@Plank Sinatra@Write

Gratia Mindaro - Outside Café

Gratia wordlessly followed Nuit out of the café, only shooting a short glance at Piper as she left, retracing the steps she had taken when she had arrived mere minutes earlier. She was irritated; an opportunity to spend time with her family, even with the presence of her teammates, had now been lost thanks to Nuit's irksome, irresponsible decisions. She was not entirely informed of what had occurred in that office, but given the utter despondency that she had seen on the exiting wage-slave's face, and Piper's growing dread, it was clear that there was bullshit she needed to cut through.

Whoop-de-fucking-doo

The cardigan-wearing teenager stepped out of the doors, spring sunlight breaking upon her pale, stoic face. She ignored it, ghosting past any of the unwashed masses that were strolling between her and Nuit. Soon enough, they had made it behind the café, a small, urban wasteland devoid of anything but a few trash cans. Nobody else. Good.

"What the fuck did you do," asked the ponytailed Mistralese girl flatly, onyx eyes locking onto Nuit's with a flat coldness.

---

Severa Mindaro - Café

Severa smiled warmly at Jericho's approach. "You did?" she said, a note of surprise and gratitude entering her voice. "It wasn't necessary, Jericho. You could have spent it on yourself!"

Although, she was already growing used to the Atlesian boy, and knew that her words would fall flat on him.

"Gratia decided on a mocha with five sugars," added the Mindaro matriarch, choosing to answer. "And, I hope this isn't too much to ask, but could I just have a latte?"

---

@Ryonara@Sho Minazuki@HereComesTheSnow@FlitterFaux@Abillioncats@Onarax

Shuai Taidan - Food Cart

"Not yet, but please focus on enjoying your meal," said Taidan with a grin, his persona breaking once again. "Just pay us once you finish Var's awesome cooking, yeah~?"

He glanced up from where Yue was, eyes immediately locking onto the short, approaching form of a violet-haired woman.

"Oh, you're here too, teach?" he called over happily in greeting. "Want some fish?"

Said woman stopped for a moment, her expression shifting from annoyance to blankness to an uneasy smile, even as her eyes seemed to suggested that she was thinking heavily about something in that brain.

"I wanted to get my hoodie back from this ... brat," said Teàrlag Cirsium with a hint of grumpiness, pointing towards Yue. "But ... I'll just have some salmon sushi too."

Taidan grinned.

"Varius!" he shouted back to the stand. "Salmon sushi!"

@Crimmy @HereComesTheSnow



Her first reaction to Luke volunteering to personally escort her back was to politely decline the offer, and she began to raise her hands to do just that. That was when she noticed something about one of his friends she hadn't before, and the protest died, momentarily forgotten, in her throat. The one called Jericho, if she had that right, had enormous handguns strapped to his chest. He was a Hunter, he had be. Who else but a Hunter would carry weapons like that? Realizing this she took a much closer look at the others. She noted that no one else seemed to be carrying that kind of firepower, but they were clearly very fit and looked to be about the age she might expect a Hunter in training to be. How many of Luke's group were Hunters, and for that matter was he himself one? He didn't strike her as the warrior type, not like Jericho of the lion faunus hanging back a bit from the others, but then she was making a lot of assumptions on appearances alone. Regardless she would just have to ask him when she had the chance. Besides the obvious benefits of making some friends (hopefully) perhaps having a friend or two that was already a student at Beacon or a fully fledged Hunter would help her situation. Not many of the people she had met from the school so far seemed too fond of the possibility of her enrollment, considering her utter lack of prior training. But I know Grimm and I know how to kill them without a weapon, that has to count for something. Hopefully my... semblance will not be the deciding factor.

The pair of girls Luke had addressed suddenly broke their huddle, startling Skye from her thoughts, and in the next moment they were wishing the two a hasty journey. Oh, I just missed my chance to speak up, didn't I? She put her hands down at her sides and offered what she guessed was a proper parting bow to the others, though she had not spoken directly to anyone but Luke. It was likely going to be a largely unnoticed gesture which was fine. As long as I get back in the habit of civilized behavior. Wait, is bowing even a thing here in Vale? I haven't seen anyone bowing to each other; was that just something we did in our village? She decided to just follow Luke for now. With any luck he would be willing to suffer her ignorance. Then again she felt bad enough inconveniencing him like this, maybe she should just keep quiet. Right, and make the walk awkward... In the next moment Luke asked her which hospital she had come from and she realized they had a problem. She had no idea there was more than one hospital and it had never occurred to her to get the name of the place she had come from.

Skye decided to stop Luke and just let him know she was a lost cause before he wasted any more time on her behalf. She paused, however, when she saw the look on his face. Admittedly she was not the best at reading people but there was... something going on in his head, though she didn't have the faintest idea what that could be or what had triggered it. Thinking back she remembered turning to him, he was holding the door for two newcomers to the cafe. He and the pretty girl that had just walked by her had exchanged greetings. His eyes were following the two, no just the girl, she realized. Oh, maybe he... and she? No, that's a pretty big jump, Skye. Sure, she's very pretty but that was a very casual greeting. Probably just another frie- is his hair twitching?! Skye truly found herself confused now. She hadn't imagined it like she first assumed, his hair really was moving on its own. Though just as abruptly as the strands had started jerking this way and that they seemed to settle down as well. What... just happened?

The strange moment passed as the both of them realized they were just standing there, he holding the cafe door, she eyes glued to the top of his head. Momentarily on autopilot Skye nodded agreement to Luke's suggestion they get going, and stepped outside. "Uh, no don't apologize, you-you're the one helping me. Oh, oh no, I forgot! I mean I forgot to tell you." She stopped and spun around to face him. "I, uh... I don't know the name. The hospital name. I didn't even know there was more than one. I'm so sorry, I've just been wasting your time. Time you could be spending with your friends or-" She stopped herself before she said 'that girl'. Didn't I just conclude that the two were likely just friends? She shook her head. What a disaster. "Look, Luke, why don't you just point me in the direction of someplace... quieter? The hospital or academy have ways of finding me if they need to, right? I never meant to drag you away from your friends in the first place..." She shrugged helplessly. Might as well cut my losses and spare this poor guy at this point.

As cranky and fed up as he no doubt was with the events that had befallen the unfortunate day shift of this cafe one by one, Jericho had it in him to roll his eyes good-naturedly at Severa Mindaro's polite protests - and at her even more cautious order. The woman was possibly the most gentle soul Jericho had ever met outside of his own family, and even then he'd seen his twin have some pretty rough days. Then again, who knew what Severa Mindaro was like when properly roused to anger...

Better to never know.

"Ms. Severa," Jericho said warmly, already fixing his hair into a makeshift ponytail, "making you a latte sounds like the least amount of trouble I've had in days. Now, if you would both be so good as to witness me..."

• Four green teas, two iced
• Two lattes
• Mocha, five sugars (no garlic, no priest's ashes, no puns)
• Six cookies (three choc. three oat.)
• Cappuccino (personal use, prepare last)

Rich, you towel-whipping despot, don't even try and tell me that I've let my skills atrophy when I see you this summer.

He was a boy who grew up wanting to spend his whole life killing, bettering the lives of his friends through his own sins.

Now that same boy snapped into action, bettering the lives of his friends through something as simple as making them their promised drinks.

The poor barista, whose name Jericho hadn't even gotten before Bianca's business acumen had driven her out, had already started preparing the green tea. That was as simple as waiting for the fresh batch to finish preparing and then portioning it out. She hadn't gotten started on Geni's juice yet, so Jer decided to start on that, as it was the only drink that wouldn't be harmed by cooling down somewhat.

Apple Berry, Passion Fruit, Lemons and Citrus, Sweet Berry...

Shit, Sweet Berry would go nicely with some mint, actually. So would Lemon and Citrus, but the last thing anyone needed this morning was sour, and if he was wrong, he always had Vega's tea to fall back on. Mint? Mint? There had to be mint around, it was springtime in Vale for Christ's sake.

Jericho darted into the back room behind the counter in search of a mint plant and found what he was looking for obscured behind some ingredients. He didn't entirely trust anything that was touching some of the bottles of syrups and milk back here, so he cut three stems from the top of the plant to encourage regrowth later on. One stalk was balanced deftly between his fingertips; Jer started chewing on the other for concentration. Slipping back out front, Jericho filled the largest cup he could find - he hadn't specified sizes in his original order, but to hell with it, he had paid for everything so far and everyone here deserved twenty ounces for surviving each other every day - with ice and filled it about three-quarters full with the purplish fruit juice he had chosen. He stopped there to make sure he had time to stir; God only knew how much flavor had floated to the bottom and how much was just water. When he was properly satisfied with the drink, he filled the rest of the cup, gave it a cursory second mix, and then garnished with the two remaining stems of mint leaves.

One down.

The tea was ready!

Jericho hastily filled another two glasses with ice and made his way over to the tea - ingredients lemongrass, what? Lemon verbena? Could that hurt vampires? Note for later - in time to start pouring. Two of the glasses - more like mugs, but they still fit - were placed in a brown cardboard to-go container, along with Geni's juice and another cup of equal size for Vega to pour any tea she felt like sharing into. The Schwarz sister's teas were kept separate.

Five down.

Wait, not yet!

Jericho hustled over to the other side of the counter to the glass container where the cookies were kept heated, chocolate chips gooey and glistening as he withdrew two, then another, carefully with tongs and wrapped them up in a bag to preserve said the melty warmth of the treats. Three oatmeal raisin cookies soon followed in another bag.

Now five are down.

"Open your mouth, say 'aaah,'" Jericho said brusquely to April.

"Blaaaaaaaaah!"

She stuck her tongue out for emphasis. Cheeky little thing.

Jericho rolled his eyes and stuffed both waiting bags into her mouth. No doubt Luke would thank him for it just as soon as the sisters would.

"Beryl Harken! Order up!" he called out. "I'll forgive any and all of your tail mischief if you carry these back to Dawn and your teammates. Leave the other iced one, it's hers. Now. Coffees, coffees coffees coffees..."

Aha, he knew what to do here. Jericho turned his back to the three young women (wink) gathered around the counter to start on the other half of the order. After a brief span of time - and some nonsensical High Atlesian muttered under the tired knight's breath to himself - Jericho turned around carrying three hot cups, wrapped in zarfs, between his hands. He kissed his fingertips and planted the mocking gesture onto one cup, and slid the other two forward for Severa.

"For the happy couple, two matching lattes," said the Young Devil. "And for the unhappy daughters, two mochas. Galla!"

He had titled his head up and called out to the girl still loitering by the doorway expressionlessly.

"I don't know what you take in yours, you can add whatever you'd like," he explained, sliding forward her coffee beside the cup he had blessed. "And...a cappuccino for the kitchen wench."

That could wait. He wasn't done with the mint he was chewing yet, and besides, he didn't want to touch any more coffee for a couple minutes.

Still, that was pretty cool operating in the midst of an impossible situation. If he'd known that in eight hours he'd be paying for drinks, preparing those drinks, and all because of Bianca Nuit's hyper-possessive love for him, he would've never boarded the plane beside the Mindaros.

He thought.

In all honesty, he was pretty proud of the job he'd done. It was an okay feeling.

There'll be no towel whips for this girl.

@Lucius Cypher @Crimmy @Ryonara @Abillioncats @Sho Minazuki @HereComesTheSnow @Onarax



"Emerald Felicia? That is a pretty pretty name. And you're a huntress in training?! Me too! Or I will be. Tommorrow. I'm here a day early. Doesn't matter.
We need eachothers numbers! Gonna be huntresses togetheeerr~" A slick compact mobile device appeared in her hand seemingly from nowhere, considering her outfit. She immediately started tapping away at its screen but paused to look Emerald in the eyes when she picked up on what the other girl was saying. Her expression was abruptly subdued and she looked as if she had been caught off guard, despite her clear enthusiasm for becoming best friends with Emerald. As the cat was hit with a double dose of distractions Anna looked pensive for a few seconds, completely silent and motionless for once.

Soul sisters? Sisters. She means that, too, I'm almost certain.. yes, she's impulsive like I am but she seems so honest, too. I'm not just seeing what I want to see, am I? She could just be a better actor than I am, unlikely as that is... She stole a glance at Emerald, studying her face carefully. No way. If there's a speck of guile in that girl may I be struck by lightning. But... Does she know what she's saying? Friends at first sight is one thing but sisters, even just in name, that's a big thing. Even for, no, especially for me. I really ought to explain me to her, and how the last person who was that close- No! NonononoNO! You keep that part to yourself, miss Valentine! Neither the time nor place for that. Just decide what you want. Really, though, I've already decided, huh?

Anna nodded decisively to herself and stepped up to Emerald with a determined look on her face. She took Emerald's hands in her own and looked directly into her eyes. "Emmie, I've never had a sister, tons of friends, yeah, but no sister, no brother, not even cousins or hot step-siblings- uh, forget that last bit. I've got a brain to mouth filter problem. Sorry, not the point. The point is this soul sister thing is serious business for me. My usual impulsiveness be damned but I just spent like five whole seconds on a monologue in my head, or whatever you call that, so you can be sure I want this. Just.. understand it's kind of a big deal for me. But if you're serious about this sister thing... then this is going to be AWESOME!!!" Anna already half decided she knew Emerald wasn't just saying empty words and was about to make her day, no, week, no, year, nono, eternity, in the next moment or two. Her face flipped from serious to hopeful and excited in the blink of an eye.

Then she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye and her head snapped in that direction so fast it was a wonder she didn't break her own neck. Her jaw dropped. "Is that a luchadora!? You guys have luchadoras here? That is so cool! I wonder what her secret identity is? Do you think she'd tell me if I asked? Probably not, huh? Hiiiii~" Anna waved excitedly at the newcomer and just for good measure at the girl following said luchadora, even though that one seemed to be in a mood and just wanted her hoodie back. Hm, they totally know eachother, maybe she can tell me the luchadora's true identity? Naaa, I'm kinda digging the whole maiden of mystery thing here, to be honest. Besides, I'm having a serious chat with my soul-sister-to-be, I should focus on one thing at a-

"Tuna time!!"

...haha. That didn't last long, did it? Maybe I should be on meds or something. She met the super cute waiter's gaze and returned his brilliant smile with one of her own. "Thaank yooouuu~!" Really I can't decide who I'm into more, our painfully cute prettyboy waiter here, the sharp looking silver devil with the knives back there, or the toned, tanned, and ruggedly handsome duo. How can I even get all their numbers? Anna shook her head, trying to clear it and force herself to focus. She turned her back to the boys and faced Emerald, intending to block out all the distractions and get back to the important matter of sisterhood.

She spun around, apology already forming on her lips for Emerald. That apology morphed into a shriek as she found herself inches from an enormous something with huge teeth. Reflexively she dodged backward, banging into the foodstand behind her. It took her a moment but she managed to register that the creature was just another student, and she had just caused a bit of a scene. Jeez, where did this guy even come from? How did I not notice someone that big!? Standing up straight again Anna looked at the giant faunus sheepishly. "Haha ha, crap, I- I'm sorry. You just totally startled me, I thought you were a monster-" Anna found herself choking on her own words mid sentence. Did I really just say that? Thaaat sounded really bad. Recover, recover! Use your wits, Valentine!

She shrugged helplessly and made a noise more akin to a squeak than an actual word.

...Nice save....

"I see." The Negasi patriarch's face was inscrutable, even as he turned back to his daughter. "I bet you're enjoying that big mouth of hers, too."

Behind Lauren's deliberately bemused face, Ben and Amy both locked up.

"Whatcha talkin' about, Pops?" the scrapper asked innocently. "My mouth hasn't been up to anything in a while--"

"Right." In Pops' right hand, as if by sleight of hand, a wad of lien appeared; he waved it in front of his only daughter, bills making flapping and crinkling noises as they moved. "So I guess you were just grinding out financial aid forms for the past few weeks to make over ten thousand lien. Knowing how you get about honor among thieves, I'm willing to bet that if I had looked under the other beds in this dorm I'd find some more of your stashes too, right? How much money's here, Lorena?"

Lauren's face was a lesson in dawning comprehension. Then she laughed, clearly relieved.

"Shit, Pops, that was for a mission! We went to a brewery near the Atlesian border Friday! It was awesome as fuck! I killed the most Grimm out of anyone, and engineered our escape by using all the lessons you taught me about electricity to get an elevator working again, and then I managed to bring one of the bombed-out trucks back to life and smuggle out, like, hundreds of thousands of bucks worth of chemicals and shit! I got a finder's fee for it, and ooh, Cap killed a Manticore! It was--"

"A Manticore?" Costa Negasi sounded slightly concerned as she turned to Ben. "They knew there would be a Manticore there?"

"--no no no, it was fucking sick! Cap jumped out of a helicopter and his dildo-guns became a giant sword, and then he cut its head off and skull fucked it back to hell from whence it came untilwegotbacktoValewhichiswherewe--mmrrrrrrrrrphle"

"Right. A mission. I'll believe that." Pops Negasi drew his hand away from her face for a second, ending her attempts to continue the story while muffled, before tossing Lauren's reward money her way and resting both hands on his hips. "So they gave you the finder's fee..."

"Yup! Cap says I should invest it in tech stocks, or making a tofu and kale bar for white people, or for--"

"And I'm guessing that they also gave you this handmade Zephyr handbag," her father continued. "And the Palladium card under the alias... Estellise Sidos Heurassin Nuit? Bit long-winded, Lauren."

It was a long name, and even though Lauren had been expecting it, she'd lost a shade of color with every word.

"I, uh...heh...well, they reward good..."

"If you lie to me, I will throw both of these out the window, child."

...

Lauren pouted softly and crossed her arms defensively. A noise of upset admonition was welling up in her throat.

"You can't!" she protested. "I earned them! In a bet! I talked the girl out of them in under ten minutes! Cap said!"

"Cap said." Negasi's eyes found Ben's sheepish-looking face and then went back to Lauren. "What did you tell her?"

...

"That...it was clearly a fake from Kuchinashi, and you could tell because of the way that they did the stitching," Lauren said reluctantly, pointing to the bag. "I said that they only did it diagonally like this in Kuchinashi factories."

It was her father's turn to fall silent - before he burst out into a loud, booming laugh, occasionally cracking with incredulous glee. Even Lauren's mother, through her look of disapproval, was clearly holding in an amused smile. Lauren brightened up at the reaction, having clearly expected reprimand - or even confiscation. It would be just like her dad to steal something that she'd earned and then sell it for his own profit.

"Okay, okay, that is a worthy boost," her father conceded, nudging at Lauren's stash underneath the bed with his boot.
"She bought that? Why the hell would anyone buy that?"

"Because Lauren Negasi, Vale Style Co. morally murky sales representative, said so!"

Lauren produced her falsified business card with all the gusto of a police officer pulling his badge. It almost sent her father into tears.

"Yeeeeeup!" Lauren was clearly pleased with herself. "I made enough money and swag this weekend to even build myself a new weapon, better than that shitty-ass fucking axe that Slo boosted from a primary school for me. Have I shown you this fucking thing? Where the hell is it, hang on..."

Lauren bent over to crawl underneath the bed and find her weapon, lower half jutting out from the bed at a dangerous angle. Ben's tight jeans only compounded the issue.

Her father's stare found those of the poor, brave Redwood boy, daring him to break eye contact.

@FlitterFaux

Luke Schwarz

"Relax," I started, figuring it'd be best if I addressed her overwhelmingly apparent guilt first out of everything. "It's what we do as huntsmen. Helping people who need it— That's the whole reason I decided to attend this school."

The whole reason, I said, with a perfectly straight face.

It was a comforting lie. The reality, though, would have been a lot harder to worm into this conversation. In any case, however, while the motivations were false, the intentions weren't— Whatever reasoning I made up for it, I couldn't just sit here and let this person stay lost forever.

I decided to play it all off with a pithy joke. No need to start getting down and make this poor lady think she was really getting to me with this...

"Besides," I continued, feeling my lips part into a wry smirk. "Compared to throwing my life on the line every Friday, taking a tour through Vale isn't so bad."

Manticores never got in here, after all, and I wasn't liable to act as an extension cord.

...Wow.

What an exemplary sentence to call part of my life...

"They'll be fine without me in there, too— Probably. My sisters can be pretty loud and rowdy, but most everyone else is a patient sort. I'm sure they won't mind me popping out."

Knowing them, those two have probably already stolen whatever show I was setting up, anyways. And that was fine, really. Today was, despite my griping along the way, going well— I had started to mend a major bridge that was close to burning with April. As for Dawn, she was more of an enigma, but we hadn't gotten on eachother's nerves yet...

Huh. How ironic.

Leave the nest and suddenly things start looking up with the flock.

I just hoped they didn't end up planting any weird ideas about me in everyones' heads— I may have made a fairly good first impression, or at least I hoped as much, but those two and their gift of gab were nothing to sneeze at. Any mischief from them was probably a fool's errand for me to try and stop...

Please, April-sama, Dawn-sama, no old embarrassing or incriminating tales today! I'd die of shame if they heard about the "wishing for reincarnation as a tree" line! That phase and that phrase are dead and buried and gone!

It had been a day with a good outlook— but I doubted I'd ever stop firing on all cylinders.

Still, a teasing relationship was better than a punching one...

And if I had complaints about it, I needed to put them on hold and worry about the person right in front of me— Or, in this case, just behind me. Whatever damage two teenaged girl's could do to a guy's reputation was second banana to someone needing to get back to the hospital.

"Okay, so you never caught the name— Do you remember any landmarks close by?"

If she was good at reading the land like she mentioned earlier, surely there was something we could work off of—even in a crowded metroplex like this, full of bright colors and loud noises, there had to be at least one thing that stood out in the surroundings, right?

Even in a place so crowded.

There had to be. I'd pull up the online map with every hospital as a landmark just in case there wasn't, but surely there had to be.

@Plank Sinatra @Kaithas @NarayanK

Certain things you learn when you live in a Grimm-infested forest. Lessons that are applicable in all sorts of situations, like how to evade a Grimm, basic survival tips, rudimentary combat training, that sort of shit. But the big one is that if you find yourself confronted by a Grimm, you don't run blind. If you want to live, you don't let it out of your sight. You lock eyes, you watch it, you try and get away, and you do not show fear. Grimm will always want to kill you, but confidence will trip the average Grimm up. Even if just a second.

It was preeeeetty much the same idea here, just instead of a Grimm it was someone scarier.

"The school didn't know there was a Manticore. Goodwitch was surprised, for sure. Someone fucked up, given that the mission was ranked S, but they weren't stupid. We had Jumpercable and a senior team backing us up, plus Goodwitch." Ben stared back like a gauntlet had been thrown, still giving that friendly smile. Show no fear. Mention of weapons made him think of his own, the shield on his back, so he shrugged off Joyous Guard and rested it against the wall without breaking eye contact. The shield made a hefty thunk the moment it left his hand, making him suddenly glad he hadn't set it on a chair. "And Lauren exaggerates. A little. Head didn't come all the way off."

Here, his grin turned a little sheepish.

"Purse is kinda my fault. I told her I didn't think she could do it. I stand really, really corrected." The downright cartoonish rummaging sounds coming from somewhere to his right, where he could not (should not [would not]) look continued, and given the look he was still getting from her Dad, talking was still a lot better than silence. "We were celebrating the mission. It went really well, lot of that's thanks to her. And poor Luke, but I don't think you've met Luke."

"Poor guy had a real shock while we were out there."

“Well in my-“

No come on girl, you know her you you’re talking to here. This is Gratia. Shoot up a Mafioso’s headquarters to get you back Gratia. Oh man.

“Something I shouldn’t have done.” I said looking down like a child who had been caught stealing. Gratia had this way of looking at someone. Whether she cared for them or not, that could make them confess all their sins faster than Jericho could get them out of you with any number of office supplies.

“And it was for a dumb reason.” I continued, knowing that the jig was up. But Hayley had been smiled at by Jericho! That was so unfair. The only time I had seen smile was…

I let out a long sigh.

“I have to give her the store and not make her move out to the wastes, huh?” I said glancing at Gratia’s statuesque face that refused to blink, breathe, react, or portray emotion. Yeah I did have to go give her the store to make up for it.

It was just that I got so angry. The only other time he had gotten so much as a grin was back on the cruise.

---

I studied the super spy in my bathroom. He leaned backwardss against the sink, stitching a stab wound on his right abdomen while I sat on the toilet seat. My handbag in my hand and my beautiful evening dress looking a little disheveled.

"Well the idea was, if he came in and he was the killer I'd kill him first." I said matter-of-factly to the waitor as he glanced up at me through the corner of his eye.

"How would you know he was the killer?" He asked paying more attention to the wound.

"Well the soundtrack would've alerted me probably." I said, half-joking. These spy movies always had their soundtracks.

"The...the soundtrack?" He asked, stopping and holding the needle for a second in complete bewilderment.

"you know? Ba duh, ba duh, ba duh ba duh ba duh." I said humming along to the classic tune.

"..." Oh, Jesus. He shook his head in disbelief before going back to the sewing, he wasn't doing a particularly great job, but in fairness he could barely see what he was doing. "So if you had walked in while I was listening to music and stitching myself up in there, you would have tried to kill me."

"Depends on the genre." I noted as he once again stopped and put the needle down. It seemed this conversation needed his full attention.

"The musical cue you just described is the backbone of four of my favorite six Ella Fitzgerald songs." He said staring holes through my eyes.

"Yeah well the thing about that is." I started standing up, almost triumphantly. "I didn't kill you did I?" I finished, cooly. This elicited a sarcastic chuckle from Jericho as I made my way over to the side with the stab wound. It was less of a laugh and perhaps more of a "I don't believe you." The wound was somewhat grisly.

"I was shirtless and disheveled in your bathroom. If my read on you is correct, you would have been distracted long enough for me to grab a makeshift weapon and incapacitate you had you tried." He lectuerd as I plopped my handbag beside him and got to work sewing the wound close, fixing the handiwork he had put himself through.

"But I was already holding my weapon silly." I corrected motioning towards my handbag, noticing his confusion a litle but deciding to ignore it.

"Your bathroom has seventeen that would have knocked you out long enough for me to finish stitching and sneak out." he said after a very brief moment of silence. That was quite the analysis, and he was right as far as he was aware.

"I think I may surprise you yet secret agent." I said with a small smile, dipping the needle into his flesh in order to seal the wound.

"I don't know if I want that." He responded abjectly.

"Oh you definitely don't." I assured him. "For example, you missed one of the weapon's in the room. There's eighteen."

"Enlighten me." He asked, confused, seemingly scanning the room once more.

"In the toilet filter." I replied remembering Gratia putting the handgun in the toilet filter should anything happen during the cruise.

"..." Heh. I caught the reflection of his lips curling ever so slightly into a small grin as he closed his eyes while I finished the final stitch. "Fair enough, rookie."

---

It’s like Gratia always said. “If you’re going to be a sociopath I’m going to have to shoot you.”

Ugh.

“I feel bad, I’ll go fix this. Thank you Gratia.” I said with a small voice. Leaning towards Gratia to give her a hug.

@Write@Plank Sinatra

Gratia Mindaro - Behind the Café

Two pale fingers immediately pressed firm against Nuit's forehead, halting her attempt at even coming close enough to embrace Gratia. The ponytail-wearing Mistralese girl stared unflinchingly into her former teammate's blue eyes, her onyx gaze as cold and uncaring as even the hardest of gems. She pushed lightly, the sudden effort at her fingertips forcing her friend back a step, before lowering her right arm to her side.

She refused to be hugged.

She rejected it.

Not the fucking time.

Her left hand rose up.

Dangling from her fingers was her phone, an old, scratched silver model that looked to have seen its fair share of wear, but despite its age, the tiny numbers displayed on its small LCD screen were still clearly legible.

"Student counseling," Gratia Mindaro explained flatly without any prompting, her eyes never wavering. "To prove that your birdbrain's more functional than some lobotomised whore drooling to their death from a Rohypnol overdose."

Her thumb moved over the 'call' button.

"Revert all the bullshit you've pulled today," she ordered. "And give me a reason why you shouldn't be talking to a fucking shrink right now instead of trying to direct some shitty Atlesian operative to your vagina."

Bianca Nuit appeared appropriately contrite and chastised for pulling the most retarded fucking bullshit she had seen in a long time, but the girl was off. Had been off. It irked her. The black-haired teenager had already confronted the birdbrain on the fake healthiness during the cruise, but the events that followed had stopped her from revisiting the issues. Distracted from them. Did Nuit really think that regaining her wings and then taking a pleasure cruise was all that was needed to make her shit smell like roses again? After the state she had been in when Gratia had found her?

Don't make me fucking laugh.

The erraticism of Nuit was the clincher.

The issues needed to be addressed.

Bianca Nuit would not have acted in such an excessively rash and irresponsible manner in her normal state of mind.

And this certainly isn't what you call goddamn normal.

To simply ignore it?

Gratia Mindaro refused.

---

Mindaro Mondays - Café

Jericho's reward from the Mindaros were an example of what one would call 'contrast'.

Galla Mindaro, upon closing the distance to receive the coffee from the Atlesian, merely nodded in acknowledgement of his deeds, taking the warm beverage with no sign of being affected by the heat or appreciating the fact that a handsome young man had made her a drink.

Her parents, however, were all warm smiles and laughs, with Severa immediately beaming at Jericho as she took the two lattes, and Valentinian lightly clapping him on the shoulder in thanks for his hard work (while also beaming, his smile growing widely underneath his moustache).

"No wonder you're popular with les filles," said Valentinian good-naturedly. "Making good coffee is un talent super."

"Your future partner will surely appreciate it," added Severa with a sagely nod, emerald eyes locking onto Jericho's.

My vision shook for a moment. This was Gratia, she was as much a sister to me as Estelle was. I loved her.

So why then?

Why was I so mad?

"You want me to speak with a shrink." I said back to myself, calmly and slowly. My mind flashed between a few images, feathers on the ground, my chains holding me to the ground, Vitoria's corpse on the ground. "I'm fine." I answered, my eyes adopting a cold flatness not unlike Gratia's herself. I didn't want to scream anymore. I didn't want to yell or tear my hair out. I just shut it all off once more.

This was how Gratia worried. I understood that. I knew it and before I might've loved it, even reveled it. But right now, I felt suffocated.

"I overstepped and I get that bugs you. So I'll fix it." I said watching as someone walked by Gratia and I and waited until they were out of earshot before continuing. "But you're going to have to give me a fucking minute to get over shooting a girl in the head." I said, my fist shaking a bit more than it had any right to. I knew I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me, my father always told me it was my ugliest side. I saw the car pull over to the side of the road. I was supposed to be picking up papa in that. Perfect timing, I wanted to leave.

"Thank you for your concern." I said moving past Gratia and towards the cafe to see if Jericho wanted to come along or not.

@Write

Gratia Mindaro - Behind the Café

"I didn't know that cock cured traumas."

Gratia's right hand gripped onto Nuit's, halting the girl's movement. Pale fingers clenched at the fabric, the iron-firm touch practically daring the Faunus to take another step away from her. To try and continue to avoid the issue.

"Unless you've made a wonderful new discovery this past week," she continued, a strange casualness entering her tone as sarcasm began to seep into that cold voice. "So tell me, Doctor Nuit, how does engaging in such bullshit allow your mental faculties to restore themselves to the state of a non-retard?"

If the birdbrain wanted to be irritatingly stubborn about it ...

"You killed Vitoria Dodici over a week ago."

Venetia had dealt with the carcass.

"In the period between then and now, you found the time to go on a shitty cruise rather than deal with your little hangup in a more constructive manner."

Such as visiting someone fucking qualified for it.

"Forgive me if I'm doubtful, but how much longer will this minute of yours be?"

Her grip tightened.

Minutely.

But noticeably.

"For how much longer will you run away?"

There was truth and validity in the other girl's words. But...

I could feel the sting of her fingers digging through the thin fabric of my shirt and into my arm. It acted as a sort of grounding, to this moment.

"I'm sorry, Gratia. I apologize that you don't like how I'm dealing with this. That I'm not laying on the couch in some office expositing an entire history of how my father always wanted my sister to be the proper Nuit, and that no matter how hard I tried to impress him in everything that I was and did, he never offered as much as a second glance in my direction until my mother died." I stood up straighter and faced Gratia. "Then I could tell him about my mother's funeral, about how while I stood there alone crying after my father's eulogy and my sister had to leave to pack her bags for Beacon I was beaten. Dragged through the mud and the muck. Taken to a warehouse, beaten more, had my wings hoisted above my head for buyers to see, had the feathers plucked out by a disgusting bitch with an attraction to pain. Then I could tell him how that made me feel. How I didn't want to shoot her. Because that wouldn't be enough. I could tell him how I listened to other girls die in the same room as me. They pleaded for anyone to help them, that because my semblance couldn't break cast iron I listened to the death of fifteen other girls before I got the chance to send a letter. You think I'm chasing Jericho's dick?"

I asked my chest rising and falling faster than I had realized. Gratia's fingers and cold eyes still dug into me. But I couldn't feel the pain anymore. My eyes were still flat, just like my best friends.

"I'm chasing the fleeting sensation I had when I spoke to him for the first time on the cruise. I'm chasing normalcy and I'm not going to find it on the couch of a therapist. I know that I wanted her dead and I know that isn't the right thing to want. I understand that no one would ever consider that 'my fault' because of what I went through. I know the steps I'm supposed to take, the excercises I should be doing, that I shouldn't jump into new situations because my current state is fragile. I'm aware. I just don't care anymore." I finished staring directly back at Gratia completely unwavering. I had only felt two fleeting moments of normalcy since the night I was kidnapped...

@Write

Gratia Mindaro - Behind the Café

"I care."

"Okay. I'll look up a few places, we can pick one together you feel good about and I'll start getting some professional counciling. Twice a week is the best I can do with my schedule." I said once more feeling the desperate pinch of Gratia's fingernails in my forearm. My flat expression began to give way to the stiffest upper lip I could manage.

"I'm sorry."

@Write

Gratia Mindaro - Behind the Café

"Make sure of it."

Her grip had lessened, but Gratia Mindaro still refused to let go, her onyx eyes staring deeply into her friend's.

"Stop chasing after the illusion," she said finally, yet the intensity in her measured tones had lessened considerably. "That normalcy you seek will never amount to fucking anything."

Not after everything that had happened to Nuit. Not after every irritating piece of bullshit that had attached themselves to the birdbrain's life. With the pain that her friend had suffered in such a short amount of time, the presence of a mere one man would do nothing to heal those wounds. No matter how hard one wished.

Her hand finally let go.

Gratia Mindaro's voice was quiet.

"There was no wrong in wanting that bitch dead," was the ponytail-wearing girl's soft declaration. "There was no wrong in choosing to kill her."

That had been Nuit's choice alone. To kill was to take responsibility of someone else's life.

"But ... do you regret it?"

I wanted to tell Gratia that it wasn't that easy. That I wasn't chasing normalcy out of some kind of idea that that would erase everything that had happened already. That I just wanted to feel comfortable again.

But she was right and I knew it.

"I understand." Then came the question of regret.

I wish the situation had played out differently....

---

“Your Mistralian sounds like you’ve spent a lot of time in the lower end, some poor lower class whor-“ Vitoria began, she was stopped severely and instantly by a palm striking the side of her face, in an instant.

The rain smashed into the side of the car with a similar amount of ferocity. Bianca hadn't noticed the rain at the time, only on going back and thinking on it did she remeber the weather that night. In fact, she was surprised by how much she didn't remember. They weren't in some dark void, they were on a street. With houses, the smell of baked goods infiltrated her memory. It was something she hadn't noticed. All she smelled was blood and gunpowder.

As Bianca watched Vitoria begin to reach forward she considered her semblance for approximately a quarter of a second, but with the amount of aura she had it wouldn’t have done anything. In less than one more second her ears rang uncontrollably, her hands shaking violently as Vitoria fell away from Gratia Mindaro and Bianca’s eyesight caved in from her peripheral vision focusing instead on what was directly in front of her.

And then it ended.

---

"Gratia I have always thought that my greatest fortune was having you for a friend. You're an incredibly strong woman and I believe that you could've snuffed Vittoria out in a moment." I started taking a grasp of Gratia's hand as it retreated back to the ponytailed girl's side. "But I couldn't risk losing you. I do not regret it at all."

@Write

Gratia Mindaro - Behind the Café

"Your choices are yours and yours alone."

She glanced minutely at her pale hand, now held within her friend's grasp, before returning her gaze once more to Nuit's eyes.

"And the responsibility that they bring with them ... also falls upon you alone."

There was nobody else walking the same path. There would be nobody else. There could never be anyone else. Nuit's journey was as different from her's as Gratia's was from an insect's.

"The guilt over that bitch's death. That is yours. The choice to snuff out her life. That was yours. That responsibility is part of you now. You'll never fucking escape it. And it'll determine how you choose to live from now on."

Her expression remained as composed as ever.

"The choices you make ... they need to be the ones you truly cannot regret."

Because they would forever be the burden upon one's shoulders.

Gratia Mindaro did not believe her friend to be capable of making any of those choices.

Not now.

Not like this.

What good were one's choices if they couldn't even fucking think properly?

"When today is done, we'll find you a shrink."

Bianca Nuit couldn't rely on someone else's wings forever.

"Yes, I know... And yet." I trailed off. I knew whwat I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it. But for some reason it was still hard.

"I don't regret it at all. Because you're here with me and we're figuring this out one step at a time." I said still holding onto Gratia's hand with two of my own shaking slightyl still. "I'm sorry for the headache I've caused you, I know this has been more than you ever deserved to deal with. But I wouldn't hae been able to do it without you." I knew I didn't deserve the girl.

It was so odd.

She was smaller than she seemed.

To me Gratia always seemed larger than life. Massive even, like a huge pillar of will. Jericho was like that too.

I felt small in comparison.

"I don't know how I'll ever make this up to you. I think about it sometimes when I'm trying to sleep at night. How will I ever pay back Gratia Mindaro?"

"I don't know yet, and I don't think I ever will know. Just something I will carry with me, not unlike Vittoria's death. A feeling that no matter what, I owe you, that I need you to be a part of my life."

@Crimmy@Ayazi@LokiLeo789@Write@Plank Sinatra@HereComesTheSnow



Beryl snapped into action, sweeping up the drinks with a motion that looked highly practiced.

"Got it boss!"

Did he forget about my tea? Oh well. Jer-kun is busy enough already. Plus he paid for everyone's drinks. I should tip him.

The drinks neatly placed on a platter she grabbed from somewhere. The young Faunus slipped through the crowded cafe with the ease of prior experience.

First up was Dawn, Beryl handed the cheerful girl her drink with an equally cheerful smile. It wasn't a tough thing to do considering how much Beryl was buzzing with the emotion herself.

Next up was Geni and Vega. The young Huntress-in-Training spotted them as she spun around one of the more mobile patrons of the cafe. Friendly banter was being passed back and forth between the two. It relieved Beryl. Their token boy was fitting in just fine.

He did seem to be favoring a finger or two though. It was on the same hand she had grabbed earlier too.

Gek.

Apparently she had grabbed a finger instead of a whole hand. She had been so excited to show Bianca the new teammate that she hadn't noticed. It explained why he had come along so readily though.

"Here you go" She said, passing the drinks out with another smile. This one somewhat more sheepish.

"Ah, right. Thank you!" Yue managed to find a seat for herself and started eating. The meal was... Decent. Probably would have been better if she had eaten it fresh. However she wouldn't fault the chef for it, it was her own fault for being late for her own meal. As Yue ate a stranger started yelling for her. It was a cute girl who seemed really interested in Yue thanks to her wrestling outfit, which while a bit embarrassing, also made Yue feel happy. She hasn't really done anything yet but it was good to know that she had at least one fan. "H-hello!" Yue yelled back before the girl went off into the crowd. That put a smile on Yue's face.

As the lucha-maid finished her meal she noticed Ms. Cirsium talking to one of the waiters. Yue couldn't quite hear what she was talking about over the crowd, but she seemed aggravated. It didn't take long for Yue to connect the dots after the counselor glanced at Yue; she still had her hoodie. Fortunately Yue didn't make a mess on it, but now she felt even more embarrassed for just running off with a teacher's hoodie. So after Yue finished eating and putting her dishes away, she went over to Ms. Cirsium, hoodie in her arms. "Ah, yes, Ms. Cirsium? I'm sorry for taking your hoodie. I forgot about it, why don't I pay for your meal?"

@FlitterFaux@Crimmy