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</div></div><br/>Akena watched Nekro's flirting with some amusement, especially after Robin had been - was that arguing or flirting - with the leader of LITE. If any of them were going to pursue another relationship, better to go after someone not in the team, she felt. Less drama that way...maybe. Then again, feelings could get in the way while competing. On the other other hand, she didn't give a damn who her team members were fucking, as long as it wasn't fucking them over. That wasn't a bad way to phrase things, she thought to herself as she smiled.<br/><br/>Professor Roan's entrance brought her back to the class, but then another thread of thought caught her and pointed her mind to thinking on her teammates again. Would Nekro and Robin's enmity get in the way? How best to deal with it, just keep them apart? Would forcing them to work together and suck it up be the answer, or would their own prideful personalities make that impossible? Maybe she could just threaten to sic Karmyne on them if they got too rowdy - wait, the professor was saying something about a new kind of grimm. Speaking of, she was actually quite pretty, that tail looked incredibly fluffy, and - Akena shut her thoughts off for a moment, an irritable look flashing across her face before being replaced by her default of vague interest. Seriously? Was this just because she had a bad morning? Akena hadn't had this hard of a time focusing since...ever.<br/><br/>She blinked, trying to ignore the sensation of her eyes burning a bit. Something to worry about later. Akena took a deep breath and cleared her mind, trying to iterate over the main topics at hand. New Grimm. Picture included. Toxin aura. Reconnaissance. Three observations. No engaging. Accompanied by foxy professor. She mentally rejoined the rest of her team in time to hear Nekro predictably sniping at Robin, see Robin giving Nekro a decidedly unfriendly look, and cherish Karmyne trying to stave off an argument by asking for a plan. What a wonderful girl, that one. Had Shiro just said something to Nekro? Was he getting in on this too, or was it just him being himself?<br/><br/>She wrangled her mind back into the here and now as it began wandering again. Her team needed marching orders, but Akena couldn't do any planning until she dealt with their squabbles, not to mention it would almost certainly affect the operation. She needed to wrestle the problem into a corner and hammer it to dust before taking on the larger task. Figuratively. Akena turned to her team and greeted them with the sternest gaze she could manage. Though with her current mindset, it had a hint of disdain.<br/><br/>"We<i>do not</i>have the luxury of acting like children on this mission." Her gaze swept across her team, but she was clearly eyeing Robin and Nekro. Robin hadn't said anything as Nekro had, but she knew he was equally capable of messing this up for the team. She could at least trust Karmyne and Shiro to be dependable in battle, but Akena had zero faith in either Robin or Nekro to put professionalism above personal feelings, at least for now. "I get that some of us don't like each other, but we need to put that aside. I will not tolerate any sort of schoolyard bickering to impact our team's chance of success. We are in very real danger here, so cooperate or<i>die</i>. That's not an ultimatum from me, it's the nature of our next task."<br/><br/>"So, Robin?" She looked him in the eyes. "Try to keep your disdain for Nekro in check, yes? Have the self-control to be polite. And Nekro, same goes for you. And while I respect independent thinking," Akena's eyes now looked right at Nekro, continuing her lecture, "you are to stay with the group as Professor Roan has said, and keep any barbs to yourself." Akena hated this part of the job. She'd prefer to just be friendly with everyone, but it needed to be said. Had she been too harsh? She pushed that train of thought away. There would be time to be considerate later, they had a task to complete. At least her eyes had stopped burning. She picked up a twig off the ground, and began drawing a diagram on a patch of dirt. It was similar to the diagram of the Trikelton, but with a few features enhanced and enlarged for effect: the faceplate, horns, tail, and back armor.<br/><br/>"So a few observations about our quarry." Akena's tone was free of it's earlier scorn, and she was now in full planning mode, speaking with authority and a good deal of earnestness. "Given the adaptation of back armor, a face plate, and horns, it'll likely charge it's enemies head on. So first things first, don't stand in front of it. It's toxin aura will keep us from getting too close anyway, but there's a good chance it can move in a straight line faster than you could anticipate, so even at a distance, approach from the sides. And if you're close, still the sides, not the rear, since," she drew a circle around the tail, "that's probably going to gore you. It looks like a morning star, and it's attached to something built like a tank, so expect a direct hit to probably kill you if you're not on guard."<br/><br/>Akena paused, thinking over the observations they would need. They weren't allowed to engage, so combat-based observations would be difficult to get. But if they weren't hunting to kill, then the most useful observations would be... "So here's what I think we should focus on. How does it move? Does it work in groups or solitary? What signs does it leave behind? Basically, stuff about it's ecosystem and habits." Akena wasn't a stranger to hunting. Though her adopted mother had only taken her hunting animals a few times, a long time ago, she still remembered those lessons. This was very different, but similar tracking ideas like Mrs. Maris had taught could be applied here. "If the cloud it has can kill vegetation, then that'll be a good sign we're on the trail. In addition, it's footprints are probably going to be large, with a wide palm and small stubby toenails.. It's feet look kinda like a rhinoceros, too. Rear footprint might have that bony spur, but I doubt that comes into contact with the ground. The other signs to look for would be gashes on trees or broken branches. It's skull could probably just force smaller trees out of the way, and I doubt a tail like that could pass through a dense forest like this without leaving marks behind."<br/><br/>She looked up at her crew, her dark blue eyes looking at each of them in turn. "I know it'll be tempting to try and gain some combat knowledge, and while that is useful, information like this is what keeps ordinary people safe when they can't fight back. It's still vital." Akena was, mostly, just making stuff up again. She had no idea if what she was saying even made sense, but it was..sufficiently leader-esque? Maybe? "Any input? We should also decide on marching order and formation. Karmyne's got the most raw strength out of all of us in close combat, I could probably tank a dust reaction or two and can switch between close and mid-range. I don't know about everyone else's defensive abilities, but Robin's got the best at-range abilities, Nekro is more close-range, and Shiro has more...atypical abilities related to locking our enemies down, as far as I can tell. If any of you want to share more details about how you fight and how your abilities can be best used, now's the time. Any suggestions on how we move forward?"