Nalini

I felt a twinge of guilt in my chest as I stalked through the forest. I had followed Kyra out when she said she was going to spy on Fen, but I didn't quite trust her. He called her out pretty early on, and I was unsure if this was to trick anyone watching or if she was really trying to hide, but he let her come with him. He took her hand in his and I felt a twinge in my chest. He was so determined, his movement fast and precise, yet gentle too. It was just another motion to him. He took her hand easily, as if he did it every day. I shook my head and chided myself; I shouldn't be getting so worked up about this. You don't know if they're doing anything, I thought, just follow them a bit more and make sure. So I did.

I followed them off of school grounds and into the forests. I felt guilty, and I wanted to turn around at every step. I was betraying my friends' privacy and trust by doing this, but then I remembered my father, and how he would use spies to get information on his "business friends." When I found out, he just said he was "Scoping out the competition so daddy's little girl can keep being the princess she is." I knew it was still wrong, but it certainly made it easier to cope. I wasn't spying. I was scoping out the competition. Gah, I am such scum!

I made it to the edge of the clearing they had stopped in, and I instantly saw them in the center. Fenrir's head rested in Kyra's lap as he spoke words I couldn't understand, words I could guess in my sleep. Kyra just sat there, running her fingertips through his hair affectionately. I felt a sad smile forming as I let out a sigh. They were happy, right? I should be happy for them. I wasn't going to lie to myself, though. I wasn't happy in the slightest.

Mother could have gotten any guy she wanted when she was my age. She was the best huntress in her home town, better looking than every girl around, and she was rich to boot. The way she fought the Grimm in her prime was legendary. I, on the other hand, was a very weak fighter outside of dust magic. The claymore I carried paled in comparison to mother's Rose Thorns, both in show and in fighting prowess. I wasn't that pretty. I couldn't even get some stupid boy to like me.

I shouldn't even have a crush on him anyways. I've only known him a few weeks, and my parents wouldn't really approve of me dating him knowing them... So I'd have to get over his cute little wolf ears and his beautiful gray eyes. I didn't like his curious yet proud personality anyways, nor did I like his brash combat style. Who wanted to just hide and sneak up on enemies, really? I thought. He probably couldn't handle a real fight anyways. It wasn't badass how he saved earlier, either. I didn't even need him! I could've just used some Dust and gotten out of it. I know I could've! I hated being carried princess style through the forest, held close to his heart so I could hear its soft beating. I hated the stupid, determined look on his face as he "rescued" me. The care he showed when he asked if I was okay. The more I thought, the less progress I made.

I sighed as I finally entered Beacon's grounds again. My heart hurt, my breathing was rapidly speeding up, and I was angry. I noticed my nails had been digging into my palms, but I ignored the pain and clenched my fists tighter. This was going to be so much harder than I though it would be. The moon had risen high in the sky by now, and the campus was still dark as I stomped into the school and to our dorm room. As expected, Riley was already asleep. What wasn't expected was that he was sprawled over the floor, enough to where I nearly cracked the door against his skull as I opened the door. Even then, I didn't notice he was there until after I tripped over his gargantuan body. He grunted and turned to face me as I slammed hard onto the floor. Letting out a small groan, I turned and rolled onto my forearms and tried to pick myself up, but my arms shook from the weight. I heard Riley moving behind me as the trembling spread throughout my body.

"Hey... Nalini, are you okay?" I heard his voice sound behind me before his hand gently rested on my shoulder. I tried to answer, I tried to cough out a response, something, anything, but all I could manage was to shake my head. I couldn't even answer a stupid question. I was ready to unleash another barrage of insults for myself, but Riley, in the gentlest and most graceful manner, whisked me up off the floor and sat me on the nearest bed. He walked to the table separating his and Fen's beds from mine and Kyra's and reached into the bottom drawer, grabbing something and placing it into my hands as he came back. "Please, use this," he told me as the cool, soft fabric settled in my hands. Confused, I looked up at my partner and noticed for the first time that my vision was hindered by some kind of liquid. The lights expanded and exploded from their origins, and objects seemed to mesh together. I couldn't even figure out where Riley even was.

I brought the handkerchief up to my eyes and brushed the wet from them. They weren't tears. They couldn't be. I wouldn't be crying over a stupid boy. The blotches left behind on the cloth begged to differ, though, and my eyes again welled up as my body was suddenly wracked with sobs. Why was I crying? Father and mother taught me that I should never cry, and I rarely did, so why was I doing it now? I cursed myself for being weak, I cursed Kyra for being able to get Fen when I couldn't, but most of all I cursed Fen for capturing my heart so easily. Stupid faunus...

The entire time all of this was shooting through my mind, Riley stayed perfectly silent in front of me. He didn't try to comfort me, yet he did just by being there anyways. As my tears finally slowed and my gasps of air were few and far between, I looked up at him and he just flashed a soft, glowing smile. I forced my mouth to smile back as best I could and he obviously noticed it wasn't genuine, but his didn't waver in the slightest.

"You want to head to bed or let out some steam in the gym?" he asked, standing up in preparation for my answer. "Oh! Maybe go grab some food? Food is always good." His stomach growled as he finished the sentence, and it was hard to suppress my inevitable giggle at the face he made. "Go on ahead, Riley. I'm going to call it a night." He shrugged, gave a wave, and quickly left the room for the mess hall.

The door clicked shut, leaving me alone in the deafening silence of our room. The weight of the empty air pushed me back hard onto the cool, welcoming fabric of the bed and I quickly found myself tangled in the blankets. The pillow found its way under my head and my eyes fought hard against the weights that suddenly pulled them together, but they quickly lost their will to fight when a large yawn pushed its way up my chest and out of my mouth. "Stupid faunus..." I muttered once more to myself as I nuzzled deeper into the blankets and entered the world of dreams.

"You mean to tell me that you care about a boy that you've known for a few weeks at most?" Father's words were harsh and I flinched when he slammed his fist on the table. "No daughter of mine will be seen fraternizing with a boy. No, a daughter of mine only deserves a man. One of wealth and title. Not some poor hunter from the forest."

"He's right you know." Mother's words echoed through the hall from beside father. "All anyone will do is talk about how the Kilna family heiress is flirting with some poor, dirty hunter instead of someone with class and power. No one would take you seriously, and that can't happen if you're going to inherit this company one day young lady."

They were right. If I was supposed to run this company, I would need someone strong beside me. Someone who knew the corporate workings inside and out. Someone whose life revolved around making money. I didn't want that, though. I didn't want a guy who just wants sales. I didn't want to think about stocks and bonds. I wanted to kill Grimm and find a guy who made me smile. Fen did it so easily back on the sky ship. No one made me laugh that easily.

Behind me I heard lighthearted whispering and muffled giggling. As I turned, the stark white marbled hallway I was in gradually opened into a densely wooded forest in mid-Autumn. Leaves whipped playfully through the air as they dropped from the branches, the sun shone in beams through slight openings in the canopies, and the two people I didn't want to see most stood about twenty feet in front of me joking and laughing. The entire scene was happy and beautiful, and each second made me more and more sick to my stomach.

Each hand grasped its partner on the other person, and their faces neared as the laughter died down. The one thing I hadn't witness was now happening in front of me, and my heart broke in my chest. I tried to turn, but unseen forces kept me facing my friends. Thankfully, they parted rather quickly, reverting back to the whispering and giggling. Strangely, my body began feeling... Warm? I tried to move, but my limbs were restricted. My muscles and movement felt heavy and sluggish. The whispering got louder and louder as I struggled in my bindings, taunting me. It got louder and louder, closer and closer until...

I woke up. My bindings were comforting blankets, and the whispering was my two idiotic friends walking in the room as loudly as possible. "Come on, Fen, you have a bed! Sleep in here for once. I worry when you stay outside." I heard the wolf laugh and bid the blonde goodnight, shutting the door as he left. She gave an exasperated sigh and collapsed on the bed beside me. "Was he this annoying when you guys hung out?"

It took me a second before I realized the question was directed at me. I slowly sat up and shook my head. "He a was a bit more charming, but he seemed pretty stubborn. I haven't known him long." She gave me a surprised look and I just shrugged. "I met him the day we came to Beacon. We ran around campus a bit and then we didn't see each other until the forest." She laughed and shook her head.

"Ran around hiding from me," she said as her laugh died off. "He's such a jerk." I felt a smile creep onto my face as I couldn't help but agree. "Nah, he's just a little different is all," she said as she retracted her earlier statement, "He's had it rough." I was gonna ask her more, my curiosity peaked, but Kyra gave a small sigh and stood up, grabbing her guns from her hanging holsters next to the closet and laying them down on the dresser on the opposite side of the room.

Awkward silence quickly filled the room as she fiddled with her weapons and I shifted uncomfortably in my bed. She probably didn't even realize she hinted at knowing his past. I wonder how long she's known, or how long they've been this close. "So... He told you about his past?"

She fumbled her gun and I heard it hit the desk. "Huh? Uh... Yeah, yeah... Somehow I got him to open up a little. He's just a little puppy under that rough wolf exterior." She said with a nervous laugh. She picked up the dropped weapon and began tinkering with it again. "...I'm sure he'll open up to you soon. He just needs a little time, people aren't really his strong point." She look over from the desk and gave a smile. "It looked like he fought pretty hard to save you back in the forest, you know."

I felt my face heat up and immediately chucked a pillow at her head, laughing as she yelped when it made contact. "Don't. I am way too tired for this shit," she threatened as she threw it back, but the smile was evident in her voice. I laid back in bed and rolled onto my side, closing my eyes as they grew heavy once more.

"Thanks, Kyra."

"Mhm."

The cool pillow under my cheek was, for once, comforting instead of lonely. I let out a relaxed sigh, settled into bed, and fell back to sleep.