(NOTE/FYI: A brief change took place character-wise. To summarize: Akena is now female, but still relatively androgynous and boyish. Still being played roughly the same way, but characters who assumed that Akena was a girl are now correct and characters who weren't sure but assumed guy get hit with a double mix up. Just so people don't get confused. Or maybe you're more confused.)<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><div class="bbImageWrapper lazyload js-lbImage" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-single-image="1" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F564x%2F61%2Ffe%2F08%2F61fe08c9f1b675a989e7402fe0e520e2--girl-glasses-girls-with-glasses.jpg&amp;hash=7f07bbd62a2ebeffe3eee5534147ea28" title="61fe08c9f1b675a989e7402fe0e520e2--girl-glasses-girls-with-glasses.jpg">
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</div></div><br/>Akena glanced up as Shiro approached, trying to take stock of him. She'd guessed they were doing teams based on their choices, which seemed...incredibly obtuse and strange. Which could, she felt, be a perfect description of the staff at this academy. The glasses redheaded guy seemed to be stable, at least. She wasn't sure if he was much of a fighter, but Akena felt like he could at least be relied on to think straight.<br/><br/>"I can do hand-to-hand, but my main specialty is dust reactions. The gloves help me in close-range, mostly. I'm also a bit of a range specialist." She was about to continue, but then the redheaded swordswoman joined them. She seemed to be much more of a fighter than glasses man, at least if that sword was any indication. And then, their orbs joined together in the ceiling, filling the room with some more light. Akena tried to get a quick judge on her - she seemed like she knew how to handle a sword, but her overall demeanor seemed a bit too casual. Akena's string of judgmental thoughts were cut short by the introduction of 6 wolf-like grimm. They split into groups of 2, seemingly a pair for each candidate. And, much to Akena's dismay, they charged two to a person.<br/><br/>"Ok, no time for plans. We're outnumbered and I don't think we want to take on two each, so try not to get separated and stick together. Red, you can use that sword, right? Take point, but don't get too far from the formation. Glasses, uh.." Akena had no idea what he could do. "I'll try to restrict their movements and provide ranged support. You...do your thing."<br/><br/>Akena stepped closer to the group, and her gauntlets slid off her wrists, transforming into a jagged black metal orb. Nyx Astra was still flowing with fire, embers slipping out from within the cracks and gaps. The bracelets at her wrists vibrated, and the orb began responding to her movements. The enemies were approaching fast, but they didn't seem to be circling around as much, instead charging ahead. If at least one angle of approach could be cut off, that would make the battle easier. She wanted them bunched up in a larger group - that's when Nyx Astra could do the most damage.<br/><br/>Akena tried to judge the distance, held her arms in front of her, fists clenched. Nyx Astra slammed into the floor some distance away, almost cracking the floor - seemingly far heavier than it's size would indicate. She took a deep breath, and then swung both arms across, as if swinging a flail. The orb responded, grind across the floor at high speed in a large arc, leaving behind a blazing trail, screeching and sparking. It managed to hit the pair closest to Akena, and burst with flame. Akena kept it going, tempering the flame with Ignition, absorbing the energy into herself, her skin prickling a bit. As the orb finished it's arc, it left behind a roaring trail of fire, cutting off the direct approach to Akena.