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Chapter 82: Save The Date
The days following the release of promotional footage recorded by the various student teams competing in the Vytal Tournament had been some of the most entertaining and positive that Team MARZ could remember experiencing in their time as students, a little over a week filled with a competitive and hungry, yet playfully boisterous and uplifting energy as the various students continued in their usual training and routines; their interviews and footage that was now played during commercial breaks on television often enough to ensure that they remained a fresh topic of conversation which in turn saw various memorable lines being quoted in the hallways as those who had originally uttered them passed by as well as rivalries that ranged from playful to more severe springing up between various individuals who took issue with some aspect or other of the way they had been portrayed.
All of this being set against the ongoing preparations for the Vytal Festival and the Tournament at the heart of it, which now included several neon billboards featuring returning competitors and fan favourites such as Honey Arc illuminating the sides of several of the hive-cities' monolithic towers and the fast approaching dance, now set to be held at one of Neo Vale's most exclusive venues which would serve as a prelude to the larger festivities and give some of those attending a much needed boost to their morale before they departed for a mission served to leave the Professors and other faculty at the heart of Halo Academy rushed, exhausted but ultimately proud beyond words.
In Team MARZ's opinions the only negatives to be found were that Astra's clear and direct challenge to Petrol and the various gangs the acid-spewing Faunus commanded, whilst leading to stern lectures from both of the Deer Faunus's parents addressed to the team as a whole had seemingly failed as Petrol and his allies were yet to make any of the belligerent, reckless and easily counteracted plays that had been expected which Qrow had mused was likely the product of the unknown Benefactor they were forced to engage in a battle of wits against holding the criminals' reigns tight enough to keep him under control. A secondary, more personal issue was in the way that various blogs and other outlets had taken the footage of Team MARZ's interview, something the four of them already considered to be something of a minor travesty and posted articles of their own which spewed conjecture and baseless hearsay as though it were fact, rumour-mongering and invoking the names and private lives of various family members for the sake of attention and being read by many of the people immediately surrounding them.
Though Astra was at least able to use it for cheap points when bickering with Athena-Jade, which they decided had to count for something.
"At least the press can admit I'm hot" Astra gave a grin that had been described by many friends as 'shit-eating' as they returned a pillow that Athena had thrown at them with equal force "I mean we both got compared to our older brothers and they wrote whole novels about you and Zirconia being the cutest couple of rich girls ever….But I'm still the one they actually used the word 'Heartthrob' to describe-"
"Which sounds far less impressive when said out loud" Zirconia countered, barely bothering to look up from her scroll "I am perfectly content to not think about any part of you throbbing"
"Besides" Athena chimed in, using a glyph to fling herself up from her own bunk to Zirconia's and lean happily against her girlfriends' shoulder; making herself comfortable even as the exchange of words "You can pretend you're the bad-ass in the leather jacket that the media has, for reasons I genuinely can't understand, convinced themselves that you are….But we both know what the broken heart on your jacket is about-"
"Hey, low blow….Come on we're having fun here" Astra grimaced at the unneeded comment regarding the black patch adorning the left breast of the sleeveless jacket which had been salvaged despite its' ruined condition after the battle for Port Alistair and just how consumed by grief at their breakup with Wolfram they had been when making the alterations. Seeing Athena's apologetic gesture and deciding to keep the mood light they leaned down and waved for Regalia's attention.
"Hey, help me out here" they laughed, pointing across at the other half of Team MARZ "They're teaming up on me, tell 'em I'm hot"
"You're hot" Regalia answered, voice oddly choked as her words seemed to come in a nervous gulp and yelp at the same time whilst also being delivered more than a little bit too quickly; the Racoon Faunus turning her gaze pointedly away from her partner which led to an exchange of looks between Athena and Zirconia as comprehension slowly began to settle over the couple and whilst the conversation that followed between them was an entirely silent one the decision they reached, to change the subject and give Regalia a chance to recover before she made herself uncomfortable was quickly enacted.
"But did you notice that while they were fawning over your hair and eyeliner and your grunge chic, whatever the heck that means….Nobody was commending you for your talents; I do recall them mentioning mine though" Athena-Jade challenged, giving her team-leader and close friend a smirk which showed the faintest hint of sharp teeth and brought a similarly savage expression to Astra who threw themselves into the latest round of verbal sparring with gusto.
"Right, okay I must have missed that….Was it tucked somewhere between 'The lovestruck way these two young-"
"Athena, please throw something heavier at them this time" Zirconia cut across the quote before it could be uttered in full, feigning disinterest whilst raising her shawl to cover the lower half of her face; hiding the fact that her cheeks had coloured faintly and also the smile tugging at her lips. Athena for her part made a show of casting her eyes around until something that would serve as a suitable projectile until Astra raised their hands up in surrender even as Regalia hauled herself up onto her partners' bunk in a fluid motion somewhere between a pull-up and a backflip which saw the well defined abs left bare by her current outfit coil and flex impressively.
A display that Astra somehow managed to miss entirely.
"Regalia and I are heading into the city anyway, you two losers planning anything?" the Deer Faunus bowed in response to the crude gesture Athena-Jade responded with, one that she would never had performed in front of her mother.
"We were already planning to go, we both wanted to pick a few things up" Regalia added, rubbing her hands together and giving a nonchalant shrug as she added "Heh, I mean it's not like we were gonna go into the city just to see the big posters up close and get pictures and….Okay, heh I kinda wanted to"
"Sure, think how cool it'll be when we're Fourth Year students and we're on the posters" Athena replied encouragingly, always ready to support her most energetic and enthusiastic friend before turning to Zirconia and silently conveying a question about whether the two of them had any arrangements of their own.
"Damascus asked if I was available to visit home for a while" the Grasshopper Faunus paused, looking slightly reluctant for a moment before adding "The invite is just for me at the moment, he would like to meet you again….I could ask if-"
"Go and spend time with your family" Athena beamed "I was planning on working cardio today….But if the rest of you are gonna be in the city later than maybe we can all meet up somewhere and I don't know, celebrate the promo footage not being a total disaster?"
"Sounds like a plan. See you guys later" Astra nodded, hopping off of their bunk and putting on shoes and their jacket before grabbing their car keys and scroll as they made to leave, Regalia only a few paces behind them. Once the dormitory door was closed both Athena-Jade and Zirconia waited with bated breath, mentally counting down the seconds until their friends were out of earshot and quickly turning to face each other and though both of them had the same question on their lips it was Athena who spoke first.
"Is something going on with those two?"
"I can't imagine either of them would keep something like that a secret" Zirconia mused, pulling down her shawl to reveal a fond smile as considered for a moment longer before adding "If I had to make a guess….Based on the two of us being, for lack of a better word dense about our feelings for one another and a general ability to read peoples' intentions, I think maybe Regalia has feelings and is struggling with them-"
"And Astra is so dumb that they don't even realise" Athena huffed indignantly, her ire only growing as Zirconia nodded in agreement "Oh they suck, they are the suckiest….Regalia's the best, she's so sweet, she's cool. I swear if Astra doesn't get it together and pay attention to what's in front of their makeup-covered face then I'm gonna go and….No, I'll do worse, I'll do the worst, meanest thing I can imagine-"
"AJ-" Zirconia warned
"I'm gonna have Coral be the one to tell 'em to stop being dumb, or I'll call Fluffy and-"
"Don't do that" Zirconia interrupted, taking her girlfriends' hands in her own "Do not. Astra's feelings are theirs to figure out at their own pace, let them. Even if there are no feelings like that there it's still for them to work out"
"If they hurt Regalia-"
"I can't imagine that Astra would ever do that knowingly….Even if they can be, well Astra sometimes" Zirconia's smile widened "But if something does happen and we don't try and influence it then we can simply watch and enjoy; you have to admit it would be sweet….Or insufferable"
"You're a genius" Athena laughed, fully able to appreciate the appeal of her partners' way of thinking; though taking the moment to move the conversation elsewhere by leaning forward so that her face was mere inches away from Zirconia.
"And you're also an incredibly gorgeous, sexy genius who is leaving me all alone to do cardio in the cold" the Bear Faunus gave a playful pout before nipping at her girlfriends' lip "But we've got some time before you need to leave right?"
Zirconia wasted no time with words and instead merely leaned into the kiss, hands already travelling to Athena's thighs as they enjoyed their current privacy.
Tiger Santara was, almost comically predictably planning on spending a great deal of her Saturday morning training as she stepped out in the cold and fresh morning air, breath fogging in front of her and snow that had been gritted to prevent people from slipping should it become icy and compacted crunching underfoot as she trudged towards the campus's outdoor area with a gym bag slung over one shoulder; the same location which had in recent days been used for promotional footage and the exhibition match between Lie and Nora Ren which Tiger even now considered herself immensely lucky to have been able to witness first hand.
The exhibition match was, in no small part her motivation for training as after watching it and then studying the recordings of the sparring match from various angles and comparing notes with older students several times during her free time Tiger had found herself with several new ideas and techniques which she wanted to test and refine, feeling that they would be useful both against the Creatures of Grimm and in the Vytal Tournament which she was intent to have several options in place for which her peers had not seen her use in class. She had extended the offer to her team-mates to join her and similarly apply themselves, making the matter a request rather than an instruction as she would likely have done in the past and had been rewarded with promises that the rest of Team TRQS would join her later; each of them having their own affairs to attend to which she had not seen fit to pry into.
Her plans were thrown into disarray as she entered the colosseum like structure only to find that someone, a decidedly early-riser had arrived before her and was in the midst of their own training session.
A development which only become more intolerable as she realised exactly who was preventing her from training.
"This is a sick joke, it must be….The day she finally decides to make an effort and she gets in my way" Tiger hissed under her breath as she watched her fellow team-leader and the object of her one-sided rivalry and habitual disdain Snapdragon Majus sparring with none other than Ravi, in a match that seemed to have been decided in advance would not allow weapons or Semblances which forced Snapdragon to rely on her own skill; which the young woman whose scarlet hair made her easily identifiable even when she wore an academy issue sweatsuit in place of her usual eye-catching outfits had in spades.
The sparring match was taking place in an arena formed of holograms and hard-light, one which was based on the interactive and highly variable environments used in the Vytal Tournament though admittedly without the full suite of environmental and potentially dangerous effects in play; Tiger grit her teeth and loomed at the periphery of the battlefield and found herself watching intently whilst silently cheering her twin brother on, marvelling at the sheer scope of his improvements and the range and variety of the skills he had integrated into a fighting style that had previously relied heavily on brawling and raw strength combined with a devastating initial impact. The realisation that Tiger had not seen her brother display a great many of these advances even in class was followed a moment later by the realisation that he was taking clear influences from Snapdragon herself, as was proven as she began countering his advances with ease and eventually sent Ravi toppling to the ground as unleashing a series of spinning kicks which were a feint intended to disguise a low sweep.
"Hey Tiger" Snapdragon's voice only betrayed the merest hint of surprise as her dramatic twirling motion brought the previously unseen watcher into her eyeline, that surprise quickly being subsumed beneath a comfortable layer of smug condescension as she pulled Ravi to his feet with an effortless motion; Tiger's twin taking his defeat in his stride and waving vaguely in his sisters' direction
"I came here to train, I didn't expect you to be awake for several hours yet" Tiger matched the condescension, though her own words help an unmistakably acidic note to them. There was a truth to the observation however, Snapdragon was a creature of habit and said habits reputably included sleeping until well after noon on most weekends to recover from the debauchery she partook in on a Friday evening.
"Marshy had to take the car in for a service, woke me up" Snapdragon shrugged "Figured I may as well come and get some practice in….Especially since someone thought it would be funny to put footage of her grabbing me by the legs and swinging me at the perimeter shield in combat class"
"You're welcome. I can give you some additional motivation if you think it might help?" Tiger's voice was a dull and deadpan monotone, though her shoulders rolled back with an audible and satisfying pop until Ravi took the opportunity to speak up and placed himself directly between the pair, balancing on the lip of the arena he and Snapdragon had fought in to do so.
"Can we not? It's a Saturday morning, can we just not do this shit?"
"Snapdragon, would you let me speak with my brother alone" Tiger managed to make a polite request sound imperious yet Snapdragon responded with an over-exaggerated bow and flourish that succeed in being far more mocking before placing a hand of Ravi's shoulder, leaning close to whisper something in his ear with a familiarity Tiger refused to allow herself to think about before sauntering away, the leader of Team SHMR starting the process of resetting the projections for the next user.
"So….What's up?" Ravi sighed as he hopped down from the raised edge of the arena, leaning against it as he regarded his sister "Did you hear we were here and come to pick a fight for fun"
"I didn't know you were here, I came to train….As I do most weekends" Tiger answered honestly "But since you are here we can train together when you catch your breath, it's been far too long"
"Yeah it has" Ravi chuckled, still slightly breathless and massaging an arm that had borne the brunt of his painful fall "Just gimme a minute"
"Of course….In the meantime, how have you been Ravi" the mood changed subtly, yet unmistakably between them; the cold air becoming heavy as the silence lingered and threatened to become oppressive until finally Ravi let out a slow huff, betraying the effort for him to force out an answer and not simply pretend that his twin was asking about his general well-being, rather than having a specific issue in mind.
"The reporters knew more about us than I would have liked….They asked you some of the same shit, it just caught me off balance"
"Many things seem to" Tiger gestured at the patch of the floor he had been sent crashing down to, unable to resist the sly barb before sighing "That reporter should be flogged, they were utterly tactless-"
"I mean it's not like there's an appropriate way to frame asking 'So you moved from Atlas to Mistral's outer territories when you were kids, you parents died and then you bounced around until you ended up in Neo Vale….what's the deal' is there?"
"Then they should have just not asked….And don't talk so flippantly about it" Tiger admonished almost reflexively, physically flinching away from the painful memories as though they were a blow. After relocating from the chaos of the subterranean hives of the Atlesian Capital of Eisenstadt Prime the Santara family had lived in relative peace and prosperity for some years in the frigid North of Anima, taking well paid jobs in a settlement which traded with Atlas, central Mistral and the Anima Diaspora alike only for that life to be shattered when the Grimm had breached the walls of their home and aid had not been rallied fast enough. What had truly stung in a way that Tiger doubted would ever cease being raw however was the knowledge that it had not been the Creatures of Grimm themselves that had killed her and Ravi's parents, instead the lack of preparations had seen the evacuation efforts devolve into chaos and the Santara family had been amongst those involved in a major car crash at the gates furthest away from the encroaching monsters, which had only drawn the Grimm towards them all the more urgently.
Tiger could point to it as a defining moment in not only her life but in her character; the point where her outlook had been shaped and her need to be prepared and cling to a sense of order and control had taken route.
"Hey" Ravi gently interrupted her bleak reverie, stepping closer and gently nudging his sister "They'd be proud of you y'know"
"Don't" Tiger breathed the word out almost pleadingly before taking a slow shuddering breath, revealing that for all of her outward concern for her twin it had been she who needed emotional support, which Ravi offered in the form of a one-armed hug, the separation between that had been allowed to exist between the twins since the formation of their teams vanishing in an instant.
"Thanks" Tiger sniffled after a few moments, pulling back and wiping moisture that was already beginning to freeze from her eyes "That helped, more than I thought it would"
"Y'know you don't always have to be the strong one" Ravi offered the comment cautiously, being mildly relieved when he only received a watery scoff in response.
"Someone had to make sure we both survived" she muttered "You were always the sweet and shy one….And the clumsy one….And the slow one-"
"Fuck off" Ravi chuckled before letting out another sigh and adding "But we're here, we made it….We're done surviving, we can live now. I can see that you're trying to embrace that, that you're trying to let your guard down and I'm proud of you"
"Thank you" the words, earnest and heartfelt left Tiger's lips before she could prevent them and she found that she would not have even if she could; though she followed with a casual shrug "Thank Stitch for that"
"Really now?" Ravi arched an eyebrow, arms folding across his chest as he leaned back against the edge of the arena.
"Not like that. Not at all" Tiger swiftly halted that particular line of thinking in its' tracks.
"Cool, still glad you're in a better place Tiger….Not talking to you sucked" Ravi admitted, his own heartfelt and earnest offering which he ran a hand through his slicked back hair self-consciously before adding to "So, on a tangentially related topic….The big dance is soon; are you bringing anyone?"
"That is a reach for a connection" Tiger muttered "And no, frankly I wasn't planning to attend at all; I was convinced to change my mind….Is this your way of telling me that you have a date?"
The way Ravi shuffled nervously was all the answer Tiger needed and she was half way to pinching her nose in disbelieving annoyance before her twin brother had uttered a word.
"So….I've kinda liked Snapdragon for a while, I finally worked up the nerve to say something and yeah; we're going to the dance together to see how things go. Tiger she's really not the person you've imagined her to be and-"
"As long as you're happy" Tiger placed her hands on her brother's shoulders, holding him firmly in place and forcing him to meet her eyes as she willed him to see that she was being genuine before finally pulling him into a hug and allowing herself to sag against him with a wordless groan of frustration followed by an equally genuine follow up.
"Only you could make me so proud and make me want to strangle you at the same damn time Ravi"
Athena-Jade had, as she had intended to begun a cardio workout which would likely take a considerable amount of time in order to both be a thorough and proper routine and to dispel the lingering surges of energy that coursed through her body in the wake of a heated and yet tentative, nervous make-out session with Zirconia which had ended only when the Grasshopper Faunus had begrudgingly dragged herself out of her lustful haze and remembered that she was needed elsewhere; a realisation that Athena had noted playfully, yet with an almost keening desperation in her voice could have been delayed by perhaps five more minutes given Zirconia was currently pinning her girlfriends' wrists down in an intoxicating display of assertiveness.
Biting her lip Athena powered onwards, forcing herself from a jog to a full sprint in as she sought to overcome her wandering mind and the wave of heat and tingling that washed over her, flushing her cheeks as she thought back to the feeling of her girlfriends' hands and mouth against her pale skin.
Her route was one used by many students who chose to jog out of doors rather than simply rely on the treadmills in the gym even in such inclement weather, Astra amongst them, though at present she was largely alone after passing only a few fellow joggers on a path which followed the outer edge of the massive floating platform which housed Halo Academy from the training area to its' rear around to the point of separation between the campus and the airship terminals attached to it and then across the width of the aerial platform across into what was technically the grounds of the orphanage founded by Lie and Nora Ren, though given the amount of overlap between it and the academy and the residents of each there were no rules or barriers forbidding Athena from entering.
She did however coming skidding to a halt as she caught sight of something that she required a moment to fully process.
The snow that had coated the ground in recent weeks had subsided enough that what had not been shovelled clear of pathways had lingered and melted steadily until an unappealing slurry remained which was of little interest to the children of the orphanage given that it could easily be used to wage a snowball fight or build snowmen. Instead the children currently playing outside, a collection of the younger orphans whom Athena noted with a fond smile all looked simply adorable in their puffy coats and winter hats and gloves in various bright colours, were in the midst of a game of some variety of tag; what surprised her however was that the person currently being chased to a chorus of squeals and giggling was an instantly recognisable dark-skinned and tattooed Mouse Faunus with royal blue dreadlocks, whose hairless tail and the sleeves of the jacket which hung from his shoulder in a gravity defying display were almost caught several times in the few minutes Athena-Jade spent watching, doubled over with her hands on her knees as she caught her breath before finally calling out.
"Hey Stitch, using your Semblance is cheating!" the Mouse Faunus pivoted and threw himself in to a dramatic, rolling leap which saw him slide across an icy patch of ground in order to avoid being caught by an impressively determined little girl who sought to capitalise on his brief distraction before pulling himself to his feet, being swarmed by the children and making a show of begging for mercy before finally making his way over to Athena.
"My Semblance would literally have made it easier for them to tag me, I would have landed right in front of them"
"Excuses, excuses" the Bear Faunus laughed with a shake of the head before gesturing towards the cluster of children who discussed animatedly who would be the next person to be chased "So what's with you looking after the kids?….No wait let me guess, I've got it; there's some poor girl you're trying to impress"
"Okay firstly why the hell would me being into someone make them a 'poor girl', go on explain that to me?" Stygian demanded in an exaggerated mock outrage before adjusting a jacket that had become ruffled in his fall as he added "Honestly, I like coming over here when Tee's training all day and Rye and Amaya are doing their thing….Which is usually each other-"
"There are kids here you pest!" Athena hissed, swatting him with a meaty palm which Stygian weaved to avoid but was still clipped by.
"It kinda reminds me of the good parts of home" the Mouse Faunus added, words flowing as though he had not been interrupted and an amused look in his electric blue eyes. Athena found herself changing tone upon hearing the answer, less teasing and more genuinely curious.
"You've got siblings?" she asked "You've never mentioned them"
"Not siblings, but we're all raised together; a whole communal thing where the older kids help look after the little ones when we're not busy with school or any other kind of training, like weapons, survival or trades"
"That kinda sounds like what Clan Aiktishaf, Regalia's people do….But more intense?" Athena noted, something about the look on Stygian's face sowing a vague seed of doubt and worry within her.
"I guess so" Stygian nodded "But I'm not from the nomad clans but we might have picked up a few of their habits at some point. The part of Menagerie I'm from is basically out in the wastes, passed the Eastern Fringe; basically there's a few old frontier settlements that never really grew into anything the way Port Alistair did that are still controlled by the Hunters that headed up the initial expeditions"
"A town completely run by Hunters…." Athena trailed off, contemplating the idea carefully for a few moments before choosing her next words and in doing so hearing echoes of many conversations between herself and Zirconia "That sounds like it could go really wrong, no Council seats?"
"No council" Stygian confirmed "Basically we're on the island but not really considered part of Menagerie as a Kingdom; before I was born the Hunters in charge and their people decided that since the settlement wasn't really progressing then we were still at risk and still in a state of emergency. They decided that they were gonna stay in charge"
"And people let that happen?" Athena gawped, struggling to believe what she was hearing.
"People like strong leaders that give them a sense of certainty I guess" Stygian shrugged "Menagerie as a Kingdom leaves us be, we protect ourselves and don't interfere with anything they're doing so unless things change the situation isn't worth basically invading a settlement and having a civil war on the island over….Not when places like Blackwater Cove are barely part of the Kingdom"
"That's….That's awful" Athena's jaw hung slack for a moment before her sense of bewildered loss was replaced by a righteous anger that was tempered only by a need for more information "What's it like living in a place like that?"
"I mean, it's the only childhood I had so I can't compare it to another one" the Mouse Faunus noted pointedly, electric blue eyes downcast as he continued "But like….It's not crazy, outright evil y'know; I feel like you're imaging a castle made of skeletons and stuff-"
"And a moat filled with lava" Athena nodded sagely, managing to draw a smile out of Stygian.
"It's a settlement run by Hunters and they run it with a firm hand" Stygian explained "Those Hunters are probably wanted in the Kingdoms they originally came from but, they're...I don't know, logical about how much of a group of bastards they can be? They're not gonna torture people for fun, anything like that gets punished harsher there than it does in the Kingdoms and you have to do something that puts the entire village at risk to get yourself publicly executed-"
"Oh my gosh" Athena mouthed, her home Kingdom of Atlas still practised capital punishment however the Bear Faunus could scarcely remember the last time the sentence had been invoked; to hear of it being a casual reality and a threat hanging over the heads of Stygian's village and to be wielded by Hunters was stomach-churning.
"Yeah" Stygian grimaced, features hardening as his displeasure at the situation he had been born into finally began to show on his face "It's not a free place, if you're not a trader or someone the Hunters have approved then you're not free to leave. You're born there and when you're old enough you're put to work and given a job, something you've shown some skill at and something that benefits the village; we're given tattoos to show what we are, apparently they started out as a pride thing between Hunters and people with the best trades….We're paid, we can live reasonably well, but we're still subjects. It's why I ran away as soon as I could-"
"You were one of the people allowed to leave?"
"I was supposed to be a fighter" Stygian gave a fierce, bitter look before gesturing to the series of geometric tattoos covering much of his skin "The original one felt like a brand, so I spent too much Lien getting it turned into something else….Took something the bastards gave me and made it something else; which is still the plan"
"The plan?" Athena asked, now with rapt attention which was only bolstered by the absurd degree of calm and surety with which Stygian discussed things.
"I'm a runaway, I slipped away when they first took me out into the wastes to fight Grimm for real; ran all the way to the nearest city with a port and jumped on a ship, ended up in Neo Vale and came here….If I ever go back I'm dead. My parents probably already think I'm dead" he took a moment to compose himself following that revelation before speaking again, with unshakeable steel and resolve "But I'm gonna go back one day, I'm gonna go and take those bastards out and liberate the village"
"When you do let me know" Athena growled the words out with a ferocity and vindication that caught Stygian by surprise "Team MARZ will probably be on the island and we'll come and help you….Those Hunters don't deserve the title. If Hunters are the only people that can police Hunters than damn it we've gotta start stepping up and actually doing it"
"Hey" Stygian nudged her shoulder, speaking more gently now "Jumping head first into danger is my whole thing"
"Oh please, you haven't seen Team MARZ in action yet. We make crazy ideas work and look good doing it"
"Yeah you do" Stygian laughed, only to falter and pause as he registered exactly what he had allowed himself to say and raced to recover "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"
"It's cool, it's cool. Just let's not make it a thing okay" Athena waved the apology aside, already preparing to turn and make an exit when Stygian spoke again, voice hesitant and yet hopeful.
"So….On a lighter topic, you wanna stick around for a while? You've got a little sister, I could use a hand wrangling some of the more lively kids" Athena paused, fighting off an initial instinct to refuse out of hand and jog away; instead considering carefully, balancing Stygian's obvious attraction to her and the awkwardness it could lead to or the way it might be interpreted against the fact that the Mouse Faunus was a friend making a genuine offer whilst making a sincere effort to keep his own feelings from intruding on Athena's relationship. Eventually the snowy haired girl produced her scroll and before Stygian could question a decision she had taken a picture of the two of them together, the children in the background and sent the picture to Zirconia with an explanation that she was helping the Mouse Faunus babysit, thus preventing any possible claims of anything untoward which she herself would never entertain. Eventually she turned back to Stygian and gave the boy a playful punch on the shoulder as she walked by him.
"Just so you know, tag just got a lot harder….I am the best big sister"
Zirconia's expression as she read the message from Athena-Jade and studied the accompanying image was one which piqued the interest of Damascus Nero.
The Grasshopper Faunus had arrived at the penthouse apartment located within the uppermost reaches of one of Neo Vale's enormous Hive Towers which she had, though she would never admit it to the man who had raised her, begun to feel far less like home than the dormitories of Breaktide and Halo Academies which she shared with her team and partner just in time for the two of them to begin preparing a light, healthy lunch; part of an old and familiar routine between the two wherein Zirconia prodded and teased her guardian in an effort to convince him to take better care of himself rather than simply working himself to the point of collapse, skipping meals and sleep as he often had during Zirconia's formative years. It had been in the midst of this teasing that the message had arrived and she had paused in her chopping of vegetables, being left wearing an expression that could almost be considered a scowl as she began to second-guess herself in a bout of uncertainty.
"I am almost certain that if I wore such a vacant expression for so long you would throw a piece of cutlery at me just to make sure I was still awake" Nero mused aloud, tone light and conversational in an effort to convince the teenager to talk to him and after a moment he was rewarded by a faint smile tugging at Zirconia's lips as she tore her mismatched eyes away from the scroll.
"It would have been a dishcloth, I wouldn't risk damaging the silverware" the retort saw Nero let out a faint chuckle before setting his own part of the meal preparation aside for a moment and cross the spacious kitchen, halting at a distance that let him drape and arm loosely around Zirconia without letting him peer over at the screen of her scroll and letting the decision of what she shared with him be hers alone, though he still offered a little prompting.
"If something's wrong then I am always here to help"
"It's nothing….It's stupid and it's not important" Zirconia murmured quietly, brushing the curtain of styled and wavy black hair which fell close to her right eye whilst the rest of her posture and body language seemed to shrink in on itself, a serious of minute gestures which reminded Damascus that there was a young woman who was in some ways very sheltered beneath the exterior of an immensely capable Huntress and agent of conspiracy which Zirconia displayed to the world.
"I believe neither of those lies. Talk to me" the words were gentle and Zirconia let out a faint huff, eyes drifting away from Nero in a way that he would have noted was almost cliché teenager behaviour if the situation were different.
"Athena sent me this" she tilted her scroll so that Damascus could see the message and the picture in contained.
"I see" he murmured, words slow and carefully considered "It seems she has a way with children"
"She does, it's sweet to watch" the comment was given instantly and far more chipper than her previous comments, only for her expression to darken a moment later "It's not Athena that's the issue"
"Ah….Now I see" Damascus nodded "Jealously is an unbecoming look on you I'm afraid, it makes you seem less capable-"
"I-but, what?" Zirconia sputtered, left reeling by the casual chiding she had received in place of the expected support.
"You trust this girl enough to consider her a possible ally to our cause, you think that she would abandon her goal of becoming a Huntress to join us; to join you" Nero stated bluntly, quartz eyes suddenly hard as he folded his arms across his chest "Either you were correct in your estimations of how trustworthy your partner is, in which case you are worrying about nothing, or you were wrong in which case you have made a very sloppy mistake and we have far greater concerns. Which is it Zirconia?"
"I…." she trailed off, pink and orange eyes widening for a moment before narrowing as a sense of righteous indignation and deep, sincere conviction filled her "Athena can be trusted"
"See" Nero sounded on the verge of laughter as he placed his hands on her shoulders; the stern and commanding tone which Zirconia could imagine being used far more readily with Carmesi or other harder to control elements evaporating from his voice as he added "If you trust and love Athena and are convinced that she feels the same-"
"She does" Zirconia answered earnestly, entirely without doubts now
"Then the fact that some boy you're friends with happens to be attracted to her is frankly unimportant" Nero allowed himself a bemused snort as her turned away and made his way back towards the counter he had been working at "I would be immensely surprised if Athena was the only person amongst your classmates to have had at least a small crush on you"
"Can we not discuss that" Zirconia gave a dramatic and overblown shudder, knowing that Nero could see her out of the corner of his eye "Knowing that you consider things like that-"
"I can assure that I don't make a habit of it and I will be purging the memory away with brandy at the first opportunity….You're old enough for a glass if you'd like to share?"
"I'm not much of a drinker" Zirconia answered, being relieved when Nero simply nodded and chose not to ask for details about the specifics of how she had come to that particularly piece of self-discovery; instead falling back on the usual level of good-natured teasing that the two of the often engaged in.
"Well then" he gave a dramatic sweeping gesture "It's a good thing that I didn't book out the Aurora Hotel solely for your benefit; it would be a waste if you weren't planning on ending the dance in true rock star fashion"
"Perhaps" Zirconia grinned "I'm sure some other students will endeavour to make up for my good behaviour; the news that the dance will be going ahead at a new venue because of you has certainly made you a very popular man amongst the students….Especially the poor boy I had to ensure took the blame for my actions"
"Such a shame that any goodwill I might earn from this will be tainted by the end of the night" Nero paused again, letting out a sigh and turning back to Zirconia to give her a serious look "My plan to create a distraction is in place and whilst things should be kept at a reasonable level, without any fatalities it is still a given that things will get violent and mistakes can happen in the chaos, especially where alcohol is concerned….Consider this, the entire hotel is booked and there are a lot of rooms available in order for you and Athena to be away from the dance floor when things begin-"
"Are you-" Zirconia interrupted, sputtering words out in openly aghast shock "Are you asking me to have sex with my girlfriend as a distraction?"
"I-what? Good heavens no!" Nero exclaimed, gloved mechanical hand running through his hair as he took a moment to reconsider his words "What I was suggesting, in a practical and entirely innocent way mind you, is that perhaps you and your girlfriend; perhaps your entire team and some other friends could simply conspire to be away from the thick of things. It would help my nerves if I knew that there was less chance of you being directly involved or implicated in what happens"
"I see" Zirconia kept her words measured and even, trying to maintain a nonchalant appearance despite the fact that her features were now scarlet with embarrassment at the assumptions she had made, whilst another, traitorous part of her mind gave itself permission to wonder at the thought of herself and Athena alone in a hotel room with a king sized bed.
"If you and Athena were to….Well" Nero trailed off "I trust you know about precautions and-"
"This is a conversation we can do without" Zirconia managed to croak the words out, blushing an even more vivid shade and giving serious consideration to using her Semblance to hide from view.
"Have you got anything else you need to do in the city?" Astra's question broke Regalia's concentration on her food and the Racoon Faunus looked up, swallowing thickly before answering.
"I think my outfit for the dance is ready to pick up" she nodded happily, grinning at the prospect of the approaching dance even as nervousness at what she hoped to achieve there gripped at her yet again "I'll have to text Honey, I'm getting something from the same place as her and Yuki; she knows how long it takes them to get something like this ready"
"Nice….I can't wait to see what you've picked out, I bet you'll look awesome" Astra gave Regalia an easy smile and managed to remain blissfully, totally and infuriatingly unaware of the effect his praise continued to have on the girl sitting beside them.
The day had been well spent, in largely uneventful thus far; with the pair first venturing into the heart of the city to pick up the various odds and ends they required that were not on hand to be bought or traded for on Halo Academies' campus and from there Astra had made a small detour to acquire their own outfit for the upcoming dance, which Regalia had respectfully kept herself from peeking at whilst managing to overcome a suddenly dry mouth as she joked with her partner that she didn't want to spoil the surprise of seeing them on the night. With time to spare the two had taken a leisurely drive through the city, using vantage points provided by the bridges between monolithic towers to scout various locations of interest before venturing into the lowest recesses of the city once again in another effort to provoke a reaction from Petrol of a member of his faction of criminals that could provide useful information; ultimately they had found nothing but the two had enjoyed one another's company, with Astra pointing out several locations that had played host to parties they had attended without their parents knowledge and being spotted and approached by several groups of children and younger teens scattered throughout the sprawling metropolis who had seen Team MARZ's promotional footage, many of them eager to have their pictures taken with the young Hunters whose faces had been broadcast across the CCT for the last week which had given Regalia a moment of something akin to epiphany wherein she had realised that she had well and truly become the person she had wanted to be for so long, whilst Astra was merely given a fresh injection of their usual swaggering confidence that would likely last until it was inevitably chipped away by Athena-Jade when Team MARZ reconvened soon enough.
At present however the two were simply enjoying a meal. Given the hour many of the cities' restaurants and fast food establishments were too filled with customers for them to find a seat, the Vaccuan bar and grill that Astra had pointed out to Regalia being no exception and so to remedy this the two were instead perched comfortably in the bed of Astra's still unnamed pickup truck; the Deer Faunus bluntly refusing to allow the skewers of tender meat served with various dips and sauces that Regalia had ordered to be eaten inside the vehicle where they might drip onto the upholstery. It was a peaceful moment perched in the rear of the truck, they were parked at the edge of the curb on a street well within the confined of one of Neo Vale's towers, in a level several stories above the ground on the edge of a commercial district which meant that the cold and wind were kept at bay by a climate control system yet despite this Regalia kept the hoods of both of her jackets up and realised, almost randomly that at that moment she and Astra could be mistaken for almost any other group of teenagers in Neo Vale enjoying their weekend and that all of the concerns and vague worries about Petrol and his benefactor, or the student missions that would follow after the dance and general sense of urgency about the Vytal Tournament that lurked at the edge of every moment not spent training all suddenly seemed distant.
It was a moment that naturally couldn't last, being broken by the vibration of her scroll in short order; with Regalia reading the reply which had been sent from Honey's scroll but had almost certainly been penned by the much more direct and unforgiving Yuki. The message informing her that her outfit was indeed ready to be collected at any time whilst also urging her to make a move and act on her feelings if she intended to do so at all as the two older students could give her all of the advice and encouragement at their disposal and cheer her on from the sidelines but it was still Regalia's choice to make.
Or as Yuki had put it 'You're running out chances kid'.
"Heh, looks like I've gotta pick that outfit up" Regalia informed Astra, her partner nodding silently as he bit into his own meal in an unspoken agreement to take the Racoon Faunus where she needed to go which halted only when they turned and caught a glimpse of the look on her face, brow furrowing where it was visible beneath heavy goggles that had been pushed up and a decidedly worried frown on her face as she rubbed her hands together absently, her bushy tail twitching behind her.
"You okay?" they asked, suddenly concerned and turning to face Regalia; fixing her with sea green eyes which she made a conscious effort to keep from staring into as she took a deep breath and plucked up al of the courage she could muster.
She planned to act.
"Heh-" the single syllable was a choked and hoarse thing, her voice betraying her until she took another moment to clear her throat and willed herself to speak; purple eyes intense and frantic as she pushed onwards despite herself "I was just wondering….Has anybody asked you to the dance?"
"A couple people" Astra shrugged calmly, clearly confused as to where the conversation was headed "I told 'em I wasn't interested, politely though….What about you, shoot anyone down that I didn't hear about?"
"Heh, nah" Regalia answered, Astra's answer filling her with enough confidence to continue even in the face of her fears "So I was kinda wondering, heh….What if we went to the dance together?"
"What as friends?" Astra cocked their head as they spoke, popping the collar of their jacket and realising a fraction of a second to late the nature of the misjudgement they had made as Regalia's eye twitched before she reached out and seized her partner by the jacket, pulling them close with all of the force in the usual rough-housing she enjoyed and bringing Astra's face close to her own, lingering for several moments in which both teens could feel their hearts hammering against their chest before finally letting out an exasperated sigh.
"How the heck are you this dense?" she demanded, any further additions to the question being reduced to mere wordless sounds of annoyance and gesticulating.
"Oh" Astra breathed out, still held in place by Regalia and so close that their noses were almost touching "Oh"
"Yeah 'Oh' you cotton-headed ninny-muggins!" Regalia laughed, releasing Astra's collar and letting her hands slide downwards limply until they rested atop her partners; the way forward left clear to her by an almost euphoric burst of adrenaline and relief that came with having taken the first irrevocable step "I like you….I've been trying to figure out what to do about it for a while. You're my best friend and I don't really know about dating and stuff but I wanna try it and I want it to be with you, because I can't really imagine it being anybody else"
With that, each word more excitable than the last and with more enthusiasm than experience Regalia leaned close; only for her world to come to a grinding halt as Astra gently stopped her, keeping their partner at bay before she could succeed in her attempt to kiss them and leaving her cold and numb with two words.
"Regalia, no" Regalia visibly crumpled and seeing the effect their words had on her left Astra visibly distraught, averting their gaze and wincing as though physically pained by what needed to be said "I don't….I've never thought about you like that-"
"It's okay-"
"Listen to me please" they pleaded, voice desperate as they took Regalia's hands in theirs and forced themselves to meet her dejected gaze "You are amazing, one of the best, fuck it the best person I know….But I just….I still think about Wolfram and what we could have had too much for me to even think about dating anybody else right now. Maybe things will change between us one day, but right now I can't be what you want me to be because I refuse to hurt you again and that's how it would end"
"Maybe things will change one day" Regalia repeated, words a defeated mumble and barely distinct as she shrunk into herself.
"Please don't hold me to that or make it a promise that I can't keep" Astra begged, hands moving to their partners' shoulders "I wish I could give you want you want, I really do, I mean I'm flattered and….Fuck, fuck Regalia-"
"It's okay" she repeated, sounding less crushed by the weight of the rejection now and offering a half-hearted shrug "Heh, I knew it was a long shot….Trying to live like the movies again-"
"And don't ever change 'cos you're one of my favourite people" Astra managed a watery chuckle, struggling to keep emotions knocked into a dizzying whirl by the revelation in check as they held their arms wide "Can I?"
Regalia threw herself into the offered hug without a second thought
"Of all the people to have a crush on you end up liking me….Was it a disaster movie you were trying to live in?" Astra laughed into the fabric of their partners' jackets as the two of them remained like that for some time, clutching at one another and hugging in the back of the pickup truck in a desperate attempt to assure the other that things would be okay and that would continue to be friends.
"We can go to the dance as friends if you want" Regalia finally said, fighting the urge to nuzzle into her partner as they held onto one another "This doesn't change how much I like hanging out with you"
"Are you gonna be okay?" Astra asked, bracing themselves for the worst only to let out a sigh as Regalia nodded and plastered a fragile smile across her face and with that they broke away from her, hopping out of the bed of the truck "Then let's go pick your outfit up….We can go to the dance and talk trash about all the cute couples all night"
With that the partners climbed into Astra's truck, with the Deer Faunus hoping the fact that Regalia chose to sit in the back seat, giving up her customary spot beside them riding shotgun was not the first sign of a rift between them.
"This place is awesome!" Nora exclaimed as she took in the vast ballroom of the Aurora hotel which would now serve as the venue for the impending dance; her words coming as a high pitched and faintly nasal squeal which could just as easily belonged to any of the contingent of teenaged orphans who had accompanied her and her husband on their trip to the venue to discuss the specifics of what was required and oversee the progress of the preparations.
Nora's words had been largely for her own ears, a private assessment of her indescribably ostentatious surroundings however the acoustics of the room allowed her voice to carry from where she was currently sitting at, the edge of a stage across the length and breadth of the massive hall and up into its' arching ceiling in a way which caught the attention of those present, with her husband being foremost amongst them.
"It's very rare that somewhere can make me feel self-conscious about the décor or quality of the academy….Coco tried and failed with Breaktide but the staff here might have succeeded" Ren admitted in a low murmur as he crossed the hall and closed the distance between the two of them, a faint smile tugging at his lips and stretching the scar which ran at an angle across his right cheek as he adjusted first the braid of hair which had fallen over his shoulder and then his glasses with one hand whilst taking Nora's in the other. Nora for her part gave him the confident smirk he had seen countless times throughout their lives together and loved each time, turquoise eyes seeming to shine as she took the admission as a challenge to be risen to.
"Does this hotel have a hard-light construct arena that they use for dodge-ball and laser tag?" she asked, fighting the urge to gloat and remind Ren that it had been she who had crafted those particular scenarios for the academies' outdoor training area; only for her face to fall somewhat as Ren gave a slow nod.
"It won't be open during the dance but it's behind swimming pool" at Ren's words Nora made a show of pouting dramatically, hopping onto the stage so that she could be in the rare position of standing taller than her husband, from which she leaned down to plant a kiss on the end of his nose
"But does this place have me?"
"No it does not" Ren sighed contentedly "But that might win you less points than you would hope for with the kids"
"Traitors one and all" Nora chuckled before turning her focus back to the ongoing preparations which at present involved the amusing scene of a collection of butlers, porters and other individuals whose job titles the redhead could only guess at, all of whom seemed to exude an aura of stuffiness having the specifics of what was to be done explained to them by teenagers; though in Nora's defence the youngsters that she insisted be brought along were those who already agreed to help in the preparations when the dance was to be held at the academy and many of them were either budding musicians hoping for a chance to play alongside whatever bands they had formed at the dance, or else were old enough to consider what jobs or trades they would take on in the future; with Nora taking the opportunity to show them that a wealth of possibilities beyond joining the ranks of New Vale's Hunters awaited them. There was also another, more serious aspect at play, one which Ren chose to voice as he too looked out at the seen, smiling once again at the sight of what appeared to be an enthusiastic debate about the advisability of placing a crystal statue the size of two people and a similarly huge speaker as close to one another as was being suggested.
"I'm glad we could bring some of this kids….A few of them are the kids that the staff at the orphanage have said they're worried about; the ones getting dangerously close to some of the gangs in the city. If we just forbade them from leaving the grounds they'd run-"
"And we've have Carcharodon calling us slavers, he'd probably help them" Nora huffed, reminiscing for a moment on several difficulties that come from dealing with the Shark Faunus and his tribes' particular view of the world before she added, in a quiet and hurt voice "What the hell would make these kids want to do something like that Ren?"
"Lien, girls, the idea of being tough enough to talk back to some of the students….Some of them don't have a sense of family or community, no matter how hard we tried to give that to them and so they're looking elsewhere" Ren gestured to one particularly rowdy teen who was suspended and inverted as they worked on a lighting rig "Though hopefully outings like this might help….Helping a gang maintain their mech-suits or stolen cars is something that you can only brag about to certain people; setting up the sound system and light-show for part of the Vytal Festival at fourteen makes you cool to everybody. You did amazing work setting this up"
"You are a flatterer" Nora pointed as though accusing him before leaping down from the stage and into a brief embrace before forcing herself to focus on important matters just a moment longer "On the subject of gangs and things going on the city, have you had any updates following the release of the promo footage?"
"You mean after the stunt Team MARZ pulled?" Ren sighed "I know Qrow considered taking them out of class and making them run fourteen hours drills six days a week until their next mission until I stopped him-"
"Sounds about right-"
"But so far there hasn't been anything that would suggest that Petrol, if that's who is running things on the ground level on the Benefactor's behalf is taking any retaliatory action" Ren frowned "Which is odd, given his history we would have expected him to let out some frustrations after being so openly challenged. It's almost like when Carcharodon or members of any of the other Anima Tribes talk about honour duels to maintain standing"
"On the subject of letting out some frustration and letting off steam" Nora gave her husband a far too innocent look, followed by a wink and a grin which left Ren choking and wheezing on air for several seconds before he could finally form words again.
"Here and now?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about….Boop" she pressed a finger to his nose "I meant at the dance, we agreed that we're going to be the Hunters on site and keeping an eye on things; it's been far too long since we had a chance to dance….But we could practice now if you'd like"
"I remember the dance" Ren assured her, kissing his wife's forehead and allowing himself a distantly fond expression as he remembered the specific dance that Nora was thinking, one that had been dubbed the 'Team JNPR' dance and imitated by successive generations of students and dances and nightclubs all across Remnant with the stipulation that there was only one song it could ever be performed to; a tradition that Ren and Nora took every opportunity to relive in honour of Jaune and Pyrrha. A peaceful reverie that was broken as Nora stood up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear.
"But I do like where your mind went….Tonight, until the sun comes up" Ren, in a display of the resolve and unwavering character which had marked his tenure as a Hunter and a teacher managed to remain stoic and professional, fighting the urge to declare the meeting at Aurora hotel over and return home with his wife there and then. Instead his hand drifted to her lower back and the two of them stared out at the hall together, each of them taking a moment to control themselves before they did or said something that might be deemed unprofessional; with Ren being the first to speak.
"As spectacular as we hope this will be and as generous as Damascus Nero was in providing this for the academy….I have to wonder, so many students in a place like this; Auras and emotions and alcohol" he paused and sighed "I know that our students would never intentionally embarrass themselves or the academy, but if something were to go wrong then-"
"It'll be fine" Nora interjected, assuring him with a dismissive wave of her hand and a chuckle before uttering famously ill-fated words.
"What's the worst that could happen?"
Petrol, the acid-spewing Avian Faunus was not an imposing or inspiring figure by his nature but had gone some way to transform himself into such through the choices made in regards to his new attire and appearance; the alterations the product of a desire to be seen as something larger than life, a character discussed in hushed whispers amongst the various gangs he commanded so that their loyalty might be sustained through a sense of awe as much as concrete results and his own naked ego driving him to spend sum of Lien that would once have made his eyes bulge, shopping at the narrow subsection of niche establishments within Neo Vale that were both capable of catering to the needs and wants of Hunters and the like and yet were also willing to do business with rogues such as mob enforcers, rogue or disgraced Hunters and other such villains whose presence would lead to uncomfortable questions if they were discovered.
The end result was that Petrol now looked, or in his own mind felt as though her were some dark and lethal mirror to the Hunters the cities' gangs had been forged into a unified force and armed in order to fight. Specifically his new attire consisted of black pants which whilst slim-fitting allowed a full range of motion and boasted integrated armour plating and a small but practical harness which trailed down his legs in place of pockets, the bulk of his personal cargo consisting of Dust crystals, ammunition and a respectable collection of knives; the tapered legs of the pants themselves disappearing into equally stylish but well armoured boots of a dull, utilitarian grey which were given a degree of flair by both their green laces and the row of small, spiked studs lining the rounded toe-cap of each foot. Petrol's upper body was covered in a layer of armour, though off-white and gunmetal grey vest he now wore was seemingly of Atlesian origin and despite being of an older model was clearly orders of magnitude more sturdy than the simple stab-proof vest he often wore and the bland colouration of the armour allowed the pair of gold chains he wore which draped down to his sternum to stand out more prominently, flung over this was a jacket whose loose fitting went some way to disguise the layers of armour worked into its' puffy material; black in colour save for the gunmetal grey buttons and points where additional armour had been added for stylistic reasons around important areas and also its' inner lining which was the same rotten and pallid greenish colour as the avian Faunus's eyes, the lining most prominent at the high collar of the jacket which when upturned, especially resting at an angle given that the jacket was half-fastened reached up to roughly the tops of Petrol's ears.
Beyond simple clothing Petrol had also bought some more practical and dangerously useful accessories, one of which being subtle harness at his back which held a newly purchased collapsible shotgun; the most prominent however were a pair of silver gauntlets laid over his hands and the sleeves of his jacket which reached almost to the elbows, their surfaces segmented and lined with faintly pulsing green light along with various adapters and connection points which suggested that they were intended to interface with something and also, most easily visible of all the mask that he wore. Simple bandannas and other such ways to hide his identity had been set aside, now Petrol wore a pair of sleek and angled goggles with tinted green, armoured lenses whilst his mouth was hidden beneath a vaguely triangular shaped black panel which wrapped around the lower half of his mouth, its' exterior edged with silver detailing and mechanisms which pressed against his jaw and would allow the mask to split apart and move aside in order for Petrol to use his Semblance, resembling monstrous fangs in a leering grin as it did so.
The impressive sight was made all the more noteworthy by the fact that the young man stood, with lights focused on him, atop a war machine that was roughly two stories tall.
His shadowy Benefactor had been as good as his word and the first batch of over a dozen newly modified mech-suits taken from Cosmo-Guild; the latest and most devastating models which had been made all the more dangerous for being customised to the specifications of the intended pilots had been delivered to a warehouse outside of the city limits, armed and ready to be transported for the mission they would be needed for soon enough, one which would assuredly serve the Benefactor's own inscrutable goals but more importantly to Petrol would see him deliver his violent retribution whilst at the same time cementing himself as a truly peerless figure amongst even the most historic of Neo Vale's criminals.
The delivery had been the boon Petrol had needed and he had acted without hesitation in organising this meeting; gathered below and in front of him were a loosely penned in collection of his fellow gang members. The leaders he had chosen to head up each of the various gangs under his banner, those whose predecessors had been usurped in a calculated power play were all present and with them were some of their own most trusted lieutenants and additionally, importantly, those who would be piloting the machines which had been arranged in their docking bays in a loose semi-circle to flank the incoming crowd; a collection of gigantic mechanical sentinels whose mere presence exuded power whilst Petrol's position at the top and centre of it all left no doubts as to where the man believed he fit in the grand scheme of things.
An audacious piece of theatrics he chose to capitalise on as he spoke, the words issuing from his chapped and Semblance-blistered lips being amplified by an additional feature of his mask and then again by the acoustics of the warehouse.
"Took a good, long look around….And then ask yourselves a very simple question. Am I someone you should doubt or question?" a wave of murmurs passed through the crowd at that, gang leaders with obvious goals and desires of their own shifting uncomfortably at imagined scrutiny whilst overeager pilots, ruffians whose skill was untempered by discipline edged close to the machines as though they might be able to sneak aboard their prizes. Petrol surveyed the crowd, eyes narrowing for a moment as he saw the young, headstrong and yet ultimately valuable Hierro who a great deal of Lien had been spent to ensure was freed from custody; his gaze softened and lingering for reasons that were vastly different and decidedly far from innocent as he caught sight of Roxy, her figure hidden beneath baggy clothes concealing armour and weapons once again. Fighting the urge to shake his head in an effort to clear it Petrol remembered that this was supposed to be a spectacle and decided that he had given his audience long enough to absorb the sight before them.
"Our problems have always been the police and the Hunters. As of right now, united and with a backer the police are no problem for us….We can out-recruit them, we already outgun them and even if they do arrest us it doesn't matter. Either we come home or we live like bosses inside!" there were faint, scattered cheers at that; primarily jeers from or aimed at those who had recently seen the inside of a prison cell.
"But the Hunters though….The Hunters called us out, let's not lie to ourselves people; we all saw that footage and it was a message to me but it's aimed at every single one of us here and all of our crews!" the atmosphere within the emptied warehouse changed and Petrol paused, waiting for the anger and need to rail against any challenge to the perceived strength of his followers to peak before continuing "So here's what I think….I think we should send a message of our own; 'cos there's a hell of a lot more people running the towers than there are at Halo Academy! Who's with me?"
The gangsters cheered and Petrol wished that he could have summoned more of their number.
"I WAS GIVEN THE INTEL, A FEW DAYS FROM NOW ALL OF THE HUNTERS WHO'RE SUPPOSED TO AT THE VYTAL TOURNAMENT, ALL THE LITTLE PRICKS WHO CALLED US OUT ARE GONNA BE AT A HOTEL ON AERIAL PLATFORM BACK IN THE CITY!" Petrol's voice rose with every syllable until it trembled with impassioned rage which was echoed by those below him "SO I SAY WE CRASH THEIR FUCKING PARTY! I SAY WE DO WHAT NO CREW IN THE HISTORY OF THIS CITY HAS EVER DONE BEFORE! I SAY WE TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE HUNTERS AND WE FUCKING WIN, WE MAKE SURE THE HUNTERS UNDERSTAND THAT WE RUN THIS CITY!"
The noise within the warehouse was horrendous now and behind his mask Petrol smiled, amidst the echoing cheers and whooping he could here the beginnings of a chant wherein somebody had taken his statement that the gangs ran the city as a basis. Taking a deep breath and removing both his goggles and his mask Petrol stepped off of the armoured hull of the machine he fully intended to pilot himself and landed at the head of the gathered crowd of what might one day be considered an inner circle of sorts, arms splayed wide in a gesture that brought those around him closer
"Do I deliver, or do I fucking deliver?" he sneered and with that several former rivals closed the distance, bumping their fists against his as he passed them and Roxy found her way under one of his outstretched arms, draping it over her shoulders in a possessively unsubtle display whilst another young woman whom Petrol was unfamiliar with, but believed was a promising mech-pilot showed some brazen initiative in sliding under his free arm and offering him an equally unsubtle wink. Petrol relished the moment, all whilst reminding himself that the true victory was yet to come and that brief displays of power, simple theatrics or sex would pale in comparison.
He was going to kill Astra Mars in front of their friends and then he was going to kill those friends as well; the Benefactor's warnings about being excessive and minimising causalities be damned.
Author's notes:
Oh boy, the next two chapters are the mid-season finale.
There was some important development here….As well as a few scenes I've been wanting to write.
But, the best is yet to come.
So let's summarise, shall we?:
So the promo footage was absolutely a roaring success and now most, if not all of the competitors in the Vytal Tournament are mini-celebrities, which the older students will appreciate if they can parlay that into a good performance and then springboard that it starting their careers with a bang; but for Team MARZ it's just a nice buzz to have.
And also a little hint at the fact that there's at least one more mission to go between the mid-season and the Vytal Tournament.
So Petrol kept his anger under control for a few days, but there was no way it was ever gonna last.
…..Throbbing. That will be all.
The edgy broken heart patch on their jacket, which they added after breaking up with Wolfram and fucking up everything for themselves at the end of First Year; basically a little nod towards what happened later with Regalia.
The Astra and AJ bitching is absolutely fun to write, but Regalia….That poor girl, she got caught in the crossfire.
AJ and Zirconia knowing before Astra does….Oh how the turntables.
Scrap-Metal, everyone ships it.
Tiger is indeed predictable.
So, the sparring match between Tiger and Snapdragon that was Snapdragon's introduction….The way Tiger won that is now a matter of public record; yeah I'd train harder after that as well.
"You're welcome. I can give you some additional motivation if you think it might help?" the smoothest of fuck you deliveries.
So Tiger and Ravi's backstory is a pretty basic and straightforward one, it's reminiscent of canon Ren and Nora except for the key detail that they're siblings….It just goes a great way to explain just why Tiger is so overprotective of Ravi and so serious in general.
Seeing how Ravi and Tiger interact with each other definitely gives a deeper look at Tiger's thinking.
"Don't survive, live" might be the deepest thing I've ever heard uttered on a mix-tape from a local rapper in 2007.
Tiger actually hinted at Ravi having a thing for his partner a while back, which only adds to her reasons to be super hard on Snapdragon.
Cold showers and a workout will only mitigate the horny for so long.
Stygian is great with kids, who would have guessed.
"The good parts of home" now there's a loaded sentence.
And we're getting a two for one on Team TRQS backstories today.
Stygian's background is fucked up and more detailed in a way that will obviously make it plot relevant later on; because he's from Menagerie which we will obviously be returning to and also because the settlement he's from is literally vindication for Nero's world-view.
It's also a fun way to gauge where Athena-Jade is at in terms of her principals and she understood that a Hunter-run settlement was a bad idea before she heard any specifics.
Zirconia being just a little bit jealous or wary around Stygian feels like one of those things that humanises her a little more, gives her some flaws.
It's also a fun chance for Nero to show off his good side; I wanted to create a villain that aside from having a legitimate grievance and point is also someone that you would, in other circumstances want to root for and having him be a good Dad just helps that.
This is probably the most stern we've seen him be with Zirconia.
"Things should be kept at a reasonable level" is basically Nero's way of saying Petrol has been told he can wound but not kill or cripple; he also gave Zirconia the heads up to try and get Team MARZ, therefore Astra out of sight.
But Hops had her mind in the gutter, understandably.
I don't know why but the mental image of Astra and Regalia just hanging out in the back of Astra's pickup outside a fast food place really adds something to cyberpunk image of Neo Vale I've got in my head.
The Vaccuan food may or may not be inspired by the fact I have been hankering for the lamb-skewers my brother in law brought to a family barbecue over the summer, but barbecue season is over.
Yuki, Honey's partner and the manifestation of 'get up and go'.
Props to Regalia, she held her nose and jumped in which takes guts.
But also….Astra fully deserved that, because how the heck are they that dense?
There had to be a movie quote here somewhere and that one from Elf is perfect.
Oof, that went poorly; but on the other hand at least Astra has developed the emotional maturity and self awareness to know that they would be hurting Regalia in the long run and this leaves the door open for things to change later.
The Ren and Nora scene is largely filler, but we all enjoy seeing them so it's fine.
It's also a good way to give an idea of just how big and bougie the Aurora Hotel is.
Well, things got a little more serious than I planned with the talk about them keeping the kids in their care away from the gangs and stuff, but I'm not mad at it.
Yeah Qrow was absolutely ready to haze Team MARZ for calling out Petrol without running it by him first.
"Here and now?"….Notice that Ren did not say no, good man.
The JNPR dance is and always will be tradition.
"Auras and emotions and alcohol" yeah, doesn't sound like a good idea.
Nora should not have said that.
So Petrol has a new look, basically I wanted a mix of Remnant's version of tacti-cool gear, mixed with Cyberpunk aesthetic; the jacket especially being loosely based on David's jacket in Edgerunners.
Oh boy, mechs are in play again and this time it's the new top of the line stuff and it's gonna be deployed against students who are gonna get completely blind-sided.
Hierro, the kid arrested by Team FADE is back out as well.
So I said in the last chapter that Regalia's comment about "Can you dig it" was a nod to the Warriors, I wanted Petrol to channel the same vibe as that scene where Cyrus addressed the gangs without actually quoting it….Petrol should watch more movies, he'd remember how that went for Cyrus.
Of course he has groupies after giving a speech like that.
And of course Petrol has gotten too big for his boots and decided to ignore the Benefactor's instructions; let's see if it goes any better for him.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.
