The nights in Beacon were much quieter than Hue was accustomed to. So far, whenever she wanted to head outside and do some much-needed study, she either had to endure the sheer stupidity that was her siblings, or sneak out of the house, and find a decently quiet spot, though in Vacuo those were far and in between.
She walked the empty corridors, wearing her usual garb, and carrying a small, portable telescope, hand crafted and built, with her. While getting lost in the first few days was a frequent occurrence, she quickly memorized the internal structure of the dorm, halls and all, managing to find her way to the roof each time with ease.
Walking slowly, and watching her step, Hue made her way to the main hall, and from there, outside. While usually, the student's dorms would do for her to get a rather accurate look at the moon above, this night in particular, it was full, a rare sight in and of itself. For this particular occasion, Hue decided to try and luck, and for the sake of getting a better vantage point at the night's sky, head to the main building of the Academy itself, which compared to the dorms had a far higher roof for her to look from.
So far, things were going smoothly for the faunus. She managed to avoid the security cameras, as well as a close encounter with a patrolling Glynda. Finally stepping out to the cold, fresh air of Vale, she started walking towards the Academy, sighing in relief and believing herself to be safe at last.
However, as she walked, a certain figure seemed to have made it out before her.
She stopped in place, hiding behind a rock. It was humanoid, for certain, and from the brief moment she had to observe this person, they were just standing around the Cliffside, looking at something. Her first thought was to flee and head either to Beacon or back to the dorms, but some part of her, curious about the identity of this person, drew her to come a bit closer. Stepping quietly, and minding for any sticks or twigs that could have come into her path.
The more she inched in, the more Hue could recognize this person. The height, even from afar, was quite above average, and as the moon's light shone down upon her, Hue could catch glimpses of the golden hair, as well as it's rather unnatural length. At that moment, she realized who she was looking at.
"Jin?"
She couldn't believe her eyes, and yet, there she was. Jin was sitting on the edge of the cliff, head held high, gazing at the moon with an almost unnatural neutral expression, at least for her. Knowing that her team leader posed no threat to her discovery, Hue quit sneaking around, casually walking closer, and upon realizing Jin didn't answer her, tried tapping her shoulder.
"Jin? Are you alright?" She waited for a reply, yet none came. She wondered how Jin even managed to get out, though a quick look back at the dorms showed her dorm's window wide open. As well as some marks alongside the wall, showing Jin just jumped out. The enigma deepening, she sat by her, trying to get her attention again.
"Jin... What is wrong with you?..." She tried many things to get her team leader's attention, from prodding her repeatedly, to raising her voice right in her ears, to even attempting to poke her with her pencil, though Jin's body proved far too thick and durable to penetrate with any sharp object she might have carried with her. At that point, Hue resolved to stand before Jin, blocking the moon from her line of vision. She figured that perhaps if Jin could stare at her aura directly, she would recognize her at last and address her properly. In some area of her mind, Hue was actually beginning to worry to a degree, having never watching Jin behave in such an odd manner.
In some ironic twist, it reminded Hue of herself, all the way back when she was a child. While her brothers all sparred, wrestled, and beat the snot out of one another, she preferred to... look at things. People walking on the street, animals eating in peace, birds flying in the sky. And each time, after observing something for enough time, usually between a few minutes to an hour at most, she got bored with her sudden obsession, moving on to other things to look at and study.
But the moon... It was different. For some reason she couldn't explain, after watching it for the first time for what felt like hours, she still hadn't had enough. It was as the moon drew her in, with powers beyond her understanding, to look at it more and more. None of her brothers acted like her, and of course, she was ridiculed for it at first, which was something she learned to live with when all was said and done. But of course, that never changed the fact that the moon had an aura to it. A meaning beyond words that she could not grasp yet.
And she was willing to do anything it took to get that meaning out of it.
"Jin, come now, there's no need to ignore me." Her mind went off reminiscing for a brief moment, sinking back to reality, as she realized Jin was still saying nothing to her. Perhaps, though dense as she was, Jin felt it too. The draw of the moon, calling her to look at it, however unlike Hue, the giant had no way to express this need, leaving her transfixed. Agreeing with herself that her theory is most likely correct, Hue sat the telescope down, sitting next to the cat faunus. While her study was as important as ever, she forgot in a sense what it was like, to be a child, who looked at the world for the sake of looking.
She let the flow of time grow dim on her consciousness, and for a single night, embraced the sheer joy she felt from letting her passion out without recording and memorizing. She could draw shards of the moon and peer deeper into it any other month. But quietly staring at it... It was a rare experience in her current life.
The morning came slowly, Leila being the first to rise and shine. Or, at least, that was what she thought, before looking at realizing both Hue and Jin were absent from their respective beds. The sun hadn't risen just yet, giving Leila ample time to prepare for her morning prayer, to be held right at sunrise.
As she got out of bed, she saw Perci swinging in her bed, eyes snapping open as she rose up to sitting, seemingly having dealt with a nightmare of something of the sort. Not being one to stay silent when one is awake next to her, she turned to Perci, bowing her head politely. "Good morning, Perci." Her tone was calm and neutral, as it was for the most part.
Perci looked at her, breathing a bit heavy, though nodding her head regardless. "Yeah... Morning, I guess." She fell back to bed, curling up in her blanket, though it was obvious she couldn't fully fall asleep, and something was in fact, on her mind. Leila, seeing her hidden pained expression, got up, walking to her bed, and sitting at a decent distance from her.
"Perci..." She tried to find something to say to her, thinking for a bit, before coming up with an idea. It was risky, for sure, though if things went accordingly, this might have been a prime time for the two of them to be able to bond a bit, something Leila was hoping could happen sooner or later, considering them being teammates. "...I'm about to head out to my morning prayer. And I was thinking... Would you like to come with me? It could help stave your thought from-"
Before she could even finish her thought, Perci raised her hand, to shut her up. "yeah... No. Not a fucking chance, Nun. See, I'm on the side of common fucking sense." She snarled, her moon being as foul as it could get.
"...You didn't even let me finish my thought." Leila turned to her fully, face stern and arms crossed. Perci could only laugh a bit, the sarcasm in her tone being as obvious to the two of them as ever.
"I don't need to. No fucking way Imma go and pray to some bullshit god that doesn't even exist." She muttered, insulting everything Leila could stand for.
Leila stood up. "I have tried, Perci. I tried being friends with you, and to some degree, I thought I succeeded." She walked to the closet, pulling out a robe and hastily putting it on. "But I can see that some people will never change. I wanted to find something that could help you get your mind off the nightmare I saw you had. But, if that is how you wish to besmirch my Lord, then so be it." She spun to the door. "I wish you a fine day, Perci." She said, walking out and heading outside.
While one would assume she was angry at Perci beyond compare, internally, Leila was as cloistered up as she always was. Her tones were without emotion to them, sans the occasional anger outbursts, which she was not proud of whatsoever. Her mother and the Lord raised her to be far better than this. Shaking her head at the thought of lashing out at the delinquent she had to deal with so often, she headed to the courtyard, where the sun's light was just about to shine. Catching the right timing at the very last second, Leila quickly got into position, kneeling at the sun's direction, and closing her eyes, feeling the first rays of warmth hit her face gently.
"O Lord, king of skies above." She started her prayer, cooing softly, letting her morning ritual calm her and put her soul at ease. "Please guide thine humble servant and Angel Ascendant in her path to ascension." Being her mother's daughter, and her village's angel ascendant, gave Leila's prayer its own variation. While many of the priests and nuns would ask for general guidance, in Leila's case, it was customary to pray for the gift that made each angel in her family before them who they were. After running through the usual rites and verses, as she memorized by toe at this point, she paused a bit.
At the very end of the prayer, some people added their own, personal request for the Lord. Usually, she skipped that part, having no other goals in her heart but to serve her church and become the person she was meant to be, but regardless, in this instance, she decided to take one last prayer.
"And please, O Lord above. Please grant Perci the peace of heart she deserves."
She figured that if anyone was there to assist her, it was the Lord above. Finishing her prayer, she opened her eyes, getting up slowly to her feet. The sun's light hit her silver eyes, making them narrow suddenly and forcing her to cover her face for a short while before she finally adjusted to the difference in light and could look around freely.
"...Yo." She heard a voice come from behind her, bending her head. It was Perci, of all people, who slowly stepped towards Leila, hands in her pockets and gazing to the side of the road. "So, uh..." She made a popping noise with her mouth, swaying back and forth a bit with her feet. "Finished that, um... Prayer of yours?"
Leila's gaze returned to being cold and vindictive. "Indeed. What is it that you want to speak about?" At this point, unless the Lord decided to answer her prayers right there and then, she held no patience for another temper tantrum from her partner.
Perci paused a bit, thinking internally. "Well... How do I put this, uh..." She clearly had something on her mind, and Leila glared at her, now knowing what it was at all. "See, I... Umm..." Her hand swirled in place, seemingly still lost in thought, trying to come up with some articulate terminology, like the kind Hue was so fond of.
Leila tilted her head to the side, standing up fully. "If you have something on your mind, out with it. I am in no patience for your insults and japes right now." She concluded swiftly, leaving Perci to her own devices, still trying a way to express what was on her mind.
About a minute later, Perci finally made up her mind. She gazed at the nun, a menacing aura surrounding her, as she uttered something Leila could have never expected.
"Fight me."
Leila, caught off guard, turned to her partner, slight confusion appearing on her face. "...Pardon?" She asked, still unsure what Perci wants.
"You heard me." Perci started to inch towards her, her cane clicking against the ground with each step she made. "You, me, in the combat arena, thirty minutes. We'll settle our differences like men." She offered, giving the nun time to contemplate. "And, as an added condition... No draining from you. We do this fair." She made her final offer.
Leila took some time, tapping on the top of her chin with her thumb, as if holding her head as she considered her offer. Sure, the two of them had their differences... But to take it to combat was not something she was accustomed to, and while she could appreciate the chance to finally shut Perci up for a change, doing it like this brought some doubt to her heart. However, the more she thought about it, the more she realized there might not be any other option.
She gave Perci a single nod. "Very well. I shall meet you in the combat arena in thirty minutes' time. You had better not be late." She drifted off, walking back to her dorm. Before the fight, she wanted to make sure her weapon was in peak condition, as Perci would prove quite the formidable opponent, from what she's seen of her.
As she walked towards the dorm, two figures became visible at the corner of her eyes, turning her head to see Hue and Jin sleeping soundly at the edge of the cliff. Sparing a few minutes to approach the two, she stepped over, glancing at their sleeping forms, Hue's telescope knocked over the night by the wind, leaving it laying on its side on the ground beside her. Leila picked it up, placing it next to her, and returned to the dorm. While usually she'd lecture Hue on sleeping outside when they had lessons the day after, for now, she had far more pressing matters on her mind.
For soon, she would finally engage her very antithesis.
When Perci got to the arena, Leila was already waiting for her, weapon struck into the ground, kneeling towards the entrance. When she approached her, she realized Leila was praying again, asking her little made up god for an easy win or whatever, shrugging and walking to the other end. Spinning her cane in her hands, she let it lean on her shoulder, moving about in place, until Leila finally reopened her eyes, standing up and drawing her blade from the ground.
Perci gave her a sly, coy smirk. "Ready, Nun?" She asked her, teasing and being a bitch, like usual. Leila's expression was unmoving and unchanging, making her resemble Copper, to a degree, not something Perci could admit she was a fan of.
"Indeed. Let the Lord decide the victor." She lowered her blade, holding it horizontally, pointing it at her partner, now opponent.
Perci waited for her to have the first move, and when realizing Leila wasn't going to attack her on her own, brought up her free hand, taunting her. "Come on... Not going to attack? Welp, guess I win by default then." She cackled, keeping the mental pressure up, until, just as predicted, Leila couldn't stand it anymore.
"So be it. Prepare thyself!"
Leila shouted, running at Perci directly, blade held to her left. With her right hand, she spun the barrel of Caliborn, landing on fire dust, and once she was close enough, she brought a powerful, massive swing, directly at Perci's abdomen. Perci smirked, blocking the blade with her Anarchy Melodica, the cane proving far harder then Leila gave it credit for, using her own weight against her and pushing Leila back, forcing her to lose her momentum.
She jumped back, raising her blade up high, calling upon the dust in the barrel to unleash the Lord's flames upon Perci, as a shower of holy fire descended from the ceiling of the arena. Perci could only smirk again, dashing through the fire, getting hurt on the way, but closing the distance between her and the nun. She got close enough, swinging her cane violently, bringing the blunt end right upon Leila's head.
She had barely a moment to react to the attack, spinning Caliborn in hand to deflect the attack, delivering a swing as a counterattack from below. Perci, being the reckless person she was, happily took the hit, her aura shielding her, reacting with a punch to Leila's gut, sending her flying back. Her aura, as expected, was lowered by a significant degree, but to her, it didn't matter at all. All that mattered was the win, and any means were welcomed for the objective.
Leila recovered midair, landing on the wall of the arena, the concrete cracking around her from the sheer force she had. Bending her legs, and springing forward, she switched to wind dust, spinning midair, causing a small tornado to form around her, pulling in everything around the nun straight into the center. As Perci felt the grip of the wind detach her from the floor, she spun the tip of her cane, as it transformed into a Tommy gun.
"Eat dust motherfucker!" She called, spraying her bullets all over the place, emptying the cartridge within a matter of seconds, reloading and doing the same soon after. Once she ran out of bullets, she returned her weapon to its primary form, and having no other option, braced herself to being caught in her own plan, as the bullets now flew all over the place, both herself and Leila being wide open.
Within the spinning winds, she felt the bullets scrape her aura from almost every direction she could think on. Down, up, left and right, even from below her, Perci felt the bullets coming at her, just as much as they did at the fucking nun, or so she thought. Doing her best to shield herself, her aura being as massive as it was, she managed to wait out the air currents to dissipate on their own.
As the dust settled, and things started to fall back to the ground, all the leftover bullets scattered, hitting the walls all at once. Perci fell, right on her face, getting up soon after to look if she managed to do anything to Leila, and upon seeing her mostly unscathed, snarled at her direction. "Oh, bullshit! I just unloaded two fucking clips into this mess! How are you not hurt!"
"Simple." Leila's face now wore the grin, though it vanished as quickly as it came. "I stood in the eye of the storm."
Perci roared in anger, dashing at the Nun once more. Leila readied the earth dust cartridge, sticking her blade into the ground once more, and unleashing a tremor on the surrounding area around her. Perci quickly jumped, focusing her aura on her feet, and upon landing and stomping the ground, brought her own quake, canceling out Leila's. She dashed in, getting within punching range, and sent her fist straight into Leila's face. She lifted her blade, the wide, broad surface acting as a shield, as a loud clinging noise filled the arena.
"It's useless!" Perci called, channeling her aura into her fists, sending a barrage of attacks, quick and tempered, aiming to punch her way THROUGH the blade. Leila held on as best she could, her own aura already weakened from her earlier dust based attacks, Perci's wailing not doing her any favors. At last, just as Perci was about to break her, Leila opted for a last resort move, pushing against Perci's punch just as her clutched fist was about to break her defense, aiming to disorient her for just enough to give the finishing blow. The aura bars, at the top of the arena, calibrated for the two of them, showed that Perci was faint on aura just as much as she was. It was now or never.
Their attacks met in the middle, both standing her ground against the other. Leila locked eyes with Perci, who gave her a maniacal grin, keeping her fist steady. "Well?! Just how long do you think you hold this, bitch?!" Perci shouted straight to her face, as aloof as ever, though her body told a whole different story.
"Just as much as you!" Leila's voice raised to a shout, bringing all she had into one last push. Both their attacks diverted to the side, Leila took the chance to strike Perci one last time, not realizing that her opponent thought the same, and as her blade took out the remains of Perci's aura, her face met the bitter end of Perci's fist, concluding the duel in a tie.
Both of them flew out, hitting the different ends of the arena. Perci was the first to stand up, still needing a few minutes to waddle over to the nun, who needed a bit more rest before she could rise, looking at her from above. While Leila expected her to gloat, seemingly the victor due to some minute nonsense only Perci cared about, she couldn't help but be surprised by a hand, reaching out to her.
"Yo. You a'ight?" Perci asked her, and Leila blanked once, before shaking her head and reaching out to her, taking her teammate's palm as she was lifted to her feet. "So... Some fight, huh?" Perci asked, looking around. Their little duel left the arena in quite the shambles, chunks of broken walls here and there, as well as a cracked floor.
Leila sighed, tired but satisfied, leaning on her blade as she looked at the carnage both of them most likely had to clean. "Indeed, Perci... Indeed. It was quite the match, to be sure." She looked over, Perci still avoiding her eyes directly. "If you do not mind me asking... That thing you wanted to ask me earlier today. What was it?"
"Oh? Oh, right, yeah." Perci waved her head about a bit, clearing her thoughts. "I wanted to say... Sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out at you this morning, alright? I just had a bad dream."
Hearing her apologize almost made Leila's heart skip a bit. She smiled at Perci, calm and accepting, taking her free hand and putting it over her lips. "Do not worry. I will not tell a soul." She promised, Perci sighing with relief the moment she heard her say it.
"Oh MAN! thanks a bunch..." Now that the fight was over, Perci's mood eased up considerably. her foul temper from her wake vanished, for the most part, leaving her cynicism and wits at her disposal, without the anger and discontent to almost everything around her that came with it for the most part. "But seriously, tell anyone and I'll cut your heart out. Got it?" She gave Leila a semi-serious look, before shrugging it and starting to head out towards their dorm. "Man, where the hell are the Nerd and Brute, anyway?"
Leila walked next to her, a new sort of respect forming between the two. Even if she could not agree with her life choices, by now Leila couldn't ignore her own strength. While Leila drew her power from the Lord and her faith, watching someone pull their own weight entirely, refusing to rely on anyone for their own health was defiantly a new sight for her. "I believe the two of them are still laying outside, napping. I hope Jin didn't catch a cold..." She answered Perci, thinking about the consequences of Jin sneezing about everywhere she went.
The image of Jin with a runny nose made Perci snicker. "Go figure, she would probably sneeze solid dust or something." She tried cracking a joke, and while Leila didn't laugh, Perci didn't mind it as much. Leila was strong, she gave her that much, her skill with dust being quite the sight to behold. Some part of Perci wondered what would happen if Leila had access to more aura, though she had no way to answer that question.
And so, the two of them, closer than ever, walked out to yet another together in Beacon.
A/N: Alright, I hope you enjoyed this much-needed duel between Perci and Leila. It was actually pretty fun to write (1300 words in 30 minutes whaaaaaaaa)
Regardless, this is Arch, signing out, and I'll see you tomorrow with the next chapter!