Team WRPP (The Elites Volume One) - #RWBYverseAwards

The Beast

The man in green was walking through the swamplands that covered the area on the opposite side of the Emerald Forest from Vale. He had been trudging through the mud and insects that attacked him for nearly two hours now, and the repellent seemed to be wearing off quickly. But he was determined to find the individual that called the gloom his home.

The man came upon a large cave, hollowed out of the side of a cliff face that signified the swamp's edge, and the beginning of the barren wasteland known as the Badlands; the areas of nothing but sand and sloping dunes between the cities and towns of the four different kingdoms.

The bones and carcasses of dismembered swamp animals littered the entrance to the cave, some stuck on makeshift pikes that were driven into the ground, others just strewn about the soggy earth. The man brought a lantern out of the bag that he had brought with him, and lit it, shining a light that barely touched the inky blackness of the cave two meters in front of it. He sighed and entered.

Almost immediately, a raspy voice echoed from the depths of the network of caves.

"What do you want?"

The man smiled. He had come to the right place.

"Icarus, I only wish to..."

The voice interrupted him. "That is not my name anymore."

"Just because your appearance has changed, it does not mean you are any different from the soul you were before. To your colleagues, your peers, your friends, you will always be known as Icarus Rhodyle."

Just then, a hulking form took up the entirety of the cave, its massive frame of approximately ten feet forcing it to hunch over to avoid hitting the top of the cave. To describe its appearance in one word: Unsettling. It looked like what one would perceive as a freakishly large Grimm, red eyes ablaze, the elongated snout breathing heavily, steam spurting out as it took long, relaxed breaths.

"Look at me. I was once a proud crocodile faunus. And now I am a freak of nature. Even other Grimm fear me. And you, the one that did this to me, come to speak with me. I will ask again: What do you want?"

The man cocked his head to the side. "What happened to you is indeed a tragedy, Icarus. But I had nothing to do with it, and you know that. It was an unfortunate consequence."

The figure stepped completely into the light, its massive, scaled body scraping against the rock of the cliff's innards, creating sparks along the trails it left. "You may not be responsible. But the White Fang is. And you are the one that wished for me to infiltrate it."

The man placed the bag and a small picture on the floor of the cave.

"I will give you some time, Icarus. Return to Beacon when you are ready."

The monster reached down with its large, webbed hands and gripped the bag. It gingerly picked up the picture with its claws and surveyed it with its glowing red eyes.

As the man turned to walk away, the creature looked up at him.

"Icarus is no longer. I am Ravager."

A/N: Credit to theklocko on deviantArt for the media. It's really damn cool!