The night air felt cool on a fair girl's bare feet and back. Her black hood was drawn up, covering her light blonde hair, styled in a curt, off white pixie cut, preventing stagnant breezes from chilling her. The drapery of her needlessly long, yet mostly featureless, hoodie she wore fluttered carelessly as it flowed down to the back of her knees as she strolled through the grounds of Beacon, long past the time where students flitted between classes in a nosy bustle. It was quiet, dark, and exactly the thing the girl needed after a long day of classes and homework.
Faye Morgana continued walking, embracing the rough stones with her feet as she passed. She had always hated shoes, as they made her feel trapped, or at least less free. The freedom of unhindered movement and absolute silence was what led her to her current past time, tracing unknown patterns through well worn paths at, she double checked her scroll to confirm, two in the morning. Her teammates made it explicitly clear that she was fine in doing so as long as she came in quietly. Pacing in between sporadic street lights, she took in the darkness and breathed several long sighs of simple pleasure. She did this almost every day, uninterrupted by random noise, pointless conversations of passerby, and the music that usually accompanied her during the day.
At least, until the girl strolling heard crying.
Faye's silent stroll was interrupted by the sounds of sobbing and sporadic chokes. Led by a strong feeling of common decency, she drew closer to the source of the noise and looked for the maker. She found herself standing before a bench, just off the sidewalk. Sitting at one end was a girl, head covered by long, pink hair and face buried in her hands, shaking. Faye thought to herself, and concluded that she had no idea who this girl was; she had never seen her before in any of her classes, at any point wandering through the city, or at any of the various social events her teammate perpetrated. Wordlessly, she sat on the other end of the bench and removed her hood from her head to expose her soft face and placed her previously pocketed hands on her lap. She waited until the tears gradually slowed and the girl became aware of her presence.
"You doing alright? I always expected to need these if I ever found someone out at this hour," Faye proclaimed, motioning to the dumbbell-like shapes hanging on either side of her hips.
The girl turned her head towards the speaker, somewhat confused. Between coughs, she lowered her hands, revealing puffy cheeks and red eyes. Tears still clung to her eyelashes.
"Wh... What?"
"I asked if you're alright," Faye responded in a friendly tone.
She calmed down slightly at the casual response. She wiped her eyes and looked almost agape at her early morning companion.
"What's it matter to you?" the pink haired girl questioned, throwing her head back, leaning past the short bench seat, stretching out her arms and slowly regaining composure.
"It matters when a person clearly could use a person, especially if they're alone on a bench. Were you planning on staying here all night? Cuz I can tell you it gets cold," Faye noted in a friendly tone, bringing to attention her benchmate's light choice of wardrobe, a vibrant pink shirt and short pajama bottoms.
"Says the one in a sleeveless hoodie and gray short shorts," the girl said, a smile ekingthrough on her face. "Does... Does that even have a back?" She craned her neck to try and get a glimpse of Faye's outfit.
"Can't show this off with one!" Faye proudly proclaimed, standing up and turning her back to her new friend. As she raised her hood, black cloth edged her back, forming an oval canvas of fair skin, the disparity of colors accentuating a large tattoo; as if literally drawn in an offset white was the outline of a beautiful pair of intricate butterfly wings, seamlessly matched with her skin tone so that it almost glowed in the faint light of a nearby streetlamp.
The haughty display was met with a stifled, if a bit forced, laugh from the girl. "I also now notice that you are covered in vines..."
Faye's companion noted that in addition to the wings, the fairer haired girl's right arm and left leg were each wrapped in thorny green vines, both of which spiraled around their respective limb, decorated with sporadic fair colored flowers that matched the tone of the wings.
"I also have four butterflies and a flower on my cleavage," laughed Faye with a smirk. "Here, let me show you."
The pink haired girl watched intently, if somewhat taken aback, as a stranger sat down and showed her her left arm. On it were two butterflies, one a vibrant pink, and the other a bright blue. Before she could get a proper look at them, Faye stretched out the comparatively bare, unvined leg and revealed an identical pair of butterflies that fluttered just below her pant leg. Quickly lowering her leg, Faye followed the action up by lowering her already low neckline; as she pulled the v-neck of her hoodie downward, the pink haired girl saw a larger version of the white flowers decorating the vines on her arm and leg. It sat square in the middle of her chest, inches below her neck, a beautiful fair rose bordered by leaves complementing her even fairer skin.
Somewhat taken aback by the casual near-intimacy of the fair haired girl beside her, the pink haired girl let out a hearty laugh. Her eyes were far brighter than they had been and her attitude had improved significantly since her unknown companion had arrived. She rubbed her eyes once more.
"There it is! Glad my ink can be of service."
"Definitely what I needed, that's for sure..."
"Mind if I ask why?"
"Oh, everything," the girl breathed, leaning forward, staring at the ground.
"Helpful. Want to narrow it down, love?"
"Between homework, leaving my family behind, going to school to fight deadly monsters, dealing with three teammates of varying degrees of personality, and relationships, yeah, everything."
"Wanna talk about it? I'm not doing anything important."
The pink haired girl gazed up at the night sky, shattered moon casting a soft glow. "Not now. I just want to lay here and not exist for a bit."
"Then I'll be right here." Faye crossed her legs and laid back on the bench. The other girl mimicked her for a moment before resting her head on her bare shoulder, eyes closed.
"Thank you."
Hesitantly, Faye put an arm around the girl. Not really knowing what to do, she lightly patted her head, consciously trying to not look as if they were dating. There was not a noise nor a person to indicate anyone was nearby, but she still felt strange comforting a girl she just met, especially one that seemed vulnerable and uncharacteristically close. Regardless of her confusion, the pair sat on a bench in the middle of campus for what seemed like a long, long time. Neither made any real movement aside from shifting.
Eventually, the pink haired girl raised her head. Her face had a gentle smile, and the redness of her eyes had subsided. She made as if to say something before shivering.
"You were totally right, it's really cold."
Faye laughed, dramatically kicked her way to a standing position, then raised an eyebrow to the girl before presenting her hand.
"Then let's go. I'm sure some sleep wouldn't hurt for whatever you're dealing with."
The girl grabbed Faye's hand and was pulled up.
"Sounds good," she yawned.
The two began making their way towards the blackened hallways at a brisk pace. Faye accompanied her new friend to her room, where the pink haired girl turned to face her with a brilliant shine in her eyes.
"Thanks again. I really needed that," the girl whispered in the dark before her door.
"Never a problem. If you ever want to chat, I'm almost always wandering around out there this late. Feel free to join me."
"Tomorrow, then. Goodnight for now, though. I need a blanket and a pillow."
"Later then!" Faye waved as she watched the girl disappear into her room as a silent shadow.
Faye began strolling back to her own room, once again taking in the silence the night brought. Or, at least she would if it were silent. With her conversation partner gone, the noises of the building became more apparent. She eyed down the corridor to where the sounds of fellow late nighters were coming from.
"And that's why I prefer walking outside. Oh, well. I could use a bit more air."
Faye once again returned outside and circled around a few more times before arriving at the entrance to her hall and shortly after her room. She unlocked the door, opened it as slow as feasibly possible, and withdrew inside. Locking it behind her, she turned and saw her teammate, Evan, laying in her bed, watching something on her scroll, headphones in. She waved and placed a finger over her lips, pointing towards the other side of the room. Faye nodded, then retreated into the bathroom and changed into an oversized t-shirt and pajama pants. She silently climbed into her bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about her surprisingly eventful walk.
"Wait, what was her name? Well, I guess that's an issue for tomorrow."
Faye slept well that night, knowing she helped someone out.