"I'm bored."

Cobalt looked up from his sketchpad as Astra spoke. He could see the leg, arm, and tail of his teammate draped lazily over the side of her bunk. "Luna and Lily have been gone for like…fifteen minutes."

Astra's arm flailed dramatically. "Fifteen minutes too long! They left me here with nothing to do!" Her head popped up, a mock scowl on her face. "At least you have your drawing."

Cobalt glanced back down at his sketchpad, a mountain landscape roughly detailed in grey pencil. It wasn't finished, the shading lacking distinct contrast, but it admittedly wasn't the most fun he'd ever had on a sketch. Maybe there was something more entertaining he could do with Astra.

Closing the sketching and putting it aside, Cobalt stood up from the bed. "How about we go and see what team SCY are up to?"

Astra narrowed her eyes playfully. "Oh, so you're going to cure my boredom by bringing me to see your partner?"

"Hey, you're cool with Storm now," Cobalt protested. "At least, I think you are…" He hesitated, "You're cool with him now, right?"

Astra chuckled. "Storm's fine. I'm messing with you," She jumped down from the bed, as usual, not bothering with the ladder. "Alright, let's go and visit the Thirds." 'The Thirds' had become Astra's affectionate nickname for the member-short team in recent weeks.

Cobalt shut the door behind him as he and Astra left the room, being careful not to lock it in case Luna and Lily returned while they were out. When he turned around, Astra was staring at him from the hallway, a hesitant look on her face. Cobalt blinked at her, not used to seeing that expression from his energetic friend.

"You good?"

Astra tapped her fingers together. "You and Storm are pretty close, right?"

Cobalt blinked at her. "Yeah, I'd say so. Why do you ask?"

Astra looked awkward, rubbing her shoulder. "Do you ever feel like…maybe you're moving too fast? Like, aren't you supposed to take your time with these things?"

Cobalt saw where this was going. He wasn't quite sure when he'd become the team's resident love expert, but he wasn't going to deny his friend of advice. "Do you think Storm and I are going to fast, or are you worried you and Luna are going too slow?"

A sigh came in response. "I don't know…relationship stuff is really confusing. Sometimes, I don't feel like I'm doing it right."

Cobalt suppressed a chuckle. If only Luna and Astra knew how many similarities they actually shared.

"It's like I've told Luna before, every relationship is different," he assured Astra, "Storm and I are moving at a speed that works for us, but you and Luna are different. Luna's shy, and you're new to this. Taking things slow isn't a bad thing."

Astra looked away slightly, her hand still gripping her arm. "Did you know that…did Luna tell you…that she told me she loved me?"

The news was unsurprising to Cobalt, considering his conversation with Luna after their assignment. "I figured she might have by now." He studied Astra curiously. "Were…you okay with that?"

A deep blush crossed Astra's face. "Of course! It was great, it's just…" She sighed again, guilt replacing the blush, "I couldn't say it back. And I wish I could, it's just," she started pacing, "What happens after that? What if I think I mean it, but I don't actually know what I'm talking about? I don't want to lie to her!" She stopped pacing and stared at Cobalt, distress growing in her expression. "What does love even feel like?"

Cobalt tried to think of an answer, but the question was loaded. Love for him was the work Storm put into being a better person for him, the effort he put in to respect Cobalt and his feelings as much as possible. It was the smell of Storm's conditioner, the quiet conversations they'd share in Beacon's courtyard when nobody else was around. But those weren't experiences Astra could share; they were specific to him and Storm.

"I…don't really know if I can describe it," he responded eventually. "Again, I think it's different for everyone. Some people know the moment they feel it, others figure it out more gradually. What did you feel when Luna told you?"

Astra looked thoughtful. "It felt…" the distress in her face seemed to melt away. "Like a million flowers blooming at once, all for me. It was exciting, and…it made me really happy. Do you think that could be love?"

Cobalt shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted honestly, "But maybe you should think about it."

Astra nodded. "Right. I'll do that," she let out a long sigh. "Sorry about the distraction. Let's get going."

The short walk to SCY's dorm was quiet after that, but Astra seemed less worried now, more deep in thought. Cobalt could practically see the gears in her head turning. Hopefully, she figures it out. He, at least, had faith in the couple. if only they could see their relationship through his eyes, in all of its sappy, cute, awkward glory.

Speaking of cute, Storm's face lit up when Cobalt appeared in the doorway, rushing over to envelop him in a hug that wrapped Cobalt in the subtly sweet scent of his hair conditioner. Cobalt would never get tired of that smell, or the warm feeling he got whenever Storm greeted him.

Storm pulled away and led Cobalt into the room by the hand, Astra following behind.

"So, what brings you to our little corner?" Storm asked, eyes sparkling.

Cobalt jerked his head towards Astra. "She was bored."

"We aren't doing much if you wanted to hang out," Yarrow's voice floated over from his bed, where he sat with Cherry. "We could play…I don't know, a card game?"

"Sounds good to me," Cobalt seated himself on the floor and Storm instantly sat behind him, draping his arms over his shoulders and resting his chin between Cobalt's rabbit ears.

As Yarrow moved to grab a deck of cards from a nearby drawer, Cherry sat opposite of Cobalt and Storm, shooting Cobalt a friendly smile. "Which card game did you want to play?"

Astra plopped down onto the floor with a wide grin, rubbing her hands together. "Poker!"

"I get the feeling that they don't have any poker chips on hand," Cobalt pointed out lightly. He shouldn't have been surprised by the fact that Astra was apparently a poker fan; it made sense that she'd have played it with her mother plenty of times in the past.

"I also uh…don't know how to play," Storm admitted sheepishly.

Astra frowned. "Lame. How about…Go Fish? Simple enough for you guys?"

Yarrow sat down close to Cherry, opening the box of cards. "I'm good with that if you guys are." Upon agreement from the others, he began dealing the cards.

Cobalt glanced up, though he couldn't see Storm's face very well in their position. "You uh…want to move so you can't see my cards?

"Nope," Storm wrapped his arms more tightly around Cobalt. "I'll just be on your team."

"If you say so," Cobalt replied lightheartedly, "But if we lose, I'm blaming you."

Yarrow glanced at Cherry with a grin. "Want to be on my team?"

Cherry blushed and chuckled. "I don't think I'd mind."

Astra crossed her arms and gave them a mock glare. "If Luna was here, we'd crush all of you."

Yarrow dealt the cards and as the game got into motion, Astra proved that she seemingly didn't need her girlfriend to win, gathering three pairs within the first few minutes, while the other teams only managed with one each. Once again, Cobalt shouldn't have been surprised, and found himself wondering just how often his teammate had played these kinds of games up in Atlas during her mother's parties.

"So, Cherry," Cobalt piped up after a moment of concentrated silence to ask his old friend something he'd been meaning to for a while, "How have you been enjoying Beacon?"

Cherry smiled. "Honestly, it's kind of nice," she admitted, "I wasn't sure about it after what I went through at Haven, but most people I've met have been really kind. It's a big difference."

"What happened at Haven?"

Silence filled the room as everyone turned to look at Astra, before she gasped and covered her mouth, seemingly realizing she'd asked the question out loud.

"Sorry!" she expressed to Cherry, looking horrified with herself, "I shouldn't have asked; you don't have to tell me anything about that if you don't want to."

Cherry had seized up at the question, but she seemed to relax after a moment. "It's okay," she assured Astra, "I was just…bullied a lot at Haven." She ran her fingers over the feathers growing from her shoulders. "My old teammates would pull my feathers out, and none of the staff were really doing much about it. That's why my mother had me transferred."

Cobalt was flooded by a wave of sympathy for her. He'd suspected that something had happened at Haven to provoke the transfer, but the fact that her own teammates had mutilated her was heartbreaking. He'd had his ears tugged on plenty of times by the occasional bully, but he imagined that the pain was nothing compared to having a part of you violently ripped out.

Astra tucked her tail close to her, and Cobalt wondered if she was thinking of her own experiences with bullying. "I'm really sorry," she told Cherry. "That's…that's horrible."

Cherry shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she replied, "I'm here now," she gave Yarrow a fond smile as she squeezed his hand, "And my new teammates are a lot better."

"We're not going to let anyone touch your feathers without permission," Yarrow asserted with gentle firmness, "They're going to get nice and long and shiny."

"He's been putting up barriers around her any time someone gets too close," Storm whispered to Cobalt, "It's adorable."

Cobalt glanced at Cherry's feathers. Already, they seemed longer and shinier than when she'd first arrived, and there were even smaller feathers peeking out beneath the longer ones that Cobalt was sure hadn't been there to begin with. It was a welcome sight. In a year or so, Cherry should have lush plumes that any feathered faunus would be proud of, and he looked forward to seeing it.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you've got people looking out for you now," Astra told Cherry with a friendly smile. "Also, uh…" she glanced at her cards, "Got any sixes?"

As the game kicked back off, Cobalt couldn't help but watch as Cherry and Yarrow leaned even closer together, giggling and blushing. Cherry even seemed not to mind that her feathers brushed up against Yarrow's shoulders, and Yarrow seemed very careful not to crush them. It was hard not to smile at the sight.

Cobalt then found his gaze flickering over to Astra, who was watching the couple thoughtfully, clearly being reminded, once again, of her own relationship questions. Don't stress too much about it, Astra, he soothed her inwardly, though he was fairly certain she couldn't hear his thoughts, You'll figure it out.