"Hm..."

Bianca had a point. On such short notice, it would be hard to find people to spring this trip upon comfortably, without having plans due to extenuating circumstances...

That thought lingered for a moment, as I idly listened into the continuing conversations in the room.

It certainly was a good mindset not to turn down free things, especially if they were tickets for a luxury cruise.

...

Hold on a minute!

"Hey, why are you just going forward with it before I even decide?" I demanded, rounding on the two girls behind me. "I hold the tickets right now, I've got a say too!"

It wasn't as though I didn't want them. I hadn't ruled them out by any means at all, but I likewise hadn't ruled out anyone else in my social circle. I couldn't just throw them under the bus like that so casually! Even if they didn't do such a thing in Mistral, in the upbringings of these girls, my parents certainly taught me what happens when you assume:

_{It makes an}

Ａｓｓ

　



...Not that I had any sort of feeling my team or BASL would be keen on packing, or even doing anything besides collapsing at the moment.

My options really were limited, huh?

Kuhaku Shiro - City of Vale

He had been going on for who knows how long. Lost in his own rambling world he carried on blabbering and blathering to no one in particular as for some reason he was having a bout of hyperactive word vomit, diarrhea of the mouth if you would pardon the disgusting mental image. Spouting out every immediate random thought that happened to pass his mind, he was actually tiring himself out from talking so much and pacing in circles. When he decided to finally shut up for a second or two, he decided to take a break to catch his breath for a moment. He hadn't had one of these 'verbal attacks' in a while. You know, when a conversation wasn't exactly going in any particular direction one subject and thought leading to another? Still, surely some of the students around him must've been thankful that he was quiet if only for the moment. Thank the deities above.

In his temporary silence, Shiro's ears perked as he remembered something.
He had received a second message on his Scroll that he almost forgot to read.
"Oh!"
A few random students tensed up at the sound he made, thinking he was about to start up again.
But instead, Shiro dug into his pockets to pull out his Scroll and unlocked its screen to pull up the message.

Eyes scanning the message, his eyes brightened when he learned that Beacon would be hosting some event this coming Monday.
As he read, line by line, one could visibly see the increasing excitement and building energy.
His tail wagging faster and faster as his smile grew wider and wider.
"Free food! Totally down for that!"
Though, he didn't quite know what 'crepes' were.
Hey, try anything once, right?
"A race! Definitely have to sign up for that! I wonder what the prizes are?"
Anything to flex and show off his physical ability, plus obstacle courses were just ever-so-fun for him.
"Aww, man! A wrestling tournament! Gotta talk to Gren and see if he'd be cool with pairing up as a duo! Or maybe Abel? No, wait. Both of them are pretty big, so they should pair up together! There's also Oswald...Hmm..."
He was practically bouncing by this point, grinning at the thought of such a day.
"Make up some silly names, create some cool masks...OH! Combo moves too! Gotta give them some super kickass names too! Like signature moves!"
Even if he wasn't going to ultimately participate, it would definitely be fun to go watch. Maybe could get some friends together for that day to go see. Cheer on the friends he knew and root for whichever teams or sides.
He was getting pumped just from thinking about it. Even though it was days from now.

Then he finished reading the message.
He stopped bouncing.
His tail stopped wagging.
The light in his eyes faded.
His smile slowly died.

"...Oh."

Silent, Shiro stared at his Scroll for a good minute.
Any and all of his incessant and erratic thoughts vacated his mind as even internally he was silent.

He locked his Scroll.
He returned it to his pocket.
He then stuffed his hands into his pockets as his energy dramatically vanished.
Expression blank, he turned to look over his shoulder at everyone that he knew present.

"Ah...I'm gonna go ahead and...head off to the pizzeria now. Getting hungry. See you all there."
Turning away, he started off.
His sudden mood swing rather alarming, he said and did nothing else as he walked away.

@HereComesTheSnow@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra



There was no way that Beryl would try and convince somebody to give her their new gift. That would just be rude and the Father had raised her better than that. But still...it was a cruise. A luxury vacation. On a ship. In the middle of the ocean.

It took several seconds before she could blink the stars from her eyes and look away. Only to glance back at the tickets for half a second before glancing away again.

And again.

And again.

...

_{I want to go...}

Looking at Sepia, Gren tried to gauge her aura levels. Something like this wasn’t really a feature he does often, and he could only keep track of his own level using what he had in his systems. So he just eyeballed Sepia and gave an educated guess. ”Hmm. Well, Aura never really leaves. It’s kinda like breathing; you’ll keep making aura until you’re dead. Now whether or not you’re making enough for your abilities to handle is a different matter entirely… Can’t say I know what your semblance is, Sepia, but if yours is the passive type that eats away at your very life energy constantly, maybe you should go to the infirmary to check that out. I can’t say I’m an expert, but that sounds bad.” Gren’s never heard of a semblance that was potentially harmful to their own user. Sure there was always a price to pay for power, but usually that price was either a condition or situationally useful; Gren’s semblance only works on things he’s making contact with, so enemies too far or flying he can’t use his powers on. Otherwise he’s never really noticed any drawback from it.

Now that his mind was on about it, he wondered if Gren was the only person around here with a semblance that didn’t have a drawback on it. He knew Sapphire’s was a faulty invisibility, Shiro gave him amnesia, and Abel… Actually Abel’s semblance was fairly straightforward. Lightning powers, essentially. Point was, Gren wondered how people’s semblances could end up being used against them. It was food for thought.

Speaking of deep thought and food, Gren noticed that Shiro was sneaking ahead of the group for the pizza. Something seemed wrong: for starters Shiro had shut up on his own accord. Normally someone would have to calm him down before he ran a thousand miles on words alone. More tellingly however he was sulking. Shiro, Team Swansong’s big bag of fun and joy, suddenly sad and emo. Something was wrong. ”Oi.” Gren stamped his foot while Shiro was still near by and used his Semblance to stop Shiro in his track. ”Now what’s this? Our party animal who arranged this shindig, even got us some fine looking young ladies here to come with, so down he’s underground? What’s wrong mate?” Gren walked over to Shiro and put his arm around his smaller, white haired buddy, deactivating his semblance to Shiro could walked with him back to the group.

”I’m as hungry as the next fella, but ain’t no way I can stomach seeing my best bud so sad. If you want, we can talk about it over pizza and ice cream.” Lyrical waxing aside, Gren was concerned about what had gotten into Shiro. Gren was seriously worried about what was happening to his team. Maybe it was time he stopped scheming and dreaming about what he wanted from them, and instead actually went about and do something about it.

@SevenStormStyle@harinezumikouken

It was damned hard to actually be irritated with Lauren.

It always was. A lot of it was just how she was. She was so cheerful, energetic, and damned friendly that actually being mad at her just seemed like kicking a puppy. Not that she made it easy to live with her. Between the innuendos, the borderline harassment, the actual harassment, and that same boundless energy living with Lorena Negasi was a full time job on top of all his other full time jobs. If there was any moment that all of this was going to add up to a perfect storm, it would be when Bastille’s leader was exhausted from an S-Rank mission, fighting a Manticore, burning through his usual Aura supply almost three times over, and in dire need of a nap.

Despite all this, he couldn’t actually be irritated. Her excitement was contagious, and Ben was already pumped. As tired as he was, he had never felt better. Bastille, the team Goodwitch hadn’t wanted to let into the academy, the team of misfits, had completed an S-Rank mission their first time out. They’d rescued a refinery’s staff. They’d killed a Manticore. And they’d come out of it a few thousand lien richer. Each. If anyone had doubted BASL belonged, out loud or otherwise, they could eat their goddamn words.

Which was why, despite all the grumbling he made a show of, he was happy to go out. There was a lot to celebrate.

The huntsman-in-training chased an ibuprofen with a mouthful of cold coffee, one to chase away the ache of over-worked muscles the other to fight off Morpheus, and peeled off his shirt. The grimy black shirt was balled up and tossed into the hamper, then he focused on ditching his greaves and boots. Both were kicked under the bed while Ben pulled a navy blue shirt out of the bureau and pulled it over his head. He slipped into his sneakers without really looking, instead taking a moment to glance at a mirror and ruffle his hair until the mess looked at least a little intentional.

Then he grabbed his wallet (not empty!), slipped it into his back pocket, and made for the door.

“We’ll be back in a few hours,” Ben called over his shoulder, pausing long enough to look over his shoulder and give the two girls staying behind a wave. “If Lauren gets me killed, Sangue gets my share of the profits.”

Then he was out the door, heading for the courtyard. The evening air was a nice, crisp change from the stale stink of the refinery and he took a few deep breaths once he reached the foot of the statue out front. The Cap rolled his shoulders, letting a grin break out on his face while he waited.

It had been a pretty good day.

Sapphire knew that she was hurting him with her words, she could see the pain in his eyes. A deep pain that Sapphire knew had to have a story behind it. A lost friend, a lost family member, some great suffering that forced Oswald to push himself to the limit in an effort to forget and ensure that it never happened again. Sapphire felt terribly cruel for even touching on the subject. She knew if anyone where to get even close to her own concealed pain she would shut down completely, all emotions blocked except for a cold disdain. Unlike her though Oswald didn't have the option to simply get away from the one bringing his suffering to the forefront of his mind. He was too injured to leave which left him trapped between her words and his own memories.

Oswald was far worse off than Sapphire though their situations didn't at first appear much different. Sapphire had learned to harness her pain. To use it to fuel her actions, to master and control it in most situations, very rarely did she ever let it master her. Sometimes when it became too much to bear Sapphire like Oswald had to vent. The difference was she'd found a way to do so without harming herself, eventually anyways.

Her thoughts strayed back to the fiddle case shoved under her bed. The one she hadn't touched since her first day at Beacon except for music class. When she left here she would retrieve it. There was a lot of accumulated frustration from the last two weeks that the instrument would help her to deal with.

"You find another way." She said mutely. "Think of why you're here, who you're here for. Would they want to keep going down this path?" Every time Sapphire was close to where Oswald was now she thought of the look on little Demetra's face. Sadness and disappointment, but worst of all was resignation, as though Demetra had given up on her, like she knew nothing could be done for her elder sister.

"You might try finding a hobby outside of hunting." A small half smile formed on Sapphire's face. "Music always helped me."

Sapphire's scroll took this moment to beep again this time with a glaring alarm sound. At the same time though Oswald's also pinged. Which wasn't surprising, the alarm was Sapphire's tone for messages from the Beacon staff. It was likely a school update. Thinking that perhaps there was a weekend event coming up Sapphire checked her scroll.

Most of it seemed rather normal, buffet, team building challenges but at the end was something that Sapphire hadn't expected. Not this early in the school year anyways. A family visitation day. Sapphire's mind jumped immediately to a particular family member that she was not keen on seeing again but she quickly shut that down instead focusing on those that she hoped would visit.

It would be nice to see Demetra again. Though Sapphire worried how such a bustling area like Beacon might effect her. She was only ten and didn't yet have full control over her semblance. Too many people in close proximity might be more then she could handle. Then again if Demetra decided she was coming she would show up Monday regardless of what anyone said. If she she did come that meant that their grandparents on Sapphire's mother's side as Demetra's guardians would also be making an appearance. Sapphire had mixed feelings about that. They were nice people who clearly cared a lot for their daughter's children but Sapphire never had the sense that they ever really understood any of the Rode sisters. Though how could they, they were in the dark about a large portion of Demetra, Sapphire and Cecily's lives. Cecily. Sapphire had conflicting emotions about her older sister. Love, hate, regret, grief. It was always hard for the two to put the events of the past behind them. Sapphire's father Janus Rode remained in the shadows of her mind as she refused to think what would happen if he were to show up at Beacon.

All this went through her mind in a second but having no inclination to discuss it with Oswald Sapphire voiced a new topic of conversation. "Do you still have family in your home village Oswald?"
@Multi_Media_Man

Oswald was starting to calm down at this point. Not by much, but he could feel the tension slowly leaving his body. Letting it out was so cathartic, but it always left him feeling as though it was the day it had all gone to hell-or worse, the day he had realized he was the last one left. That the others weren't coming back. You can't give up. Whatever it takes. Even if that means making yourself look like a damned fool. It hardly mattered, but if it made the hard days a little less painful, he could give it a shot.

"Music...yeah, I remember. Last week, when we went into Vale. I'm, uh...I'm sorry that I brought Diamond and Emerald along. Probably not my best move..." It had been so painfully awkward once he'd realized the invitation was meant to be private- date or not.

And then their Scrolls rang. Oswald carefully stretched his arm out, bringing the communications device to his body in order to read the message he'd received. Family day, huh...and an obstacle course. And free food. Oh, a wrestling tournament, too?! Wow, it's like Ozpin specifically chose this all just to rub this in my face!

He wanted to crush the Scroll in his hand right then and there. He might have been able to, though it would hurt like an absolute bastard. Despite his best efforts to control it, the anger started worming its way through his body yet again, along with an even more unwelcome guest-self pity. This was pathetic. Getting angry at everybody else's ability to have fun. If somebody's family couldn't make it, the rest were at least healthy enough to walk under their own power. Emerald and Cobalt might still be recovering, but once they were past the imminent threat to their lives, they would just have to wait for their wounds to heal.

Oswald would be stuck in a chair for a while. It hadn't helped that part of one of his floating ribs had wound up inside his lung. The emergency surgery had been relatively quick, but a punctured lung was still a punctured lung. But Sapphire had asked him a question, about this very thing that was threatening to send him over the edge now.

"My family? Yeah, they're still around." Immediately after speaking, Oswald's shoulders sank and he looked away from Sapphire, ashamed. His voice was much sharper, much more angry than he'd meant it to be. "Sorry, I'm just...I'm just bummed over this whole thing," he said, gesturing to his Scroll. "I doubt I'll be able to enjoy any of it."

"There's just the three of us, though. My parents and me. Mom got sick when she was pregnant with me, so they never tried for another kid. Probably would've been too much stress for her body, apparently." It was a rather transparent distraction, but Oswald didn't mind. His family was one of those things that didn't drive him further into his shell, at least. "They're pretty great, actually. Weren't too happy that I chose to join the militia, especially not when they first sent us outside the walls, but after the first few times I came back in one piece, they learned to put their worry aside, I guess." A small smile managed to cross Oswald's face before he sighed peacefully. "I miss them, even though it's only been about a month and a half since I saw them."

Amy paused, shirt halfway pulled over her head, changing into something more comfortable--in the middle of replacing the relatively skimpy top she'd been wearing with a t-shirt, her cutoffs already exchanged for some athletic shorts. As far as dinner went, she was far more concerned with just unwinding in general, and she had faith in the boxer's ability to pick at least something good: after all, she'd brought the stripper a sandwich in class earlier that week and had taken care of her when the headache got too bad. Nah, she was more worried about their esteemed leader. As a matter of courtesy she'd initially tried to change and bathe when he wasn't in the dorm, but Lauren had no such restrictions, and her gleeful flaunting of any rules of privacy combined with Amy's general level of not caring about who saw her in what condition had removed that restriction fairly soon after the brawler had been assigned to their team... And generally, any time Lauren hauled him off it wouldn't end well for the slacker.

But Sangue, on the other hand...

She'd been a team member from the beginning, and in all that time Amy had hardly spoken to the quiet girl. Certainly not to the extent Lauren had, and you'd have to be as obtuse as one of Professor Fullbuster's angles to not see the affection between those two. She smoothed her feathers down as she tossed her top into the clothes pile and grabbed a light grey shirt, pulling it over her head. It was V cut, the outline of the absent section of shirt highlighted as a large, black V with two equals signs on either side, one leading to "at", the other setting the equality to "d/t".

"Sangue," she finally said, turning her head to face the other girl. "You don't need my permission if you want to take a walk. But... I'd like to go with you, if that's alright."

Don't... die... Ben...

She wanted to say that, but she doubted Lauren would get Ben killed. Her friends were reliable to believe in, not useless in any way.

...

A walk together with Amy sounded nice.

It was certainly better than walking alone.

Alone was what Sangue had grown accustomed to before she enrolled into Beacon.

"Together" was something she still needed time with. She needed time to grow used to it. The concept of walking with her friends without much in mind...

Sangue did not need to know much about people to begin liking them. She was grown in the wilderness and fought like the wild would, so pretty much anyone remotely related to society would be more civilized than her. She believed Amy to be a friend just as much as Lauren and Ben, regardless of how much they talked on a daily basis.

If anything, Sangue sometimes looked up to Amy for a different kind of confidence that resided in the Faunus. It was different from the confidence Lauren was pumped to the core with. While the Negasi had the ferocity of an unrelenting beast backing up her courage, Amy's confidence resembled that of a more calculative kind. Everyone in BASL was headstrong, they were just headstrong in different ways.

Blinking, the red-haired swordswoman stared at Amy for a moment. She then quietly nodded as glanced at the entrance of the dorm.

"You can... come," Sangue spoke softly, her voice somewhat raspy. "You... can come with me..."

And so, a young snake slithered out of the dorm with her friend.

---

A message had arrived in her Scroll, and Sangue stared at the message intently. A day with her family...?

She thought about her parents, and who they could have been. Although the thought was initially a scary one, she soon found herself to be pondering on what they could have been.

They could be serious parents who wanted her to grow up well. Or they could be surprisingly optimistic parents, considering that they only taught her how to defend herself with the training scribes they left behind. She heard from one of her drinking partners at a local bar that some fathers were kind of perverted and quite interested in women- maybe her own father was like that.

Her parents could be anyone. They could be people with personalities she'd never expect from her own bloodline.

She could imagine endlessly, just as she had long ago. They could be anything.

Anything but dead people.

They were not dead- she adamantly believed it so until she found solid evidence of it. So she found herself finding the incoming event on Monday to be quite neutral for her. The physically demanding activities that came with it, however, she was a bit concerned about.

For some reason, the image of Lauren laughing maniacally as she participated in literally every event somehow in some way came into her mind.

For now, she already had her family in the form of BASL. She loved them. They needed not to love her back, but they did. It felt undeserved for her, but she knew they would say otherwise regardless of what she said.

She walked down the halls of the dorms, and then down the academy without a clear direction.

"...Amy...?"

The redhead closed her eyes for a brief moment and opened them gently.

"Are we... a family?"

"I think... this team is all I have..."

"Bastille... could be all I have... so I... thought about asking that..."

There were no underlying intentions under her simple question. She geniunely wanted to know Amy's thoughts. She wanted to know more about how Amy viewed things.

Sangue had asked a question as she continued to walk slowly, down to the infirmary's direction. She thought about passing most of the facilities in the academy before finding a quiet place to possibly meditate in. Of course, she would need to tell Amy first if she did eventually find such a place, considering how Amy followed her for a walk rather than a reflection upon herself. Sangue's meditations worked best in the presence of the skies.

The chains under her right sleeve of her clothes jingled quietly once in a while as she walked.

@Kaithas

Vega lied down on her bed facing the ceiling. The strong kick into stomach which she still felt after her mission against Zephyr made not want to go out, even she could still go out if she wanted to…she was just being lazy.

>Sender: Vega
>Receiver: Sarina
>Body: Eh, maybe not. ＼| ￣ヘ￣|／

*Receives Message*
*Sends Message*

>Sender: Vega
>Receiver: Sarina
>Body: I will stay in this warm bed; under my blankets until I feel like I get out at least until I get hungry.

*Receives Message*
*Sends Message*

>Sender: Vega
>Receiver: Sarina
>Body: How are you feeling after the mission?

*Receives Message*
*Sends Message*

>Sender: Vega
>Receiver: Sarina
>Body: I see, feeling a bit blue huh.

*Receives Message*
*Sends Message*

>Sender: Vega
>Receiver: Sarina
>Body: Don’t think about it too much. (ﾟ⊿ﾟ)

After a few minutes of inactivity on her scroll Vega then messaged someone else.

>Sender: Vega
>Receiver: Gratia
>Body: What are you doing right now?

Amy had received the email too, walking in silence with the snake while thinking about it. And ordinarily, the idea of those she cared for coming to visit her wouldn't be that bad, after all...

The chemical plant had been one of the most depressing Amy'd ever been in for exactly that reason. The living quarters didn't have any indications of families or friends--really, anything beyond the bleck here and now of a chemical refining plant. Sure, there was a family picture here and there, but no one besides the workers seemed to ever actually live here. No misplaced toys, scent of perfume, old movie ticket stubs... Nothing. Though, to be entirely honest...

It wasn't the most depressing place she'd been to. That honor went squarely to...

She laughed, bending over and holding onto his arm. Her hair was done up, for once, and her lips were crimson instead of their normal soft pink. Simple, black dress, strapless, clung just enough to her lower body to make her waist seem slim, loose enough to leave just enough of her hips to the imagination to make everyone wonder if that was her dress, or if they really were that wide. Silver bracelet on her wrist, necklace around her neck that was short like a choker--but just long enough it slightly fell in her chest.

Honestly, she felt like she should have a degree in psychology at this point.

The bend over, so he got a good look at her cleavage, laughing like a schoolgirl--only at his better jokes--to seem like she was having an honestly good time--well, not exactly like a schoolgirl, her voice was a little too soft and pitched too low for that, but that lent it an element of authenticity and sensuality, a mature woman enthralled by his charms rather than a hussy he'd picked up on the street. Holding onto his arm for support, subliminally reminding him of her dependence. Little touches, little things that made it look to everyone watching like she wasn't an escort, that she honestly was his girl. Everyone watching... Including him, if she did her job right. Normally, he wouldn't have hired his arm candy. His parents had, or someone else who wanted him to look good. The roles were easier to play if only one person was aware they were acting.

To his credit, Arin Glint wasn't exactly the kind of person who normally hired her services. He was good-looking but older, his neatly trimmed hair flecked with grey, a pair of reading glasses on the platinum plated chain around his neck. That chain was the only marker of the wealth she knew he had--he'd paid up front and in cash without batting an eye and his suits were an expensive but non-gaudy brand, but otherwise he seemed to be a perfectly ordinary upper middle class man. Well, apart from his knowing look at her face whenever she'd lean over him or intentionally bend over.

Always her face. The star actor was aware of the stage. Still, he didn't seem to be upset at her manipulation. Rather, he seemed to be amused by it, and he'd certainly enjoyed having her on his arm at the extravagant party they'd just been to--the crimson-haired, feathered, thick Faunus stood out among the trophy wives like a wild rose amongst the petunias. Positively scandalous. If she had to take a guess, he meant every bit of the effect she had. He was obstinately modest but distinguished, sticking out happily in any crowd, deliberately poking finer sensibilities when he could.

And... Now they were heading somewhere. Probably to his home, judging by his public display of her. Awful lot of risk to only take her back to a covert location, like a hotel room.

***

Sure enough, the taxi let them off in front of a small but well-groomed house with a wrought iron fence, Arin opening the car and house door for her, escorting her inside. She turned, waiting for him to close the door, before she started what was generally the first step of the next section of the job: just embracing him, kissing him gently. Not overdoing it at first.

But she was beaten to him. A teenage blonde girl moved past her at near superhuman speed, nearly tackling Arin as he stepped into the house and kissing his cheek. She started talking up a storm immediately.

"Food's on the table, I made macaroni, I hope that's alright, it may be a little cold, you took longer than I thought--" she paused as suddenly as she started, following Arin's slight smirk over her shoulder and to Amy. For some unexplicable reason, Amy suddenly felt extremely embarrassed, moreso than any of the times she'd been found in situations far more incriminating than this one. Arin wasn't quite so disabled.

"Quina, it should be fine. I hope you set the table for 3?"

"No but I can I mean there's enough for everyone but dad who is she?"

Arin looked far happier than anyone had any right to be. "Amaranth, dear. My date for the night."

Quina--if that's what the girl's name was--blinked twice, then nodded and dashed off again. Arin's smile was as indecipherable as ever, his only readable signal a gesture for Amy to follow his daughter. It was an hour before she and Quina managed to relax enough to actually talk, but once they did... Amy still didn't know why he'd asked her there, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't appreciate it. The ride back to her apartment was like coming down from a high, drifting someplace out of the world she was used to, and... Subsequent dates went the same.

Then, after the fourth, she stood on the street outside, almost entirely confident Arin wasn't going to even try to come up to her room. And... he didn't. With a slow, deliberate air, he put his glasses on, pulling a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket and handing it to her, a wide smile on his face. "Amy, I've got a proposal. Something of a longer term contract."

She looked down, reading quickly, her eyes getting wider as she did. "Why would you give me a recommendation for Beacon?"

"Quina's going," he said, shrugging slightly. "I want someone to keep an eye on her. And I do my research. Sleep on it. You have my number."

Amy slowly walked up her stairs, looking at the letter, then around her apartment. No pictures. No toys. Too much perfume to cover up smells, too many movie and gala tickets. An unmade king bed, the forgotten glasses and jewelry of at least five different people on the bedstand. Makeup, outfits strewn around. This was the most depressing place she'd ever been in.

Amy finally opened her eyes, looking over at the quiet girl next to her, responding in a slow and quiet voice.

"I'm not the person to ask about families. I don't like the real one I have and I've probably ruined the one that took me in."

She paused for another long silence, listening to the jangle of Sangue's chains and thinking back over the past few weeks with the band of misfits first known as BAST, then BASL, their idiosyncracies never preventing them from getting along or success, Lauren gluing them together, Ben's lazy leadership keeping things in the right direction... Sangue's quiet strength and kindness endearing her to them all.

Where did she fit...?

"But, Sangue..." she stated, taking a deep breath. "I'd say we are one. At least... What one is supposed to be like."

Sangue knew nothing of her family. Amy knew her family, though it was clear that it was not the most pleasant of families.

Reality made it so that not everyone was happy from the first moment they could remember clearly in their adulthood.

For Sangue, obliviousness contributed to how much of a blank sheet she was when it came to emotions and anything related to society. Whether it be the tinge of corruption in some sides of society or the simpler and more straightforward side of life, she had less experience in. Amy would surely have a reason for not liking her family, and the thought of it resonated within the snake's mind.

Sangue was born human. She acted with a sentience more limited than both humans and Faunus, despite sharing similar blood to them. She did not understand- let alone know- much about Amy's position in society, but none of it mattered to one who grew in a world where society did not exist in the first place.

What mattered was reason. Reason, and condition. Condition, and the person.

She did not know too much on what good she could be for Amy. Sangue lacked much of the knowledge one would need in a world where deception could linger under the eye of the public. She was naive and trusting behind the monstrous exterior of a natural-born predator.

Amy brought reality into the spotlight quite well, Sangue thought.

Silence fell as Sangue glanced at the infirmary, and then at the path she walked in. The chains of her claw rattled quietly, as if to signify wherever the huntress went.

"I see," she whispered.

As they walked, Sangue took a small breath. The excitement from the mission she had gone to had quieted down, but she still wanted to make sure to retain her usual composure the day after. Immediate preparation for returning to a proper mental stature was key for someone who generally moved and acted slowly outside of battle.

While moving, an idea came to the snake's mind. Turning directly to Amy's direction, she slowly reached out before putting her only hand on the Faunus' shoulder.

"..."

...

...

...

"...This... is how you... assure people... to make them happy. Right...?"

...

...

"...I'm sorry. I'll... try this again... at a better time..."

Taking her hand off of Amy's shoulder, Sangue scratched the back of her head. She had tried to be more casual with her friend but only ended up looking like a 4-dimensional doofus. The timing felt extremely off, even for the swordswoman, so she decided to try again at a later time.

Perhaps there was a more appropriate time she could put her hand on someone's shoulder reassuringly. That would be great, considering how she saw some people do it.

Amy's feathery hair clicked something in Sangue's head. Soon, she ended up taking off the pin that held her ponytail and let her hair flow freely. She rarely did so outside of her dormitory, but for now... she was having a moment of peace. A bit of vulnerability wouldn't hurt in exchange for comfort, hopefully.

"Perhaps I... should meditate... outside... some time soon..." Sangue muttered as she stared at a flight of stairs. She did not know if Amy meditated like she did, but the idea of meditating with her whole team sounded interesting.

At the moment, Sangue's train of thoughts were not filled with too much to express to her friend. But she did not need much to talk about to appreciate Amy for walking together with her. Her presence alone was enough to be appreciative about.

@Silvan Haven@Write@HereComesTheSnow@Ayazi



"Then make a decision, Schwarz," was Gratia's flat reply. The Mistralese Huntress' tone betrayed no emotion, nor did her impassive expression. There was nothing that she could convey in the first place; although the tickets were free, she possessed no great interest in acquiring them for her own gain. However, there was a need to observe Nuit and ensure that the recently-healed Faunus did not attempt anything fucking retarded; her compatriot's emotional state was likely still erratic in some way after the imprisonment. "Otherwise, Nuit will force her own choices onto you."

Her phone chirped. That was the irritatingly cheerful alert she had assigned to any messages from Vega, one she had decided was befitting of her leader's boundless annoying energy. The Mistralese girl rapidly removed the device from her pocket, dark eyes glancing down at the glowing screen at the text. It was a bother, but she would have to formulate a reply to the other huntress' shallow question.

>Standing in the infirmary.
>Get the fuck out of bed.

Her fingers danced rapidly across the keys, before immediately hitting send.

Abel Fulgurate

Practically the instant the airship's hatch door opened, folding down to become a short stairway for passengers, Abel was ready to board. A very rare sort of energy had overtaken him, awoken somehow despite the morning's grueling mission and the afternoon's strenuous exercise. All the same, he did not want to seem unduly enthused, so he stood by while the others made their way over, rather like a somebody taking credit for opening an automatic door. While waiting he heard the familiar buzz of a new text alert from his scroll, and dutifully the guardian removed the device from his pocket to check what he'd received.

Surprisingly, the message originated from the school itself, as opposed to a teammate as he initially expected. He scanned the lines, furrowing his brow slightly as he read about the various happenings of the upcoming Monday. Funnily enough, he hadn't even known that Monday was supposed to be a day off. The alternative didn't exactly thrill him, however. Abel felt like competing in a school-organized race about as much as he felt like a garden gnome with gonorrhea—which was to say, not at all. His first thoughts pertaining to the 'Stone Cold Showdown' were dismissive, but before he even got to second-guessing himself, Abel found his opinions changing. The more he ruminated on it, the more he imagined that a wrestling event would be just his thing. In the ring, size mattered, and that at least Abel had in spades. You know what? Abel asked himself, I'm gonna do it. About time I did something in my free time other than work out and browse the web. The only problem he could think of was large, green, and walking right toward him along with Shiro. No doubt Gren's gonna be all over this. I hope we don't get matched against one another. Hey, shouldn't it be illegal for him to compete anyway, with all those cybernetic enhancements? The question occupied Abel so much that he nearly missed the crushing sadness wafting from his tigeresque teammate like ripeness from roadkill. All thoughts of grappling, costumes, and pay-per-view vanished from the guardian's mind the instant his eyes landed on Shiro's face. Somehow, in less than thirty seconds, the most chipper and upbeat individual Abel could think of had turned miserable. He blanched, at a total loss for what to do. Luckily, Gren seemed to be on the case. Thanking his lucky stars that he had someone who could shoulder that responsibility around, Abel waiting for his companions to pass by and board the airship. Once the ladies of team KESS followed suit, Abel brought up the rear, his tentative smile more tentative than ever before.

Mere minutes later, the airship touched down about two hundred feet away and six hundred feet lower than the place from which it departed. The warm orange horizon, behind which the sun had just begun to dip, framed the city of Vale beautifully. As luck would have it, the walk to the pizzeria was not long, but the seven students of Beacon walked it in near-silence.

Abel didn't mind the general quiet. Everyone needed some time alone with their thoughts. Inside the pizza joint, Abel expected that the more intimate atmosphere would stir up real conversation among them. In the course of the walk there, he'd finished reading the school's notification message, and in doing so drummed up memories of his parents. Had it really been only two weeks since he'd seen them? It felt so much longer. The notion of his folks visiting the school brought a nigh imperceptible but remarkably genuine grin to his face. Of all the topics that might emerge over a platter of oven-fresh 'za, though, Abel didn't think that anyone's parents would be one of them. In fact, something in his gut told him that very subject might be what stole Shiro's fire only minutes prior. The thought worried Abel—why hadn't Shiro let his friends know? Then again, parental issues were definitely the kind of thing that an average person might keep bottled up. And...as much as he hated to think about it, he and Shiro weren't really friends, not in the sense that he would have liked to be. The truth stung him. But what can I do? 'How to reach someone's soul' isn't something you find in a book...

These thoughts and more swirled around in the guardian's noggin as he, along with Krysanthe, Yue, Sepia, Skyra, Shiro, and Gren, stepped into the pizza place.

Kuhaku Shiro - Pizzeria

Shiro was still in a rather downtrodden mood, gloomy and expression blank. None of the usual light that existed within his normally gleaming golden eyes was present. Bandaged hands stuffed into his pockets, ears droopy, the tiger-boy looked up and around at the new pizzeria. Never having been here, he would've been excited at the premise of being somewhere new. Normally, he would feel adventurous and wander all about to take in the 'sights', though no one else could typically find anything 'special' about the place lacking the child-like spirit of exploration like Shiro has. No, instead Shiro found the nearest unoccupied booth and lazily leafed through the menu options for food. Waiting until whomever decided to join him sat down before he placed his order. Disinterest and boredom oozed from him, his cheerful-demeanor absent as he continued to sulk over whatever still bothered him.

Krysthane noted Abel looking at her from the corner of her eye and turned a smidgen red. Was it so weird to see her giving orders? At least he'd accepted her invitation, it'd be kinda awkward if he hadn't. Gren also suddenly appeared, making that 3/4 for Swansong. Apparantly he was all up for partying as well. Well the more the merrier after all! Sepia seemed to want Krysthane to make the decision of carrying on to her. Gren explained his understanding of aura to her then went off after Shiro, who seemed oddly quiet, even for Krysthane's brief time spent near him. The airship arrived and everyone made their way over and they were off. On the ride over Krysthane got a small beep from her scroll and looked at the message.

Woah, some sort of awesome event for Monday? Free food, racing through an obstacle course, a wrestling tournament? That could be fun. Adopting a persona, getting into the ring and throwing down. And parents got to come! Oh Krysthane had mixed feelings about that. On one hand it would be nice to see her parents again. But she didn't want to tell them that she'd managed to lose a teammate during her second mission! And they would defiantly ask how her missions would go. Bah, she would worry about it after tonight. Speaking of which during her internal musings she'd managed to autopilot all the way to the pizza shop. Huh. "Well the first thing to do is get pizza! I'll pay for cheese and if you want toppings you can chip in for it." Krysthane led, or attempted to, lead the group to a group of tables that would seat them and began getting out the lein for the purchase.

"H-U-N-T-I-N-G!"

From Ben's right, a dark shape - though one draped in blinding white from the navel up - pounced at Ben, sliding into him and locking one arm tightly around her team captain's waist. Lauren Negasi cast her head back and pushed her hair with the fingers of her free hand, wild grin slapped onto her face. Her head slanted slightly to wink at her eternally-flummoxed best friend.

"First comes missions, then comes riches! Let's make that money and fuck these bitches~!" Lauren's arm tightened around Ben, and her grin widened as it closed around a small piece of Ben's ear. "Hey, there, prettyboy! I was worried you'd try to hide from me!"

@Krayzikk

I looked over at Luke. It was time to make the final move, the coup de grace, finish him.

“Luke it’s just that, I can’t think of another person who would be able to cover for you on this cruise so quickly. And I’d hate for you to waste these tickets…”

“So maybe what we’d have to do is… Go with you.” The hook was set, the bait was ready. All Luke had to do was take it. With Gratia and Beryl on board – it was the timeframe that presented the most opportunity. Within this all too specific time frame, no one would be ready to partake in a cruise. No one, but this girl. No one would want to have to rush to pack and get down to the offshore in such a hurry.

Truly,

It would be a hassle. A hassle that I was all too ready to deal with.

“I think I speak for Gratia and Beryl when I say that… We would really appreciate this opportunity to relax, but it is entirely your choice Luke.”

"Bring whomever you so choose," Vivianne Laurent said flatly, already turning on one boot heel to leave the assembled group. "I couldn't care less who goes, so long as you prove less wasteful than you look. I expect you to thank Pressman in person on Monday. I'm her team leader - not her voicemail."

Vivianne began to stride down the hallway, as cold and confident as she'd been when she arrived...before stopping in mid-step and turning her right head, so that her chin almost touched her shoulder. She didn't look the rest of the way. Even she looked faintly surprised that she wasn't fleeing the scene as brusquely as she intended.

"Oh, by the way," she started before grimacing. "Your teammate. The one you call the cheese boy. He's to remain here for the weekend. It's Pressman's one condition. Good day."

The Mistralian Huntress turned her face forward and began to walk again, pace increasing just a hair before she rounded a corner and disappeared from view.

"Then give me a second to think!" I, in growing exasperation, exclaimed. I get it, you all wanna come along! Who wouldn't?!

...Well, apparently Team Vivacious, but that was different. They could just go out onto the water whenever they pleased, for us it was a big deal!

The ticket switched hands, as my right raised itself to subconsciously scratch my head as I tried to work my way around it all in my head, heedless of countless past warnings against so from, in no particular order, parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and little sisters.

Four tickets for a luxury cruise.

I needed four free people, myself included, and one of them couldn't be a... cheese boy.

...

Napoli.

One of them couldn't be Napoli.

Three free people other myself, who were both ready and willing to board a cruise at 8:00PM.

"Wait."

PM?

PM?

PM?!

That was just a few hours from now! I could have sworn it said "AM" just a second ago! Forget asking other people in the middle of plans or recuperation, I'd barely have time myself to get ready!

Once you factored in travel time, I basically needed to hand them out now!

My eyes, which I could feel were wide, flicked between the three girls looking expectantly at me now that Vivianne Laurent had taken her leave.

"...I think," I began shakily, presenting them a ticket held at the very edge of each side, so that nothing would be obscured, "that my decision might have been made for me at this point."

Who the hell delivers tickets only hours in advance?

There's gotta be something in the water in Mistral.

Something that drives a girl crazy.

I'm sure of it.

"How quickly can you guys pack?"