Howl Like the Wolf; Basic Beast Arts Class

Due to it being a fairly rare technique type to be used, Hasahn had been pulled in from outside the Academy to train some of these kids in just what exactly Beast Arts were and how best to utilise them. He had been given the temporary designation of Zougeiro and given run of a training courtyard in the Academy so that he could teach his lesson.

He entered the courtyard, crouching slightly to get through the doorway and looked around, it was adequate enough for his lessons. Fine sand covered most of the area to account for physical blows, there were several large rocks scattered around and a pile of chairs had been pulled out for his students. He nodded and moved to the center of the courtyard and started stretching.

Zougeiro himself was a massive man, almost eight feet tall, his shoulders were almost as broad as a pair of double doors and his forearms could be mistaken for casks of ale. A pair of heavy tusks hung down from his jaw and his hair was done in heavy warbraids from the back of his head as rising from his forehead was a magnificent crest of reinforced bone. He only wore a pair of trousers and some heavy combat boots, his upper body covered in blue fur with brilliant crimson markings across them. He was a Gammoth Faunus and he was here to show them the power of Beast Arts.

Hopefully he'd have more than like... One student though.

A beast arts class? Mika kind of knew what those were, her parents having taught her a few tricks that they called beast arts, apparently they taught such things in this place, granted the ones she knew were taught to her in preparation of her becoming a courier, so they were more defensive then offensive, but then they moved to the republic so perhaps learning of ways to utilize them in more ways was a good Idea? at the very least she should learn more about them at the bare minimum.

So it was with that thought that Mika slowly and silently fluttered her way down the hall a smile on her face as she did so, learning more about what she might be capable of could always be helpful, apparently she was stronger then she thought... at least that's what a medical nin had told her, but she thought maybe they had just been trying to cheer her up or cheer her on to catch up with everyone? it wouldn't be a surprise to find out that she was just trying to make sure Mika kept working on things right?

With that thought in her mind she landed in front of the door to where the class would be and she opened it walking in with a cheerful bounce in her step, waving to the large teacher "Hello!" she said happily smiling up at them as she took a seat, eyes sparkling with eagerness to get to learning.. and only then did the absolute size of the man strike her and she blinked a bit, well people probably had the same reaction with how small she was, so she figured she shouldn't be surprised that someone so huge existed as well, they were also a faunus apparently now that she got a better look and she waved again large smile on her face.

Well it would seem that he had been hoping pointlessly. As he waited and checked the time, he realised that he really would only have one student. That was fair, he knew there weren't many Faunus out there and a lot of them were under a lot of flak and racism from the populace of the hidden villages and thus preferred to stay out of Shinobi business but it was still somewhat disheartening. He was here to do a job however and even if there was only one person, he was going to do that job to the best of his ability.

Zougeiro turned towards his student and gave her a nod, she was tiny but a lot of people were tiny to him, she was just... Extra tiny, probably weird genetics from her parents. He gave a shrug and cleared his throat before speaking. His voice sounded like tectonic plates grinding against each other. "Good day young one, my name is... Zougeiro, I was told to use this designation while I was teaching here. As you can see, I am a Gammoth Faunus. Please tell me your name before I continue." He sat down on one of the rocks and waited to hear the girl's name.

Once that was given he'd nod. "So tell me, what do you know of Beast Arts? The written documentation for the techniques is limited, however the nature of the abilities is usually passed down through tales and family stories. So I'd like to know what you know first before I begin teaching the information I have."

They sat waiting there for a bit but after a while it was becoming more and more obvious that there really wasn't anyone else coming to the class. Mika wasn't overly surprised, she hadn't seen any other Faunus in the academy as of yet, granted she could have just overlooked it, though she was sure she had met at least one other Faunus there in the academy but she couldn't be overly sure. But that meant that this class was going to be more like a one on one tutoring session for her with the teacher and she smiled up at him her head tilting to the side and her antenna twitching as he introduced himself to her.

"Nice to meet you Zougeiro! I'm Mika Nymphalidae, I look forward to learning from you in this class" she said cheerfully as her antenna twitched to the sound of his voice almost in rhythm to it more from the rumble of his voice hitting her antenna then anything else. her eyes still sparkling with that eagerness to learn as she smiled up at him and let him continue.

The question made sense and she thought on it a moment and smiled as she answered "My parents told me it was abilities that link us back to our origins, things like the fact that my mother can still make silk and can use other techniques due to her species, and my father can do much the same due to his. and that certain beasts see us as kin making it easier for us to tame such creatures. They have told me a lot of stories about their time being couriers and how they used those natural abilities to evade and escape from... umm... from Ninja some times.. when they had to make deliveries... she looked a bit awkward having to bring up that small detail about her families courier work when they used to live in the land of Echoes.

"A...anyway...I was told they were skills I could train because they were linked to what I was, so they are also intrinsic to my clan and family, like how I can use some Techniques another Moth like Faunus may be unable to because my mother is a Spider Faunus.. so it all leads back to family and clan one way or another" she said as she thought about it a bit more.

"My mother for instance is able to use something called the Sanguinary forms to bring out the strength of our Clans innate abilities and affinities, while my father can use a more advanced form of the same forms... though a wise woman they took me to said I was unable to use said forms... but oddly if I could... I may have had my fathers ability to gain the more advanced forms... Both my mother and father learned these due to family training" she said as she finished thinking about it.

The mountain of a man sat and listened intently, reaching up to rest one hand on his chin, nodding along to everything the young girl said. Once she was done he leaned back for a few seconds before giving another nod and standing up again. "You've got a good knowledge base, your parents have taught you well! Couple of things to get out the way though as I might as well do some extra teaching. Ninja are a specific type of people and some can get kinda annoyed if you call 'em that, probs for the best to avoid it. If they're with a Village then they're Shinobi or Kunoichi, though that second one is a bit of a fabricated term. If they ain't with a village, then ya call them Nukenin or Missing Nin, really old term from when there were really only Ninja around but that ain't the case anymore."

He then rolled his shoulders a bit and moved to a slightly more open position in the area. "For what I'm supposed to be teachin' ya though? Your parents were correct, Beast Arts in regards to Faunus like us allow us to manifest and utilise abilities and traits of the Fauna or Animals that we take our genetics from. It's a bit weird at times because some people only ever get traits from one parent even if the other parent is a completely different animal. Beast Arts are also utilised by Fauna as the classification of their natural abilities, everything from an Genprey's venom to a Tigrex's Blast Roar, they fall under Beast Arts. Ours are unfortunately not quite as powerful and take a lot more energy from us to perform."

He reached around one of the rocks and pulled another smaller one up, though it was still almost the size of Mika. He placed it atop the first rock and nodded a few times. "So if you want to get good at Beast Arts, you need to know the things your genetics are good at. I am a Gammoth Faunus, hence my size. So my first pair of questions for you then. First of all, what classification have the higher ups put Beast Arts under? Secondly, what types of energy can you use to fuel your Beast Arts?"

Listening to his reply she nodded at the information about the difference between using the term Ninja, Shinobi, Kunoichi, and then Nukenin or Missing Nin. She even made a few notes on them in a notebook she brought along to the class, as she wanted to make sure she had notes on this stuff to read over afterwards to help her later on, though it seemed she would be getting a lot more of a focused education in this class as apparently she was the only Faunus in the academy, though again she was certain she had seen at least one other before... but maybe they were already graduated now? Ether way she was here alone.

As the teacher moved Mika followed him with her eyes as he continued the lecture, She knew a bit of this... well more she knew of special abilities of some creatures, but she didn't realize they would be classified as Beast Arts, so she noted that down, and the fact that Faunus like her and the teacher used essentially weaker and less efficient ones was also noted as she nodded to what he was saying. This was important information, it would mean she would once out of the academy have to be on watch for other beasts using such arts, but the advantage of humans and the other civilized races of course was that they had high intelligence and a good ability to learn and adapt, though... there were probably beasts that could do much the same... it made her head tilt to the side a moment and her antenna twitch as she thought of what separated them then... the creation and use of weapons maybe? These questions would likely be better asked in a different class though.

At that moment Instructor Zougeiro picked up one of the rocks from the ground, and she listened him explain what he was then ask his questions to her, the second one she wasn't so sure on, wasn't it physical... Melee? she wasn't even to sure on the classifications over all... WAIT she remembered reading in one of the general textbooks before about classifications... as she sat there thinking on that one, she decided to put it aside to at least answer the one she knew for sure... well kind of for sure "Umm... if I recall correctly.. my Mother told me that to use these techniques it takes usually just Stamina from our body.. though some in the tribes are able to use the Sanguinary forms I spoke of before.. like my mother, letting them empower their Beast Arts by using some of their own blood... some more advanced users can even use nothing but blood making their attacks even stronger almost closer to the original creatures abilities... umm.. as for the first question...".

She sat there thinking a bit more "Umm.. I believe it was... Physical? Classification, I remember reading of the Classifications before in one of the study books.. but I can't recall where exactly Beast Arts fall in the classifications... sorry" she said bowing her head

The massive man listened intently and gave a chuckle once the young girl was done before holding up a hand and giving it a bit of a dismissive wave. "You're here to learn! You don't need to apologise for not knowing something. If you knew everything I'd be out of a job, ya? I'm here to actually teach ya somethin'." He grinned and seemed to think on a few things before continuing. "Right so, Beast Arts are actually classified under the Hybrid Classification. Physical techniques are stuff like Kenjutsu, the usage of weapons, and Taijutsu, the usage of your own body for physical strikes. Altering your own body is where it gets a bit messy. When Beast Arts are used specifically for attacks, the effects tend to actually be a little bit weaker than physical or chakra which is one of the problems. If ya spit out a glob of venom or acid at someone, even if it contains the same amount of power, it won't beat someone throwin' a fireball!"

He then leaned in somewhat conspiratorially, doing a stage whisper to Mika. "Though, don't tell anyone, but even though Hybrid is a bit weaker, it's a lot harder to protect yourself from. Defense or Endurance don't help at all against it, so keep that in mind!" He then gave an exaggerated wink before leaning back. "Now as for the other question, aye that's a very good thing. The Sanguinary Forms are powerful but you're right, only a few of us are capable of them... Legends say that our ancestors, the Dobutsu, all of them could use the Sanguinary Forms but... That's been lost to most of us, more's the pity. Now I feel kinda bad bringing up this next bit but it's important to get knowledge even if you aren't capable of it, ya? Chakra can be used to fuel certain Beast Arts, giving most Faunus another source to draw from so they don't exhaust themselves right quick. Though of course with your inability to mold chakra you can't rightful do that which is a shame but it doesn't make you weaker, in return your body is capable of a hell of a lot more physical feats than most other's." He laughed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You've done well and you obviously know a lot, that's good, you're a bright kid, listening to your teachers. So next thing for ya, so that you know more about where ya come from. What are the Faunus Tribes and what types of creatures do they align themselves with? If you feel like being fancy, you can also tell me which tribes have some animosity with other tribes, yeah? As in, which tribes tend to not like each other."

Information:

Mika added to her notes that Beast Arts where Hybrid and nodded as she listened to the massive man, and when he leaned over to whisper Mika's Antenna wriggled about from the tickling of the mans breath as he talked, and she nodded as she noted down what he told her. This was good to know, it meant she had to be careful when fighting Beasts or Other Faunus. The Next bit about the Sanguinary Forms she also noted down as he explained them in a bit more detail, or rather it's origin, with that noted he mentioned that Beast Arts could also benefit from the Use of Chakra, something she couldn't really utilize but like he said it was good to be aware of it, and he did mention her body likely being able to do more physical feats and she nodded.

As he continued she smiled at the praise a bit, well it was hard not to listen to what she was being taught that's what she was here for after all. So the class continued with the next question being about the Tribes, she knew them and the the creatures they aligned with, thanks to the little school she did go to back in the Land of Echoes and she was well aware of her friend being from one of the tribes as well a smile on her face as she remembered him, but the Animosity? she wasn't to sure of, Her family made deliveries basically everywhere, and she ended up meeting a lot of Other Tribes, but then again maybe she just never noticed or was never around long enough to notice such things, but she did remember some things being mentioned...

Clearing her through though she started to recite the tribes and the species. "the clans should be Flame, Aqua, Terra, Aero, Volt, and my own Skull Tribe... and I believe the species in the same order should be Reptiles, Fish, Avian, Amphibians, the often fuzzy Mammals, and then my own which is Insects" she answered as she stopped for a moment to think, she eventually came up with a bit of a blank "As for the animosities you mentioned I don't think I was ever taught exactly what they were, and I never really experienced them or my parents sheltered me from it while we were traveling when I had to go with them on their Courier runs cause I couldn't stay at my friends or the home we used as a school in the area, I know there are some but I don't know exactly what they are" she admitted.

Spoiler:

"Very good! Yep that's all of them, as for the animosities, this isn't something that really comes up anymore, a lot of us have done away with them due to needing to work together to do our best to survive. Way back when though, there was a lot more anger between the tribes and types of creatures, resulting in them warring against each other. So that you know in case it ever comes up or you wonder why some old traditionalist doesn't like ya, I'll tell you the old rivalries." Zougeiro coughed and closed his eyes, thinking for a moment to summon up the information. "Right, so Mammals don't like Reptiles, so Volt doesn't like Flame. Piscines don't like Avians, so Aqua doesn't like Aero and Amphibians don't like Insectoids, so Terra doesn't like Skull. This also works vice versa, so Flame doesn't like Volt much either." He then gave a big shrug.

"As said, it doesn't really come up but it's still a bit of our history to know. So, do you know any Beast Arts already and wanna show them off? Or have you been unsure about where to focus on? I'm happy to help try and guide you, there's a reason I got chosen to lead the Beast Arts class, ya know?" Zougeiro chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting to hear what Mika had to say or if she had any questions about anything he had said.

"Well I am glad to hear that the Volt are fine with Skull tribe, I have a friend from the volt tribe and I wouldn't want his older family to hate me" she muttered a bit as she blushed and wrote down the info she was given on the old Animosities of the tribes, old things like that, she was glad to hear were mostly a thing of the past, though it did make her wonder if the Members of the republic had such old feelings towards each other? it was possible but she thought maybe that was set aside as well and maybe wasn't important to learn about anymore? Well except for perhaps a history class, things from the past like that always where good to know at least so people properly understood the things their parents went through before them, she had to remember to ask about the old animosities in depth from her parents and see if they knew anything about them, maybe he older relatives did? But that would mean going to the Land of Echoes to find out and at the moment she really couldn't just up and leave.

When Asked about Beast arts she nodded a bit "I was taught how to do a few from my mother and father, they both can make silk and they taught me how, and my mother has these small spine covered hairs, called Urticating hairs, that I have learned to use as well, My father was going to start showing me a few other ones he could use as well, he was teaching me to utilize the scales on my wings and to launch them as little blades, but I still haven't gotten the hang of that one... it's kind of advanced, he showed me a few others like how to use the scales as a type of poison, and how to vibrate the scales to make my flight perfectly silent, but I haven't gotten the hang of doing any of those yet ether" she said thinking about the way her father did all those, they seemed like they would be useful.

"My mother showed me a way to make a diving bell so I can take air with me underwater... and they both showed me how to use the hairs and scales in such a way that I could use water surface tension and friction to walk on water and up walls and along smooth surfaces, but I still haven't grasped those yet ether" she said thinking about it.

Once Mika was done talking, Zougeiro sat back for a moment and just gave a few nods, a rather impressed look on his face. "Yeah seems like your parents have done well teaching you all this. The thing about Beast Arts is that they are quite literally in your bones, in your DNA, your very ancestry so even if you're having trouble getting them to work they ARE there. So you just gotta keep trying and eventually they'll work, usually it helps knowing a bit more about the actual anatomy of your Faunus heritage. So it might be an idea to go to the library and get some books on moths and read about how their actual bodies and stuff work." With that he checked the time and then looked around at the fact no one else was around and to be honest Mika was way more prepared than he was actually set up for and he didn't have much more of a lesson plan to go off of.

"You're welcome to stay here and practice if you want and I can give you some guidance or you can finish up the class early and go do... Some of your own stuff I guess. I've not really got much else to teach you. Oh I can also answer any questions you've got if you wanna do that. You're well on your way to advancement though and I look forward to seeing where you end up in the Republic!" He gave Mika a thumbs up and sat back to either assist her, answer questions or just clean up if she decided to leave.

Information:

Mika Thought on what she may need Help on, She knew some of her Beast arts required some Life Chakra that her clan could utilize, so she should ask about that perhaps? "Umm, I know some of my Beast Arts my Parents have been teaching me require the use of Life Chakra, And it's one of the Types of Chakra my Clan can use Naturally, even I can use it to an extent, is all Beast Arts tied to the clans Natural Chakra Affinity?" she asked as her antenna twitched a bit as she thought on it her head tilted to the side quizzically.

"Oh also did you want me to help with any clean up and putting things away for the day? I don't mind staying to help" she said happily as she hopped up from her seat to help out if needed though leaving her notebook open for his reply to her previous question so she could note it down quickly before helping if requested.