~Author's Note~
Hey! I haven't posted in awhile because of the holidays, but hopefully more frequent posts will come back! I hope you enjoy this! Let me know what you all think in the reviews, I'll probably respond because I love talking to readers! Enjoy 3
"Sweetheart? Sweetheart, wake up."
Mayumi catches the heavy scent of smoke in the air, and sees a woman's figure standing over her. Messy strands frame the woman's tired face, the rest being held up in a lopsided bun. Her worried expression feels familiar, though Mayumi cannot fathom why.
"What are you doing? We have to go, it's urgent."
"Ok. I'm sorry," Mayumi murmurs, only to be shushed by the woman. "Who are you?"
There's no response. Instead, the woman only grabs Mayumi's arm and yanks her out of bed.
When they reach the door at the other end of the room, it swings open of its own accord.
Outside, flames lunge towards Mayumi from all directions. The crackling and popping of burning wood claws at her ears, and climbs within them. Letting go of the stranger's hand, she covers her ears and feels herself freeze. Heat wraps around her. It fills her lungs and covers her skin with a tingling burn.
"Sweetheart, we have to go!"
"I don't know who you are,"
The stranger grabs her and attempts to pull. Mayumi can feel the woman's desperation. She can hear it in her voice, see it in her wide, brown eyes, and feel it quivering in her outstretched fingers.
"Please, just listen to me, we have to go. I cannot lose you to them, not again," the woman pleads. Mayumi only stares on as a soft giggling erupts from behind, and her world is engulfed in an orange blaze.
~Scene Break~
Mayumi grips her bedsheet as her eyes snap open. Sweat has beaded on her forehead, and her pajamas are saturated under her arms and down her back.
It's just a dream.
Closing her eyes, she tries to recall what about it had been so frightening, but she cannot. Judging by the pounding in her chest and the slickness of her palms, she decides it's better she doesn't remember the dream.
Sitting up, she climbs out of bed. A glance out the window tells her that it's still deep into the night, and that she better be quiet or else she'll wake her teammates. She keeps this in mind as she changes into a new pair of pajamas, attempting to be as quiet as possible.
Once she's changed into sweat-free clothes, she stares at her bed for a moment. She could try to go back to sleep, but the ghosts of her nightmare are still swimming in the back of her mind. However, she also knows that she can't stand in the middle of her room all night.
She did miss Vira.
At this thought, her mind is made up. She leaves the room, her footsteps barely making a sound, and heads down the hall towards GLCR's dorm room. Vira is comforting. She'll make Mayumi feel better.
When Mayumi gets to the other team's dorm, she quietly opens it and peers inside. Narcissa is fast asleep on one of the top bunks, the other one stays empty. Beneath her is Vira, and across from Vira, Cerna sleeps in the other bottom bunk. Clover, Mayumi assumes, is in his pocket. She can't blame him. She'd sleep there if she were him.
Mayumi tip-toes over to Vira's bed and reaches out to tap her. Before her fingers can even brush the other girl's shoulder, Vira rolls over and blinks up at Mayumi.
"What do you need?" she murmurs, already awake.
"Oh- um, can we talk?"
Vira sits up, hugging a small stuffed bear to her chest. Handing the bear to Mayumi, she stands.
"You take him, he's nice to hug," Vira explains. Mayumi nods and hugs the stuffed animal.
"Do you want to talk in the hall?"
Mayumi nods and the two leave the room.
Once they are outside of the room, the two find a seat along the hall across from the door. Vira waits in silence, starting to absentmindedly braid Mayumi's hair. Vira's fingers brush against Mayumi's scalp and send pleasant shivers down her spine, easing her tense muscles.
"What did you want to talk about?" Vira asks after a long silence. Mayumi pauses. By now her dream has been washed away, and Mayumi only feels the large stone of Pixie's recent outburst in her stomach. That dream had been fiction, but Pixie, she is real.
"Pixie," Mayumi murmurs, leaning back into Vira's lap. Vira stops with her braiding and glances down at her friend, switching to simply running her fingers through the girl's hair.
"What about her? Did something happen?"
"I went and talked to Clover, and Pixie found out. She did not like that I had done that, and…"
"Did she… punish you?" Vira ventures, quickly adding; "you don't have to talk about it."
Mayumi holds her breath, not truly realizing what she's doing, and releases it when she feels lightheaded.
"She did," she finally responds, clenching her fists. Her tail curls up over herself and covers her face in a soft warmth. "I don't understand, I just wanted to talk to Clover. I thought it would be nice, you know? I thought friends would be okay while we were at Beacon. A-and I really like Clover, he's nice and kinda weird, but that's not really a bad thing. I like that he's weird, he's so different from Pixie," Mayumi says quietly. Vira's hand runs over Mayumi's shoulders, ending with a squeeze. Vira does not respond right away.
"I don't think it's good for you to keep talking to Clover," Vira says softly.
Mayumi jerks her head up. Her heart drops and she stares at Vira with wide, confused, eyes.
"What do you mean?" she asks, her voice rising.
"Shh! You'll wake up Narcissa!" Vira scolds. The dark haired girl takes a moment to compose herself, biting her lip as she struggles to find the right words, the ones that would help Mayumi understand.
"Mayumi, when Pixie punishes you...you get hurt, right?"
Mayumi nods, hugging the bear that Vira had given her.
"Okay… I don't want to see you hurt. If you keep pushing limits with Pixie, something really bad could happen, and I don't want that to happen to you. Besides, when we get home we'll probably forget all about Clover, anyways. It won't matter, we aren't going to be staying here," Vira explains. Mayumi feels a soft anger boiling up in her stomach, but it's quickly sated by the realization that Vira is right. She isn't going to remember that Clover even exists after they go home, everything will go back to how it was. Tears gather in Mayumi's eyes, but she wipes them away before they can fall.
"I don't want to forget about them. Don't you want to remember everything?"
"Mayumi, we don't really have a choice," Vira starts, and Mayumi can see her friend's eyes are wet as well.
"Why not? We should, shouldn't we?" Mayumi asks, her voice rising into a tone of desperation.
"Stop it, stop thinking like that!" Vira whispers hashly, rubbing at her cheeks. "That's how we get hurt, that's how we die. I am not going to let you think these...these dangerous thoughts and get yourself hurt. I care about you too much," Vira sputters, pulling Mayumi into a hug. Mayumi numbly reciprocates.
"I don't want you getting hurt, either, and I don't think following what Narcissa and Pixie say is good for us," Mayumi whispers.
"We don't have a choice," Vira replies back, her voice equally as hushed. Mayumi stays silent, letting her thoughts remain unspoken.
She really wants a choice.
~Scene Break~
The next morning, Vira makes her way through the Forever Fall Forest with Cerna. The glittering leaves dance above her head, and her conversation with Mayumi now only exists within the pages of her journal. She's dressed in her battle gear, her daggers dangling from a belt around her hips, and her backpack on her back. It's frightfully chilly. Not enough to warrant a coat, just to warn her of winter's closeness. Cerna, she thinks, looking up at the behemoth, probably enjoys the cold. She can't remember why she thinks this, but something in her gut tells her it's true.
"Cerna, do you like the cold?" she asks, tugging at his tunic.
"Yes."
"Why is that? I'm sorry...I think you've told me but I can't remember," she says brightly, offering a wide smile. The concern in his eyes causes that smile to falter.
"I lived in Northern Mistril, it's very cold there. I raised sheep with my family, don't you remember?" he asks quietly, pausing.
"Oh! Um, now I do!" Vira swings her bookbag off her shoulder, getting her diary and pencil out. She opens to a fresh page and starts to scribble notes down.
Cerna. Lives in Northern Mistril. Likes cold. Raised sheeps.
"What are you writing?" he asks with a grumble, kneeling down to better meet Vira's eyes.
"I'm writing stuff about you, so I don't forget." She begins to hum, unaware of Cerna's furrowed brows.
"Okay. I understand. Let's get back to our assignment, we have plants to collect," Cerna stands up and pats Vira's back, urging her forward. She follows, but only after she's able to finish writing and put her diary back.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you wait," Vira mumbles, brushing a black curl behind her ear.
"Don't be sorry, Vira. I can wait for you," he responds. "Have you always had memory issues?" he asks. Vira has to think quite hard to find an answer. Has she always had trouble remembering things? Closing her eyes, she tries to find a point in time that she still has memory of. Nothing comes to her.
"I suppose I have," she chirps back in response. "It's fine, though! I mean, I've gotten this far, haven't I?"
"You have," Cerna answers, though there's trepidation in his voice.
"Is there something wrong?" Vira asks, her grey eyes growing large with concern.
"I'm just worried about you," he explains.
"Oh don't do that! There's no need for you to worry about me, honestly! I'm fine!" Vira feels her heart twist with guilt. She had enough people looking out for her, after all. It was bad enough that she caused Narcissa so much strife...it hurt her to think that Cerna would waste any time on her.
"I will worry about you, Vira. I care about you, we're friends. Friends are supposed to worry about people. You care about me and Clover, don't you?"
"Well, of course I do!"
"That goes both ways. Or, it should," Cerna explains. Uncomfortable, Vira glances around. What were they out here for? She can't remember.
"W-what are we looking for?" Vira asks, her voice cracking.
"The professor gave us a list of plants, we're out here for our Wilderness Survival course. Here, Vira, why don't we sit down for a bit. Let's take a break," the bear faunus murmurs, reaching down to offer Vira his hand. When she takes it, she realizes that her own hand has been trembling. She's trembling.
The two sit down at the base of a tree. Breathing quickly, Vira fights to steady the beating of her heart. Cerna keeps a firm hand on her shoulder, and she leans into it.
"Just breathe, Vira, breathe. There you go. You're doing just fine," Cerna murmurs. She's close enough to feel the rumbling of his voice within his chest. Instead of scaring her, though, the low booming comforts her.
"I-I'm sorry, my memory issues… they just make things hard, sometimes. I forget what I'm doing," Vira explains. Cerna hands her a tissue from within his bag, and she takes it.
"Dry your face," he says. Vira gently pats away the tears that had gathered on her cheeks.
"Thank you, though you really don't have to waste your tissues on me."
"If you are using them, they are not being wasted, Vira," Cerna responds. Vira sits in discomfort. He keeps saying such strange things, things that she cannot believe are true. It must be a joke, so she laughs.
"Oh, ok. I see. Well, we should get going and finish what we were doing!" Vira says, popping up from her spot on the ground. Cerna pushes himself up slowly, as though he must be careful with his bulk while doing so.
"We were looking for leaves and plants, we have to identify them for class," Cerna explains. Vira nods.
"Oh that sounds fun! Let's go do that, I'm great with plants!"