Author's Notes: Hey guys, sorry for the long wait again, had to change a few things and it took longer than expected. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!
What It Takes
Chapter 21: Night of Song and Silence
Sylvia woke up. It was Sunday, the day of the dance. However, it didn't feel like it for Sylvia after everything that had happened in the past couple of days. She continued to lie in bed, pulling the blanket closer towards her.
Perhaps if I just lay here, I won't have to do anything, she thought wistfully.
After a few minutes of lying under the blankets, she heard the rustling of her other teammates as they began to get up. Soon she heard one of them approach the bed and place a hand on top of her head. She looked up with squinted eyes to see the blurry outline of Re in his white tank-top and grey sweatpants.
"Rise and shine Sis," Re spoke softly, messing up her hair, "time to get up."
He removed his hand and walked over to his closet to get ready. Sylvia sat up, her long silver hair disheveled. She rubbed her eyes, attempting to wake up more. She got out of bed, grabbed her shower supplies and a change of clothes and walked out to the showers.
She came back from the shower wearing her hair in its usual ponytail. She had a light blue t-shirt on with a new pair of blue jeans as well as white and light blue sneakers.
She noticed that only Namra was in the room at the moment, putting her laundry away. She wore a long sleeve, black shirt, along with a pair of old, ratty blue jeans. She also had on her usual black blindfold over her eyes.
"Good morning Sylvia," Namra said without turning toward her.
"Hey Namra," Sylvia replied quickly, "Re and Wai already go to breakfast?"
"Yea," Namra answered, folding her laundry from last night, "They said they had some more training to do for the tournament."
"They could have at least waited for us," Sylvia said, sulking slightly, "Well at least they're working on improving."
Namra nodded in agreement as she finished folding her clothes.
"So," Sylvia began, "what dress did you pick out for the dance tonight?"
Namra turned around.
"What do you mean?"
Sylvia raised her eyebrows at the response.
"What do you mean what do I mean? Haven't you been to a dance before?"
"Honestly, no I haven't," Namra explained, "Wasn't sure if I even wanted to go tonight anyway."
"Why not?" Sylvia asked, "All of our friends are gonna be there. Why wouldn't you want to go?"
"Well, dances aren't really my thing," Namra answered shyly, "I'm not a big fan of crowded places."
"Well I can understand that," Sylvia stated, "But you said you've never been to one before, so you don't know if you won't like it."
Namra thought for a few moments before she replied:
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to experience it. But now I don't have a dress to wear."
"Don't worry about that," Sylvia reassured her with a smile, "We'll go shopping after breakfast."
Wai threw a punch right at Re's face. Re moved his hands up and blocked the punch before retaliating with his own fist. Wai used his elbow to deflect the incoming blow. He then launched a fist at Re's ribs, landing the blow. Re staggered slightly at the hit before putting up his guard as Wai unleashed another punch at his face. Wai continued throwing punches until Re sidestepped to the left, and hit Wai straight in the gut. Wai hunched down, stopping the rain of blows.
"Good…" Wai said in between breaths, "I think…that's enough…for today…"
"You alright dude?" Re asked concerned.
"Yup," Wai grunted, "just winded is all."
Wai caught his breath before he continued.
"Too bad boxing isn't too useful out in the field," Wai pointed out, "unless you use your fists to fight."
"It could be good for unarmed combat," Re reasoned, "just in case you get disarmed or something."
"That's true," Wai agreed, putting his sneakers back on.
Neither of them had bothered to bring anything aside from their workout clothes, after all they could just jump into the showers right after they got back.
"So," Re started as they walked back to the dorm, "Who are you taking to the dance?"
"What?" Wai blurted out, "That's a fairly personal question Re."
"Oh come on," Re chuckled, dismissing the comment, "I told you who I'm going with, why can't you tell me who you're going with."
Wai turned red.
"W-well," Wai stammered, "I'm not exactly going with anyone."
"But clearly you have someone you would ask," Re concluded slyly, "Who would it be?"
"Well," Wai began, mustering up his courage, "I would have asked… Sylvia…"
Re stopped suddenly, which caught Wai's eye as he stopped too. Silence fell between them.
"I see…" Re trailed off, taking in the new information, "well then…that's certainly new…"
Wai just stood there awkwardly, as he waited for Re to fully process the information.
"Alright."
Wai flinched as Re put his arm around him.
"Well I wish you the best of luck," he said chuckling, "After all, she's quite the handful."
Wai was confused, "You're not mad?"
"Nah," Re said shrugging, "I mean I'm protective of her, obviously, but I'm not gonna control her love life. If you like her, then I say go for it. And if she likes you back, then more power to you."
"Are you sure?"
"Honestly Wai," Re continued, "I'd prefer her to date you over some of the guys in this place. However, I will say that I will not help you win her over, you gotta do that on your own."
"Fair enough," Wai replied, relieved that Re wasn't reprimanding him.
"Although, I will say, don't you dare hurt her," Re stated bluntly, "But I think that's obvious isn't it?"
"Of course," Wai replied, "I promise I won't."
"Good," Re smiled, "I wish you luck."
"Thanks," Wai said, blushing slightly, "I just hope she feels the same way."
Namra and Sylvia walked down the streets in downtown Vale. It was a crisp day, and was fairly cloudy. Namra felt the cool wind brush through her hair as she walked, hands in the pockets of her jeans.
Good thing Sylvia decided to bring a sweater, Namra thought; maybe I should've brought one too.
"So," Namra began, addressing the slightly shorter girl, "Where are we going?"
Sylvia looked behind her and smiled, "My favorite clothing store, we should be able to find you a suitable dress for tonight."
"You sure they'll have any left?"
"Not many people shop there," Sylvia stated, "It's not like one of those big stores that everybody goes to when shopping for dresses. Don't worry you'll like it."
"Alright," Namra shrugged, "if you're sure."
They continued to walk down until they reached a fairly small store. The store's siding was painted a deep blue, while the walls were an off white color. Displayed in the windows were a variety of different types of jackets and dresses with fairly bright colors.
They entered the shop as a bell rang from the door.
"Sylvia!"
The lady at the register walked over to the pair of them with a smile on her face. She was an older looking woman, with streaks of gray mixed in with her short brown hair. She had a few wrinkles on her skin and wore a simple purple dress that reached slightly below her knees. Her bright green eyes smiled at them as she walked over, her heels clicking slightly on the floor.
"Hi Aunt June," Sylvia responded smiling.
"Good to see you again," Aunt June said still smiling, "Did the dress fit okay?"
"Yes it fits fine, thanks for asking, "Sylvia stated, "I'm actually here to help a friend get her dress."
Sylvia turned to Namra.
"Namra, I'd like you to meet my Aunt June. Aunt June, this is my friend and teammate Namra."
"Good to meet you Namra," Aunt June greeted grinning wider. Namra noticed that she seemed unperturbed at the sight of the blindfold that Namra was wearing.
"So you two are looking for a dress for her then," Aunt June concluded, "Would you two like any help?"
"No thanks," Sylvia replied with a grin, "I think we'll be able to find something."
"Well if you need my help just call," Aunt June said with another smile, and walked back to the register.
"So your Aunt owns a clothing store?" Namra inquired as they walked around the store.
"Yup," Sylvia answered plainly as she reached for a long yellow dress, "As I said, it's not a big or popular store, but it's fairly successful. My Aunt really liked sewing and decided that she wanted to learn how to make clothes. And, as you can see, that turned into this store."
Sylvia put the yellow dress in front of Namra.
"I think this should be in your size," Sylvia remarked, "Why don't you go try it on?"
Namra took the yellow dress and walked into one of the changing rooms. After a few minutes of trying to get the dress on, Namra came out of the changing room wearing the dress.
"How do I look?" Namra asked.
Sylvia turned from the rack of dresses to take a look at Namra. The yellow dress definitely looked good on her; the hem of the dress dragged along the floor a bit, but wouldn't be too much of an issue. However, there was one other detail that could be improved.
"Why don't you take the blind fold off?"
"What?" Namra exclaimed.
"The dress looks nice on you," Sylvia explained, "but it might be better to see your eyes, so I was thinking you could take off the blindfold to see if it would."
Sylvia took a step toward Namra to help remove the blindfold, to which Namra flinched and quickly stepped backward. Her foot caught the long hem of the dress and she began to fall backward. Sylvia grabbed Namra's arms and pulled her back up in front of her, preventing her fall.
"Thanks…" Namra said quietly.
"No problem," Sylvia replied, taking a step back from Namra.
"If you don't mind, I would like to keep the blindfold on," Namra requested.
"Alright," Sylvia spoke, smiling, "Although I think we should get you a shorter dress, that way you won't be as likely to trip."
Namra chuckled slightly, "Yea, might be a good idea."
Sylvia had Namra try on a variety of dresses from strapless to long sleeved, from blue dresses to red dresses, until…
"Perfect!" Sylvia shouted triumphantly.
"You think so?"
"Yes!" Sylvia affirmed with a grin, "You look incredible!"
The two walked to the register and put the dress on the counter. Aunt June rang them up, folded up the dress and put it in a bag. Sylvia took out some money to pay for it.
"No I can cover it," Namra interjected.
"Nonsense," Sylvia retorted shaking her head, "it's my treat, besides I get a family discount."
They walked out of the store with the dress and began to head back to Beacon.
"Thanks again," repeated Namra.
"No problem," Sylvia replied, smiling, "It'll be worth it to see everyone's reaction!"
Namra smiled, "That will be fun."
"Won't have to wait long either," Sylvia remarked, "Just gotta wait till tonight."
"Yea," Namra replied calmly.
I certainly hope it will be fun, Namra thought wistfully as they continued to walk down the street.
Basil stood in front of the mirror and fixed his green bow tie. He was dressed in a simple tuxedo with a dark green vest and a black coat with green trim. He had a white dress shirt underneath all of that, and had black dress pants and black shoes. Once he finally fixed his bow tie, he grabbed his half yin-yang necklace and looked at it. He smiled as he wondered what his family was doing right now. He sighed reflectively and put the chain around his neck and under his shirt.
At that moment, Aurelia came into the room.
"How do I look?" she asked excitedly.
She was wearing a blue, jellyfish-style dress, which was basically a normal dress, but with ruffled strands hanging down from the midline of the dress, to make it look like a jellyfish. Instead of her normal pigtail, Aurelia wore her hair down, her golden-brown curls shaping her face really well.
"You look good," Basil answered with a friendly smile.
"Thanks!" Aurelia replied with a smile, "Celestia should be coming out of the bathroom soon and then we'll head down."
"What about Porph?"
Aurelia rolled her eyes.
"He's still in the library," she replied with slight frustration, "I think he's researching the people we met at the warehouse again."
"Still?" Basil inquired, surprised, "I'll go down and talk to him, he needs a break. I'll meet you at the dance."
"Okay," Aurelia stated as Basil left the room.
Basil closed the door to the dorm and turned and what he saw in front of him took his breath away.
Celestia was standing there in a sleeved, light blue dress that fit her form perfectly. The dress was covered with white sequins and had some glitter woven into the fabric which gave off a shimmer, making the dress look like it was made of ice. The blue, shimmering color amplified the beauty of her steel blue eyes, making it hard to look away. Her dark pink hair was sleek and shiny and gave a slight glow to her face. Her dog ears twitched as she walked toward Basil.
"Well?" she asked shyly.
Basil was too stunned to answer at first, but finally he regained his composure.
"You look…great," He said, blushing slightly, "you look very pretty."
Celestia blushed as well.
"Thanks," she responded, "Are you heading down to the dance now?"
"I'm actually going down to grab Porph, I told Aurelia that you two can meet us down there."
"Oh," she said, a bit disappointed, "well see you down there."
"Yea," Basil stated, rubbing the back of his head and still blushing, "see you."
Basil began to walk towards the library, his face still slightly red as he entered.
"What do you want?" Porphyrios growled, clearly frustrated as he stared at his computer.
"To see how you were doing."
"Yea well, I'm fine, now don't you have a dance to go to?" he chided.
"Don't you? Last time I checked they still allowed grumpy people in," Basil retorted with a smile.
"Why would I want to go to a stupid dance?" Porphyrios questioned, without turning to look at Basil.
"Well, for starters, you've been at this all day," Basil began, "And all of last week, and the week before that."
"Your point?"
"Porphyrios, you're running yourself into the ground," Basil reasoned, "You need to take a break, even if it's just for the night."
"And tell me, what would that break do for me? Allow me to socialize with people? Dance? Meet the doe-eyed girl I always dreamed off?" He inquired sarcastically.
"And what's wrong with that?"
Porphyrios chuckled.
"Nothing," he replied, "Except I have better things to do than to deal with people who I couldn't care less about."
Basil hung his head.
"Well, we care about you," Basil said dejectedly, "I just figured I could give you some advice. Try to get you to relax a bit more."
Porphyrios sighed and turned around. He looked ragged, his jet black hair was unkempt and hung near his eyes. His great black beard was scraggy and untrimmed and his eyes looked sunken, with dark shadows under them. He was still wearing his Beacon uniform from earlier that day, the shirt untucked and the tie loosened.
"You want some advice?" he inquired, "life is short, fleeting; you shouldn't get hung up about other people. Enjoy yourself, live for your enjoyment."
"But," Basil interjected, "aren't some people worth worrying about?"
"Some are," Porphyrios said, looking at the books on the shelves, "and for those few it's worth it."
He turned back to Basil.
"And for you, that someone is waiting for you at the dance," he pointed out, smirking.
Basil blushed profusely.
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh come on," Porphyrios laughed, "It's obvious you like her a lot. So why are you worrying about me? Go out there and give her a dance. I'm sure it will make her night."
Basil looked at Porphyrios with concern, still a bit red in the face.
"Alright," he uttered quietly, "I'll talk to you later then."
"Mhmm," Porphyrios mumbled, returning to his computer.
Basil left the room, but then came back a minute later.
"You know, maybe you should take your own advice once and while. It might make you happy."
And with that Basil smiled and left.
Porphyrios chuckled slightly at the comment, as he continued to stare at the screen. He poured over old news reports and articles, but now he wasn't focused.
He rubbed his eyes as he leaned back in his chair.
You know, he thought to himself, Maybe Basil is right, maybe I should take a break.
He mulled it over for a bit, looked back at the screen to see the words blurring together.
Yea, he's right, Porphyrios realized, I should take my own advice.
And with that he shut down the computer, picked up his tablet and walked out of the library.
Re and Daisy walked into the dance hall. Re wore a normal black tuxedo with a dark yellow vest and bowtie, while Daisy wore a bright yellow sundress and both a green colored necklace and bracelet.
"Welcome to the party!" the blonde girl at the entrance exclaimed as they walked in.
"Thanks!" Re said with a smile, "Hope we're not too late for the festivities."
"You're right on time," the blonde declared, "Head on in!"
They walked toward the tables and found most of team Peacock already sitting down at one of them.
"Do you mind if we say hello?" Re asked Daisy.
"Not at all," she replied smiling.
The two walked towards their friends and noticed that Basil was a bit red in the face.
That's to be expected, Re thought to himself as they reached the table.
"Hey guys!" Re greeted his friends.
Basil looked up.
"Hey Re," Basil grinned, "How are you?"
"I'm doing well," he answered, "this bow tie is killing me though."
"Well at least you don't have to walk in heels," Daisy argued.
"That's true," Re conceded, "Oh right! Basil, Aurelia, Celestia, this is Daisy."
"Nice to meet you," Aurelia stated shaking her hand.
"Re talks a lot about you," commented Celestia.
"Really now?" Daisy inquired and turned toward Re with a sly smile, "How much have you told them?"
Re blushed, "Well you know…this and that."
"Usually it's just about how awesome you are," Basil commented.
Re's face became beet red at that comment.
"Well then," Daisy began as she leaned her head against Re's shoulder, "I guess I'll have to try and meet expectations."
"I think you've already met them," Re chuckled nervously.
Daisy giggled.
"So, where are the rest of your teams?" inquired Basil.
"My team's here already," Daisy answered, "they got a separate table knowing I would want to spend a lot of time with Re."
"As for my team," Re stated, "They were waiting for Namra to finish."
"Well it looks like she finished," Aurelia said looking behind Re.
They all turned to see Sylvia, Namra and Wai all walk into the room.
Wai wore a black tux with a blue vest and a blue necktie. He was a bit red in the face while standing next to Sylvia in her outfit. She wore a long, silky, silver dress that seemed to sparkle as she walked along with her silver moon earrings. Instead of her usual ponytail, Sylvia wore her hair down, which reached slightly below her shoulders. Her bangs were combed to the side and dangled in front of her right eye.
However, it was Namra who came as a bit of a surprise. She wasn't wearing anything too extravagant, but the dress itself was interesting. The dress was brown in color and somewhat resembled a cloak with sleeves, and was tied around her with a black belt. Her hair was much tidier and had a certain sheen to it. She still wore her black blindfold, which didn't surprise Re, after all she never took it off. And, unlike most of the girls, she had opted for flatter dress shoes rather than heels.
She looks good! Re thought to himself as he watched them all walk over.
"Hey guys!" Sylvia exclaimed, her heels clicking against the ground as she walked towards them, "you ready for some fun?"
"Now you're talking!" Re responded as their team headed out to the dance floor, leaving Aurelia, Celestia and Basil behind.
"Well they're certainly excited," Aurelia commented, fidgeting with her hair.
"Come on let's join them," Celestia proposed, grabbing Aurelia's arm, "you coming Basil?"
"Uh…not right now," Basil stuttered, "I'll join you a bit later."
A flash of disappointment crossed Celestia's face, but she smiled quickly, making Basil miss it.
"Alright, see you later then!"
The two girls went out to the dance floor as Basil let out a shuddering breath.
Why am I so nervous? Basil thought to himself, I'm being trained to fight ferocious monsters, yet I get nervous while around one girl.
He let out another sigh, Guess that's proof that my fighting skills are better than my social skills. I'll just go get some punch.
The night went on nicely for a while, as they all danced together. After several songs, the first slow song of the night came on. The group moved off the floor, except for Re and Daisy, whom began to dance together. That is until Re nearly tripped over his own two feet and collided with Daisy. Thankfully, Daisy held her ground and helped him regain his footing as they both laughed it off.
"They're really cute together," Celestia pointed out.
"It's true," Sylvia responded with a smile, "They complement each other well."
Wai held his hand out to Sylvia.
"Would you…uh…like to dance?" Wai asked tentatively, his voice shaking slightly.
Sylvia smiled slightly, "Sure, why not?"
She took his hand and they walked out onto the dance floor.
Namra, Celestia, and Aurelia stood off to the side and just watched as the students danced around the floor together. As they watched everyone, Jett walked up to the three of them. He was wearing a black suit with a dark gray bow tie and vest. Aurelia immediately scowled as he approached.
"Good evening ladies," Jett greeted with a smile, "How are you doing tonight?"
"We're fine," Aurelia stated bluntly, "Now do you need something or are you going to leave us in peace?"
Jett's brow creased as he frowned.
"Well I was going to ask you for a dance, but if you don't want to then I'll just be going."
Aurelia seemed surprised by this.
"Why would you want to dance with me?" She asked.
"Well, I respect your fighting skills," Jett explained, "You showed great prowess against me in the sparring match, so I figured I should treat you to the first slow dance tonight."
"But I lost," Aurelia stated with a scowl, "I don't deserve to be respected for that."
"Do you really think that's what fighting is all about?"
"As a huntress it's my job to succeed," Aurelia commented, still scowling, "And, in order to succeed, I need to be the best, don't I?"
"I mean…yes," Jett replied, "That's one way to look at it. But the experience of the fight is more important than the outcome. You can learn a lot about your opponent and about yourself during a fight, and later you can use that to improve your own fighting skills."
Jett smiled at her.
"So even if you lose, you can still learn a lot from the fight that you can use later on, and that's what it means to grow and improve."
He held out his hand.
"I learned a lot from watching you fight," he declared, "and I'd like to learn more, and help you learn as well. What do you say?"
Aurelia paused a moment as she thought it over.
Learning from losing? She thought, I always thought the only way to improve was to train harder and to win.
Her brow furrowed as she thought about it more.
Perhaps it's true. Maybe this is what I need to do to improve even more. It's worth a shot.
"Alright," she answered, her scowl fading slightly, "but don't try anything funny."
"Deal."
And with that she took his hand and they walked out to the dance floor.
Basil was sitting down at a table drinking punch as he watched his friends on the dance floor. He then looked over and saw Jett lead Aurelia over to the dance floor as well, leaving Celestia and Namra by themselves.
Come on Basil, he thought to himself, now's your chance to ask her for a dance.
Yet he remained in his chair, nerves keeping him from standing up.
Come on! He chided himself, you can do this.
"You still haven't asked her yet?"
Basil looked up and saw Porphyrios standing over him. His hair was combed and looked less disheveled than before. He wore a black suit jacket with a white undershirt, purple tie, and navy blue khakis.
"I thought you said this dance was stupid, and that you had better things to do."
"It is, and I do," replied Porphyrios gruffly, "but someone reminded me that I should enjoy life every now and then."
Porphyrios then nodded toward Celestia.
"I thought you said you were going to ask her to dance?"
Basil blushed slightly.
"To be fair I never said that…" Basil trailed off.
"True," Porphyrios responded with a smile, his tail swishing behind him, "but as your leader I must highly advise that you get out of that chair and go ask her."
And with that, Porphyrios pulled Basil out of the chair and began to drag Basil towards Celestia.
"Wait Porph I'm not ready- I don't know what to say to her- I can't-"
Basil continued to ramble, trying to get Porphyrios to stop, until they stood right in front of Celestia and Namra.
"Good evening," Porphyrios greeted with a smirk.
"Hey Porph," greeted Namra with a smile.
"I thought you weren't coming out tonight?" Celestia questioned.
"Change of plans," Porphyrios said dismissively, "Anyway, Basil here would like to ask you something."
With that Porphyrios stepped back for Basil to stand there awkwardly, fidgeting with his hair.
"Well you see…" Basil began still fidgeting, "I wanted to know if you uh…wanted to uh…dance?"
Basil held out his hand shakily as Celestia's dog ears twitched slightly.
"Only if you want to of course," he rambled, "I certainly wouldn't want you to do something that-"
"I'd love to."
Basil stared blankly at Celestia.
"Wait really?"
"Of course," she said, blushing slightly as she took his hand and began to walk to the dance floor.
Basil stumbled after her, still in shock that she had said yes. They began to dance to the slow song, Basil's face red throughout the whole thing. After the song was over, they joined the rest of their friends who were out on the dance floor and started to dance to the next song.
Namra noticed that Porphyrios merely stood by the table watching.
"Aren't you going to join them?" Namra asked without looking at him.
Porphyrios shrugged, "Dances aren't really my thing."
"Same here," Namra replied, "too many people to keep track of."
Porphyrios smirked slightly, "I'm going to get some punch. Care to join me?"
"No thanks," Namra replied, "I think I'm gonna go get some air."
Porphyrios shrugged, "Suit yourself."
Namra walked towards the stairs and then out onto the balcony, walking past a blond boy on the way there. She stood at the railing and sighed deeply.
Wish I could see how good the view is, thought Namra sadly, at least everyone else is enjoying themselves.
Sylvia watched as Namra left to go upstairs.
I wonder if something is wrong…
"You alright?" Wai asked, his hand on her shoulder.
"Yea…" she said, her mind preoccupied, "I'll be right back."
She moved her way through the crowd until she was off the dance floor. She then made her way towards and up the stairs. She walked out to the balcony where she saw Namra at the railing.
"You alright?" she asked nervously.
Namra turned towards Sylvia's voice and gave a quick smile.
"Yea," she replied, "I'm fine."
Sylvia cocked her head to one side and furrowed her brow.
"That's not very convincing," she pointed out as she walked to stand beside Namra at the railing.
"I guess not," Namra resigned, turning back toward the view she could not see, "As I said, dances aren't really my thing, too many people to keep track of."
Sylvia looked at Namra and realized what she meant.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Sylvia apologized quickly, "I didn't even realize how that would affect your ability to see."
Namra shrugged with a smile.
"It's fine. The fact that you didn't think about it means you're getting used to it."
"I guess so," Sylvia replied as she gazed out onto the night sky.
"It must be exhausting," Sylvia commented after about a minute of silence, "to use your semblance at all times just so you can see."
Namra shrugged again.
"It's not that bad," she reasoned, "Early aura training classes certainly helped me to fine tune it. Although huge crowds still pose an issue."
"Sorry about that," Sylvia apologized again.
"Don't be," Namra said with a laugh, "I'm glad I tried it."
They stood there for another minute of silence before Sylvia had to ask.
"What's it like?"
"Hmm?"
"To see with your semblance," Sylvia clarified.
"Oh…" Namra thought for a bit.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"No no, it's fine," Namra reassured her, "It's just, nobody has really asked me that. I have to think about it."
Namra thought for a moment more before she started:
"It's like seeing the world in only a few colors. The energy of living things appear as white…blobs, while everything else appears murky and black. The outlines of objects are blurred, but distinguishable, and electronics and electricity appear as an almost grey color."
Namra leaned against the railing.
"That's why it's hard for me to deal with crowds, everyone just kind of blends together as one big white image."
"That makes sense," Sylvia nodded, "I think I would feel the same way about that."
Sylvia turned to look at Namra again.
"So how do you see Grimm? Or do they also look black and murky?"
"Actually, Grimm stand out more than anything else," Namra explained, "Grimm are completely red colored."
"Interesting," Sylvia noted, "that would certainly help you fight them."
Namra nodded and silence fell between them again.
"I want to thank you Namra."
Namra turned toward Sylvia.
"Thank me?" Namra questioned, "For what?"
"For, everything really," Sylvia continued, "Despite our rocky start you continued to try and befriend me."
"As I recall, it was me being a pain and arguing with you more than anything."
"That's what I mean," Sylvia explained, "instead of dismissing me as someone who didn't understand you, you tried to help me to understand. You put in the effort to explain how you felt and in turn helped me be a better friend to you. In the end, despite how it seemed, what you did helped strengthen our relationship, rather than just having it tossed aside."
Sylvia turned toward Namra and put her hand on Namra's shoulder.
"Besides my brother, I've never had a closer friend. And for that I want to thank you."
Namra smiled at her, unable to form words in response to her partner. They turned back to the view of the sky.
"I'm going to see my father tomorrow."
"Really?" asked Namra, somewhat surprised.
"Yea," Sylvia responded, "I think he genuinely wants to help me this time."
"I'm glad to hear that," said Namra, smiling, "Family is important, and sometimes it's easy to forget that."
Sylvia nodded.
"I'm just glad I remembered."
They stood listening to the night noises for a bit. Namra grew more tired, and laid her head on Sylvia's shoulder.
"Can you do me a favor Sylvia?" Namra asked quietly.
"Sure."
"Can you tell me what the sky looks like?"
Sylvia was a bit taken aback by the request, but understood why she had asked. She looked up at the sky.
"The night sky is beautiful. It is dark and empty, yet at the same time bright and filled with life. Stars shine down and twinkle like they're just saying hello. They light up the night sky like several beacons of hope among the dark empty space."
Sylvia felt something wet hit her arm. She looked over as Namra sat up and wiped her cheeks.
"Thanks," she said, her voice slightly cracked.
"No problem," Sylvia replied meekly.
A surge of laughter could be heard coming from the dance.
"Come on," Namra said, trying to smile, "Let's go see what that was." Sylvia and Namra walked out to see a blond boy in a dress dancing with a red haired girl in the middle of the dance floor.
"Well that's not something you see every day," Sylvia stated, "Come on, let's join in."
"But Sylvia I told you," Namra retorted, "I can't see well within a crowd."
"Don't worry," Sylvia smiled, "I'll guide you."
Sylvia grabbed Namra's hand and led her down the stairs and onto the dance floor. Sylvia held on to Namra's hand as they danced together among the crowd. Namra smiled as she moved to the music, happy that she could trust Sylvia to guide her through the crowd.
Wai sat alone at one of the tables, a glass of punch in his hand. He smiled faintly as he watched his friends on the dance floor, laughing and having a great time. He sipped at his punch as he saw Re make his way over to him.
"Where's Daisy?" Wai asked.
"She's hanging out with her team right now," Re answered, "I came to check in on how you were doing."
"I'm fine," Wai lied taking another sip of punch.
"You sure?" inquired Re, "You're all the way over here rather than on the dance floor with everyone."
Wai shrugged and put his glass down.
"Just a bit tired of dancing is all," Wai stated, not looking at Re.
Re looked long and hard at Wai before smiling.
"Alright, well I expect you out there once you're done recuperating."
He then put a comforting hand on Wai's shoulder before heading back into the crowd.
Wai picked up his punch and took another sip as he glanced sadly at Sylvia dancing among the crowd.
While you may not have said it in words, Wai thought to himself, it is clear to me that you do not feel the same way I do. Even still, I will always try to protect you.
And with that he finished his punch and walked out onto the dance floor.
After a couple more hours, the festivities began to die down as the dance came to a close. The students began to file out of the hall as several people began to say goodbye to each other. Jett parted ways with Aurelia, giving her a slight bow.
"I hope we can do this more often," he stated smiling.
"We'll see," Aurelia replied, smiling as well.
The rest of Team Peacock was already at their dorm and getting ready for bed. Porphyrios looked from Celestia to Basil and noticed that they were unusually quiet.
"I think I'm gonna shower," Porphyrios stated, realizing what was going on. And with that he grabbed his towel and pajamas and headed out of the dorm.
The door clicked shut and then there was silence for a while as Basil and Celestia merely sat on their beds, not looking at each other.
"So…" Basil began awkwardly, scratching his head, "Tonight was nice."
"Yea," Celestia replied with a smile, "I had a lot of fun dancing with you."
Basil blushed slightly at the compliment.
"I'm glad you did," he replied, "I was surprised that you said yes."
Celestia cocked her head to the side, her faunus ears twitching.
"Why's that?" She asked curiously.
"W-Well…you see…" Basil stuttered nervously, "I had wanted to…ask you to the dance to begin with…but then I got nervous because I didn't know if you would want to go with me."
"Why wouldn't I want to go with you?"
"I don't know, I mean I assumed there were plenty of other guys out there who you would rather go with besides me, and even if I did ask you…well…"
Basil blushed even more as he tried to form what he was about to say.
"I…uh…you see…I'm not quite sure how to say it…"
Celestia smiled knowingly.
"Why don't you try just saying it," Celestia encouraged, "You don't have to get fancy with the words."
"Well…okay…" Basil conceded, and took a deep breath.
You can do it Basil. Just say it.
"Well…I wasn't sure how you felt about me. I mean I'm still not sure how you feel, but I really like you a lot. You're kind and supportive and you always make sure everyone is doing well."
Basil rubbed his head again.
"So… I wanted to know if you uh…wanted to…"
Celestia got up, walked over to Basil and sat down in front of him. She took his hands which got him to stop talking.
"I feel the same way about you, Basil," she answered smiling sweetly.
"Wait really?" Basil asked incredulously.
Celestia laughed.
"Of course," she said still smiling, "You're brave, you're funny, and you care so much about your friends. I wouldn't want to go to the dance with anyone else."
Basil looked into her eyes. They were like little pools of water, glistening with so much warmth and affection. Her smile radiated comfort and love as he stared at her. He smiled back, trying to match the emotions that she had conveyed to him, hoping that she would see the same thing. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. She returned his kiss as they sat there in the complete bliss of sharing a first kiss. Warmth filled Basil up as the kiss continued for what seemed like forever, never before had he experienced such happiness as he experienced right now. The two broke away and giggled softly, happy that they were together.
"It's about time."
The two of them whipped around. In their moment they had not realized that Porphyrios and Aurelia had both returned. Basil and Celestia blushed profusely at the realization.
"You owe me 20 lien I believe," Porphyrios turned to Aurelia with a smile.
"Eh," Aurelia shrugged taking out the money, "it's worth it."
Basil scowled, "You guys bet on whether or not we'd get together?"
"No," Porphyrios explained, pocketing the money, "We bet on how long it would take."
"Porphyrios thought it would happen at the dance," Aurelia elaborated, "I thought it wouldn't happen till the end of the year."
"Thanks for the confidence Aurelia," Celestia retorted.
"Hey I call it like I see it."
"It's getting late," Porphyrios pointed out, "We should get some sleep. We have our first missions tomorrow."
The four of them changed into their pajamas and got into bed. Basil lay down and couldn't help but smile at how the day had turned out. But even his happiness couldn't keep him awake, and he too fell asleep, ready for what the next day would bring.