" he muttered under his breath as he walks towards the hall. Alister looks around at everything from the gardens to the many statues that are littered throughout. Everything was so neat and well placed like every bit of grass was meticulously cut or that every statue was carved to absolute perfection.

But something else caught his eye before he reached the hall, a large group of students staring, slack jawed, surrounding a rather tall, tanned girl. Alister was curious as to what was happening, so he decided to see what was going on to find a tanned girl with the eyes of an eagle bench pressing ten students without breaking a sweat. "Come on, this is no challenge for The Great Avery" she had a smile that screams pure self confidence as she let the students down. All the students clapped and cheered, Alister nods as he clapped and smiled.

Avery saw Alister's teeth and was instantly intrigued "You! You have the teeth of a shark!" Avery said as she pointed at Alister which immediately made him feel self-conscious as everyone turned to look at him. All the students looked creeped out not by his teeth but by his Schnee Dust Company branding as they slowly backed away but Avery with her grin walks up to Alister "come on man, show the world how cool you are with those chompers!" Avery pointed at Alister then the crowd of students look at Avery as if she was a freak then they all left.

Avery didn't seem to mind as she shrugged "screw those guys, I'm Avery Byrd" she runs her hand through her short and spiky, black hair then she offers her hand for him to shake. Alister was more than a little overwhelmed by Avery's confidence and extroverted attitude but he shook her hand "Alister Carner" he said with a nervous smile, not showing his teeth this time.

Avery noticed that she may have made him feel uncomfortable "Oh d-did I make you feel uncomfortable back there? Shit, sorry about that" she said as she puts his arm around Alister's shoulder to try and comfort him. Alister saw this as a genuine attempt to make him better and it worked he felt a bit better as he shakes his head "think nothing of it, my teeth are pretty cool but I'm worried how others react to seeing them" Alister said as he looks down as he walks towards the hall.

Avery walked beside him with her arm still around his shoulder "way I see it, if folks judge you by what you look like. They aren't worth the time of day. I can tell you're a cool guy just by lookin' at ya!" Avery said, every word she spoke made Alister feel better. Alister could easily tell that she believed every word she said, Alister smiled as he gently took her arm off his shoulder "you sound like my old man" Alister chuckled. Avery put her hands behind her head "then your dad is a cool guy" she said as they both enter the hall. Alister and Avery stood as they were given a welcoming speech by General Ironwood. Avery's eyes filled with excitement as she puts her hands on her hips. Alister's excitement was as apparent but just as abundant.

Avery looks at Alister as the speech wraps up the two walk back outside then she grabs Alister's arms "Isn't this exciting? We're gonna learn how to kick Grimm ass, well not like I need to learn that much in that department but it's still gonna be so cool!" Avery said as she laughs. Alister could not help but laugh as her excitement was infectious "Yeah, it's going to be pretty awesome". Avery looks at Alister's gasmask "what's up with that?" she asks as she lets go of Alister's arms. Alister looks at his gasmask "Oh that?" he looks back at Avery "my semblance allows me to fire either a sleeping or poison gas out of my body. It protects me from my own semblance, and I plan on giving my teammates masks to protect them from it as well. What's your semblance, Avery?" Alister asked as he sat down on a bench.

Avery takes off her academy jacket, she was wearing a black tank top under her jacket then she flexes her muscles with a confident grin. "With mine I can focus my aura on my arms or legs to increase their strength. I'm strong without it but it helps bring down huge foes down with ease" she said then she lifts up Alister's shirt to show off his fit body which made Alister blush redder than a beetroot "h-hey!" Alister said in protest then Avery checks his arms by gently squeezing them. "Hmm, not bad Alister" Avery said as she pulled his shirt back down.

Avery chuckled as she wrapped her jacket around her waist then she folds her arms as she looked out in the distance. Alister looks at her ��What made you want to be a huntress?" Alister asked as he sets his bags on his lap. "My mother was a huntress, she trained me and showed me to be confident in myself. My father came down with a terrible sickness that made his body weak, some days he couldn't even stand up. But he always supported me and mother which made him look so damn badass in my eyes" she said as she stood up "I just wanna make them proud and save lives" Avery claps her hands together.

Alister stood up "We should head to the dorms" he said as he walks towards the dorm building with Avery beside him. Later on that night Alister was sitting by himself, reading "Ninjas Of Love" he chuckled "now that's a katana" he mumbled to himself. Avery was on the opposite side of the room, flexing her muscles and lifting students up above her head as she laughs triumphantly. Alister watches her then he shakes his head as he smiles. He closes the book then he lays on the floor and looks up at the ceiling then he closes his eyes.

Alister's peace was quickly interrupted by a group of male students that stand over him with grins on their faces they grab him and drag him out of the room. Alister struggles as he shouts "hey! What the fuck are you doing?!" the male students laugh as they drag him into a bathroom, Alister spots another student in one of the stalls with bruises on them. They throw Alister against a wall "what are we doing? We're showing you filthy faunas where you belong on the pecking order" one of them said as another punched Alister in the face then the group begins beating on Alister with punches and kicks. After they were done beating on Alister, they were about to leave then Alister stood up and spits out a tooth. Alister was furious as he wipes some blood off his upper lip "I'm guessing you beat up whoever is in that stall?" Alister's voice was deep and angry.

"So what if it was?" one of them replied. That just made Alister even angrier as the group walk back towards Alister. This time Alister clenches his fist then he punches one in the gut so hard he vomits on the floor then Alister punches the rest in the gut as hard as he can once he was done it was only then that Avery burst in. "Alister are you okay?!" Avery looks around then at Alister "Oh" she said as she walks up to Alister, Alister opens the stall to find the person that he saw before. "Are you okay?" Alister asked as he held out his hand towards the person that was sitting on the floor, the person looked up at Alister then they shook their head. They had cat ears as they look up at Alister then they growl "those jerks beat me up" the person said as he tries standing up, they were just a bit shorter then Alister and Avery but they fall over. Alister caught him "Let's get to the infirmary" Alister said with a smile. Avery picks them both up then she takes them to the infirmary. Alister was getting checked over but the worst he had as a couple bruises on his face and chest "I'm Alister by the way and the girl that carried us here is Avery" he smiles as he looks over at the cat-boy "I'm Tenver Cile but you can call me TC and thanks for helping me out" TC looked down as he sighed.

TC also had no serious injuries aside from the bruises. Later on some teachers came in and asked them about what happened then they ask the same of Avery. They all tell them what happened with both Alister and TC being dragged out of the big dorm room. Alister and TC were allowed back out of the infirmary with bandages wrapped around their chests. Avery runs over to them with a worried look "Are you guys okay? Can I get you guys some juice?" Avery was like a worried mother. Alister waves his hand "Nah, we'll be okay, and those dickheads will be in deep shit. Isn't that right TC?" Alister smiles gently as he looks at TC. Avery looks at TC "if anyone gives you any kind of crap. You come tell me and I'll sort them out" Avery flexes her arm in front of TC.

TC smiles nervously "I'll keep it in mind" the three of them laughed as they walked back to the dorm room. The three sat down and began telling each other stories, Avery took out Alister's copy of "Ninjas Of Love" and TC and Avery playfully made fun of the blushing and flustered Alister. They were busy making each other laugh, eventually they all fall asleep. Ready for whatever comes the next day despite the rough first night.