—12:02 hours, Wednesday, 19th of the 6th month, 1215 R.A.D.
Office of the Headmaster, Grand Clocktower, Beacon Academy
"I'm sorry I'm late!" Karen announced as soon as she walked through the doors of Ozpin's office. "Is this everyone?"
"It's fine." Ozpin dismissed with a nod. "Though, unfortunately, due to circumstances that demand their immediate attention, Headmaster Torako and Headmaster Leonardo are unable to join us today."
"Great." She took a seat on a couch beside Lilly.
"Would there ever be a chance to summon all headmasters into one meeting?" Lilly questioned. "It's imperative that we meet each other if we are to work together, after all."
"My apologies, Lilly," Ozpin smiled apologetically. "I'll make sure to summon all headmasters in the next one."
"That would be great, thank you. Ah, but I must mention that I've spoken with Headmaster Torako personally — I have to say, she reminds me of Tielle and Karen's old martial arts master, Master Roberta. Now, while I've never met Master Roberta, I've heard stories about her straight out of her students." She drifted.
And as she drifted, she earned varying degrees of confused looks, which she paid no mind, continuing as if she was merely talking to herself.
"It was two days after Bardy and I arrived in Remnant, she sought us out after we made a lot of noise within the kingdom. I'm not quite sure why we ended up in Vacuo yet but," She chuckled, waving her hand to dismiss a certain memory's intrusion in her thoughts, "that's a story for another time if you don't mind. I feel that if I start now, I'd take up the entire chapter and the next one — I don't believe the narrator would appreciate me going off schedule if you know what I mean," She said, winking at Ozpin.
Excuse me? What are you doing? Are you taking my job now?
"Ehem," Lilly cleared her throat and smiled brightly. "My!" She gently touched her own cheek in an act of feigned modesty. "Excuse my babbling by the end, I read this curious story recently where the narrator would occasionally insert their thoughts during exposition and narration to break the 4th wall and provide cheap humor, so I thought I'd try my hand in it in real life. As expected, you're all giving me weird looks."
"Lilly," Karen called with an incredibly forced polite smile on her face. "Do you need meds?"
"No, Karen, I eat a healthy well-balanced diet, exercise daily, and drink my supplements but I do appreciate your concern." Lilly smiled cheerily.
"We're getting your head checked later, okay?" Karen said with genuine worry in her tone.
"Oh," Lilly held a finger up at Karen, "now, I worry for you. Last time I had my head checked, I was in for a minor concussion, a small accident while I was animatedly playing the violin at our garden. The doctor ended up needing psychiatric help while we spoke and seeing as I was already there, I endeavored to provide my aid until a licensed professional was available for him." She looked up with a finger to her cheek. "I do wonder how he's doing — I hope he's managed to fix his marriage with his wife and reconnected with his children now."
And for a short while, silence reigned as they all stared at Lilly in complete and utter confusion.
Another moment of silence passed and Karen cleared her throat. "Right! So, let's all forget that ever happened, shall we?"
"I agree," Ozpin quickly responded with a raised hand.
General Ironwood, Specialist Schnee, and Deputy Headmistress Goodwitch all expressed their nonverbal agreement.
"Rude." Lilly scoffed and pouted with arms crossed but she couldn't help the grin from creeping on her face. "I was just messing with all of you! Come now! You don't possibly think I'm that insane, right? I'm a perfectly normal human being."
"Now you're just being sarcastic, Lilly." Karen shot her down with a disapproving look. "Let's just begin, I already arrived a few minutes late and you playing around just wasted even more time."
Lilly giggled before straightening up on her seat. "Very well, enough jokes." She took her cup and sipped daintily. "For now." Earning a quick glare from Karen.
Within the office sat Ozpin in his usual place, Lilly nearest to him, and finally, Karen. On the other side across the small table sat General Ironwood directly across Karen, and Glynda opposite Lilly. Though, behind General Ironwood was Specialist Schnee who refused to sit.
"The meeting hasn't even begun but I'm already drained." Karen took a sip at the coffee offered to her and let out an exasperated sigh. "So, what's first on today's agenda?"
"How about beginning by explaining your relationship to us?" General Ironwood suggested as he eyed Lilly and Karen. "I understand that you're both allies to Ozpin and by extension to me, but I still find the nature of your origins... dubious at best. What are your goals? Why are you helping us? And what was that about Vacuo?"
"I'd be happy to answer those, General." Lilly offered with a smile. "Except for that thing with Vacuo. The narrator really will not appreciate me going off schedule. But if you must know, do stick around in Beacon for the next few chapters. I'm sure our dear author will be expanding on that some time soon."
Lillianne, I swear to the author if you don't stop now.
She coughed into her hand and donned a more dignified smile as she internally relished the confusion she was causing the others. "We — Dr. Maxwell, Ms. Margory, Mr. Armas, and I — are Avatāra, a small but highly elite mercenary team from Earth, a parallel world." She gestured to the laid out folders labeled with their names and photographs. "I've prepared our résumés for you so that you may view them during or after the meeting."
"Another world..." General muttered as he skimmed through the résumés, and while doing so, heard a near-inaudible scoff from the specialist behind him. "I've provided funding for a couple of brilliant scientists back in Atlas studying quantum mechanics but, quite frankly, that's hard to believe." He set them down on the table.
"But true nonetheless." Lilly countered with a knowing look. "The easiest way to prove it would be to compare our world's knowledge with yours, show you undoctored photos of anything from our world, and..." Her eyes glowed bright momentarily before fading. "...Essentia with our Aura off. Well," She paused, giggling with an eye roll, "my Aura off."
"There's no need to talk about it again, Lilly," Karen interjected. "I've already shown James my Essentia and he's already confirmed with his scientists that I have no Aura — at least, an unlocked one."
"I'm just making sure." General Ironwood loosened his collar just a bit as he recalled the moment Karen morbidly and unflinchingly injured herself with a scalpel through her hand only for it to heal as soon as it was pulled out. "And, admittedly, I'm curious. What is your Essentia, Miss Vernillion?"
"Please, General, Lilly is fine. Most of everyone calls me that, even Ozpin and Glynda." She smiled graciously. "But before I answer your question, you already know of Karen's?"
"Healing Touch she called it, correct?"
"The ability to magnify and accelerate a person's recovery rate through skin contact with her, yes. It's a magnificent skill but quite physically and mentally taxing for both the healer and the healee." Lilly nodded. "Mine is..." Her eyes glowed dimly once again as she grinned widely. It was, if General and Specialist were being openly honest, a fair bit intimidating. "...the ability to see."
That earned a chuckle and a slight head shake from Karen. "Stop playing around, please, Lilly. You're still treating these meetings like banter."
"You can see?" General reiterated. "Does that mean you originally couldn't?"
The dim in her eyes faded to reveal piercing purple irises. "That's correct. Before I received my Essentia, I used to be blind. And after receiving it, I found out that seeing wasn't the only thing granted to me. If I focus, I can watch a lightning strike lazily roll down the sky in what would feel like minutes to my mind even though it should only take a second to all of you."
General Ironwood nodded, impressed. "I understand that it is a great asset both in and out of combat, so I'm curious to know how you apply such a skill outside of it. Would you mind showing me?"
"No, General, I don't mind." She put a finger to her cheek and tilted her head to the side. "I suppose I could start with reading your face?"
"My face?" Dubious, he raised a brow. And so did Specialist Schnee before they both shared a look. "Very well."
"Wonderful," Lilly clasped her hands and looked at Ozpin. "Ozpin, you've never told me anything about the General, have you?"
Ozpin nodded. "Just that he is one of my most trusted friends and associates."
"Good, good." She nodded sagely before locking her dimly lit eyes with General's gaze. "You are... James Ironwood, 36 years old." She stood from her seat and sauntered over to him. "General of the Atlas Military and Headmaster of Atlas Academy, all basic and public information."
The General nodded.
"You're dubious of me, testing whether I'm as competent as Ozpin presents despite his confidence. You're thinking about the time you saw me decimate all those Grimm in the forest from a live video, aren't you? Wondering whether I'm that same girl or not. I don't believe I'm acting far too differently from then and now, am I?" She stood in front of him and stared unflinchingly at his eyes. "And you..." She grinned. "...are going to grab my arm if I walk any closer than this, yes?"
Specialist Schnee froze from where she stood, her hand stiff in the air before she could even reach halfway, eyes wide and alarmed as she stared back at eyes that never even moved to her direction.
"Very well." Lilly presented her empty hands for everyone to see and took a step back as she finally locked gazes with Specialist Schnee. "Let me read you instead. Just a warning, it will be very uncomfortable for you."
She blinked back at the younger girl and before she could say a word, Lilly cut her off.
"Specialist Winter Schnee, Yes?" Lilly closely eyed her. "May I call you Winter?"
Winter looked to her superior and blinked several times, unsure of how to react. Still, she managed to nod her head once and that was all the consent Lilly needed.
"Très bien!" She said in her native accent, bowed her head and scraped as she was wont to do. Though, as she did so, Karen gave her an odd look. "My name is Aliciel Lillianne Le Fiora de La Vernillion." She raised her head and winked at the older woman. "But please, everyone calls me Lilly. So it would be my pleasure if you would call me as such."
Confused by the eccentric introduction, Winter could do nothing but nod. "Lilly it is, then."
"Merci!" Lilly righted her posture and leaned close with a curious hand to her cheek. "Now comes the uncomfortable part. Excusez-moi."
"Excuse me?" Winter blinked, her confusion growing for every odd accent and words she heard from the odd girl.
"22 years old?"
Winter regained her composure and deigned not to dignify Lilly with a response but, alas, it was Lilly. None can lie to Lilly. And Lilly could hold a verbal conversation with a mute that could neither read, write, nor sign. So Winter was internally flabbergasted when Lilly appeared so sure of herself and continued the conversation on her own.
"Weiss's older sister?"
"..."
"And you were the original heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, correct?"
Winter's eyes narrowed at the girl, though she simply took it as another form of confirmation.
"But you escaped by enlisting into the military at a young age! My, how bold!"
"...!"
"You have a deep hatred for your father..." She walked to half an arm's length away from the alert specialist, quite uncomfortably close in Winter's honest opinion. "And," She quickly snapped her fingers right next to Winter's face, making her flinch ever so slightly. Lilly caught the subtle change and smiled just a wee bit wider. "a deep fondness for your younger sister that you would never admit to her as well as great disappointment and worry over your younger brother."
"Y-You-"
"What's his name?" Lilly leaned her face closer but backed off before Specialist Schnee could back away herself and answer. "Ah, Whi-..." Lilly drawled, gauging Winter's reactions. "Whit? Whitley? Yes? No?"
Winter glared at Lilly, unable to comprehend how a girl she'd never met was reading her like an open book.
"Yes, Whitley."
"..."
"13 years old? Living with your loathsome father and inebriate mother?" Lilly raised her hands in front of her defensively while smiling slyly. "Ah, those are your words, correct?"
"You-!"
"And now you wish to arrest me for interrogation." Lilly sent Ozpin and Glynda a wry smile while taking a few steps back with her hands raised to show she meant no harm. "A little help before the General gives the go and gets me arrested, please? I'm curious about Atlas' interrogation rooms but I don't think now's the right time to go there."
"What have you been telling her, Ozpin!?" General Ironwood asks accusingly.
"Just that you are one of my closest friends and associates." Ozpin set his mug on the table and gave General Ironwood the most serious look he could muster. "Mind you, I only spoke about you with that one line and absolutely nothing about Specialist Schnee. Everything else she said, she either learned from books or the internet." He leaned back on his seat, relaxing while taking his mug in hand and sipped once. "Or from reading your faces."
"All that from reading our faces?" James scoffed. "You must be joking. And one I didn't expect from you of all people. How does she know all this? If she knows more, then the danger she presents is-"
"James, you know full well that if I was joking in a meeting this important, Glynda would have sternly reprimanded me already."
James sent Glynda a dubious gaze, finding the fact that the woman had indeed kept quiet all throughout and had done nothing but take note of everything that had happened so far as any good secretary would. He looked back at the wryly smiling girl. Her body language clearly stated her intention to harm them — or lack thereof. Sighing, he massaged his temples and gestured for Specialist Schnee.
"At ease, Schnee. Let's listen to her explanation for now."
Specialist Schnee sent her superior a dubious gaze at before hesitantly nodding while she glared daggers at Lilly. "Sir."
"Thank you." Lilly sighed with a hand to her chest. She took her seat once again and smiled as apologetically as she could. "I sincerely apologize for the discomfort, however, I figured that any less would not have been enough to make you believe me.
Just as Ozpin mentioned, I did read about you from books and the internet. However, we all know the extent of the information the public knows about you. So the only way I could have possibly known about your more privately held information would be...
1. I'm a spy, which I'm not, but I can only prove that with Ozpin's help, I believe.
2. My Semblance is mind-reading or something of a similar nature — which, I will say now, isn't. My Semblance is Astral Projection. Glynda can confirm it for you but more on that later.
3. I can read your facial features, body language, and, via expertise in the psychology of the human mind and behavior and a tiny bit of manipulation, learn what is on your mind."
The two Atlesians' eyes went as wide as their disbelief could let them, however, dubious as they were, they remained silent.
"I've studied enough psychology papers to minimize my errors down to 0.5% on average." Lilly leaned back on her seat while sipping her coffee, saucer on her lap. "Any questions?"
Surprisingly, the one who first voiced their question was the Headmaster of Beacon himself.
"Yes, actually. I've been wondering ever since and have been meaning to ask."
"Yes, Ozpin?"
"How exactly did you read me?" He set his hands clasped together on his desk, hiding his mouth from view. "Not to sound as if I'm singing my own praises, but I have much faith that I am a difficult man to read. Not only that, but you also read me quite thoroughly — more than anyone's ever read me so far. It simply boggles me, how did you read me? And I don't believe you were simply reading my face, as you would put it."
Lilly met Ozpin's gaze and with a curious glance. "I'm sorry, has it been keeping you up all this time?"
"I don't believe you need my verbal answer to that question."
"I'm terribly sorry." She scratched her cheek. "But before I answer, I pose a question: Have you heard of Laplace's demon?"
"Laplace's demon?" Ozpin reiterated. "No, but it sounds ominous."
All eyes looked back at her in puzzlement and curiosity, even Karen.
"I thought not, I just wanted to confirm." Lilly smiled knowingly, she then smiled mischievously. She winked and waved a finger at Ozpin. "A girl has one or two secrets she needs to keep, I believe. It won't do to tell you about all of my trump cards when I'm positive that everyone here still has some hidden from the rest of us."
Ozpin sighed, raising his hands defensively with an understanding smile. "I can't deny that."
"However," Lilly's smile bore fangs, almost feral in the same way a certain tall redhead did. "I will tell you that it involves determinism and a certain demon in my old world."
"The Laplace's demon?" Ozpin clasped his hands and leaned on his desk with his elbows to eye the girl more closely. "To reiterate, it sounds quite ominous. And quite magical." His eyes narrowed at the girl. "Is it?"
"On the contrary, Headmaster! It can't get any more scientific!" She laughed, earning doubtful eyes from everyone in the room aside from the doctor. "Remember determinism, headmaster, nomological determinism."
"Now's a bad time to be enjoying it this much, Lilly." Karen shook her head with a sigh.
"I can't help it, Karen! It's such a wonderful feeling introducing various things from our world to theirs." Her eyes gleamed with a childlike curiosity. "Though there are a lot of similarities to Earth, ever since I came here, I've learned so much already! I can't wait to test them out and apply them once I get some time off! I will be borrowing your forge and laboratory in the future, by the way." She winked.
Lilly's lighthearted mood wasn't shared by everyone in the room with the general and the specialist feeling more and more contemplative as the meeting went longer. The longer he observed the girl, the more enigmatic she appeared.
"Now then!" Lilly perked up cheerfully. "As for our intentions, it is to go home to our world." She caught the very subtle eye twitch of a certain blonde across her and quickly her mood plummeted, though she managed to maintain a dignified front. "We obviously don't belong here and would like to return. Ozpin holds one of the keys to that but he is reluctant to use it because he believes that he needs all his trump cards in your fight against her."
Lilly studied their faces for a bit. She saw mild surprise from the General as she expected when she implied that she knew of their war. One of them understandably showed genuine confusion since she was a citizen of another world. But she was surprised when one of them appeared genuinely confused as well despite their attempt to hide it.
"General?"
"Yes?"
Lilly sent him a questioning look before sending her gaze behind him with a raise of her brow before looking back at him with a tilt of her head and another questioning look. James was confused for a moment before realizing who she was referring to and the question she laid out for him.
He hummed in thought with a hand to his chin and stayed contemplative for a moment. "Ozpin, may I?"
"Are you sure?" Ozpin narrowed his eyes at him.
James almost immediately nodded resolutely. "I trust her with my life."
Ozpin sighed and gave his nonverbal consent.
James nodded gratefully. "Specialist."
"Sir." She straightened her posture to attention.
"Take a seat."
Confused, Winder paused to try and make sense of the cryptic exchange that had been going on between them before she quickly took a seat next to the General.
"Sir." She sat upright, her posture taut.
"What I'm about to tell you is highly classified. Only those deeply trusted by Ozpin know about."
Winter felt pressured by the intense gaze she was receiving from her superior but she nonetheless managed a nod.
"And while you don't directly work for Ozpin, I work with him and you work for me. And so far, you've proven yourself exceptional with your job and I consider you one of my most trusted men."
"It is a great honor to hear, sir."
General Ironwood nodded and shut his eyes momentarily, pressing his lips in a thin line. And, with the help of his associates, revealed to her the machinations of their inner circle.
After a few minutes of Winter silently listening to everything, Specialist Schnee understandably needed time to take everything in. However, due to time constraints...
"We can speak more of this at length at a later time." General Ironwood concluded. "And any questions you have, feel free to ask by then."
"Thank you, sir."
"Moving back, thank you for waiting, Lilly."
The black-haired girl simply smiled back with a gracious nod. "Returning to the fight against her, I proposed to Ozpin a few things. One is that we will do all the heaviest lifting. All of it. We will do the espionage, the intel gathering, the vanguard, the retreating, everything. You will tell me everything — the who, the when, the where, the why, and the how, in that order. In exchange, we will spare no effort in-"
"Excuse me?" James could not help but scoff and interrupt. "Am I hearing this correctly? You wish to lead the effort?"
"Of course. It's my area of expertise." Lilly smiled confidently. "But not in the sense you're-"
"And you're okay with this, Ozpin?" He shot the headmaster a disbelieving look. "A girl you barely know, who somehow knows your secrets, is taking over your operation — our operation — and you're okay with that!?" James slammed his fist on the table, leaving cracks and spilling its contents on the floor. "Don't you see the absurdity and danger you're putting all of us through!? How could you possibly trust a little girl you've only just met!?"
But before Ozpin could speak in his defense...
"You did not let me finish speaking, General Ironwood."
Her voice reverberated through the room almost as if it took over everything.
The air grew thick, heavy.
Stifling.
The tension was palpable. The ringing in his ears threatened to make him go deaf and the hammering in his chest made him worry that his heart would burst right out.
He looked at the girl who, just moments ago, was courteous if a bit mischievous, polite, and generally welcoming, and all he found was a woman with an aura of pure domineering. One who did not take no for an answer kindly.
She quietly set her cup and saucer down the table but the sound felt like it rang multitudes louder through the still and quiet room.
"You suspect me of being an enemy, that much is understandable — reasonable, even. I'm no one you know and so most certainly, no one you trust. Yet." Lilly smiled and it sent a chill down his spine. "I commend you for that."
She relaxedly lifted her leg and crossed it over the other while her gaze never left him.
"I'm a girl no older than your graduates, and I'm no stranger to being underestimated, so that much is fine. It is how my world works and to expect otherwise here is simply childish and naive as I've gathered." She shot him a cold, taunting, yet tantalizing smile. "However, I do not speak these words lightly. I will give life and limb to make sure that your people are as safe as they can be, and our endeavor a success. Hard to believe, I know." She playfully rolled her eyes.
And with a perky clap of her hands, she dispelled the oppressive atmosphere with a charming smile...
"Soooo, I'd be happy to show you what I'm capable of if you would simply give me the chance. I'm a girl of many talents, General Ironwood. It is not overconfidence, nor is it arrogance, that lets me speak to you like this. I know what I'm capable of and I know what you need."
...and a cutesy tilt of her head.
"So I beg you, would you not deign to give me a chance?"
General Ironwood and the rest took the time to take stabilizing breaths as they all gave each other looks. He put a hand on his chest and felt for his slowly calming heart and after a moment, nodded hesitantly as the glare in his eyes only intensified.
"Very well. Show me what you can do."
"Splendide!" Lilly let a wide and genuine smile spread across her features. Eagerly, she leaned towards the table and eyed both headmasters. "If I may suggest, why don't I take care of your most pressing immediate concern? Of course, for me to succeed, I would need full cooperation from both headmasters."
Meanwhile, Glynda sighed and shook her head as she fixed the crack on the table and set aside the food that fell on the floor with a wave of her finger.
"And that is?" General Ironwood skeptically raised his brow.
"The White Fang presence in Vale, yes?"
Ozpin and James shared amused and bemused looks. And while James simply nodded his silent consent, Ozpin voiced his.
"Very well." Pleased, Lilly peered over the rim of her cup, finding that it was already empty. "Karen, anything to add?"
"Nope." Karen shook her head, her eyes cast down on the table.
Lilly smiled curiously. "Really? You look like you have something to say."
"Oh, I do," Karen smiled, meeting her gaze, "but it's nothing important to the meeting, Lilly."
The look Lilly received gave her pause, her smile freezing for a fleeting moment. "Alright." She stood and made herself another cup.
"Let's talk privately later, okay, Lillianne?"
When she turned to return to her seat, she was looking up at the ceiling and her lips were pressed to a thin line. "W-Why don't we move on to the next thing on the list?"
"Which is?" Karen sighed and shook her head.
"The warrior angel, the lone scarlet huntress, the dragonslayer," She sat back in her seat and set her saucer on her lap daintily before taking a sip. "or so the media has coined."
"Oh, dear." Karen rolled her eyes and shook her head at the laughably recognizable people the names were referring to. "You're loving this way too much."
"I like my name," Lilly giggled. "I'm not much sure about the others though." She waved with a hand. "But we digress."
"You wish to know how we will handle revealing you to the public." Ozpin guessed.
"I have my own ideas but I'd like to hear yours before I present mine. Also, if you're wondering why there's very little being tossed around despite the reporter that was immediately on the scene, well... I have my ways." Lilly grinned mischievously and stuck her tongue out.
Ozpin nodded with curiosity in his eyes. "Hm. With your consent, I wish to present Avatāra as a highly elite team of a huntsman and huntresses I've personally gathered. The story will be that I recruited all four of you after learning of your individual skills and that I would have had you registered under the Vale Huntsmen Guild already if the Grimm hadn't attacked."
Lilly hummed in thought while the rest nodded their heads. "That story begs the question of why we didn't just do that in the first place. Tielle has been with you the longest, your students would wonder why you took so long to do it."
"Correct." Ozpin agreed. "There's an easy answer to that but it's also why I've yet to give a proper statement. I want to straighten out our stories to avoid confusion."
Lilly nodded. "How about the General? What do you think?"
James looked at her curiously and took a moment to pause and think. "Personally, I only know as much as the rumors about you go, so Ozpin's scenario works well, in my opinion. However, do understand that this opinion is wholly underinformed. In most cases, these sorts of statements are merely for the purpose of PR to appease the public. So in the end, doing nothing might just be your best course of action in the long run."
"Hmm. Winter?"
Winter looked at Lilly in surprise. "Yes?"
"Now that you're a part of Ozpin's circle, I'd love to hear your input." She smiled and sipped. "I will be asking you two the same question too."
Both blondes looked at the girl unsurprised. Karen expected to be included as she always had been whenever she and Lilly met up with various people. Glynda, on the other hand, expected it simply as it was part of her job as a secretary and an integral part of Ozpin's circle.
Winter paused with a hand to her chin, her eyes sent to the floor.
"From what I've heard in the news, the most popular theory is that the three of you were hired by Headmaster Ozpin because he expected the surge of Grimm beforehand. That the headmaster himself sought you out as a preventive measure for the onslaught, which explains Ms. Margory's quick response to the situation. However, there are a lot of mysteries concerning this case, and one of the biggest is how Ms. Margory lured all those Grimm away."
She paused again and gauged Lilly's response to her conjectures so when she saw that she was simply smiling back at her, she continued her train of thought.
"Consequently, that question lends credence to the theory that Headmaster Ozpin knew of the onslaught beforehand because people guessed that her Semblance was the ability to lure Grimm to her, and that you specifically sought her out because of it. That goes for Mr. Armas as well — he was the only one that kept the Wyvern at bay — which, again, supports the theory that Headmaster Ozpin knew this was going to happen. There was also your performance to ease the people as they watched the live, quite ingenious."
Lilly giggled, taking Winter's words as a compliment. "Why do you think the people are guessing that the headmaster knew beforehand?"
"Because people think that Beacon's response was far too quick and that what happened was far too lucky. I certainly do. All three of you were in the right place at the right time. It's quite the conspiracy."
"I see." Lilly nodded and set her cup and saucer on the table in front of her. She leaned back and clasped her hands together on her lap. "Now, what do you think?"
"With all of that said, I believe that General Ironwood's second proposal is indeed the best case. But if we should follow Headmaster Ozpin's proposal, it will need some refinement."
"Do you support this scenario as well?" Lilly asked the last two with a curious glance.
There was silence for a moment with the two waiting each other out to see who wished to speak first.
"I don't support it," Karen spoke plainly. She looked at Lilly gesturing for her to continue. "It's a good idea, yes, but as someone who's worked with Lilly, I don't think she'd go with it. Personally, I think it's not a bad idea as a bandaid but the big problem is that it gets convoluted down the line if we don't handle it carefully."
Lilly shook her head lightly with a laugh. "Thanks for spoiling."
"This isn't a game nor is it a movie, Lilly." Karen reprimanded.
"It isn't, but you took away my shock factor."
"You're not shocking anyone here."
"I don't support it either," Glynda interjected without looking up from her scroll as she typed out the minutes of the meeting. "Giving out answers will only lead to people asking more questions. It's true that it's important that we ease and settle the public's minds about this, but unless we know that they're ready for the truth," She paused again, giving Lilly a knowing look that the girl reciprocated. "Or at least some semblance of it..." She spoke normally again, resuming her typing as she focused on her scroll. "I believe that there is nothing to say. Let them speculate. Right now, it is a hot topic, given another week or so, it will surely slip out of everyone's minds."
"Thank you, Glynda, you just said what was on my mind."
Glynda simply responded with a curt nod.
"Oh, so she gets thanked while I don't," Karen mumbled.
Lilly chuckled. "I thanked you for spoiling, didn't I?"
Karen rolled her eyes.
Lilly gave everyone a short glance. "Just as Glynda said, I don't fully agree with the idea. A small white lie paints itself bigger as time passes, I believe."
Ozpin nodded with a knowing smile. "I can't say I didn't expect that kind of response. I, too, thought that there would be a better way of dealing with the media."
"You have a Plan B?"
"As all leaders should."
He stood from his seat and walked to the window and peered below, hands placed on his cane in front of him. He let a few seconds pass with only silence stirring in the air of the office. He let a small smile appear over his stoic expression.
Lilly smiled wryly after reading his body language with an inkling of his thoughts on her mind already. Glynda shook her head in exasperation after one glance at her boss before immediately returning to recording the minutes of the meeting. James waited expecting nothing, Winter kept herself from speaking her curiosities, and Karen kept wondering how long the suspense was going to last while munching on a sandwich.
He turned after some more seconds passed, and with a confident smile, sat back in his comfortable headmaster chair, sipped his coffee, let out a contented sigh and leaned back with legs crossed.
"I will let Avatāra handle it."
"You intend to do nothing, in other words?" Glynda asked without looking up.
"Well, no-"
"In that case, a job well done should be rewarded accordingly."
All eyes turned to Glynda as they looked at her confusedly. Again, without glancing up, she carried on with nonchalance.
"Because you will do nothing, you will get nothing. Orders for your incoming batch of coffee beans will be halted until you've done your job. But do not worry, Ozpin, I'll be sure to keep them safe and fresh until then."
Ozpin looked at his secretary frozen and wide-eyed.
James did the same for a moment until he held a hand to stifle a chuckle in his seat.
Winter was utterly puzzled at how a mere secretary could hold her boss's obvious favorites as a hostage — a much-lauded huntress and an extremely talented secretary, but a secretary still.
Karen nodded her head in understanding and acceptance.
And Lilly feared for her well being.
"Karen..." Lilly spoke softly.
"Yes, Lilly?" Karen smiled brightly.
"Please don't." She muttered, no, begged softly.
Karen held her thumb up and swiftly drew a line across her neck. "No."
Lilly, after taking the gesture to mean "eat shit and die", threw herself on top of Karen and clung to her tightly. "Please, I need them! I need them to function properly!"
"Until you stop messing around, you won't be getting any." She smiled brighter. "In fact, I'll make sure to whip you all in line now that we're together again. You, Tielle, and Bardy — you've had your fun without me to watch over you but I'll be setting you straight now that I'm here."
Lilly shot Glynda a teary-eyed, mouth-pouted, lip-quivering look.
"Master Carol, please, I'll do my best!" Lilly pleaded, burying her face in Karen's shoulder. "You won't even get a chance to complain once I'm done!"
"Then you will get your coffee once you're done."
"Noooooooo!" Lilly wailed, deflating in her seat like a withered flower. "You're killing me, Karen. You're doing this to me knowing I'm French and can't stand the day without my morning cup."
"I'm sorry but what's 'French'?" Asked James.
Lilly wiped her tears with a sniffle. "It's my nationality. I come from a place called France in my world and as a French person, coffee is an integral part of my life." She shot Karen a pitiful look. "Pretty please? Can I at least get my morning cup?"
"One morning cup."
"One morning cup, yes?" Lilly's eyes gleamed with a little bit of life returning to her eyes.
A little bit of hope.
"One normal-sized morning cup, yes." Karen shot her a knowing grin.
That was utterly shattered within moments.
"My disappointment is immeasurable." Lilly sat lifelessly. Her head hung to the side as she cast her dull eyes to the floor. "And my day is ruined."
If one observed closely, one would see the moment when the girl called Lillianne lost all the light in her eyes.
Glynda paused, feeling slightly guilty that Lilly suffered as a byproduct of her punishment towards Ozpin's inaction. She was taken out of her minor guilt trip by someone clearing his throat.
"Glynda?"
She shot him an unimpressed look but stayed as professional as she could. "How may I be of service?"
Ozpin tapped the tips of his fingers together with his elbows on the desk, nodding, mulling over his next words.
"How much do I have left?"
"At your usual rate," Glynda paused. "a day."
Ozpin pressed his lips in a thin hard line. With some deliberation, he opened his mouth to speak. "Shall I make you a deal?"
"No."
"Is that so?"
Glynda's eye twitched as a fraction of her bubbling anger made its way out of her system. She cleared her throat, glaring at the offending superior, and spoke in a slightly shaky voice. "You said, 'It is my failure as her boss that she was distressed so much under my watch.'"
Ozpin's complexion paled as bullets of sweat dripped from his forehead while Lilly's eyes gleamed with a grim curiosity.
Glynda continued, internally reveling in the fact that she made her illustrious headmaster's stoic facade crack. "'I left her to deal with her companion simply because I didn't think that she would need our help.'"
It was Lilly's turn to involuntarily twitch her eyes at the words she just heard. Whether Glynda noticed or not, she continued nonetheless.
"'I see now that I was wrong and I deeply regret my inaction', End. Quote. You said that moving speech one hour before we sortied into the Emerald Forest." Glynda's piercing glare made Ozpin feel truly afraid of his assistant for the first time since he had her working for him. She opened her mouth to speak further but she was interrupted before she had the chance.
"Now, now!" Lilly loudly clapped twice. Her eyes glinted with a rueful look. "I understand your misgivings towards our dear headmaster, Glynda, but if you must aim your wrath at someone," And her smile had a subtle melancholy she only ever reserved for her closest friends. She placed a hand to her chest and spoke with resolve after a sigh. "Aim it at me. Everything is my fault. None of it would have happened had I not asked for my Aura to be unlocked."
Glynda shot Ozpin another subtle seething glare while Ozpin slightly loosened the green cowl around his neck as he swallowed a lump in his throat before he settled back on his seat and donned a more dignified expression.
"It's no fault of yours, Lilly. None of us knew it would happen," Glynda spoke softly. She cleared her throat and wore the mask she always wore as the secretary of the headmaster. "Let's discuss this at a more favorable time — preferably with Tiella present and her memories regained. My apologies for letting my emotions get the better of me." She adjusted her glasses. "Please, carry on with the meeting."
Meanwhile, the doctor, the general, and the specialist couldn't be any more surprised and confused.
—14:26 hours, Same day
Room 312, West Wing Dormitory, Beacon Academy
"There's a place beyond the furthest cloud~
There's a message in the wind~"
Lilly sat by one of the beds with an acoustic guitar resting atop her lap. She strummed and plucked, swaying along with the wind, her eyes closed as she sang softly and gently.
"And when you dream that big~
You're not afraid to live~"
Karen sat on one of the wooden chairs from the study desk in the room, dragging it to sit beside the bedridden Bardel, keeping a close eye on him as he slumbered.
"There's a place where all the stories begin~"
Bardel had dextrose administered to him via IV drip and most of his body was covered in bandages.
"Begin~"
Karen was wrought with worry. Even though she fully understood that her teammate was out of any immediate danger, she simply cannot help herself from feeling anxious until she confirmed with her own two eyes that Bardel was awake.
"With you~"
Despite Lilly's word that he will be fine, she stayed by his side — lower lip bit, fingers intertwined, clenching and unclenching while frantic blues watched over every subtle change.
"And me~"
So, Lilly, unable to watch her friend worrying herself to death, picked up the acoustic guitar she bought recently and played a soft and gentle melody to calm and uplift her dear friend's spirits even if only slightly.
Karen smiled when she heard Lilly's soft voice ringing melodiously from across the room which was quickly followed by gentle plucks of the guitar strings. She knew the song too — it's one of the songs she listened to the most whenever she wanted to simply kick back and relax — and she suspected that Lilly chose it explicitly because she did.
It was a duet too.
So, came the chorus, she let her tense shoulders ease and sang along, assuming the role of the other half of the duet.
"There's a place beyond the furthest cloud~
There's a message in the wind~
And when you dream that big, you're not afraid to live~
There's a place where all the stories begin~
Begin with you and me~"
Lilly smiled widely, cherishing the moment. And with an intimate understanding of the roles they played in their soft and gentle duet, she let Karen take over in the second part while she focused on the guitar.
"Feels like the world is turning~
A little bit too fast~
Holding on to what I get~
To make this moment last~"
Lilly almost halted her fingers when she heard the sadness and anxiety returning to lace Karen's shaky, breathy singing voice.
"Lilly?"
She was about to sing her part in the duet until Karen met her eyes.
"I have something to confess."
So she paused her plucking altogether and laid her guitar to rest on the bed.
"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about earlier?"
"Yes."
Without a word, she nodded for Karen to continue. Karen let out an uneasy breath, looked down and anxiously played with her fingers before shaking her head a little and meeting Lilly's eyes once again.
"I'm scared."
Lilly blinked back at her a few, preparing herself for what she was about to hear, she nodded again.
"The truth is..." Karen pressed her lips in a hard thin line, her right leg bounced unsettled. "...the truth is that I don't know what to do. I don't know what to feel." She paused again, taking in steady breaths as she gathered herself before continuing. "Tielle's memory loss? Her relationship with Glynda? With the kids at Beacon?" She lightly shook her head in disbelief and let out a dry chuckle. "Do you know how long it's been since I last heard her so genuinely happy? Don't tell me you didn't see Glynda's reaction when you mentioned our plans to return to our world."
Karen took another pause and looked at her hands, clenching and unclenching still. She looked up and found Lilly's steady gaze, making her pause again before she could even continue.
She took a breath and held it in, trying to gather her thoughts but she couldn't. "I-I really don't know what to do. I want her to be happy l-like all the stories I've heard here. Not everyone likes her, sure, that's only natural considering her personality but the general consensus is that she's well-liked by a lot of people!"
Lilly nodded, blank purples merely staring back at frustrated baby blues.
"Nothing to say?"
"..."
Karen clicked her tongue and looked away but she couldn't help but observe the girl with a slowly rising burning anger in her eyes. "I want her to be happy, Lilly, but I don't want to lose her just as much!"
"..."
She averted her eyes in frustration, darting around the room before pinning her glare on Lilly again. "W-What if she's happier here? Do we bring her back with us? Back to where she's public enemy number one? Back to where our enemies are? Our fucking dystopian planet? Lilly, last I remember before coming here, China nearly initiated World War III! Can you imagine a world war filled with Essentia users like us as soldiers!?"
"What...?"
Seconds passed until minutes came. The only sounds in the room were Karen's hard breathing, the ticking of the wall clock, and the soft breeze coming in from the open window, gently swaying the maroon curtains along with it.
"W-W-W-What if she says she wants to stay? It's plausible because she's head over heels for Glynda, right?"
"..."
"S-She fell in love at first sight with her twice! I thought that just happens in crappy teen romance novels but look at her! She fell in love at first sight fucking twice!"
"..."
"What if she wants to stay? I-I don't know if I can bear to hear it."
"..."
"Even with all our enemies, Earth is still our home, we still have our allies. I-I-It's where our friends and family are, where our memories were built! And I'm really scared to hear what she'll say when she regains her memories! It's tearing me apart!"
Karen clicked her tongue and scoffed when the girl remained silent. She turned from Lilly and decided to watch over Bardel again, her leg bouncing repeatedly. She heard the shifting of bedsprings from across the room and just as she curiously looked over her shoulder, she heard the sound of the guitar playing.
And like a song paused on a music player, Lilly continued right where she left off. She took a breath, looking down on the guitar resting on her lap as she let her fingers play softly and gently — her breathy singing voice melodiously dancing with the ambient breeze that colored the nondescript room with life.
"I'd rather paint the world bright~
Than see it black and white~
It's never too late look up~"
Karen felt further slighted when Lilly merely continued her singing, so she frowned and turned her attention back to Bardel, doing her best to ignore the seemingly uncaring girl. But just as she was expecting to hear the chorus, she looked to Lilly in mild confusion when Lilly skipped to the next verse, singing in a beautiful vibrato that resonated her sadness well.
"It may seem like forever~
But all hope's not gone~
And when your melody stops playing~"
Lilly paused and looked up from her guitar to eye Karen, her compassionate eyes offered solace and comfort, for she knew, and Karen knew, that there was nothing either of them could do.
And Lilly knew that, aside from her company and the song, it was the best thing she could do. So she smiled at the girl, gently urging her — hoping — that she understood her.
"I hope you sing this song~"
Karen responded with a reluctant half-smile, a teary-eyed acceptance of her dear friend's simple and warm gesture, her message heard.
"Did you really have to respond to me in such a roundabout way?"
"Mhmm!"
"And honestly, I don't understand how that answers everything I just blurted out. I need my therapist, Lilly."
Lilly chuckled wryly, scratching her cheek. "But you know what this song is about, right?"
Karen rolled her eyes. "It's about how those two girls spent their nights writing their songs, isn't it?"
"Wrong!" Lilly pointed with a finger, which earned a look of confusion from the blonde across the room. "It's about two girls doing what they really want to do. To express what they want to the world even if no one hears them — about two girls staying true to themselves, encouraging each other. It's their Message In The Wind."
Karen wiped her tears away with a finger and smiled wryly.
"See what I did there? Message In The Wind?"
Karen rolled her eyes.
"I said the title of the song at the end-"
"I get it, Lilly. I'm stressed, not stupid."
Lilly chuckled, feeling accomplished that she managed to pull a little bit of candidness out of her stressed friend.
"Whatever. So you're saying you just want me to be honest with myself?"
"I want you to ask yourself what you really want."
"Very roundabout, Lilly." Karen narrowed her eyes at Lilly to indicate her annoyance, though the smile on her face expelled such fronts. "Very."
"But we were in the middle of a duet and I didn't want to leave the song unfinished! That's just unforgivable!"
"Of course it is."
"Mhmm!"
"And you skipped a chorus."
"You wouldn't have sung with me if I didn't, would you now?"
Karen rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "No, I wouldn't have."
Lilly gave her a smile and a nod. "But when I continue now...?" She drawled, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes with an expectant look.
Karen nodded reluctantly and sighed exaggeratedly. "Fine, you're right. I'll sing along. You and your eccentric ways win. It's no wonder we're your only friends."
"Oh please, you say that like you don't love me when it's obvious that you do." Lilly winked.
Karen scoffed. "Oh don't you 'oh please' me. You totally stole that from Tielle."
"It's a good line!" Lilly smiled cheekily and shrugged.
Karen stuck her tongue out at Lilly, earning a giggle from her, and when Lilly played again, Karen sang along.
"I'd rather paint the world bright~
Than see it black and white~
It's never too late look up~"
They both shared their laughter, Karen was facing Lilly much more cheerfully than before, and while her leg still bounced, it was all due to the strum of Lilly's guitar. She'd even snapped her fingers as she swayed and tapped her foot too.
Lilly was glad she could bring comfort to her distressed friend. So she poured her heart and soul into playing and singing. And she, knowing what came next, or rather, what came last for the song, let herself fall to subtlety, a supporting backup voice to Karen's chorus.
"There's a place beyond the furthest cloud~
There's a message in the wind~
And when you dream that big, you're not afraid to live~
There's a place where all the stories begin~
Begin with you and me~"
Karen rested her chin on one hand, leaning over with her elbow propped on her crossed knees. She was grateful to Lilly's comforting aid, it wasn't the conventional response one expected, but it was very much like her friend to do so.
So, while she was focused on letting her heart out, Lilly whistled with the wind accompanied by the strumming and plucking of her acoustic guitar with the occasional tapping as she played the outro to their impromptu casual-turned-life counseling duet.
When Lilly finished, she set her guitar on the bed and walked over to Karen, gently pulling her up from her seat and into her arms — wrapping the smaller girl in a consoling embrace.
"I'm sorry, Karen. I'm so sorry." Lilly rested her chin atop Karen's head. "I'm worried about this too. I want to go back home, back to my family. I miss mama and papa. And I really want to bring Tielle back with us, make her see that our world isn't as bleak as she believes but..." Her embrace tightened a tad with no other way to release her pent up frustrations. "It's all up to her." She sighed. "I can't do anything but support her."
Karen reciprocated the embrace, enveloping the taller but younger girl and gently gripping the clothes on her back as she buried her face in Lilly's chest. "It's okay, it wasn't your fault. And I'm sorry for getting angry. Of course, you'd feel that way too." She sniffled. "B-Because you're right! It is all up to Tielle! Gosh..."
"I'm... I'm really sorry, Karen... I even swore to you that I would bring Tielle back."
"It's-" Karen sniffled, wiping another tear away. "It's fine. I was a mess back then but that doesn't matter now. We're together. The four of us are together again."
"Yeah." Lilly pulled away, cupping Karen's cheeks with her hands and gently wiping vestiges of tears from her fair face. "We are."
Karen laughed and nodded at Lilly's reassurance, holding the hands that held her cheeks. "Look at me, I'm 22 years old and I'm being comforted by someone 4 years younger than me. I'm your senior in life now but our roles are reversed!"
"Wait, what?" Lilly blinked back with her eyes open wide as saucers. "Did I hear that correctly?" She held her cheeks and met her eyes a bit more intensely. "Karen, look at me. You're 22 years old?"
Karen's eyes widened with her mouth hung open. "Right, I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you since we're dealing with so many issues all at once."
"Is that why you said that thing about China earlier!?"
"Y-Yes?"
"That's actually very important, Karen!" Lilly broke away from the hug and paced the floor, her mind racing. "This raises so many questions!"
"Like what?"
Lilly turned to Karen, the intensity in her eyes magnifying. "Why we're here!"
Karen's eyes widened at the implications. Lilly nodded at Karen's enlightenment and so continued pacing the floor.
"You're saying it's not an accident that we're all here?"
"Possibly!"
"Possibly?"
"Yes! I'm not sure yet, but look, it may not be an accident that we stumbled upon those relics back on Earth."
"S-So, what, you mean us being here is intentional?"
"Remind me again how you came to Atlas."
"I-I..." Karen jogged her memory as she tried to calm her racing mind. "We found more of those relics you found, hidden in other tombs a couple hundred meters away from each other."
"How many of them did you find?"
"Including the one you found, four. The second and the third ones we tried to reverse engineer. We thought we could just pull you back in somehow but that ended up in failure so..."
"So you came here using the last one."
Karen nodded dejectedly. "I came here using the last one."
"So, four in total."
"Yes."
"And there are four of us from another world right here, right now."
"This isn't just a coincidence, is it?"
"But we didn't need to use the others to get here. In fact, we only needed one to have three of us transferred here."
"Yes, but it turned to dust right after you and Bardy disappeared."
Both of them paused, pondering over the facts, or rather, speculations and conjectures they've made. After some minutes passed, they both sighed in frustration.
Karen took a step back and followed another train of thought. "So you believe that this is definitely not just an accident, right?"
"Yes." Lilly shook her finger at Karen while her eyes darted the floor as she paced around. "Yes, yes, it's what I'm thinking. Someone or some people wanted us here."
"Some people?"
"Do you remember what Ozpin and Bardy told us about the day my Aura was unlocked?"
"That you were possessed by lots of things?"
"Yes! I don't remember anything at all past Ozpin unlocking my Aura but they told me, with Bardy's full confidence, that I spoke and acted far too differently. They said I was speaking as if I had a million different voices altogether."
"And you think these... voices are the things responsible for all of us being here?"
"Yes, yes! Ozpin said the voices mentioned a lot of things and while speaking to Bardy, one of the things they mentioned is that the three of us were yet complete. That soon, we will reunite with the chosen of the Lioness!" Lilly paused in her steps and turned to face Karen once more.
"What, excuse me, what? I-I don't understand."
"Other than The Lioness, others were mentioned. Bull Demon King and..."
"And...?"
"And...!"
"Lilly?"
"Argh!" She shook her head and hands in frustration. "Putain de merde, I can't remember!"
"Can't rememb-" Karen was taken aback by the swearing. "What do you mean you can't remember? That's absurd, your memory is far better than the elephants!"
Karen didn't speak French but she knew precisely when someone was swearing in French. And based on what she knew, that specific phrase Lilly blurted was way up there. So when Lilly, the girl who rarely swore, swore with such disdain, she immediately had a clear picture of the frustration the girl was feeling.
"Gah!" Exasperated, Lilly tossed her hands up. "I appreciate the reference but I swear that I really can't remember! Argh! It's just like that blank memory in the forest!"
"Blank what?" Karen shook her head quickly. "Okay, you know what? Let's just go back to that when you remember. What else do we have?"
"Okay," Lilly breathed deeply and sighed. "Okay, okay... okay." She pressed her lips in a thin line while switching tracks to follow a different train of thought. "Whoever they are, they gathered us here."
"What makes you think we were gathered here?"
"I-I don't know." Lilly shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Gut feeling."
"Gut feeling?"
"It's just- Haaaaaa... I need to know more."
"Alright, fine, let's talk about that later. What else?"
"Okay, so, think. Who are we?"
"Who are we?" Karen paused in thought. "Well, we're Avatāra."
"Avatāra, right." Lilly snapped her fingers. "And why did we choose that name?"
"We chose it because you said that our..." Karen's eyes widened again as the cogs in her head turned to connect the dots as Lilly repeatedly snapped her fingers at her. "...Essentias are some of the strongest in the world, reminiscent of the strength of gods!"
Lilly nodded fervently. "Yes, yes. Exactly. Our Essentias are some of the most developed at the time among others that classify us near the top. Particularly you, Tielle, and Bardy."
"But hasn't God Eyes evolved as well?"
"It has but I don't believe it's merely because of God Eyes that I'm here."
"Your talents."
"My potential." Lilly stared intensely. "Our potential."
"Okay, but isn't that just circumstantial at best? What makes you so sure that there isn't anyone back on Earth before I left that is far stronger than any of us already?"
"Because those voices mentioned that they needed to gather us here."
Karen sat back down as they slowly realized the gravity of their situation. "And those voices could be..."
"Look, you're 22, yes?"
"Yes."
"But you look like you haven't aged a day since I last saw you, why do you think that is? Did you even cut your hair? Ever noticed your hair growing or not?"
"N-No, I never noticed because..." Karen's eyes widened in fear.
"This is just a hypothesis, but I believe it's because Healing Touch has altered the way your body works. I believe that it's evolved to the point that it slows your metabolism."
Karen's eyes darted as she recalled all the changes that had happened to her. "I don't feel hungry much these days and I tire less now, yes."
"Case in point." Lilly snapped her fingers. "Now, Bardy's has become explosive, not just in scale, but at the rate he's evolving. He'd eventually become unstoppable assuming he hasn't reached his limits."
"Oh my god." The utter dread she felt shook her voice like a leaf in the wind. "That's actually terrifying."
"I know!" Lilly held Karen by the shoulders. "But listen, Tielle's, on the other hand, hasn't changed much at all — understandably since she barely ever used it this entire time. But, based on this previous incident alone, it proves that her Essentia, without even evolving, is still the most powerful among us."
Karen couldn't help her intake of breath at the implications.
"If she learned to control it, she'd be the ultimate saboteur."
"And whoever these people are, they need our strength."
Lilly sighed. "I'm afraid it isn't just our strength they need."
"Then what?"
Lilly took another deep breath and pressed her lips in a thin line, averting her eyes. "I don't know." She clicked her tongue. "Perhaps I already do and I just need to piece it all together." She looked out the window and paused. "Perhaps I should pay the headmaster a visit, alone."
"Ozpin? And why alone?"
"Yes," Lilly held her chin. "I'm sure he knows more than he's letting on and that none in his circle actually knows about them."
Karen nodded, her lips pressed in a thin line, pondering about what she could do. "I suppose, for now, I'll look after Bardy."
"We'll look after Bardy. Ozpin can wait. And besides, Tielle's memory hasn't returned. I'm sure it'll return in a few days, some weeks at most, so we have some time to plan things through."
"Okay." Karen sighed. "Gosh, this is..." She hid her face in her hand and slouched. "...more stressful than I thought. I thought we'd all just help Ozpin out and we'll be done. This is so much to take in."
"Hmm." Lilly sat down on her bed and grabbed her guitar once more. Smiling cheekily, she ran her fingers through the strings once. "Care to sing with me again then? It's so stressful after all."
Karen looked at her between her fingers and let out a dry laugh. She leaned back on her chair and crossed her legs. "I'm good, thank you, but by all means. I know how much you love the arts."
Lilly's response was to start playing gentle, soft, and melodious tunes on her guitar once more.
"To be fair,"
Karen turned her head towards Lilly.
"When you said that you had something to confess, I thought it was something wrong that you did. You have to choose your words more carefully, Karen. I almost thought I had to hide a body." Lilly grinned cheekily.
Karen shot her a disbelieving look. "Do you really believe that I would need anyone's help with hiding a body?"
"Touché."
"Mhm. By the by, you were really... babbling back in the meeting — talking about a lot of unrelated things. I'm guessing you're very stressed and you've had little to no way of venting recently?"
Lilly froze for a bit before letting her shoulders sag as a sigh escaped her. "Je suis désolée-"
"English, please."
"Right, I said I was sorry. You're right, I am stressed and have had little to no way of de-stressing. That's why I bought this guitar!"
"Mhm, and has it helped?"
"I don't know, I would've preferred a grand piano but it wouldn't fit in the room." Lilly smiled cheekily, playing a playful tune with her fingers and the six strings. "Buuuuut... you were the one that needed a therapist earlier, you tell me."
"Well, I need a better therapist." Karen bit back just as cheekily.
"Who needs a therapist when you have a friend like me?"
"You're exactly the reason why I need one."
Lilly laughed and shook her head. She resumed playing somber and warm tunes. "But, on a different note, it's quite fascinating."
"What is?"
"You haven't aged a day at all."
"Do you think I'm lying?"
"If that was a lie, then congratulations, you're the first person to successfully lie to me ever since I gained my vision."
"You believe me then?"
"Do you have a reason to lie to me?"
"Can't you deduce that just from looking at my face?"
"Quite so. But, again, do you have a reason to lie to me?"
Lilly smiled when Karen shook her head at her question.
"And that's why I find it fascinating. The one thing kings and scholars have been murdering humanity for since the beginning of time, and it's merely a byproduct of Healing Touch."
"That's what I'm thinking too and it's making me worry. I feel anxious, Lilly. What if I-"
"Worried you'll become a biological immortal the more you use your Essentia?"
"Yes. Yes. What if I don't age? Like, really don't age? What if we all get to 70 and I'm the only one still looking like this? What if I get to 70 and I'm the only one standing in front of your graves? What if I get to 70 and-"
"Then don't use it anymore."
"H-Huh? That's a little callous, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. The three of us have Aura now. My regeneration is almost on par with Healing Touch. Tielle can recover from all non-fatal wounds with just her Aura alone and Bardy's the same."
"But the thing is, without you or me, Bardy is still in a fatal condition. These wounds would have killed a man a long time ago already."
"Without you and me? Yes, I agree. Without you or me? Hmmm, not so much."
"But if I don't use it, what's my use to this team anymore? I didn't ask for this... this immortality, Lilly. I just want to help people. I don't want to kill anymore, I want to heal. I want to help, I want to-... I just-..."
"..."
"What's the point of me even being here if I can't even heal you? Heal Bardy? Now, when he needs me the most? What the fuck is my use anymore...?"
"Master martial artist? Mentor to me, Tielle, and Bardy at hand-to-hand? Your master, the late "Bullet Fist Roberta", who was known to be draconian in her teachings, believed that she had nothing left to teach you at the tender age of 17 when she spent a lifetime mastering her techniques before she was labeled a master by her predecessor, and another lifetime more to perfect them.
Tielle told me how your master said to you that your technical mastery of Flicker Arts makes you a right master of your own already. You just need to keep going, perfect your technique on your own like she did, yes?"
"Well..."
"Also, unparalleled marksman? Experienced spy? Skilled front-liner? Well-mannered? Well-educated? Diplomatic? Charismatic? Gorgeous? Amazing singer? Kids love you, adults respect you, politicians in our world fear you!"
"Are you sure you're not talking about yourself? Just about every pompous pencil-neck disrespects me left and right."
Lilly gave her a brow and a smile that clearly expressed her disbelief at Karen's own disbelief. She pondered about rebutting her words but decided not to.
"Even without Healing Touch, you're well versed in medicine and physical therapy for someone who only picked up books about them back when you were 14, you just need experience. You're an actual, genuine genius, Karen!"
"Hearing you of all people calling me a genius is..."
"I-I know that it sounds like I'm tooting my own horn, but please exclude me, don't mind me." She nearly paused in her strummings and pluckings but she managed to keep herself from coughing into her hand. "P-Please always consider me as both the exception to the rule and the exception that proves the existence of the rule."
"Lilly that's contradicting."
"I realize that but-"
"Besides, you would be lonely if I excluded you, right?" Karen smiled sympathetically.
"Well..." Lilly smiled back the same way. "Putting it that way makes me feel even lonelier, you know? It makes me think that you're only my friend because you're pitying me."
"You and I both know that's not true." Karen insisted.
"Just hearing you acknowledging me is enough for me."
"Alright."
"So it's fine, I know that the three of you genuinely don't care about that." Lilly smiled cheerily, the sound of her playing reflected the true joy and gratitude in her heart, translated by her fingers and the six strings of her acoustic guitar. "It's why I, from the bottom of my heart, love you three the most!"
"..."
"Aside from my parents, of course." She winked, earning a chuckle out of the older woman.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"T-Thank you, Lilly."
"If you want a list of your good points, I can write them all down in sticky notes and leave them all over the walls so you-"
"T-That won't be necessary, thank you."
Lilly giggled while Karen shook her head shyly but she straightened her posture and donned a more dignified expression, though the blush on her face remained.
"But I don't think that that's enough. If all of you are giving it your all, then I should give it my all too. At the very least, I shouldn't refrain from using it for your sakes."
"I won't stop you. Whatever your choice is, you have my full support. Just be sure to report anything to me, okay? Whatever happens. I wish to understand our Essentia. For all our sakes."
"Okay." Karen crossed her legs and arms. "Let's talk about something else." She started, catching Lilly's look. "What was that with Glynda and Ozpin in the meeting?"
Lilly's fingers halted abruptly, the look on her face devoid of her ever-present smile. She looked down on the bed while hugging her guitar closer to her. And in a soft and shaky voice, "It's all because I'm a curious monger."
"What do you mean?"
Among the ambient gentle chords and soft breeze, a soul stirred, groaning in pain as he shifted in bed, catching the attention of the two ladies who'd been watching over him all this time.
—16:45 hours, Same day
Office of the Deputy Headmistress, Beacon Academy
Glynda Goodwitch sat by her desk, organizing student files and preparing material for the upcoming semester. She was also creating a new training program for Combat class based on Lilly and Tiella's spar as well as the way some of the student body had begun training without Aura.
Incidentally, a lot of the sophomores and freshmen students were displeased when they heard that teams CFVY, RWBY, and JNPR were invited for the mission for juniors and seniors, but after seeing their performance from the live feed and Ozpin's own set of stealth drones scattered throughout the forest to observe Grimm activity, they had no choice but to accept that the decision was not made out of bias nor nepotism.
But even before the incident, there had been a great increase in the number of visits in the infirmary since the boom of Tiella's No Aura Training Policy. Luckily, there hadn't been any serious injuries like a broken bone yet, so before it could come to that, Glynda decided to step in and provide guidance and guidelines.
But before that, she had to make a presentation for Ozpin and gain his official approval. After gaining approval, she'd need to consult with the mercenary team for advice. She also decided to try it out herself.
She'd been at it since the meeting ended nearly three hours ago and had since been deep in focus, but now that the hard part of her day was over, she could not help from letting her mind float away.
Case in point, she'd been checking her scroll for notifications every so often. The last time she did so was the 34th time she had done so since she returned from the meeting. And much like all the previous times, there wasn't any notification — at least, any notification that she was expecting from a certain someone.
Sighing, she checked the clock on her desk, reading 4:47 pm. She clasped her hands together and hung her head, dragging out a sigh. She looked at her work and since she began, she'd made a sizable dent on her workload.
"Since when did I ever fixate on someone this much? It's unhealthy, bordering on obsession, even. I've never spoken to Ozpin like that. I must reflect on this properly, regain my composure." She sighed. "I've been a mess lately. It's unprofessional and highly unbecoming of me. Am I, dare I think it, unraveling?"
She shook her head in disappointment and clicked her tongue.
"I need a break. I've done a lot of work today, I can take it easy and pick it up tomorrow. And that's exactly what I need, taking things easy. I can already hear her telling me to just kick back, relax, and have a drink."
She stood with her hands on her desk, stretching her neck left and right to work out the kinks.
"A drink. Of course. Something calming, relaxing — ease the nerves and let loosen my tense shoulders. 'Let my hair down', in her words."
She recalled the first time they shared a few cans of beer in their apartment. It was the most relaxed she'd been in months.
"I wonder when we'll do it again." Nostalgic, she smiled at the memory. "I can't wait."
But immediately, her smile fell as soon as she remembered Tiella's predicament, nostalgia replaced by melancholy.
She gathered her personal effects and hurried out of her office into the staff's breakroom to have a light snack and a drink, cold brew possibly but a hot cup of tea would work just as well.
Upon entering the breakroom, she was quickly greeted by Professor Peter Port.
"Miss Goodwitch! Good day to you. Would you care for some tea?"
She sighed thankfully while taking a seat. "Thank you and good day, Professor. Yes, I'd like one."
"The usual, I gather?" Port looked over his shoulder while preparing a quick cup of her favorite.
"No, actually," Glynda said, earning a double take from her mildly surprised colleague. "Do we have jasmine?"
"Jasmine?" Port reiterated. "Why, yes we do." He answered quickly while making the order, happy to serve while Glynda patiently waited. "I'm honestly quite surprised."
"Yeah, that is surprising." Peach joined in. "Don't you usually go for something strong and bitter?"
Glynda eyed her curious colleagues and let out a tired sigh despite the smile on her face. "I just feel like going for something that will make relaxing easier."
"Oohhhh, I get ya." Peach nodded, sipping on her orange juice. "Even though it's the middle of the sem-break, it feels like we've only just started takin' the actual break."
"True," Oobleck interjected while Port finished up on Glynda's order. "I wanted to focus on my findings but now I can't even return to the excavation site because of the destruction in the forest." He caught the frozen look over Glynda and quickly laughed it off. "Oh, fret not, Professor Goodwitch! I understand that drastic times call for drastic measures! Had you not sealed the lava flow, Caroberta would have been burned to the ground! And with most of our 4th-year teams on away missions at the time, we had very few to rely on that could truly deal with an unprecedented gathering of Grimm impromptu!"
"Hohoho, that's right!" Port laughed jovially. "Imagine if teams QRTS (Quartz) and OSMM (Osmium) were present that day, we would have dealt with all of them without the need for Tiella to lure them away! But, alas, I can't say I'm disappointed in the results. With only 72 students, 4 professors, and 3 mercenaries, we held out through most of that dangerous situation with all of us ending up injured, minor and major combined, and suffering 0 casualties! I don't need to tell you that that's nothing short of a miracle!"
Glynda recalled the parts of the mission they had only disclosed with the professors. Particularly, the fight against the alleged malevolent god that took over Tiella.
"Yes, you're right." She sipped and savored the subtly sweet and fragrant scent of jasmine tea to ease her rising nerves. Recalling that time always reminded her of her nightmares. Thankfully, the tea served its purpose. "It is a miracle."
"Right! QRTS and OSMM! They're the only teams that can coordinate well enough with you in combat training, isn't that right, Professor Goodwitch?" Peach clapped her hands in recognition. "Very talented students with exceptional teamwork, it's no surprise that they're the top two teams in all of Beacon."
"Exceptional teamwork only works well to describe Team OSMM," Glynda corrected lightly. "Team QRTS is more aptly describable as four business partners in a team that somehow produces outstanding results without truly working for the benefit of each other. They treat being in the same team as healthy competition, a rivalry of sorts."
"Except," Port interjected, "for Ms. Briar."
Glynda sighed. "Regardless, I have no doubt that each member will go their separate ways as soon as they graduate." She lightly massaged her temples while sighing tiredly, again. "They're the equivalent of Calamity-level Grimm in terms of giving me headaches. I just hope they mature enough when they go out into the world. I can't imagine the insanity they'll drive people into."
"So they're Calamity-level headaches, then?" Port slapped his knee as he boisterously laughed. "Quite fitting for Beacon's very own team of elite problem children! If Earth's got Avatāra, we have QRTS! Hahahaha!"
"Exactly!" Peach yelled, surprising the rest as she pointed at Port with a finger. "Problem children! They're problem children! Especially the leader, Quetzal Coatlus! He's Problem Child number one! Gosh!"
All professors expressed their agreement in their own ways the moment the name was mentioned.
"Causing multiple large explosions using Fire and Ice Dust in the laboratories!" Peach crossed her arms angrily. "And I still don't understand how he did it! There were frozen flames that simultaneously burned and froze the desks! I don't know whether to call him a genius or a fool!"
"Letting loose and killing all the captured Grimm I had into the sparring arenas by himself!" Port stuffed his stache with a sandwich. "It took me weeks to capture them and I prepared them for the entire semester! I had to improvise that entire semester too!"
"Shattering all the windows and lights in combat class." Glynda shook her head at the memory of her headache. "Always. For his entire freshman year, he couldn't control the output of his semblance."
"Destroying a thousand-year-old chalice from the Vale Museum of History on one of our field trips!" Oobleck's nostrils flared as he raised and shook his finger. "It was the only thing in the world that was safely recovered from the ancient Sanolian Civilization! The rest were stolen and sold in auction houses!"
"And Problem Child number two would be Rosea Briar, wouldn't you agree?" Port added.
And the consensus was split. Oobleck nodded in agreement, Glynda quickly shook her head, and Peach paused in thought.
"I've never seen her awake of her own volition," Oobleck commented. "And yet it's not as if she has narcolepsy. She's a fascinating case, that one."
"Despite that," Port continued. "She's never failed to submit her homework on time, never scored lower than 93% on all her written exams, and never lost to anyone in the practicals aside from her partner, saying 'What's the point of competing against my partner? Not only is it dumb, but it's also too much effort'."
"That's the most I've heard her say in a sentence, honestly speaking," Oobleck recalled. "She typically answers in yes, no, or maybe, regardless of whether it was a yes or no question in the first place."
"Yes, I don't believe I'll ever forget about her even long after she graduates," Port added while playing with his mustache. "She was asleep in her first class with me and she's been asleep since then."
"In my opinion, number two should be Mr. Sylphy Zephyrus." Glynda pointed. "Slept with over half the school's female population by the time he reached his sophomore year. And that number is still rising today."
"No, no, no." Peach shook her head. "I think it's Tundra Frostjack. She's always actively competing with Coatlus!"
"Nevertheless, you can't deny their strength, skill, and ingenuity. These children are either always top marks across the board or exceedingly well in one subject but averages at best with the rest." Glynda reluctantly admitted. "It boggles me how it's always the highly skilled that are the problem children."
"You got that right!" Peach laughed.
And it was the beginning of an educator's favorite pastime during breaks spent together with other educators.
Namely, exchanging anecdotes and light gossip about their students.
While they all exchanged their experiences with the problem children, the generic tune of a scroll ringing three times took their attention away from the conversation.
Glynda checked her scroll, which she left on top of a table next to her cup of tea, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the caller ID as Tiella Margory. She quickly glanced at her colleagues and found them curiously looking at her.
She hurriedly picked up her scroll and moved towards the door. "My apologies, I need to take this call," She said as it rang another three times once again before walking out and shutting the door behind her.
Port, Oobleck, and Peach shared glances with each other and all smiled knowingly before returning to their prior conversation.
"Despite Team QRTS's problem children, the most peculiar has to be Team OSMM for me after all," Oobleck said.
Peach nodded vigorously. "It's a team made up of two pairs of twins! What are the odds!"
Glynda, after a couple of brisk paces exiting the building and heading into the garden courtyard, finally picked up the call after it rang a third time.
She put her scroll right next to her ear and frantically answered. "Tiella?"
—20:01 hours, Same day
Room 312, West Wing Dormitory, Beacon Academy
"SON OF A FUCKING BITCH!"
Bardel's face met the floor faster than he anticipated — which he didn't at all. Because he, against Lilly and Karen's friendly and medical advice, tried standing as soon as he regained consciousness.
To his mind, as long as he was conscious, he could do anything he put his mind to.
And, voila, teeth met wooden floorboards.
He looked up and saw Lilly's boots, one of them tapping impatiently. He looked further up, and to some people, viewing the gorgeous figure of her crossing her arms under her rather bountiful bosom while giving her this friendly smile that reeked of disapproval would be...
*clears throat*
...mind-altering.
"Would you prefer I strip to give you a better view? A peek of my underboobs? Or are you going to get up and have dinner with me and Glynda?"
Bardel clicked his tongue and pushed himself up to stand, only to flinch from the pain of applying pressure over his yet-to-heal hands. Luckily for him, Lilly expected it, so she pulled him up and had him sitting on his bed.
"I'm fine." Bardel avoided meeting Lilly's gaze. "Didn't need your help."
"I suppose it was just my imagination when you planted your face on the floor? Again?" Lilly bit back. "For the 6th time today, I might add?"
"Then why the fuck do you want me to go with you on this fuckin' dinner if you know I can't even stand to walk?"
"Well," Lilly scoffed. "you kept insisting that you were fine, so I was simply giving you a chance to prove me wrong." Lilly sighed and ran a hand on her face and brushed her raven locks up. "Bardy."
Bardel shot her an annoyed look but nonetheless remained silent before looking away.
"Bardy? Would you please look at me?"
Bardel sighed and met Lilly's gaze as requested. He expected her annoyed look but what he found instead was one of regret. He felt Lilly's hand gently placed atop his left hand — not enough to cause pain but enough for him to understand the meaning of her gesture. She was trying to be sincere like she always did. He was surprised when it was her turn to send her gaze down on the floor in silence, but when she spoke, she met his again.
And with a soft and shaking voice, "I'm sorry."
His immediate reaction was to blink several times at the girl without saying anything.
"All of this is my fault." Lilly looked away in shame. "Your wounds, Tielle's memory loss, Glynda's trauma and her complicated relationship with Tielle... everything." She sighed and hung her head low. "And it all started because I was just so unbearably curious and eager about the kind of Semblance I would have as soon as my Aura was unlocked."
"Nah."
Lilly looked up abruptly with eyes wide in disbelief. "Nah?"
"Nah." Bardel looked away, eyes half-closed in both boredom and annoyance at the girl. "You're making no sense."
"W-What do you mean I'm making no sense? Trace it back, Bardy, this entire mess started because my Aura was unlocked! Granted, I didn't know it would happen but-"
"Exactly, you didn't know it would happen. Not your fault, case closed, shut the fuck up."
"But-"
"Lilly, just shut the fuck up and have dinner with Glynda already."
"Bardy, listen to me-"
"No," Bardy turned, his frustration going through the roof. "this time, you listen to me."
Lilly clammed up as she backed away the moment he loomed over her.
"You're pinning everything that happened on yourself, again." He thrust a finger on her nose. "Did you already forget whatever the fuck Tiella told you? Wasn't that the entire point of the two of you fuckin' arguing the first time? You kicked each others' asses for the exact same reason you're kicking your own ass right now!"
"U-Umm, I-"
"No! I told you to listen and shut the fuck up! I'm tired of you taking all of the blame, Lilly! You might be capable of everything but that doesn't mean you're the reason everything ever fucking happens! Do you really think you're that great? That fuckin amazing? If you're so god damn awesome, why don't you fuckin' heal me now without Karen's help? Why don't you figure out what Essentias really are? Why don't you take us all home right fucking now? Return everything to fucking normal so I can be with my family again!?"
"I-I..."
"Oh, right! YOU CAN'T! Because you can't fucking do everything, Lillianne. Grimm came because that fucking bitch doesn't know how to use her Essentia. I came out like this because I was so goddamn fucking angry that I didn't give a shit about anything standing in my way! Literally! Didn't give a shit that I put my goddamn foot knee-deep into the fucking puddle of Grimm blood when I knew it would fucking melt my skin to the goddamn bone!"
"I-I'm sor-"
"And I don't even know Glynda that much but I can tell she's blaming you for fuck all. All you stupid fucking goody-two-shoes have your heads so damn far up your goddamned asses blaming yourselves for everyone else's mistakes as if the world revolves around you."
Lilly couldn't utter a word in with how surprised she was with Bardel's tirade, especially since it rarely ever happened.
"NEWS FLASH, DUMBASS! THE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOU! SO SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT ALL THIS BLAMING YOURSELF CRAP, STOP BEING A FUCKING NARCISSIST THINKING YOU'RE EVERYTHING THE WORLD NEEDS, AND GO HAVE DINNER WITH GLYNDA BEFORE I SHOVE MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS I'LL KICK YOUR TEETH OUT."
There was a moment of silence between them when Lilly couldn't help but simply stare back at Bardel's green eyes glowering back at her in frustration while Bardel breathed heavily after his entire speech. After a moment when his breathing had steadied and much of his anger had subsided, he sighed and looked away, shaking his head.
"I fucking bet that if Tiella had her memories, she'd be all up in her smelly cunt blaming herself for everything too. I know it, I just fucking know it. For a cold-hearted merc, she's as big a fucking softie as you."
Lilly, stunned with her mouth slightly hung agape, blinked back at Bardel's face. She slowly moved closer, moving her arms around Bardel inch by inch, subtly letting him know of her intentions. Bardel gave her an odd look before sighing again and looking out the window where the dim moonlight shone through. Once Lilly managed to embrace Bardel in a very light and gently hug with her head touching his chest, she let out a small giggle.
"Thank you, Bardy. I needed that. You're absolutely correct. It all started that day but that doesn't mean it's entirely my fault." She looked up and smiled at him. "But that doesn't mean none of us are at fault at all."
Bardel shrugged. "Just fuck off already, don't keep Glynda waiting any longer. Just bring me something to eat once you come back or something. I could just sleep here until you're back."
Lilly broke away from the hug and beamed a grateful smile at him. "What would you like?"
"Anything's fine."
"Really, I can make you anything. So tell me!"
They both shared a look for a bit before Bardel sighed again. "I dunno, curry or something."
"Curry, gotcha." Lilly nodded. "What kind?"
"Any."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Super sure?"
"Super sure."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Curry?"
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes."
"Ye-"
"FINE! GET ME SOME CHICKEN FUCKIN CURRY."
"Chicken curry for the angry and hungry Bardy!"
"Listen here you little shit-"
Bardel started but he was quickly silenced when he felt something tender and damp pressing on his cheek. Eyes wide, he turned his head to face Lilly and there he found rosy red cheeks on the coyly smiling girl.
Without meeting his surprised eyes, she muttered, "Tielle may be my best friend, but you're very important to me too. And I really appreciate everything you do for me. So, thank you."
With eyes closed, Lilly leaned in while softly cupping his cheeks and pulling his face closer to hers. He quickly realized what Lilly was attempting with how obvious her lips were slightly protruding to meet his own. So he did what any man would have done had they been in the same position as him.
"Ow!"
He flicked Lilly on the neck.
"Why!?"
"Just because it's normal where you're from doesn't mean I'll just go along with it."
"La bise?" Lilly caressed her neck with a small pout. "That's just for greetings and farewells, Bardy. And we do it cheek-to-cheek, not lips-to-cheek or lips-to-lips. And as is customary in most places around the world, lips-to-lips signify romantic interest."
"Bullshit."
Lilly scoffed playfully. "You distrust the French talking about French customs?"
"Whatever," Bardel rolled his eyes and laid down on his back on the bed. "You're keeping Glynda waiting."
Lilly pouted with arms crossed. "Do you really not want me here? Don't want to join?"
Bardel took a few seconds of contemplation, just staring at the ceiling before answering.
"I wanna be alone right now."
"Oh," Lilly's eyes widened in recognition and nodded with pursed lips. "I understand." She slowly walked towards the door while avoiding eye contact with him.
"...?"
"If you need material, I doubt you'll find any in this room, I already checked." She paused when she opened the door slightly, still not meeting his eyes even when he was already looking at her in confusion. "I-If you want, I could take some photos, you know, send it to your scroll, use it as you see fit."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Please, Bardy, have some modicum of tact! Don't make me outright say it!" Lilly looked up at the ceiling licking her dry lips.
Bardel simply looked at her the same way he looked at Lilly when she was explaining how quantum physics worked to him.
"I understand that boys need their, um, alone time regularly, and with how you're rooming with two girls and seeing as you don't have any... reference materials in the room, I'd be happy to provide your scroll with a few... umm, s-self portraits."
Her words clicked in his head and he, for the life of him, could not help his eye twitching from the absurdity of the girl standing by the door not meeting his eyes. He groaned and would have pinched the bridge of his nose if it weren't so painful.
"Lilly." He sighed tiredly. "Just-"
"I could also give you my lingerie." She nodded sagely. "Would you prefer them fresh or worn?"
"Just-"
"You know, Bardy, I don't mind and, in fact, I completely understand that you can't help yourself since you're with three stunningly beautiful women most of the time. I'm also supportive of the act since it lowers the risk of prostate cancer so long as it isn't done so frequently in young men."
"Jesus Christ."
"You don't do it frequently, do you? Because contrary to popular belief, frequent self-stimulation in young men actually increases the risk. It only lowers the risk for men in their 50s. You should only do it 21 times a month."
"Stop."
"So, really, as long as you don't do it daily, it's totally okay."
"Oh my fucking-"
"A-And you could use m-me as material when you're bored too! A-And if I'm being completely honest, I've also used you as fodder for self-stimulation a few times already and-"
"Just- just-" He breathed in a deep and shaky breath, once again wondering whether this moment was the accumulation of all the choices he made in his life. "Just fuck off." He sighed the words out in pure exasperation.
"Come now, no need to be shy! I could even give you a hand but as your doctor, I advise that you do not do it until you're well. I don't believe it'll be as pleasurable as-"
"HORNY LITTLE SHIT, JUST FUCK OFF AND GIVE ME SOME SPACE, I NEED TO THINK!"
"Eep!"
"SCRAM!"
And the door hurriedly shut close.
He sighed and let himself sink down the soft bed and closed his eyes.
"Everyone in my life is fucking horny, Christ."
For the next few moments, he'd stayed unmoving from his position lying backside down on his bed just staring at the ceiling just thinking of everything he'd experienced so far.
And so far, the most prominent memory was the fact he split a massive dragon in half with his bare hands. Second to that was how Tiella laid waste to every single one of them even when Lilly had gone all out to stop her.
"How the fuck did that happen? Possession? Like that time at the clocktower, right? But what happens next? Why pop up now? What's their goal? Were those actually gods? Do gods even exist?"
He pondered over the question for a bit longer until he no longer could. Clicking his tongue, he sighed and let himself slumber out of boredom.
"Fuck the gods. Real or not, I'm kicking their asses when I see 'em. I'll let the three of 'em do all the thinking. In the meantime, I'll keep 'em company." He scoffed, a small grin gracing his features. "They're fucking useless without me."
AN: Hello again!
How are we all doing in these trying times of quarantine and physical-distancing?
Yes, physical-distancing. Social-distancing just sounds different in my head. As a former psychology student, what we need right now is physical-distancing and social solidarity.
Me, I'm doing fine. Binged a beautiful show called Carole & Tuesday, so there's that. I can only describe it as a love letter to music with how amazingly gorgeous it is. For a time, I was 50-50 about including a show from 2019 when the timeline in Lost Star's AU of Earth hasn't finished 2018 yet, at least when Tiella came to Remnant.
But I just really, really, really, really, really love Carole & Tuesday so I couldn't help it. I'm sorry!
I also watched a lot of other shows and movies with the intent to gather material for future chapters and/or stories.
But that's enough about me! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Stay safe, be kind, and switch to using a bidet.
See you next chapter!
