Chapter 21…
The fork felt uncomfortable in Rust's cramped hand, the utensil being far too small for his brawny fingers. He used it to push the eggs around on his plate halfheartedly; he had filled his plate at the buffet but didn't feel all that hungry.
Mauve and Asher weren't too different. The couple were sitting in silence across from him, also in the process of playing with their food.
Sage hadn't come back to the dorm the previous night… he also wasn't answering his scroll. Mauve (like Rust) had shown some concern for his well being despite the bitter argument that had transpired.
Asher had been dismissive… it was clear that he was entering his moody phase again judging from how cold he acted whenever Sage was mentioned. Sage's words had cut him deeply… his words had cut them all deeply…
What was wrong with that guy?
Rust sighed and continued to push the eggs around on his plate. He turned his attention to his breakfast sausage and used the side of his fork to cut off a small segment. He speared the piece and gently placed it on his tongue, closing his mouth and chewing the meat slowly.
It didn't taste like much… just a run of the mill breakfast sausage… chances were it came out of a pre-frozen package…
What a pathetic situation… with a pathetic meal to supplement it…
"Hey you… three!" A new voice called, the table shaking with a rush of air as a new person took a seat next to Rust. The deeply tanned boy broke his eyes away from his plate to find Crimson sitting next to him.
A genuine smile formed on his face and he briefly forgot about his struggles with his partner. "Hey Crimson!"
Mauve and Asher also offered their own greetings, which Crimson briefly responded to.
"Whats up?" Mauve questioned in between very small bites of food.
"Just saying a morning hello," Crimson answered. "That… and…"
"Yeah?"
"I forgot to mention last night," Crimson began, leaning onto his elbows. "You can also enter the weekly tournaments… in case you guys ever want to show off…"
"We'll have to consider it," Mauve offered Crimson a smile. "But I don't know how busy we're gonna be…"
"Busy?" Crimson questioned with a tone of genuine confusion. "What else have you guys got going on?"
Asher audibly gulped. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean- I mean I've never seen you guys in a student uniform… or attend classes," Crimson paused for a moment, scratching at his chin. "What do you guys do up here?"
Rust flicked his concerned gaze over to his two teammates. Both Asher and Mauve seemed genuinely concerned about the prying question. If they offered Crimson the truth… well… it could be compromising.
"I-" Rust was interrupted by a new voice.
"Crimson Fiamma!" A femenine voice rang out over the din of morning conversation and the clink of plates.
Crimson face morphed into a concerned look as he spun around. A fair skinned girl that seemed a little familiar made her way towards the table.
She was a shorter girl, perhaps hovering around the five foot three range. She was clad in a dark green wool jumper and a mini skirt of a similar colour scheme. Her most prominent feature was her head of vibrant green hair; it was cut in a wavy bob that just reached the bottom of her chin and framed her oval shaped face.
"Hey Liz!" Crimson answered, finally giving the green haired stranger a name. "Sorry… I'll be back at the table soon…"
"Could've at least told me where you were going…" Liz grumbled, rolling her moss coloured eyes. Crimson turned back to the table and Liz stood behind him, she leaned down and wrapped her arms around his chest, also laying her chin on his shoulder. "Are you going to introduce me?"
"Right!" Crimson stuttered, he pointed to the three members of Team MARS in order. "Mauve, Asher and Rust… they're a part of Team MARS, up from Vale actually! There's also Sage but… he isn't here right now…"
Crimson cocked a confused eyebrow and turned to face Rust. "Where is Sage? He's normally with you guys…"
"In the dorm," Rust lied, feeling a pang of regret as he did. "He was pretty tired and decided to sleep in."
"Say 'hello' to him for me," Crimson nodded. "Anyways… this is Liz, the fourth member of my team, she's my assigned partner…"
"And?" Liz chuckled, turning her head to press a big kiss on Crimson's cheek, her red lipstick running off to leave a lip-shaped stain.
Rust failed to suppress a smile as Crimson blushed a shade redder than the lipstick.
"She's also my other half…"
"That's one way to say it!" Liz laughed, giving Crimson a beaming smile. She turned back to face Team MARS again. "I remember you guys! You came to collect your weapons from the workshop!"
"That's it!" Rust snapped his fingers. "I remembered seeing you from somewhere!"
Liz gave Rust a quick smile and a nod. She turned her gaze away from Rust, digging her chin back into Crimson's shoulder as she turned her head. Her gaze became locked on Mauve's lynx ears. "So, another faunus!"
Mauve's face twisted into a cautious look. "Is that a problem?"
Liz laughed and shook her head. "It'd be pretty ironic if it was…"
She removed her chin from Crimson's shoulder and used her hand to pull down the high collar of her jumper. On either side of her neck there were small patches of shiny dark green scales that ran down towards her covered shoulders.
"Oh!" Mauve's eyes widened with realization. "I couldn't tell you were a faunus!"
"Lizard faunus," Liz elaborated with a smile. "Sorry if I came off as rude… there aren't many faunus up here-"
"Liz the lizard faunus?" Asher muttered, raising an eyebrow with a smile.
Liz gave him a dry look. "A highly original joke… I've never heard that one before…"
Asher yelped when Mauve nudged him with her elbow, he turned his gaze to find a peeved look in her amber eyes. "Sorry… didn't mean anything by it."
"It's fine!" Liz reassured with a smile. "Anyways… hope you don't mind if I steal Crimson away? We only have so much free time together…" She rubbed his t-shirt clad chest affectionately with her hands as she said this, making smooth circular motions.
"What do you do?" Rust questioned. "No offence… we've met the rest of your team… but never you…"
"She is always stuck in the labs," Crimson answered, smiling when Liz buried her chin back into his shoulder.
Asher raised his eyebrows again. "Are you a student?"
"Yep, huntress in training!" Liz nodded. "I also work in the labs as an apprentice roboticist…"
"She has a busy schedule!" Crimson nodded with a smile, he turned his head towards her. "Not a lot of time for her poor boyfriend…"
"You see me all the time... " Liz rolled her eyes. "Let's not even mention the time you ran into the labs to find me…"
Crimson blushed. "I felt you in pain! I couldn't help it…"
"Wait?" Mauve questioned, drawing the attention of the couple. "He felt you in pain?"
Liz gave Crimson a look of confusion. "They don't know about your semblance?"
"No," Rust answered with a shake of his head. "It never got brought up…"
Crimson smiled and nodded. "I can track people-"
"-like a bloodhound!"
"Thank you for the kind comparison," Crimson said in an exasperated tone, narrowing his eyes at Liz's grin. "Anyways… I can discern the locations of people I'm familiar with… but sometimes I develop a deeper link with people I'm very familiar with…"
"That's how you knew Sable was angry before you saw her!" Rust's eyes widened. "That's also why you left the cafeteria so fast that day!"
"Liz here burned her hand while in the lab," Crimson answered. "I felt the pain but not much else… I had to investigate…"
"He's a sweet guy…" Liz hugged Crimson tighter. "He also thinks I look cute in a lab coat… his words and not mine."
Crimson's face reddened with embarrassment. "Anyways… if you'll excuse us we should probably get going… Liz is right about us not having a lot of time recently…"
"You didn't start the new model without me? Did you?" Liz questioned in a low tone as she let Crimson get up from the table.
"I'm not a heartless monster!" Crimson laughed in response, he turned back to address Team MARS. "See you guys later!"
"It was nice to properly meet you three," Liz supplemented with a smile. She then tugged Crimson away by his wrist, her short legs working overtime to lead him away.
"That was-" Rust began.
"Weird?" Asher smiled.
"Cute?" Mauve smiled.
"Both!" Rust grinned.
It felt as if the mood of the table had been lifted by the short but silly display. The three teammates appreciated the lighthearted distraction… they needed it.
Halfway across Remnant…
Vermillion cracked her neck as she sauntered towards the mail building of her village. In her right hand she was gently clenching two letters, the one she wrote for Rust and Honey's letter to Sage.
Honey was adamant about coming along with her, but the large sunburn that cropped up on her skin left her stuck in the cool and dark confines of the guest house. Vermillion had been quick to shoo away her attempts to plead with her; even in the dim light of the evening the sun was hot…
The tall redhead whistled a tune as she padded up the creaky wooden steps to the mail building, her sneakers squeaking as she moved. She pushed open the old door and entered the building, her eyes dancing with spots as they adjusted to the dim light of the musty room.
Vermillion's long legs quickly closed the gap between the door and the counter. The old mail clerk greeted the huntress in training with a smile.
"Sending off some letters, Vermillion?" The old mail clerk asked with a smile.
"One from me and one from my friend," Vermillion answered, handing the letters to the clerk. "Both of them should be headed to Atlas academy."
"I'll hand them over to the next cargo bullhead," the clerk smiled. "Should take them a week or so to arrive."
"I wish the CCT was back up," Vermillion complained. "It was so much easier to send messages…"
"Speak for yourself!" The clerk laughed. "Business has been booming for me!"
"You were always opportunistic, you old fart."
"Ha!"
The mail clerk turned around to slip the letters into a labeled storage bin. "Do you need anything else?"
"Nope! Thanks!"
"No problem."
Vermillion turned around and walked back through the door and into the dying sunlight. There was a certain satisfaction that came with sending a letter… it certainly felt more concrete than sending a text message.
She wouldn't be able to see Rust's reactions to the pictures she sent him… but she would see him soon enough… hopefully.
Vermillion narrowed her sharp blue eyes when she heard the bushes rustling next to her. She carefully turned her eyes to the left to find a shock of red hair disappear back into the leafy green bushes.
Honestly… he had red hair just like her… did he really expect to be able to hide in foliage?
The tall redhead whooped like a banshee and took off like a shot, thrusting her strong arms into the bushes to extract a struggling and shrieking boy. She wrapped his tightly against her chest and spun around in a circle, hearing him groan with nausea.
"Hey Burger!" Vermillion nearly sang as she twirled.
"Don't- don't call me that!" The twelve year old boy shrieked.
"What do you want me to call you?" Vermillion asked as she picked up speed.
"My name!"
"Which is?"
"Burgu-"
"Burger!" Vermillion yelled again, hearing the boy shriek with mock rage. She released him in a flourish, dropping him to the floor and letting him stumble and spin like a top.
"My name is Burgundy!" The boy now known as Burgundy yelped out as he fell to one knee, huffing for air. "Why do you always insist on calling me that?"
"Because I know it bothers you," Vermillion grinned. "And why were you spying on me, mister?"
"I was curious…" Her little brother stuttered out. "Who were you sending those letters to?"
"A friend," Vermillion smiled.
"A boyfriend?" Burgundy mocked with a grin.
"Yep!" Vermillion laughed. "What about you, Burger? Have you asked any girls out yet?"
Burgundy's face reddened in embarrassment. "N- no…"
Vermillion placed her hands on her hips and leered down at him with a grin. "Oh really?"
"N- no…"
"What about Daffodil?" Vermillion questioned with an eyebrow raise. "I think she likes you…"
"Shut up…" Burgundy muttered.
"Sure thing kiddo," Vermillion chuckled. "Anyways… is dinner ready?"
"I think it should be done by now…"
"Well then… lead the way... Burger…"
Burgundy grumbled and whirled around, Vermillion moved to follow him as he stomped away.
The gentle whir of a bullhead's engines drew her gaze upwards. Far up above an unmarked black bullhead sliced through the evening clouds, briefly hovering over the village before slowly moving away.
Vermillion blinked and shook her head, moving to follow her younger brother.
That was weird… like really weird.