The Emerald Forest


 * For the location sharing the same name, see Emerald Forest. For the seventh episode, see The Emerald Forest, Pt.2

"The Emerald Forest" is the sixth episode of the RWBY animated series that premiered on August 22nd, 2013.

Summary
As Yang Xiao Long walks through the Emerald Forest in search of Ruby Rose, she encounters two Ursa. After a short encounter, she destroys one with her Ember Celica gauntlets (after a strand of her hair fell during the conflict).

She is about to destroy another, but Blake Belladonna kills it from behind using her Gambol Shroud, making them both partners, as Yang muses she was more than capable of killing the second Ursa.

Meanwhile, Weiss Schnee recalls her training, whilst surrounded by Beowolves. As she is about to attack, Ruby Rose strikes the Beowolf Weiss was aiming for, causing Weiss to instead incinerate a nearby tree with her attack. They bump into each other, and contemplate an opportunity to attack, but Weiss forces a retreat having accidentally started a forest fire.

The two get into an argument, with Ruby protesting that she is independently capable of fighting the Beowolves alone, and Weiss berating her childlike ability and impulsive nature, stating that if she had warned her about what she was going to do then they wouldn't be running away from a burning forest right now. Ruby takes her anger out on a tree, and fails to notice a giant feather that falls out of it.

Elsewhere, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos hear the sound of gunfire, and Jaune gets a scratch on his face after Pyrrha accidentally hits him with a branch. Pyrrha asks Jaune why he didn't activate his Aura to which he reveals that he's not familiar with the concept. Pyrrha explains that Auras are manifestations of souls, created from the understanding of both light and darkness in every being, and can be used by any living being.

The Grimm are the one exception, as they lack souls, and are instead considered beings of darkness and manifestations of animosity. With practice, Aura's can be utilized as a shield, and may even be an efficient fighting tool. This concept is applied when Lie Ren uses a combination of his aura, his weapons, and martial arts skills to slay two King Taijitu that attack him.

Pyrrha utilizes her aura to unlock Jaune's, which immediately heals his cut. She seems somewhat drained by the experience, but recovers a few moments later and notes that Jaune has a vast amount of power within himself. Meanwhile, after Ren slays the beasts, Nora Valkyrie calls out to him using her "sloth call" before swinging upside-down from the tree. Ren comments that he still isn't convinced that is what a sloth sounds like. Nora just says "Boop" while touching his nose, earning a smile from Ren and the two become partners.

Trivia

 * Nora Valkyrie's "sloth call" has a striking resemblance to a bird call.
 * The King Taijitu's color scheme reflects the concept of light and darkness, which coincidentally is the topic Jaune and Pyrrha were discussing during the conversation about Auras.
 * This is the first episode that featured a single picture of two protagonists - these being Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos - in the ending credits. Additionally, this is also the first time the ending artwork wasn't of a member of Team RWBY.

Inconsistencies

 * Yang's eyes turn red in one scene, then change back to blue before appearing red again in the next shot.
 * Pyrrha's weapon appears bright on the top half, but the lower half is dark when she is using her Aura.
 * Despite Ren destroying the head of the black King Taijitu, the snake's head reappears undamaged later in the episode.