Reid waited in the city for Maggie. He had made sure everything was perfect. He even made a stop at a certain store for a gift for her. He wanted to make everything go right today. He had some time before Maggie would arrive, but he couldn't think of a way to kill time.
"Well if it isn't Reid. How's life treating you?"
Reid looked around to see who had called him. He saw that it was the old man from the weapon shop. He had a stack of flyers in his hand and was wearing a shirt with an advertisement for his store on it. It took everything in Reid not to laugh.
Reid smiled at the old man. "I've been great. What brings you here?"
The old man laughed. "Looking for customers. The tournament is coming up, and all these kids from other schools are prime real estate."
"Is that what the shirt's for?"
The old man tapped his head and grinned. "You have to plant the seed. Then when one of these kids gets low on ammo they'll remember the shop owner who handed them a flyer and then I've got a new customer."
Reid thought about it. "That's not a bad idea."
The old man looked like he had remembered something. "I heard about what happened to you and your teammates. I'm glad you're okay."
"It's no big deal. I got lucky, that's all."
"Well, at least you'll have an interesting story to tell when you're an old man yourself."
Reid's eyes were drawn to the scars that covered the man's face. "Like how you got those?"
The old man a strange look on his face. It was serious, but also sort of sad. The air around him suddenly felt heavy. "I don't think anyone would be interested in hearing about that. You kids are lucky to live in such peaceful times."
Reid felt as though he said something he shouldn't have.
The old man seemed to pick up on that and tried to salvage the mood. "So, what are you doing? I figured you'd be preparing for the tournament with the other kids."
Reid instantly perked up. "I'm meeting my girlfriend for a date."
The old man gave a surprised grin. "Really? Good job, boy. What's she like?"
"She's amazing. She pretty, strong, she makes me laugh. She's pretty much perfect."
"Aw, you're gonna make me blush."
Reid turned toward the sound of her voice. "Hi Maggie." He looked at her and was stunned.
She was wearing a white sundress and a matching hat to cover up her ears. Her lips were slightly red with makeup, and her eyes seemed brighter than usual.
Reid couldn't find the words to describe how beautiful he found her. He tried to talk but just stumbled over his words.
The old man let out a low whistle. "Well hello miss."
Maggie waved at the old man. "Hi. I'm Maggie. It's nice to meet you"
The old man gave her a toothless smile. "The pleasure is all mine. It's always nice to meet such a lovely young woman. Reid here has told me a lot about you."
Maggie returned his smile. Reid thought her sharp looking teeth had their own unique qualities. "I hope they were good things."
The old man laughed. "He doesn't have a bad word to say about you. You two are a perfect match for each other."
Maggie blushed slightly. "Thank you. You're so kind."
The old man looked around and saw a group of students and made his way toward them. "Well, time for me to get back to work. You two have fun."
Reid waved him goodbye. "See you around old man."
Maggie grinned at Reid. "So, any more words about how amazing I am?"
Reid turned away from her. "Let's just go." He took her hand and they walked towards their first destination.
"This isn't the same restaurant as last time is it?" Maggie asked.
"No, I looked this one up first. They've got good food, and they're good to Faunus. You don't need the hat."
Maggie shrugged. "I'll keep it on. It's nice going out without getting stared at."
"Oh."
Reid's heart was pounding in his chest. He could smell her strawberry scented body wash. His palm was slowly getting covered in sweat. He hoped Maggie didn't mind.
She started laughing. Reid grew nervous.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"I can hear your heart beating. It's like a jackhammer."
"Sorry"
"Don't apologize. I kind of like it. My ears are really sensitive so I pick up a lot of things I don't want to, but if I focus on you I don't hear anything else."
"That sounds tough"
"Some days are better than others."
Reid wanted to change the subject. "So, that outfit..."
Maggie frowned. "What's wrong? You don't like it?"
"No, it's beautiful. It's just not what you usually wear."
She smiled. "Thanks. Rain helped me pick it out."
"Did she help you with the makeup too?"
She shook her head. "Iris helped with that. Rain… doesn't wear makeup."
That made sense. Rain looked normal when she drank some water, but she only did that when she was about to fight. The thought of her dried out face caked in makeup sent chills down Reid's spine. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind once they made it to the restaurant. It was much fancier than what they were used to. The two of them felt underdressed.
Reid walked up to the receptionist. "I have a reservation under 'Wenland'.
The receptionist looked through a list of reservations and found Reid's name. He guided the two teens to their seats.
As they waited for their food Reid tried to start a conversation. He tried to think of something to say but could only stare at Maggie.
"She's so pretty" Reid said.
Maggie's face turned red and she looked down at the table.
"Did I say that out loud?"
She nodded. "I don't mind. No one's ever called me pretty before."
"Really?"
"Yeah. When I was a kid people thought I was a boy. Not like much has changed now. Put me next to Pyrrha, Yang, or Iris and you'd still think so."
Reid thought about that. Maggie and Iris standing side by side severely highlighted the difference between them.
Maggie looked upset. Reid needed to change the subject.
"So, you said you lived in Menagerie for a while, what was that like?"
"It was hot all year, and there were people everywhere. Other than that it was great. Beaches, fresh fruit, and all the fish I could eat. I didn't spend much time on the island though. I'd spend most of my time helping my dad on his boat."
"Was he a sailor?"
"Yeah. He made his living as a fisherman, but sometimes people would ask him to take them somewhere. Usually he'd leave with one person and come back with another."
"Why would someone go to Menagerie?"
Maggie shrugged. "Plenty of reasons. Usually it's a Faunus who decided to leave the kingdoms, sometimes it's a human on the run. It's a great place to hide. Most people think Vacuo, but no one would ever think to look for a human in the Faunus country."
"People run away to Menagerie? That's good to know."
Maggie started to laugh. "Why? You running from someone?"
"Yeah. If they catch me they'll kill me, but first they have to catch me."
"The Prince with 1000 Enemies. Good one." She ate a bit of food before speaking again. "Could you tell me about Atlas? I've always wondered how the other half lived."
A waiter came by with their food. As Reid was eating he thought about what he could remember about Atlas.
He leaned back in his chair. "It was cold all the time, so were the people. Everyone had this… hardness to them. When I grew up things were really tense. There was this weight in the air that everyone felt. After the White Fang started their shit the whole country was on the verge of exploding. Of course I was just a kid when all that was going on. I never really noticed any of it until…" his voice trailed off.
"Yeah. It must have been rough"
Reid shrugged. "Truth be told I got off luckier than some people. It was better than being a Faunus around that time. Atlas was never the best place to be one, but after things started going sideways it got a lot worse. A lot of the hate people kept under the surface started coming out more and more. People were fighting in the streets, killing each other. I'm surprised it didn't end in another war. I'm glad I got out."
"Where'd you go after you left?"
Reid shrugged. "Here and there. Ended up living in a small village for a while, moved to Vale when school started up."
They got their bill and paid for their food. They thanked the waiter for their service and left the restaurant.
Maggie looked at the sky. "Movie starts in about twenty minutes. We should get going"
Reid remembered the call Noah had made. "Instead of the movie, there's somewhere else I want to take you"
OoOoOoO
Noah was surprised at how good he looked in a tuxedo. He ran his fingers through his hair and slicked it back. He thought he looked fine, but he needed a second opinion. He turned to his date to ask her opinion.
"What do you think?"
Oriana was wearing a black dress that went down past her knees. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and she was wearing gold bracelets on both wrists. They hadn't paid for any of these items. Noah had made them with his semblance. It was a way for them to save money and for Noah to test his abilities. The constructs he made usually disappeared after a few hours, but the dress and the jewelry had lasted for an entire day.
"I do not care about your appearance." She was impressed at Noah's skill. The dress and jewelry were identical to the real things, even down to the finest detail.
Noah looked at his watch. If they left now they'd arrive at the school right as the doors opened. "You ready to head out?"
"I cannot believe you convinced me to attend this pointless distraction." She stuck out her hand expectantly. Noah took it. Her hand was soft and warm, like a real human's. The attention to detail made Noah's heart race. He wanted to meet the people behind such a wondrous creation.
When they arrived at the dance they could hear music. There were students and teachers dancing already. A fair number of students were mingling along the walls. Noah and Oriana decided to join them.
The music was so loud each beat shook Noah to the core. It was a perfect time to try and talk with her.
"What did you do before coming here?"
Oriana looked him up and down. "I have only been active for a year. The people who built me did so in order to test their artificial intelligence. Despite their best efforts there were certain limitations that I was unable to overcome."
"What kind of limitations?"
"The kind you do not need to know about. Let me ask you something. If you have no memories before arriving in Atlas, how did you end up incarcerated?"
Noah shrugged. "Bad luck. I just happened to share a name with a wanted criminal."
"You did not make any attempt to prove your innocence?"
"Well I couldn't remember enough about my life to tell if I hadn't done what they accused me of. Besides, even if I told them my name was fake, they would've asked me for my real name and I'd be SOL. I didn't matter either way, I only did four years and I'm out now."
"You have a very lax attitude regarding your life. I admit there is a part of me that envies that."
Noah laughed. The song changed to a slow, more intimate tune. He grabbed Oriana by the arm and they went to the dance floor.
Noah had one hand in Oriana's and another around her waist. They went through the motions of dancing. Their eyes met. Noah noticed that her pupils had a slight edge to them, like the shutter of a camera. The sight made him deeply uncomfortable.
"You're pretty good. Where'd you learn to dance?" Noah said.
"It was simply a matter of acquiring the right data. Such simple motions are easy to program."
"Did you dance a lot before?"
"I was not allowed to leave the lab so I found myself growing bored often. I taught myself to dance and would do so with my father if he had nothing better to do."
Noah looked surprised. "Your father? Is he the one who built you?"
"One of a group, although he is the only one left."
Noah didn't ask any more questions. They continued to dance for a while before the song changed. It was a faster song than before. The two of them sped up the pace of their movements. They were beginning to draw attention to themselves. Noah was going to say something when Oriana got a strange look on her face. It was anger, but something else. It almost looked like jealousy. As Noah spun around he got a look at what had caught her eye. It was the general from Atlas dancing with Ms. Goodwitch. They were looking into each other's eyes with a deep affection. It seemed the rumors about the two of them were true after all.
Noah smirked. "What's wrong, you have a thing for the general?"
Oriana glared at him and stomped hard on his foot. He never realized how heavy Oriana was until this moment. It took everything he had not to scream. His eyes welled up with tears.
"Be quiet" she snapped at him.
Noah was lucky his foot didn't break. "Obviously I touched a nerve. What's the problem? If you want to dance with him then go for it."
She looked over at the two adults. Glynda spotted Team CRDL hovering near the punch bowl and decided to put a stop to whatever they were planning. The general stood alone.
"There's your chance" Noah said.
"I cannot. If he recognizes me it will end badly."
"So it'll be okay if he doesn't recognize you?"
Oriana was confused by what he meant. Without warning Noah stepped forward and kissed her on the lips. He enjoyed the brief few seconds before breaking contact. Oriana struck out at him. Noah avoided her attack and conjured a small mirror. He held it up to Oriana's face. She looked at it and her eyes widened. Her face was completely different from before. Her features were shaped differently, her eyes were a different color, and her pupils no longer had an edge to them.
"Doubt he'd recognize you now" Noah said. He looked over and saw Glynda dragging Team CRDL out of the room by their ears. Noah tried not to laugh. "If what I've heard about her punishments is true she won't be back for a while. Now's your chance." He pushed her away from him.
The general stood on the wall with his hands behind his back. He had a small smile on his face. This was one of the few moments he looked relaxed.
Oriana walked up to him.
"Pardon me. If it is alright with you, may I dance with you?" she asked, sounding bashful.
Ironwood looked at the girl. "I'm flattered, but wouldn't you prefer someone your own age?"
Oriana shook her head. "I would be an honor to dance with a man as distinguished as yourself. An opportunity like this does not come often."
Ironwood smiled at her. "If you insist. Do you mind telling me your name?"
"My name is… Olivia."
"Well Olivia, may I have this dance?"
The two of them danced together. Ironwood towered over Oriana and tried not to overpower her. They made for an interesting sight. The glares from the female Atlas Academy students could have melted steel. Oriana ignored their jealousy. In this moment nothing else mattered but the man in her arms. She never could have imagined this happening in her wildest dreams. She savored every single second she could. When the song ended the two of them broke away. Ironwood gave a short bow and returned to his place on the wall. Oriana thanked him and went back to Noah.
"That one's for free" Noah said.
Oriana elbowed him in the ribs, but she couldn't stop smiling. "I appreciate it. I will remember this night."
The two of them walked outside. As they were walking Oriana stopped and looked off in the distance.
"What's up?" Noah asked.
"There is an incredibly powerful energy moving towards Beacon Tower. I have never felt a power like that before."
"How can you tell?"
"I am a machine built for war. I have certain sensors that allow me to gauge the level of one's aura. This one is odd. It is as if there are two distinct readings coming from a single person."
"Wanna go after it?"
"No, it is none of our concern"
Noah shrugged. "Alright. I feel like turning in anyway." He saw a student walking into the dance hall and did a double take. "Speaking of weird shit, I'm pretty sure I just saw a guy wearing a dress"