So, does anybody wonder who Rusti's date to the dance was? I'm taking your silence as a yes, and giving you this chapter.
Rusti walked the hallways of Beacon. Few other students were there, and most he didn't really take note of. He was wandering; he had nothing to do, and nowhere to go really. As he was walking, and a familiar scent came from behind—like flowers.
Hands came over his eyes, and he stopped. "Guess who?"
Rusti grinned. "Fuchsia… what was your last name?"
Fuchsia giggled, and Rusti turned around. There was the pink haired Fuchsia. They'd gone to the dance together, and since then, Fuchsia had been following him a lot. He contemplated whether or not she was a stalker, but he doubted it.
"Hey, Rusti," Fuchsia said in her bubbly voice.
"Hey, Fuchsia," Rusti replied. "How's it going?"
"Fine. I'm little down about Yang getting disqualified, but other than that's it's been a good day." Rusti gave a short laugh and began walking again. Fuchsia followed. "What does that mean?"
"I just think it's surprising she didn't crack earlier." Fuchsia gave him a look. "What?"
"It's not funny. Breaking someone's leg is serious."
"Oh please, did you hear it? It was probably a metal leg," he kidded.
"I didn't hear anything."
"Can you take a joke?"
"Not about breaking people's legs." They were silent for a while.
Eventually, someone called out towards them. "Fuchsia!" Rusti turned with Fuchsia, and a short, blonde girl in Beacon uniform was running towards them. As she got closer, she said, "Hey, Fuchsia." She looked at Rusti. "Who's the bonfire?"
That was a new one.
Now that she was standing in front of him, Rusti realized how short she really was. The girl was a little less than a foot shorter than him, but was at least as old as he was. He found it a little odd that this girl was a Huntress.
"I'm Rusti Tolkien, and you are?" he said.
"Saffron Florian," the short girl said. "And Fuchsia's team leader."
"Really?" He almost wanted to laugh. To think she was in command of a team was a little unbelievable.
"You better believe it," Saffron replied. "I'm leader of team SFRN." It was just her first name repeated, which was the least creative team name he'd heard in a long time.
"Well, where's the rest of your team?"
"Right here," a guy's voice said behind him. He turned around, and when he saw a metal wolf's head staring back at him, he jumped. After he realized it was a helmet, he took a better look at the wearer. He was a man in red, with gray furs, and armor. He had a sword on his back under a fur cape, and his wolf helmet looked as intimidating as anything. He couldn't see the upper half of his face because of the helmet, so he had little idea of what he looked like. "Ha," the guy laughed. "This is the guy you've been hanging out with, Fuchsia?"
Blushing, Fuchsia nodded.
"Well, I wouldn't say he's an improvement." He turned his head, looking at Rusti like he was a statue he was considering buying. "I say I could beat him."
"Did you beat her last boyfriend?" Rusti asked, curious. He wasn't afraid, as far as anyone was concerned, but he was nervous. This guy looked crazy, though the lower half of his face seemed slightly familiar.
The guy laughed. "I was her last boyfriend, Rusti."
Wait a second. "How do you know my name?"
"Ah, so the helmet makes me unrecognizable. Good to know." He raised the snout of his wolf head helmet like a knight would raise his visor. He looked vaguely familiar, with a couple similarities to Storm, Rayne, and Skye, but he looked very much like a different person.
"Should I know you?" Rusti asked.
He frowned. "I'm Redell—Storm and Rayne's cousin."
"Oh."
"I watched the last match with you."
"Huh. I don't remember you."
"Well isn't that flattering," he said, obviously sarcastic. Redell turned to Fuchsia. "Real improvement."
"So, what are you doing in your battle armor?" Fuchsia asked. So this wasn't what he wore normally.
"I was just waiting for Nixie. We were supposed to have a sparring match today."
"You wanna get beaten up again?" Saffron said.
"Hey, you can't beat her either," Redell said defensively.
"I can't beat her, you can't beat her, us and Fuchsia combined can't beat her. I wouldn't be surprised if she could take on the Atlesian military!" She was that powerful? "It's like the universe custom made a juggernaut!"
"Maybe you're just not that great," Rusti offered.
Saffron gave him a look. "Big talk from you, 'got taken out in the first round man'."
"Well, what about you? I didn't see you in the tournament."
Redell smiled, but it seemed insincere. "Our fearless leader Saffron said that we didn't need accolades to prove we're the best, and we didn't even enter the qualifier."
"Hey," Saffron snapped. "'He who seeks glory will find himself shamed'."
"And where is that from?" Redell asked.
As the two bickered, Rusti decided to take his leave. Fuchsia followed.
"So, where do you want to go?" Rusti asked.
"I was thinking the garden, or maybe a café," Fuchsia replied.
"Let's go with a café—I have certain… unresolved things with gardens." He was glad when Fuchsia laughed at his small joke.
They were on their way to leave Beacon to go down to the city, when a woman's voice called out for him. It sounded like Netia, only there wasn't malice in the voice. He turned around to see Netia running after him down the courtyard. He panicked.
"Rusti," Netia said. He almost ran, but he wasn't going to embarrass himself in front of a woman he was going on a date with. "Rusti." She stopped in front of him. She didn't seem to threaten him, nor was the taller, muscular Gaia around to intimidate him. "I just wanted to say…" She inhaled deeply. She was out of breath! "I'm sorry for tormenting you all those times. I'm sorry for everything. Can you forgive me for all that?"
He wasn't sure how to reply. He was used to girls going out with him and/or beating him up. He'd never met one who apologized for beating him up. They always said he deserved it. This was a good change. "Apology accepted," he said, happy with the change.
"Thank you." Netia breathed in again. "Now do you know where I can find Cirocco?"
"I don't know." He was sure that he wasn't at Beacon, but beyond that was anybody's guess.
"Well, I've got to find him. I'll see you another time then." And then Netia ran off.
Fuchsia looked to Rusti, curious. "What exactly did she do to you?" she asked.
Rusti hesitated. "I'll tell you after the tournament's over."
She frowned. "But you'll be leaving after the tournament."
"Exactly." And he kept walking.
Hey, I googled the phrase Saffron said (he who seeks glory will find himself shamed) and it seems as though nobody has been quoted saying that. Hooray, something people an quote me or my characters for! And nobody will.