Pearls on a String
Volume 1
Chapter 2: Comfort
Beacon Academy
Wednesday Afternoon
Lustre didn't think she'd ever seen her friend Evie this sick before. In fact, having volunteered at a veterinarian's clinic as a child, she didn't think she'd ever seen an actual cat as miserable as the Faunus teen at this point in time.
The raven-haired girl was huddled under her blankets in Team PERL's dorm room, just the tops of her furry ears showing, though they were flattened miserably against her head. Soft, piteous mewls issued forth from her bed situated next to her partner's.
"Come on now, Evie, I have soup for you," the silver-haired girl tried to cajole. "You must eat something to regain your strength."
"Is it fish?" the muffled voice asked from beneath the mountain of blankets.
"No, dear. It is chicken. I was told this is best for a flu. It is high in antioxidants."
"Don't like chicken," the Cat Faunus replied sullenly.
Lustre closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She is my friend, and I do love her like a sister. I must remember she is merely sick and not herself, else I might strangle her with her own tail.
"Evie, please," she continued out loud in her musical voice. "Eat some soup, it will help you to feel better."
"How do you know?"
The dark-skinned girl smiled softly. "My mother once told me it was so. She fed it to me when I was sick."
The blankets twitched aside to reveal one bleary sapphire-blue eye. "You don't talk about your family much," her teammate murmured. "They're back in Mistral, right?"
Nodding gently, Lustre tried giving the covers an experimental tug. "That is correct. I do not get to see my parents very often, which is likely why I do not speak of them." Meeting little resistance, she gradually pulled the covers down further to reveal more of the Faunus' face. It was flushed and sweating, and her ears twitched in tune with her feverish trembling. "Come now, kitty cat. Please try some."
The raven-haired girl let out a heavy sigh. "Oum, fine, if it'll get you to leave me alone," she grumbled, struggling to sit upright.
She is my friend, and I love her dearly… She is my friend, I do not wish to kill her…
While she waged her internal battle, the door behind her opened to reveal their team leader in all of her exuberance.
"Hellooo girls!" Pip exclaimed, bumping the door open the rest of the way with her hip. Her arms were laden with books which she plopped down upon Evie's desk. "I return victorious!"
"Pip, you left three hours ago," Lustre commented quietly. "What took you so long? It was only a trip to the library to retrieve necessary reading material for Evie."
"Well, you know, there were a lot of books… and it was busy…" the tall blonde hemmed, touching the tips of her two index fingers together in a manner that most found to be adorable.
Lustre and Evie, however, were fairly immune to her antics by this point.
"What, did you meet a cute guy and get distracted?" the Faunus asked irritably.
"No! No, I swear, that wasn't it at all! I was…" Pip sighed, plopping her lanky frame down in the desk chair next to Evie's bed. "I kept getting lost, okay? I don't spend as much time in the library as the rest of you do, and I kept getting turned around, and somehow ended up in the Mythology section of all things instead of Dust Studies, and then… Wait, are you guys laughing at me?"
Both Evie and Lustre had their hands over their mouths, eyes crinkled merrily over them. They both shook their heads solemnly, but couldn't hide the mirthful shaking of their shoulders.
"Fine," the lanky girl sighed in mock offense. "See if I help again."
"No, no, it's…" Evie gasped lightly as she tried to get her humor under control. "It was very, um… sweet of you to risk your, er…"
"Sanity?" Lustre supplied with a giggle.
"Yes, sanity! It was very sweet of you to risk it for me. Thanks, Pip."
Smiling broadly, Pip leaned over and wrapped the sick Faunus into a one-armed hug. "Aww, you're welcome, partner. Now, you gonna eat that soup?"
"Yes, I am!" Evie replied heatedly, swatting at her friend's arm as she gamely tried to take hold of the spoon from her. "It's my soup, Lustre got it just for me! Go get your own!"
Lustre smiled to herself at the pair's interaction. And just like that, Pip is able to overcome Evie's bad mood. I do not know how she can always manage that with such success.
"Hey, how did you get soup today, babe?" Pip asked the dark-skinned girl curiously once she leaned back and tossed her long blond ponytail back over her shoulder, confident that Evie would now eat her soup. "It wasn't on the menu for lunch."
"I have my ways," Lustre smirked mysteriously.
"Oooh, I'm sure… What, did you seduce the chef?"
Lustre rolled her eyes in exasperation, deciding to ignore the jab. If she responded it would likely only encourage the extroverted girl further. "It is confidential."
"Confidential?"
"Yes, confidential. I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you."
"Over soup?"
Lustre looked into Pip's pale red eyes with as much solemnity as she could muster. "Do not underestimate the power of soup."
"Especially this soup," Evie finally chimed in, mumbling around her spoon. "It's really good. Thanks, Lustre."
"You're welcome, dear," she replied gently.
The door opened once more to reveal the last member of the team. Beryl trudged wearily through, dropping her books onto her desk before continuing on over to the foot of Evie's bed.
"Hey, Evie, how're you feeling?"
"Better, thanks Beryl," Evie smiled back. It was true, after one bowl of soup she already had better color in her cheeks, the flush fading back and her eyes not as unfocused and dull. "Be up and about in no time."
"Well, don't go stressing yourself," Beryl said with a frown. "Wait till you feel better, okay?"
"Yes, Mom," Evie smirked.
The blue-haired girl just shook her head before stepping back over to her desk. "I took notes for you in History. Oobleck was pretty cool about you missing, just said to catch up on the reading since I was covering for you. Here you go."
Evie stared at the sheaf of papers that Beryl handed to her, slowly leafing through them. "Beryl, this… This is really great. You have such nice handwriting, way better than mine."
Beryl blushed lightly. "Oh, well, you know… I wanted to make sure it was legible for you."
Lustre noticed Pip's smirk even though the blonde quickly hid it behind her hand. Oh, so our fearless leader has finally picked up on this as well? It has only been going on for over a year now…
"Alright, well if you're situated Evie, we need to get going," Pip announced as she stood. "Combat class after lunch, you know."
"Um, I could stay behind…" Beryl said hesitantly. "I'm not scheduled to fight, and I already covered the morning class…"
"I'd like the company," Evie smiled, though she stifled a yawn behind her hand immediately after. "Might fall asleep on you, I'm afraid."
"Oh, it's no big deal, I got studying I can do. Um, and if you like…" Beryl blushed once more. "I could give you a backrub, might make you feel better?"
Oh Beryl, dear, no…
"That's okay, Beryl," the raven-haired Faunus giggled. "Appreciate the offer, though. See you guys later!"
Pip and Lustre waved their farewell as they departed. The silver-haired girl adjusted her white short-sleeved jacket that she wore over a light blue tank top and white shorts. Matching blue leggings tucked into white heeled boots completed her combat outfit.
"So, what are we to do with our Beryl, hmm?" the dark-skinned girl queried as they walked.
Pip stumbled a step in surprise. "Uhhh… You noticed that, huh?"
Lustre shook her head in amusement. "Oh, Pip… She has been that way since last year sometime. Have you only now noticed yourself?"
"Well, yeah…" Pip sighed morosely. "I'm the worst team leader ever, aren't I? Can't even pay attention to my own team…"
"Do not be like that," Lustre chided gently. "I would have brought it to your attention in any case, were I to think it caused a problem. But she seems content to… admire from afar."
The rangy blonde snorted humorously. "For someone who seems to avoid romance, you certainly know enough about it."
"I know how to cook as well, technically," she replied archly. "That does not mean I ever desire to do so. Or that I should."
They walked down the courtyard towards the classroom building for another minute before Pip broke the silence once more.
"So, you still have no interest whatsoever, huh? Guys or girls?"
"No, Pip, it just doesn't hold any interest for me." Lustre glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye. "Would you be willing to drop this anytime soon?"
"I suppose. Can't fault me for being overly curious, though."
"Perhaps. In any case, I believe you more than fill our team's quotient for romances per semester."
"I don't-" Pip sighed humorously. "Now you're just being mean."
Lustre reached up to pat her friend's shoulder. "The truth can be hurtful, dear," she agreed.
"And I don't really think there's such a thing as a romance quotient."
"There might be. In the fine print of the student manual, perhaps."
Pip barked out a quick laugh. "Now I know you're making fun of me. Alright," she added, clearly changing the subject. "You concerned about your fight?"
"Not overly, no. I have not yet fought Tyrion, but I have observed him enough times."
"Well, good luck in any case. You know I'll be rooting for ya."
Lustre smiled and accepted the quick hug at the doorway to the combat classroom. Before arriving at Beacon, she'd been a shy bookworm of a girl who eschewed physical contact of any sort. It didn't take long for Pip to break those barriers down, and receiving hugs from the enthusiastic blonde were now entirely welcomed.
The silver-haired girl strode into the changing room, giving a brief nod to her opponent before reaching her own locker. Tyrion seemed a bit nervous, which was understandable in her estimation.
She wasn't one for bragging, really, nor for overestimation of her own abilities. She knew her strengths and weaknesses. She worked diligently to improve on both of them, but the end result was that she was well aware of her ranking in her own class.
Out of the entire year, there were few in her league. And of those, three of them were on her team.
She withdrew her combat staff, Winter Contus, and brandished it with a proud smile. The silver shaft with white highlights shone brightly in the overhead lights, the subtle triggering and transformative mechanisms just barely visible.
With a confident stride, Lustre entered the arena and faced the lean boy she was to fight today.
Tyrion was clothed much like her, casually and without armor, though his color scheme tended to lean towards reds and purples in a pattern that she had to admit was rather pleasing to the eye.
Still, his defeat was inevitable.
She listened to Professor Lazuli as he made a few remarks to the students, twirling her staff idly in her hands as she noted her opponent's weapons. His twin scimitars were somewhat similar to Evie's Dao except that they had hilts. Tyrion hefted the pair of them in his hands somewhat trepidatiously.
"Um, hey there Lustre," he called out as the Professor wrapped up his spiel. "Heard you made the Vytal Tournament. Congrats on that."
"Thank you," she replied politely.
"So, uh…" He seemed to fidget somewhat. "Since you're heading out in a few days… you wanna maybe grab dinner one night in Vale?"
Lustre sighed. At some point I shall need to hang a large neon sign around my neck that states, 'Not Interested'.
"No," she replied shortly.
"Oh, uh… okay…"
Before he could make any more of a fool of himself verbally, in her estimation, the fight was begun.
Lustre wasted no time in darting forward on swift feet, her war staff whirling about her torso. She collided with Tyrion in the middle, his twin scimitars flashing as he tried to penetrate her defensive shield.
The silver-haired girl pivoted on one foot, sweeping the other out as her staff blocked twin strikes from her opponent. He jumped back, swinging one blade down to intercept her leg while the other slashed out at her head. Anticipating the move, Lustre deftly changed her staff in mid-swing to reverse direction, coming down hard on the hand aiming for her leg while she leaned back slightly to avoid the head strike.
The scimitar passing over her hair left a breeze in its wake, close enough that it could have sliced a few strands of her tousled silver hair off. With another spin, the end of her staff ended up planted in his stomach, knocking the air out of him. He was unable to bring his defensive hand up as it was still stingingly numb from the earlier hit, and his overhand swing hadn't had the time to complete to bring it back into play.
It was a moot point, however, as Lustre triggered Winter Contus, the end planted in his stomach sending out an explosive dust round that knocked him backwards.
Before he could hit the ground, she was on him again as she activated her speed semblance. Her rapid strikes hit him on both arms and on the side of his temple for good measure before he collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. A buzzer sounded his aura's drop into the red and the end of the match.
Lustre shouldered her staff and walked over to her fallen opponent, offering him a hand.
"So," Tyrion sighed, accepting the help up. "You sure about that dinner?"
What is it about getting one's ass kicked that endears their attraction so? she thought to herself wryly.
"Very sure," she replied simply and without rancor before walking off.
Somewhere in Vacuo
That Evening
Sienne paused to catch her breath behind a large rock outcropping. Her sword was clenched determinedly in her fist, though it shook wildly in front of her. Dimly the third year Shade student realized her entire body was trembling furiously. Must be delayed shock.
She willed her off-hand to still so that she might carefully wipe the blood out of her left eye. The teenager needed her full faculties about her if she were to survive another minute of this Dust-forsaken night.
Unlike the rest of my team… Gods... Jade, Mika, Angel… I can't believe you're all gone…
And yet her team that she'd led with so much success over the past two-and-a-half years was decimated in only a matter of seconds. Just one pass of that… that… monster… and her three teammates were lying dead in the desert sand.
What in the name of all that is good in this land was it? I've never seen such a beast outside of legends. It seemed to resemble…
Her thoughts cut off as she heard the faint flapping of wings. Tensing her muscles, she peered around warily. After another minute, she couldn't hear any further sounds and decided to edge out from behind her cover.
I've got to get away, people have to know what we've seen out here…
And then the meager light cast from Remnant's broken moon was cut off. A large shadow landed on top of the rock outcropping, sending small shards flying about. Sienne brought up her free hand to shield her eyes before backing away cautiously, her sword defiantly raised in front of her.
The gigantic creature, vaguely reminiscent of a Nevermore save for the lines of pulsating red veins under its feathers, opened its maw in her direction.
"Oum preserve me," Sienne whimpered before she was engulfed in flames.
Beacon Academy
Wednesday Evening
Lustre glanced at her scroll, absently noting the time before realizing she'd overspent her planned time in the library. With a tired sigh, she gathered up her papers and books from where they lay across the study table and stood up, stretching languidly.
I have been sitting in one position for two hours now. At least I finished Oobleck's paper, as well as endeavored a head start on the Grimm Anatomy essay.
Her possessions cradled in her arms, the silver-haired girl headed down the aisles of the library towards the door. She nodded polite greetings to the students she recognized, pausing at the desk to murmur a thanks to the librarian for her earlier assistance in finding a troublesome research publication for her.
Before long she was striding along the darkened pathways towards the second-year dorms.
She paused to observe an impromptu game of tag that a couple teams of first-years were playing in the gardens, smiling slightly at their exuberance. Noticing her attention, a pair of the boys trotted over to her to ask if she wanted to join in, which she politely declined before moving on once more.
Why is it so difficult for me to understand the difference between a friendly invitation and a flirtation? While I do not mind the former, the latter is certainly unwelcome. I suppose I have seen far too many advances thrown my way. Look at me, jaded at eighteen. She sighed to herself and frowned slightly. At least I have my team. My friends and my family, the sisters I never had.
The last thought made the corners of her mouth reverse direction into a soft smile. She walked up a flight of steps to her floor, heading down towards her room. She'd almost reached it when the door burst open. Fortunately the dark-skinned girl had the reflexes of a huntress-in-training and was able to leap aside and flatten herself against the wall, avoiding collision with a certain lanky blonde who went tearing down the hall, giggling maniacally.
Before she could move again, another form flashed by, that of a raven-haired Cat Faunus who looked to be, quite literally, spitting mad.
"PIP I WILL BREAK YOUR LEGS IF YOU DON'T GIVE THAT BACK TO ME!" Evie roared as she sped past in hot pursuit.
"No breaking of legs! We have a tournament to win, remember?" another voice called after them. Beryl poked her head out the door, glancing over towards the near wall. "Oh, hey Lustre, you just get back?"
"Mmhmm," the silver-haired girl replied with a small grin. "So what did she take this time?"
"Oh, just a trashy romance novel, something or other about ninjas," Beryl laughed.
"I take it she's feeling better?"
"Very much so. Made tea for her, though. Would you like some?"
Lustre's grin widened. "Why thank you, Beryl, that's very thoughtful of you."
The blue-haired girl shrugged as they walked into the room. "Well, I heard hot tea was good for getting over a fever. And I know you don't like coffee."
She shivered slightly as she sat down on her desk chair. "Vile stuff," Lustre muttered. "I do not know how you all can drink that swill."
"And I don't know how you can even taste the difference!" Pip laughed as she jogged into the room, panting as she bent at the knees to catch her breath. "Whew! So, good news everyone, Evie's back on her feet again!"
"Yes, we noticed," Lustre snarked. "Did she catch up to you?"
"She did," Pip answered cheerfully, walking towards the bathroom. "Kitty cat used her semblance, teleported right into my path. Unfortunately, I collided with her and knocked her into the fountain."
Beryl paused in her pouring of tea to regard her leader with a horrified expression. "You… did… what?"
"Yep!" The blonde tossed the paperback novel onto Evie's bed and strolled into their attached restroom, closing the door behind her and locking it with an audible click.
Lustre and Beryl stared at each other in shock.
"I do believe," Lustre murmured, "that there is something wrong with our leader. In particular with her brain being missing."
Beryl opened her mouth to reply, but all that emitted was a small squeak as her attention was drawn to the open doorway to their room.
Fearing what she might see, Lustre slowly swiveled her own gaze around.
Standing there, dripping wet and with a look on her face that would make lesser beings fall to their knees and beg for a quick and painless death, was one extraordinarily livid Cat Faunus.
"Where. Is. She." Evie bit each word off with clenched teeth.
"Now… Now, Evie," Beryl pleaded weakly. "You know, you just got over being sick, why don't we dry you off first, get some nice, hot tea in you…"
"I don't want tea!" the raven haired girl snarled, her damp locks covering much of her face. "I want to drink the blood of that blonde bimbo!"
Lustre sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. This had the makings of a very long evening.
Undisclosed Location
The man in the shadows sat at his desk, reviewing the footage of the field testing done earlier that night. The dim light glinted dully off of his eyes, crinkled as they were in amusement as he watched the creature dispatch the hapless team of students.
"They didn't prove to be much of a challenge," he murmured, the humor in his voice tinged with just a trace of disappointment.
Lounging indolently in the chair across from him was a tiny slip of a girl. Her purple hair was done up in a bun today, though likely it'd be in an entirely different style by morning. Her legs were draped over the arm of her chair, feet kicking idly and showing the purple underlights on her black petticoat. "Was that the point of the exercise?" she asked in a light, musical voice.
"Not entirely, no," the man consented. "I suppose it still counts as a successful field test for this type. Did you have any trouble?"
The skinny girl scoffed lightly, tugging at the sleeves of her black low-cut jacket. "Do I ever?"
"Do not get overconfident, Whisper," he scolded mildly. "I need to know if you experience any trouble whatsoever. So, did you?"
"No, My Lord," she said with a roll of her eyes, just enough of a hint of insolence injected into the title to border on insult. "There was no trouble."
The elegantly suited man gazed at her wordlessly, his pale green eyes glittering as he observed her.
Whisper sighed and pulled her feet over, settling her black heeled ankle boots onto the floor. "Was there anything else, My Lord?" she asked with far more deference.
"Not at this time, no. You may go, Whisper."
The purple-haired girl nodded briefly before standing, adjusting the dark purple sash around her waist as she turned to go.
"Oh, and Whisper?"
She paused mid-step, glancing over her shoulder.
"Do keep in mind that you are only as valuable as the continuation of this project, won't you, my dear?"
She swallowed involuntarily before turning to face him once more, giving a small bow. "Of course, My Lord." With that she turned and finally strode out of the room.
The shadowy man sighed softly before resuming the video playback of the one-sided battle. His humor was quickly restored and his malachite eyes twinkled merrily once more in the darkness.
A/N: So I'm going to try, at least for the initial chapters, to rotate between the voices of each main character to give readers a little more insight into them. Hopefully I can succeed in making them unique enough that it carries into the other chapters.
Much love for reading, favoriting, following, and/or reviewing! If you haven't yet, please do drop me a quick review and let me know what you think, what works and what doesn't!
TacoKing23: Thanks! And also, you've given me a wonderful idea for another of Beryl's fights!
Stay shiny!