Black and gold strands hung in front of Petal's face as she stared out of the common room's window, the courtyard coming to life as the day began for the many students and teachers around the campus. The sun was still rising, casting a dim orange light across the city as it rose over the horizon in the distance. Her tail flicked as she heard footsteps approaching from behind. There was a quiet, lovely giggle that filled her ear, causing her eyes to dart to the side, so that she could see over her shoulder in her peripheral vision. Rose was walking up and shook her head.
"You do know that you're sitting on a table, right?" asked her roommate.
"And?" questioned Petal, smiling as the rest of her head turned to grant a better look at Rose.
She was already dressed in her school uniform of gray and black, and her long pink-red hair was tied into a tail that swayed behind her as she stepped closer. Petal was also wearing her uniform, and some black tights under the skirt to hide her legs. She still wore her silver necklace, now letting it hang in front of her chest, untucked from her shirt and blazer, and on her hands still resided her ten rings. Her own mess of hair was also tied into a tail, though it was much shorter, and both the sides of her face and her forehead were hidden behind the wild spikes of color.
"And, wouldn't you rather sit in a chair, you know, the things that are made for sitting in?" questioned Rose.
"Not particularly. You don't seem to mind too much, right? I mean, you haven't moved the table back in the two weeks since I got here." said Petal. She then slid from the chair and stretched her arms into the air. "Besides, it's pretty comfortable. I think you should try it."
Rose let out a quiet titter and nodded. "Maybe so." she said, turning and walking towards the room's exit. "Come on, I want to be early for this." she added.
"Early for what?" asked Petal, following her out into the hall.
"We're meeting our new teammates today, did I not tell you? Oops, I must have forgotten. Well, Professor May wanted us to get to her office before starting classes. She said we'll meet our new partners, and we're supposed to show them around the school."
"What about classes?" Petal inquired. "If we are going to show them around, won't we miss our lessons?"
"Since when did you care about being late? For how early you get up every morning, you would always be late if I didn't drag you away from the window. And to answer your question, we're going to take them to class first. During lunch we're going to guide them around, make sure they know the layout of the academy and—"
"Not going to lie, Rose, it doesn't sound very fun." interjected Petal.
"You're just saying that because it's the morning, you're always a downer in the mornings. It won't be too bad. Also, did you expect school to be all fun and games?"
"I thought that people in school had a lot of fun. If it's always this boring, why do people bother going?"
"To graduate and become licensed Huntsmen and Huntresses, Petal, that's why. Besides, we have some fun moments, right? Remember that mishap during the sparring lessons a few days ago? Professor Dia is still recovering from the dust explosion, and I heard that he's missing half of an eyebrow. I thought that was pretty funny." said Rose.
"I suppose. What do you think they'll be like?"
"I don't know. I expect them to be a bit more proper, maybe. Atlas' military and academy are pretty closely related. But you never know, maybe that is just judging a book by its cover, or something like that. What I do know is that I'm pretty excited to see them. Having some more friends is always a good thing, and the gods know I can use more helping hands around here." Rose said, tapping the screen of a watch she was wearing around her right wrist.
Her accessory was more of a digital planner of sorts. She had the help of a pretty tech-savvy girl to make it, one that was considered a mechanical genius within Haven, though Petal had only met her once at this point. This planner had her schedule, a calendar, alarms, and a whole list of chores she had to take care of. As they continued down the hall, one such alarm began beeping softly from the device, which she hastily swept away with a movement of her finger.
"I knew it, we're already late." said Rose, growing panicked.
"You need to relax a bit, Rose, I doubt we're actually behind schedule. You have a tendency to get us places almost half an hour before we're supposed to be there. Yesterday, we were alone in the classroom for almost twenty minutes before one other student got there. You're a bit of a nut about it, no offense, of course." Petal stated, giving her a genuine, playful grin.
Rose shook her head and finished whatever she was doing on her watch. "Gee, thanks for that, Petal. You do understand that all because you say there's no offense, it doesn't take the sting from what you say, right?"
"I do, but I was hoping the smile and light tone would do that instead." Petal replied.
"Fair enough. Consider me non-offended."
The two shared a laugh as they found their way into the grand hall, and up the stairs. They entered the long corridor that led to the headmaster's study and heard some voices as they neared the waiting room. Just past another set of doors lied the office portion of the room, and as they entered, they saw two students, around their age, and Professor May, who was sitting in her seat behind the desk, per usual.
"Ah, here are your new teammates." said May, looking up at Rose and Petal as they moved closer.
Both of the students also turned to look at the pair, giving Petal a good look at them. The one on the right was a girl that was taller than Petal but was near the same height as Rose. Her body was a bit thicker as well, though her clothing hid most of her curvy figure. She had pale blue hair which had a mixture of white streaks within it. There were also white ends to most of the hair in the back, as well as her side-sweeping bangs. She had a paler skin complexion than even Rose and Petal had, and a face as flawless as they come. Her small lips were straight and thin, her nose was small, and her round eyes were a nearly translucent shade of white, giving them a glassy look. The white irises also possessed waves of pale blue within them, making them seem like a round diamond, perfect and beautiful. She wore a long blue coat with black buckles and straps along it, and white hood draped down from the collar. Underneath, she had on a baggy, white long-sleeved shirt, and a blue and white miniskirt that was ruffled. She wore black tights underneath it and had a pair of white leather boots that rose halfway up her calves, bearing buckles along the sides to keep them tightened. Petal noticed one more thing on her person, and that was a single, black sheath on her upper-left thigh, which had the white, leatherbound hilt of a dagger protruding from it.
While she gave off a perfect, almost non-present aura, the boy seemed monstrous for some reason, though Petal couldn't place it. Something about him screamed anger, and it was honestly intimidating. He had dim white hair that was straight, tied into a tail about halfway down the length of it by a red ribbon, and reaching close to his waist. His eyes were narrow, sharp, and were as black as coal, carrying within them hints of red, as if they were lumps of charcoal roasting and cracking over a roaring flame. He also possessed a freezing demeanor, a lack of emotion that he somehow exuded with his very presence. He had a thin yet fit figure, and was almost, if not exactly six feet tall. He wore a sharp looking, white dress shirt, which had a red, sleeveless vest buttoned over it. For pants, he wore what looked to be black jeans, and some black boots covered his feet. Over his right shoulder was a red leather jacket, one that would reach just past his hips if had been wearing it. Around his waist was a belt, black in color, and two holsters resided on the sides of it. Inside the holsters were two slim revolvers, one white with red accents, and one black with red accents running around its metal frame. There was also a wide variety of different colored bullets lining all of the empty space of his belt, except for the very back, which carried a large white pouch.
The two new students gave Rose and Petal a chilling examination as the girls did the same in return. May rose and held out a hand to the girl.
"Petal, Rose, this is Shimmer Hei, a girl with a bit of a… well, a reputation back in Atlas Academy. Due to circumstances, she was offered a position here, and I do hope you will get along. As for this handsome lad, his name is Mila Lunare, a student who requested a transfer from Atlas and was given permission to come here to finish his education." She then pointed to Rose and Petal. "Shimmer, Mila, these two lovely young ladies are known as Petal and Rose Glade. You four will be put into a team starting today, a team which will now be led by Petal." said May, to the surprise of both Rose and Petal, though the other two didn't react much.
"Petal?" asked Rose.
"Do you have a problem with that, Rose?" asked May.
"No, not at all, but why? She has only been here for a couple of weeks. Sorry, Petal, I don't mean anything by it, I'm simply curious." she said, noticing the raised eyebrow on Petal's face.
"I'm just as curious, to be honest." said Petal.
"Call it a hunch, but I think you will make a good leader. Also, when it comes to true teamwork, a leader is only that by name. It takes all four to truly make a team, so I hope that none of you forget that. Now, for the team name, I was thinking Prism, or PRSM. I believe I was rather creative with this one, if I do say so myself."
"Prism? Isn't that a shape or something? I thought all teams were supposed to be colors, or related to colors." said Petal.
"While they are shapes, prisms are also devices that reflect sunlight to create an assortment of colors. I think it fits nicely." explained the girl, Shimmer. Her voice was quiet, almost inaudible, but it had a grace to it, something that was simply beautiful to listen to.
"I like it." said the boy, Mila. "I could think of worse ones." he added, and his voice was surprisingly gentle, despite his intimidating atmosphere.
Somewhat relieved by this, Petal stepped forward and nodded her head. "If you think so, Headmaster, I'll do it. I never really tried being a leader before, but I will have Rose's help if I need anything."
"No, Petal, you will have the help of Shimmer and Mila as well, not just Rose. Make sure you remember that it's not just you two any longer." said May. "With the introductions out of the way, I believe I have said everything I needed to. Shimmer, Mila, your uniforms are in those bags over on the table, and your scrolls are also packed in with them. Petal and Rose will show you to the dorm so you know where your rooms will be, and you can change into your uniforms before heading to class. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask your team, or any of the staff you see walking around. I know it might take some time to get situated in such a new environment, but rest assured, we will do everything we can to make it a smooth transition for you." said May.
Mila smiled at her as Shimmer gave a slight bow of her head.
"We appreciate it, Headmaster." said Mila. "I for one appreciate all that you're doing for me so don't think me ungrateful."
"Me too, Headmaster. If not for you, I wouldn't have had anywhere to go. I owe you my life." said Shimmer.
"That might be exaggerating things a bit, Ms. Hei, but I thank you for the kind words. Best be off now, or half the day will be gone and none of you will have done any learning. Off with you all." May stated, shooing the team from her office. "Oh, and Petal." she called out, stopping the four in their tracks.
"Yes, Professor?"
"I have told countless times to not wear your weapons around the school. We have provided you with a locker to store them in, yes?"
Petal scratched the back of her head while grinning sheepishly. "You have, yes. I'm sorry, Professor, I just don't feel the same without them. The only time I take them off is in the bath or when I go to bed."
"Petal." goaned May.
"Look, I did try the locker, but I felt naked without them. These make me more comfortable, and it's not like they're in the way of anything."
May's expression turned to one of annoyance as she stared into Petal's eyes. "If I let you have them, countless other students will be expecting me to let them carry their weapons around. I can't make exceptions like that, I do hope you understand. You can keep them today, but I do expect you to keep them elsewhere come tomorrow."
"Yes, Professor, sorry." Petal muttered, looking towards the ground.
She and her teammates left the office behind them. Rose was at Petal's side while the other two remained a short distance behind them, looking around at what must have been an odd environment for them.
"You're not going to listen to her are you?" asked Rose.
"What makes you say that?" asked Petal.
"You've ignored her for two weeks, what makes now any different?"
"I'm a team leader now, I have to set an example. I'll carry them in a pouch tomorrow… if I remember it." she said, winking at Rose, who shook her head.
"You're going to get in trouble if you keep breaking the rules, Petal."
"I'm with her, honestly. I want to keep my weapons close too." said Shimmer, surprisingly.
It wasn't surprising just because Petal didn't think they were listening, but because she seemed like she would be quiet, distant, and too shy to converse with them so soon.
"It was like that in Atlas too, Shi, I thought you would be used to it by now." said Mila.
"It doesn't mean I like being separated from them." she added, in a nearly inaudible tone.
"Petal was raised in the wilds, outside of the cities." started Rose. "Her weapon was her life so she doesn't like them being out of her reach. We are a bit different, I suspect." she added, smiling at Shimmer.
"What makes you say that? I was born in the tundra outside of Mantle. We saw Grimm almost everyday thanks to people suffering from lack of heating and food. My weapons were the difference between life and death out there." said Mila, glaring at the pink haired student.
"Sorry, I didn't know," said Rose.
"You assumed. Since we are from Atlas you thought we grew up in the sky and had everything we wanted. I hate to burst your bubble but not everyone there is like that damned Schnee family, especially if you were born in Mantle."
"You really have a way with first impressions." said Petal, putting a hand on Rose's shoulder. She then turned her head to look back at the two new students. "She didn't mean it like that, trust me. Rose means well, even if she can't always express it."
"Like you're one to talk." huffed Rose. "You could barely speak to me when we first met."
"That was from nerves, not because I would say things that got me in trouble."
"And when did I say anything like that?" asked Rose.
"Stray." Petal said, softly, smiling at her partner.
Rose's eyes went wide for a moment and then she dropped her gaze in realization. "I forgot about that."
"What's a stray?" asked Mila.
"A term they use for wandering faunus." replied Petal. "I guess they only use it here, or I've just never heard it anywhere else."
"I've never heard it either," said Shimmer.
They continued the rest of the way to the dorms in awkward conversation, mainly, it was Rose telling them about their schedules and how a normal day at the academy went. After reaching the rooms, they picked from the two available chambers and changed into their uniforms. Once they were all dressed, Petal and Rose showed them the way to class, where they had a history lesson to start with. Their final class today was sparring lessons, and the four of them paired up with one another. Petal paired with Mila while Rose paired with Shimmer. They remained in their school uniforms but were allowed to have their weapons for the fights. Petal and Mila were called down to take their places in the auditorium, right on the large stage, and stood at separate white lines, opposite from each other. The teacher, a young man that was perhaps in his early thirties, dressed in a gray and black suit, began giving the instructions he had repeated at the start of every battle since the class began.
"Weapons are allowed and any means of winning are permitted, as long as they aren't lethal. I will be keeping a gauge on your Aura levels and if they get too low, I will call the fight. Whoever has the largest reserve of Aura in the end wins the match, understood?" he asked.
Both students nodded their heads and got into their stances. While Petal activated her weapons with a quick flick of her claws, Mila didn't draw his guns. Instead, he held up his hands in preparation to fight her head one, and not at a distance. This came off as odd to her. She couldn't fathom why somebody who intentionally picked a ranged weapon would not use them to keep her, a close range combatant, at a distance.
"He's underestimating me." she thought. "Or he's stupid, which is also a possiblitly, though I can't imagine that being true."
A bell rang out and she quickly rushed at him. He dodged her first two swipes and caught her leg as she sent a kick his way. Using her momentum, he swung and released her, sending Petal rolling across the ground. She slid for a moment before flipping back up onto her hands and feet. Her tail bristled and her hair seemed to stand on end as she glared at the boy, who by all means, looked disassociated with the fight. He didn't seem to be paying her much mind, and even appeared to be letting his guard down slightly. Still, his eyes watched her closely, which led her to believe he was acting distant, but he was clearly in the moment, keeping track of her every movement. Petal strafed to the right, very slowly, and saw his eyes follow her carefully. To her, it seemed as if he was paying extremely close attention, but he didn't want it to appear that way. Even his stance had fallen, leaving him completely open, but she didn't dare act recklessly due to his eyes alone.
"He fights like Cole did when he was teaching me." she thought. "He doesn't use the guns because he doesn't need them."
Petal rotated the band on both wrists, switching the selected crystals in her rings. The fire faded and a blue, frosty mist began cascading down from the now pale blue aura that surrounded her claws. She bolted ahead and lunged for him like a cat pouncing towards their prey. She saw him tense and prepared to move, when she pointed a hand towards the ground. Two fingers shot a blue blast of mist and she spun in midair as her other set of claws slashed towards his right leg. Three lashes of azure energy struck around his lower half as Petal landed on all fours again. She quickly went into a sprint to shorten the distance and as the haze around Mila cleared away, she saw that the leg she had aimed for was frozen to the ground. She leapt up and spun, bringing her foot down towards his head but she saw his dark eyes burn bright red suddenly, the same shade of crimson as the Grimm. The ice around his leg began to crack and break away as her leg was falling towards him. In half a second, she was snatched from the air and sent flying towards a nearby wall, where she flipped and used her feet to stop herself against the metal frame of the screen displaying their names, pictures, and Aura levels.
She dropped to the ground as her black marks were growing darker and running along her entire body. She opened her now glowing eyes to see Mila's white hair darkening into a deep gray as streaks of red began appearing. It came loose from the tail he normally kept it in as the red ribbon that tied it drifted to the ground, and sharpened claws grew at the ends of his fingers. His cold demeanor was now replaced with a much more terrifying aura. Petal actually felt somewhat frightened at the sight as Mila lifted his leg and the ice it had been encased in exploded to pieces. He charged at her and as she rolled to the side, his fist struck a support beam for the overhead screen, denting it inwards. She kicked his side and sent him into the other beam, bending that one from the impact. She did a cross slash with both hands and sent eight icy waves towards his body. Through the encircling frosty mist, she leapt up and drove her foot into his imprisoned chest, shattering his frozen bondage, and pushing him further into the metal beam. Petal flipped backwards and landed on all fours as Mila's hair turned pitch black, and the red within it grew more noticable and abundant. A low, guttural growl escaped his lips as he struggled to pull himself away from the beam that had now warped around him enough to act as a trap.
As Petal ran forward again, running her right hand along the ground to prepare for an upwards swing at him, his right hand instantly found his gun and drew it from the holster on his hip. His finger pressed the trigger and Petal held her hands out in front of her. There was a fiery explosion, one that consisted of orangish reds and chilling blues as both smoke and mist filled the stage, reducing any visibility to almost zero. Had it not been for her faunus eyesight and senses, she might have been blind in this, but as she rose from the ground she had fallen backwards onto, she could vaguely see in the dark haze. It was difficult, but not impossible to make out the silhouette of something moving ahead of her. She heard a hammer click back and leapt to the side, rolling on the ground as a large, flaming explosion lit up the arena, blowing some of the smoke outwards and away, towards the audience.
Catching her footing, she propelled herself forward, rushing towards the figure, barely dodging two more rounds as she moved onward. Just as she breached the smoke that Mila was still concealed by, she found the second gun aiming at her. She instantly dove and rolled, slashing with her right set of claws as she did so, and felt a sharp impact against her leg as the sound of a gun firing filled the air. She landed on her side, her whole body glowing with a bright, crackling, yellow Aura. As the smoke cleared, she saw a gun lying on the ground and noticed its owner a few feet away from it, lying on his back, and surrounded by a black and crimson Aura, though his seemed different somehow, like it was made of smoke. It soon faded and he began rising to his feet, raising his other gun to take aim at Petal, who was now forcing herself onto all fours again. Her glowing, icy claws dug into the stage as her eyes dimmed and her markings vanished from existence. Still, she saw Mila's hair remain the same, and his red eyes continued to glow in the misty room.
"Mila is the winner. Petal is out of usable Aura. Any more of this and somebody will get hurt. Congratulations to both of you, it was an excellent fight. Take your seats and we'll call up the next pair." said the teacher.
Petal began to rise but Mila never took his eyes off of her. His gun followed her movements and as she slowly rose to her feet, she thought she saw red veins running along his body, veins that reminded her of the Grimm who attacked her home, and the blue features of the Grimm she had seen at the gates of Mistral. She saw nothing in his eyes, no recognition, no understanding of what was going on, just pure hatred, and she saw her own reflection within them, as if she was the only thing they could see. Even the whites of his eyes were starting to turn red. She stepped to the side a bit and his gun followed her.
"Mr. Lunare, the match is over." the teacher said, stepping closer.
"Don't!" This voice was Shimmer's, and it was much louder than Petal ever expected to hear it.
The girl was climbing up onto the stage and moving to Petal's side. Instantly, Mila's gun moved to take aim at her, and his finger began to squeeze the trigger.
"Mila, don't do it." Shimmer said, sternly.
"What's going on with him?" asked Petal.
"His semblance. I don't know why it happens but sometimes, when he uses it, it causes him to lose control. It's very rare, but he can be dangerous if you don't know how to handle him."
"And how do you handle this?" Petal asked.
Shimmer's hair began gaining streaks of black in it as the blue accents in her glassy white eyes changed to a crimson tint. "I just have to get through to him." Shimmer said.
Claws began growing over her human nails, just like Mila when he activated his abilities.
"Do you two share a semblance?" asked Petal.
"I'll explain later, just try to be ready in case we need to fight. I won't be able to stop him on my own." she said.
"Have you done this before?" Petal then inquired.
Shimmer smiled, though it was a grim expression. "Once or twice. We're old friends, and I've had to stop him a few times." the girl replied. She then started walking towards Mila, holding one hand in front of her, as if hoping it would calm the boy down. "Mila, it's me. You're doing it again. You don't want to hurt me, right? Come back now, the fight's over."
Shimmer continued growing closer as Mila's gun began shaking in his hand. His eyes began returning to normal as his hair started lightening at once. She continued whispering to him as the distance between them closed, and when she reached him, Shimmer put a hand on the barrel of his revolver. She began lowering it slowly and Petal saw Mila returning to his normal self again. A look of comprehension and desperation appeared on his face as his eyes met Shimmer's.
"Did I…" he started, but stopped abruptly.
"Nobody was hurt this time. You're okay." she said, taking the gun and stepping back from him.
"You used it." he said.
"I had to be sure I could stop you. I had to use it."
Petal, feeling like it was safe to do so, stepped forward, collecting Mila's dropped weapons as she did. She held out her hand to pass him the gun and smiled as he looked into her eyes.
"You got a little wild there. We're going to have a talk about it later, got it?" she said, and she did so kindly. She wasn't angry, and the fear had somewhat passed now. She was more curious than anything else at this point.
Mila gave a slow nod of his head and reached for the gun. He grabbed it, collected the other one from Shimmer, and returned them to his holsters. "We'll talk about it now." he stated.
Mila gave a thankful nod to Shimmer, an apologetic bow to the teacher, and then walked with Petal to the doors of the classroom, where they stepped out into the hall. He seemed nervous, anxious, but also determined. Once he made sure nobody was around, he leaned against the wall as Petal crossed her arms over her chest, her tail still bristled from the fear that was leaving her system.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have used it." he started. "Most of the time, I can control it, but when I'm losing, sometimes it takes hold of me. My semblance essentially turns me into a feral faunus, for the lack of any better terms. I become a wild animal, and I get a lot stronger than I usually am. As that implies, sometimes I act wild, and others, well, I'm fine."
"Why does it happen if you're losing?"
"Isn't it obvious? Losing out in the wilds means you die. That's it, it's game over. It's why I try to avoid sparring with other people. I can't always stop it from activating in times of need. It's like an emergency system that triggers whenever I need help, whether I want it or not. It was ingrained in me to be this way, growing up where I did. If what Rose says is true, I would like to think you understand me better than most would. That's why you never leave those behind, right?" he asked, nodding at her rings. "It's how you were taught, and that was because you weren't taught at a school, but out there, where every fight could be your last. You were taught to survive, not just to fight."
"Was this why you left Atlas Academy?" asked Petal.
"No, I left because of Shi. She was a childhood friend that was lost to me for quite some time. We found each other again at Atlas, and it felt like seeing a sister after many years apart. She will probably explain what happened there that caused her to leave, but when it was unavoidable, I couldn't let her leave me again. I asked to come with, and she let me come, so I did. Turns out, a lot happened to both of us in that time, and we wound up relying on one another after reconnecting."
Petal smiled. "I understand you more than you know, Mila." she muttered. She then looked into his still darkening eyes and gave him a positive grin. "This is all new to me, and I don't really know any of you that well yet, but I hope that you can come to rely on me as much as you do Shimmer. I hope that I can do the same to all of you. Even with the person that raised me, I still fought alone most of the time. He was always there but he wanted me to have experience. Because of that, while I love him, and I miss him dearly, there are things that I just couldn't rely on him for. I want to experience that, to experience what it's like to have friends, and a team… and even a family."
He let out a grunt of air and ran a hand through his hair, seemingly frustrated with himself. "I want that as well. I just hope that this time it will all work out."
"This time?" asked Petal.
"An unimportant story, and one for another day. Come on, I think the others will be having their match soon." he said.
"Fine, but I do want to hear it at some point, got me?"
"I got you, I got you." said Mila, walking back into the room.
Petal followed behind him and they took their seats. Both Rose and Shimmer were currently fighting on the stage. In Shimmer's hands were two twin daggers with blades as clear and blue as diamonds, and parted down the middle so they were like twin forks. The outer edges of the blades were glowing with a bright red color, signifying that those edges were utilizing dust in some way. Her features had returned to normal, so any hints of red on her person had vanished. Rose was twirling around a long staff, one that had a green-brown shaft, and a pattern of green, thorny vines circling it from top to bottom. As the browns of the shaft reached the ends, they grew to a clearer and more pronounced green. At both ends of the weapon were two blades a side, such a dark pink that they bordered on red, and leaving behind light trails as she swirled the weapon around to deliver an attack.
As Rose blocked a hit from one of Shimmer's blades, she twisted the midsection of the staff and spun, pulling the halves apart and sweeping Shimmer's legs out from under her as she lowered her body to the ground. She then pressed the pronged blade of the remaining half to Shimmer's chest and a bright yellow light radiated from it, causing Shimmer to start fighting under the electrified weapon. The teacher called the match and Rose helped Shimmer to her feet, both of whom were smiling widely at one another.
"I guess they're becoming fast friends." said Petal.
"I think it's better that way. Shi never really had many to begin with. This will be good for both of us, I think." he stated, and he shared a hopeful look with Petal, who reciprocated with one of her own.