Pixie and Narcissa walk through the streets of Vale. The tall, stone buildings rise on either side of them. People mull about outside exchanging words, many carrying bags filled with items they purchased on their own leisurely stroll.
"So how'd the mission go?" Narcissa asks.
When Pixie responds with a rolling of her eyes Narcissa follows up with a chuckle. "I suspect you got a bit out of hand? I told you to behave," Narcissa murmurs.
"I did! I did behave, well, I didn't do anything like that!" Pixie exclaims. "It's not like I killed someone, come on, you think I'd go and blow our cover that fast? Ivan would hate me for it, you know that. And I.. I really don't like thinkin' about Ivan hatin' me."
"Then what did happen?" Narcissa asks smoothly, cutting a sharp glare towards Pixie.
Pixie winkles her nose, momentarily baring her fangs before she starts to speak.
"Well, we took care of the boarbatusks, just like we were supposed to. There was another Grimm, though, and I thought, well, Mayumi and I, hell we've fought actual huntsmen before, not to mention all sorts of other Grimm. Maybe it would be…you know...impressive if we went and took care of it. And I thought it would be even better if it was a surprise, I mean come on, Dimitri would be happy! An entire Grimm laid out like that, sure we went behind his back, but I thought he'd be grateful," Pixie explains.
Her explanation is met with a long silence and Narcissa's side-long glare. Narcissa places a hand on her forehead. Shaking her head, she murmurs a swear under her breath.
"So...you broke school rules thinking that would impress one of the teachers?" Narcissa snarled. "What did I say about not bringing attention to ourselves! Impress them, yes, but by being good in class! Doing what you're told. Not going off on secret missions! What if those two boys had gotten hurt, hmm? Or Mayumi, what if something went wrong and Mayumi got hurt. Ivan would be pissed!"
"She wouldn't have gotten hurt, you know that. You act like the girls are so helpless, you sure as hell know they aren't. They've killed just as much as we have, we ain't gotta worry about them," Pixie retorts.
"That doesn't mean we can throw them into danger, and my original point still stands! You can't set us apart like that, now the teachers will all be watching you and your team for shit like this to happen again. You don't use your head, at least you don't use it to see sense. Ivan should have kept you back home," Narcissa spits. Pixie curls her lip and, for a moment, anger flashes in her gaze. But then she giggles. A smile peels across her face and she nudges Narcissa's side.
"You know Ivan doesn't make mistakes, I'm here for a reason," she says with a snicker. Narcissa doesn't respond. The two continue down the path in silence, people weaving around them. The soft footfalls padder all around Pixie, paired with the breaths of the people milling about. It gives her something to focus on outside of Narcissa's anger, not that it really bothers her. Ivan has his reasons, she was sure. He was a smart man, cunning and sharp witted. He wouldn't have sent her as a mistake, there was no way.
"Anyways, I didn't just want to yell at you. We have something to discuss: our plan of attack. Now, Ivan left this up to us to decide after we had been in Beacon a bit. It's been a few weeks, so I say I've been exploring the school enough to have an idea of what we're going to do," Narcissa starts. "You have detention for your slip up, but after that's been served we'll start the first phase of our mission. First things first, I'll have to get into the CTT tower. I have to figure out a digital blueprint to help Ivan and Echo with the virus, and you still need to get a blueprint of the school so Ivan can figure out where the hell this vault is. Approximately, at least," Narcissa explains. She slaps Pixie's arm, grunting with exasperation. "Are you listening?"
"Yeah! Yeah, miss stick-in-the-ass, I'm listening! CTT tower, blueprints, I missed the part where you told me how we're going to do all that," Pixie shoots back.
"Well, for my part, I'm going to simply go in like I'm making a call. A day when it's nice and crowded, sit down and log in. Once I do that, I'll do some things you can't understand, and get in. I don't need to do anything once I'm there, I just have to take a good look around. See what kind of system they have, what kind of barriers the CTT has that a virus would have to bypass. You don't have to worry too much about my part, all you have to do is get close with the janitor. He keeps the blueprints in his room, I found this out when chatting around. As far as I can tell, he'll be easy for you to…interact with," Narcissa says with a sneer.
"I thought you said I wasn't allowed to fool around with staff," Pixie giggles. Narcissa ignores her, moving swiftly to her next point.
"Anyways, I want you to make sure when you meet with Professor Ozpin to receive your punishment, you get him to land you in janitorial duty, otherwise? Suddenly become interested in toilets and offer to help him clean. You aren't below that. Absolutely shameless," Narcissa says.
"Hey, quit acting all high and mighty, like you haven't benefited from my shamelessness." Pixie giggles, wrapping her arm around Narcissa's waist and pulling the woman closer, bumping her hip against her friend's. "Remember all those times I got you little tid-bits of information… people get quite loose-lipped when a pretty girl is batting her eyes at them, you know that. I know that, Ivan knows that. You can't even pretend that you hate me for what I do," Pixie sneers.
"Hmph," Narcissa crosses her arms over her chest, glancing away uneasily.
"Aww, are you jealous? I can flirt with you, too, sweetheart," Pixie cooes. The reaction this spurs from Narcissa is immediate. She sputters, shouldering her way out of Pixie's grip. There's a wild look in her eyes, aghast at Pixie's boldness.
"Jealous? Jealous! No such thing. I don't have time for this, we- we have a mission to get to!" Narcissa shoots back, eyes narrowing with anger. Pixie hangs back, staring at her with a wide, goofy grin.
"Sure thing, sweetheart. Let's get back to that mission," Pixie responds with a chuckle. She lingers on the sidewalk, staring after Narcissa as she starts to storm off. After only a few moments, she hurries to catch up.
~Scene Break~
"As you walk through the darkening woods, ten miles away from the next bandit encampment, you begin to notice the usual noise and bustle of the forest has nearly completely ceased, leaving only the sounds of your feet crunching the leaves below to break the silence. There are no bird calls, no squirrel chatter. Not even the squeak of a mouse can be heard in the underbrush. You begin to think that you and your party are all alone in the woods-" Clover pauses, rolling a dice across the library table. It settles, an eight staring up at the assembled group. Mayumi and Vira exchange glances, but remain utterly silent. This game, which was something Clover had decided to introduce them all to, was confusing. At least, to Mayumi it was, and therefore she had decided to sit in silence and allow things to take its course, only acting when Clover requested her to. Afterall, he seemed to know what the eight on the dice meant, and she had no clue. Her thoughts didn't even have time to wander, however, as Clover picked up where he left off almost immediately.
"That is, until a shadow falls over you. Above your head, a large creature with angled wings swoops past the party. The leaves above you tremble with a powerful gust of wind, but despite how big it seemed, you aren't able to get a good, clear look at it. You travel onwards with your mission in mind-"
"Oh, Clover, are there flowers?" Mayumi blurts. Clover had told her the importance of visualizing everything he said, and to ask questions if he wasn't descriptive enough. How silly of him, forgetting to tell her what kind of flowers grew in the forest he was making her walk though.
"Excuse me?" he responds, brows creasing.
"Are there flowers! Woods usually have flowers. What kind? Oh, what color are they?" Mayumi says, eyes widening.
"Yes. Yes, there's flowers. Um...they are purple, and yellow. And...orange, I guess. Lots of flowers. Anyways, you travel onwa-"
"Do they smell good? I heard some flowers smell bad," Vira adds, glancing over at Clover with an intense stare. "If they smell bad, I don't want to pick them," Vira adds.
"Why are you picking the flowers? You have a mission to defeat bandits! They are- they're ten miles out, don't you want to complete your mission? Help the poor people they are robbing? Stop all the pillaging?" Clover says, exasperated and sputtering.
"Well, yeah. But wouldn't it be nice if we brought them some flowers? After all the pillaging they might want a boquette," Mayumi argues, narrowing her eyes at Clover. "Answer Vira! What do they smell like?"
"They don't have a smell, they smell like nothing," he answers shortly.
"Oh, well, no harm in picking a few. Do I have to roll the dice to pick the flowers?" Vira asks innocently.
"Uhhh…you know what, no. You don't have to roll the dice. You just pick the flowers- hey what are you doing?" he asks, glancing to Vira who was grabbing at the table in front of her, delicately plucking invisible flowers from the air.
"I'm picking the flowers, just like you said," she explains. "Do they go in my inventory now? Oh, wait! Will they get crushed when we fight the bandits?! Clover I don't want to crush my flowers!" she says, her voice rising to a near wail. Clover sighs, shaking his head.
"Sure. Put them in your inventory, and no. They won't get crushed. They will be fine," he reassures her. Mayumi places a hand on her friend's, patting it gently.
"Ok! Anyways, you guys have picked your flowers, you have your mission and we're going to keep doing that! So, as you walk through the woods-"
"Are they still quiet?" Cerna asks. He hadn't said much, but when he did, Mayumi noticed that, unlike when Vira or Mayumi spoke, Clover seemed happy to answer his questions.
"Yup! Dead silent," Clover responds.
"If I look around...do I see any animals, or other creatures?" Cerna asks. His brow furrows, his little eyes seemingly squashed beneath his squint.
"No, not any life near you," Clover adds after a quick dice throw.
"Ok. Can we decide to stop walking? I find this suspicious, I'd like to roll perception to see if we are being followed," Cerna adds in his deep rumbling voice. It was soft, but thoughtful and reserved, as if he had to mule over every word before he tried to speak it, and still felt unsure about speaking.
Clover grins, and without answering rolls the dice. Mayumi doesn't understand what this number means, either, but it must be bad because Clover chuckles. It wasn't his normal laughter, no, it was the kind of laughter that always preceded something terrible happening in the game. She glances up at him, eyes wide as he begins to speak, his voice full of burning vibrance, as if it has been lit on fire. His words filled the room, burning bright and causing Mayumi to shiver.
"You pause, and stop to look around. What direction do you look?" Clover asks. His knuckles whiten as he grips the table, another bad sign. He was getting excited, Mayumi could tell, and he only ever got excited in this game right before a big fight broke out.
"I look…to both our sides, and behind us. Basically, all around us," Cerna answers, though he's tentative.
"There's nothing. However-"
"Oh no," Mayumi groans, interrupting him. "We didn't look up! I look up!"
"It's too late! By the time you look up, a dragon is already bearing down upon the party from the sky!" he shouts, leaping up out of his chair and slamming both hands on the table. "It stands before you, opening it's maw and letting loose a burst of flames to lick the sky, followed by a mighty, thundering roar. Slowly, it brings its great head down to eye-level. It's jaws part as it speaks, it's voice deep and booming, like thunder. It utters two words: 'I hunger'"
"Oh, then have a cupcake," Vira offers. "I still have cupcakes in my inventory from the last town we passed through. I'm sorry if they're a little squished. I roll for friendship and offer the cupcakes to the dragon," Vira says, nodding assuredly to herself.
"No! There isn't something you can roll for! But...um...you can roll persuasion. I...guess. If that's what you're going to do," Clover says, the fire still burning in his voice.
Vira rolls, and the dice lands on a twenty. Now, this number, Mayumi knew this was the really good, or really bad, number. She wasn't sure if it was bad or good right now, but she understood its importance.
"What? Wait, no!" Clover wails, falling into his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. "The dragon leans forward and delicately licks the cupcake up with it's barbed tongue. It pauses, tasting the cupcake. No one has ever fed this dragon sweets before, and this is his first cupcake. And, it won't be his last. He hungers for these sweet, fluffy, cake things even more and asks you how he can get them," Clover says, burying his face in his palms.
"Can I keep him as a pet? Oh, what do I roll for that?" Vira asks, bouncing in her seat with excitement. "I promise to give him all the cupcakes I find! And bake lots for him! And, oh, and scratch his belly!"
"Vira, you can't roll to tame a dragon. You have to...convince him to be your friend." Clover responds tiredly.
"Oh, what if I give him a hug? And another cupcake, I have a few more in my inventory...about five! Oh, and I promise I'll make more after we go defeat the bandits, then I can bake in the village they had been pillaging. Does he accept my hug and my deal? I would love a friend," Vira pleads, her expression sorrowful, yet still full of desperate hope.
Clover pauses to think, staring right through Vira's pitiful puppy-dog face. He steadily thrums his fingers on the wooden table. Then, he relents.
"Ok, the dragon is interested in the idea of more cupcakes and asks for proof that you have more, not allowing you to hug him until he is fed again," Clover responds.
"Ok...so I show him all my cupcakes! And, oh, I tell him about cakes! Which are bigger cupcakes. I believe that if I can bake him a cake, it will be a much better portion for how giant he is," Vira says.
"The dragon nods, and allows exactly one hug from you. After the hug, he says he wishes to accompany you to the next village so that you can show him what this 'cake' is," Clover says, rubbing his temple. "I can't believe you just befriended a dragon with cupcakes and a d20…" Clover murmurs under his breath. "Anyways! The party, and the dragon, head through the woods to finally, finally, you reach the outskirts of the town that has been ravaged by bandits. What's your first move?"
Cerna leans towards Vira and whispers something quickly to her, each word causing her eyes to grow bigger and bigger. She giggles, covering her mouth, and looks towards Clover with the look of a toddler who outsmarted their babysitter.
"I look at my new friend, and I tell him, hey, you know how we can get the cake even faster? Surely we could take on the bandits, but it would be so much faster if he helped! Oh, and then he could have a whole diner before I make dessert for him!" Vira says confidently.
Clover laughs in disbelief, running a hand through his hair. "That...that works...that actually works!" he shouts, jumping up out of his chair once again. The flames have returned to his eyes, and his voice is booming with energy. "The dragon leaps to action, shooting up into the air and then diving down upon the bandits! The bandits flesh stand no chance against the sharp teeth of the beast, their bodies lighting up with flame! The stench of burning enemies fills the clearing, and blood splatters the ground…"
Mayumi stops listening, her hands beginning to tremble. The present slips like water through her quivering fingers and she finds herself surrounded by fire and blood, smoke filling her lungs and blood thick on her tongue. Her heart beats wildly as she grips the table, nails scraping wood from its surface. She opens her mouth, but no words are able to escape. Any sound she does make, she cannot hear over the drum beat of her internal organs. A steady thrumming pushing against her rib cage, so powerful it's as if her body may burst from the force. Sweat beads along her hairline, but how can she be sure it's sweat? It could be blood.
"T-tell the dragon to stop it," Mayumi chokes, though she's unsure if her words make it past her closed throat. "T-tell him no,"
"What do you mean? This was the mission, you guys are winning-" Clover starts, only to be cut off by Cerna.
"No, the dragon listens and suddenly stops. Nobody else is hurt, and all the blood goes away," Cerna murmurs in his low rumble. Mayumi feels his large hand on her shoulder and flinches, her hand instinctively moving to her weapon's hilt. The hand retreats immediately.
"Here, Mayumi, want to go get some water? Let's go get some water, and stop at the bathroom to wash up your face," Vira pipes in. Mayumi stands at the prompting of Vira's small hand on her back, and follows blindly. Before she leaves, she catches sight of Clover's expression. He's confused, but upset, and worst of all, guilty. It's painted on the creases of his face, etched into his defeated posture.
The two girls walk in silence as the pounding in Mayumi's head and chest dwindles.
"Oh...he's sad. Vira, why is he sad," Mayumi murmurs once she's calm enough to find her voice.
"Who's sad?" Vira asks softly. Her hand is clinging to Mayumi's tightly, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Clover," Mayumi responds.
"Oh! Clover...Well...he made you sad, and he feels a little bad about it. He didn't know he'd make you sad," Vira explains.
"Oh...tell him it's ok, it's not his fault...it's the dragons," Mayumi murmurs, exhaustion creeping in. "Tell him that it's ok. Oh...and...and tell him I need help with my homework again and he really should help me sometime. Ok?"
"Ok, Mayumi. I'll tell him," Vira reassures her, patting her friend's back as they take a turn into the bathrooms.