I am hopelessly addicted to Xenoblade Chronicles 3. That is all.
Without further ado...
Chapter 5
Time at Beacon passed relatively quickly, which Cinder supposed made sense.
Lessons, after all, were similar enough day in and day out that they tended to blend together, and Cinder herself had been… well, out of it for the last little while.
The cause of said disturbance being one Glynda Goodwitch, who was now stood in front of Team CMME and clearing her throat, drawing the gazes of a bored-looking Neopolitan, an anxious Emerald Sustrai, a bleary-eyed Mercury, and Cinder's…
Honestly, Cinder wished she knew what her gaze looked like. That would've been helpful, given she was really still working out just what the hell was wrong with her.
As to why Goodwitch was currently standing in front of the four of them during their lunch hour, at what had fast become their lunch table – JNPR would occasionally sit with them as well – instead of perhaps at any other time, Cinder wasn't quite sure, but she'd admit she was rather curious. She asked as much, and the Professor explained.
"Well, simply put, I'm to be rather busy with planning out a first-year field trip in the coming days, so I'm afraid my lunch hour is about all the time I'm going to have to discuss things with you all."
"And just what do you mean to discuss, Professor?" Emerald asked, and Cinder was glad she didn't have to.
"Another little checkup. Making sure everything's still normal, everyone's settled in, and things are going well."
Cinder nodded, as did Emerald and Neo. They'd all grown rather used to this by now, even if her instincts still hummed a bit ever since that time in Goodwitch's office. Mercury was out of it, but he grumbled something under his breath that probably constituted his agreement. Apparently, that wasn't enough for Glynda Goodwitch.
"Mr. Black, are you listening?"
Mercury said nothing for a moment, and Cinder had just long enough to ponder what was keeping her minion from answering before the boy let out a quiet snore.
Emerald rolled her eyes, groaning, before she punched the elbow the assassin was leaning on out from under him. Mercury's head slammed down on the lunch table, and he immediately started sputtering denials.
"I didn't do it! I–" He looked around. "Huh… where are we?"
"Eating lunch, Mercury." Cinder eyed the boy, realizing that her control really must've been slipping in the last few weeks. "You do recall coming to lunch with us, yes?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, totally."
Cinder had a hard time believing that.
"Mr. Black, you…" Goodwitch murmured something under her breath. "Your eyes are… very red. Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah, I uh…" Mercury rubbed at his hair groggily as he let out a yawn. "Just playing some game last night. Stayed up a little late."
Their teacher's eyes narrowed. "How late?"
Mercury let out a low laugh. "Oh… y'know… t-three o'clock?"
Glynda Goodwitch seemed entirely unimpressed as she frowned at the boy.
"Mr. Black, your first classes are at nine."
"Psh, five hours of sleep is… totally enough."
"It would be, if you only occasionally got that little sleep," The professor stared up at him over the frame of her glasses. "Or if I believed that you actually went to bed at all last night."
Mercury made an "erk" noise as Ms. Goodwitch rolled her eyes. "I feel I must advise you to play your game a bit more sparingly."
"Not an option. I've some chumps to beat into the dirt."
"…Then at the very least do your homework. Dr. Oobleck told me you haven't submitted an assignment for his class in weeks."
"I'm not failing, am I?"
"Mr. Black, you're currently hovering roughly two percent above failing in all classes but my own."
Mercury shot finger guns at the woman, giving what was, even for him, a weak smirk. "And that counts as passing."
Glynda Goodwitch glared, and Mercury at least had the self-preservation to cough awkwardly.
"Do your homework and get some rest, Mr. Black. I will not ask so kindly again."
"Y-Yeah, I will."
"Now then," Glynda coughed, and turned to Emerald. "Ms. Sustrai, you've been doing well, no complaints from any of your teachers, or other students, so I just wanted to let you know that we here are very proud of your work ethic."
Cinder paid some small attention to the way Emerald's preened at that. "I – Thank you, ma'am."
"And Mint…" Glynda Goodwitch just sighed as she watched Neopolitan turn a single page in 'Ninjas of Love – Volume 5'. "Ms. Belladonna doesn't know you have them, but she has been awfully distressed that her books keep disappearing and reappearing in her room, enough so that she reported such to the faculty. I would ask that you perhaps request to borrow them, instead of simply stealing them whenever it suits your fancy."
Mint pouted but nodded her head.
Cinder was fairly certain the mute would be ignoring that.
"As for you, Ms. Fall," Glynda Goodwitch turned to her, and her lip quirked upwards in a way that had Cinder's chest tightening. "You're one of the strongest students in the second year, and you're at the top in almost all practical classes. If anything, I'd say the only thing you need to improve on is your theoretical courses, but even there, you're still doing decently."
Cinder could've been mad about that, about the insinuation that there was anything she lacked, but she knew better than that. Cinder had only learned to read and write when she was roughly sixteen, while serving under Salem. She had made Watts teach her, and the man, even if he was a sniveling rat, had taught her well.
Even still, she'd been taught combat from a far younger age. She was more experienced in that, more experienced in strategy, in leadership, and in many of the other things that Beacon's practical classes expected of their students.
Writing an essay on the politics of the White Fang was… well, she had a much easier time manipulating the terrorists of the White Fang than writing about it, and really, shouldn't that have been good enough?
Apparently not for Dr. Oobleck, who'd gone and given her essay on the topic a measly sixty-one.
Cinder wasn't mad about that. Not at all.
She'd certainly not added an addendum to their plans that made sure that Oobleck was cut down like the sniveling bastard he was.
Frankly, Cinder resented the implication.
Cinder's vindictive thinking was interrupted by Glynda Goodwitch's voice. "Miss Fall?"
"Hm?" She hummed as she looked up.
"I was just asking if you'd like to come to my office this evening? As per the last time, it's not at all mandatory, but I'd love the chance to speak further with you about how your team's been performing so far."
Cinder Fall hated the way her cheeks grew warmer at that, and the way her brain instantly tried to supply her with both means to deflect said meeting, and to accompany the woman at all costs.
Why is this so confusing!?
"I –" She found herself floundering, for what must've been the first time in her entire life. Just say something! "I-I'm afraid I'm busy. I've agreed to spar with Pyrrha Nikos this evening."
She hadn't, but Cinder was fairly certain she could've awoken Nikos at two in the morning, and she'd have still agreed to a spar then and there, so it would work as an excuse.
"Ah, I understand." The professor nodded benevolently. "I suppose that's acceptable. I'm glad you and Team JNPR seem to be getting along well. Have you…" The woman acted awkwardly for a moment, glancing at Emerald seemingly subconsciously. "Have you and your team spoken with their sister team, Team RWBY?"
Oh? And what would the purpose of such a meeting be, in the woman's eyes. Cinder could not discern that so quickly, and so, feigning interest, she decided she might as well simply inquire.
"Hm. I do not believe so. We've of course seen them in the halls but haven't had much chance to interact. Is there any reason you thought to ask?"
"No, not particularly." There was a certain warble to Ms. Goodwitch's voice that made it rather clear to Cinder the woman was lying, though for what purpose, again, she could not ascertain. "Well, that's fine. Still, I'm sure they would make great friends to all of you as well."
Cinder somehow doubted that, if they were the kinds of people who would actively seek hanging out with Nora Valkyrie.
"Ah, but speaking of the first-year teams, I actually had a proposition for the four of you."
Goodwitch adjusted her glasses, before pulling out her scroll, and sending a document. A moment later, each of 'Team CMME's' scrolls buzzed. Cinder pulled hers out and considered the dossier they'd been sent.
"As you were Haven students, you missed out on a traditional Beacon first-year event, the same one I'm currently busy planning, that being the trip to Forever Fall. It's not exactly essential to your curriculum, but it is a scenic and idyllic area, one which most of our students quite enjoy the chance to visit. Perhaps it could even serve as a…" Glynda glanced towards Cinder a bit too pointedly, "Romantic location, should one be so inclined."
Cinder's eyes were like saucers as her face paled horribly.
She knows!? How the hell does she know!? How does she know when I barely know!?
No! Of course, she knew, even Emerald had figured it out before Cinder had!
Cinder had decided against chiding her minion for that fact, mostly because she was fairly certain that without digging into the matter on her own, she wouldn't have believed Emerald if she'd told her the truth.
Still, did that at all equate to Cinder Fall wanting the object of her apparent affections to know she had them? NO! Not even remotely! But here she was, apparently entirely figured out, up a metaphorical creek without a metaphorical paddle!
She really tried to avoid making any further fool of herself, but then again, she was fairly certain that ship had, metaphorically of course, sailed.
"Y-Yes, I suppose, well–" Cinder coughed, and Neo's and Mercury's eyebrows rose somewhere into the upper layers of the stratosphere as they watched her stumble and flounder on her words. "I – That is to say – We would be honored to partake of a Beacon tradition, Ms. Goodwitch. Thank you for your offer."
"Excellent, then I'll add your names to the roster." Glynda Goodwitch somehow spoke normally, as if having thoroughly and utterly humiliated Cinder Fall was an entirely ordinary event. "I'll forward the dates and times to your scrolls. It will be myself and a single support professor who shall be safeguarding you all while in the forests, so I will ask you all to be on your best behavior."
And with that, the teacher left, already typing something out on her scroll as students made way for her left and right. Cinder let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding when the woman's back disappeared beyond the cafeteria's door, causing Mercury to speak up.
"So uh, ma'am… you gonna' tell us what that was–"
"No."
"Yeah, I kinda' figured." The boy muttered.
She took a drink from out of the cup she'd been provided, some horrible grape concoction, and tried not to gag as it slid down her throat.
"Y'know, I know you can't really say no to a direct ask from a teacher," Mercury commented. "But you do realize you just signed us up to hang out with Valkyrie's team again, right?"
The glass in Cinder's hand cracked.
/
'I managed to convince Team CMME to join in on the Forever Fall field trip.'
'Excellent work Glynda.' Ozpin's response on her scroll congratulated. 'I know you're not particularly comfortable with all of this. Know that I appreciate the professionalism you've shown regardless.'
She sent a simple reassurance back, stating that she was doing it for the good of the city, despite her own wishes.
And she was, Glynda wasn't lying about that. And if said 'underhanded tactics' happened to also coincide with her efforts to assist the members of Team Chamomile with the problems that irked them?
Well, that was purely happenstance.
Glynda's mind was drawn back to her earlier conversation with the team. Mercury Black seemed to have a textbook case of videogame addiction, and while Glynda herself had never really partaken with the hobby, she did teach at a school for teenagers.
She had some experience in this matter, so that one, at least, would be easy to solve. It was also almost comforting that the boy, who, as far as Cinder and Emerald had said, also likely came from less than fortunate circumstances, could still play video games into the wee hours of the morning like a normal teenager.
Or go an entire night without sleep at all. Well, he'd likely get a mid-day nap during Peter's class at least.
…Was the fact that she was thinking of one of her own colleagues classes as a time for napping… bad?
Perhaps, but that was a thought for later.
Emerald Sustrai was both simpler and more complicated. It was clear what the girl wanted. She wanted recognition, praise, affection. Some of those things, Glynda could give, but it wasn't exactly easy for her to pull the girl aside and give her the love she'd been denied her entire life, even if she wanted nothing more. She could, at the very least, keep the offer for the girl to visit her office open, and hope she came by.
Mint was… well, perhaps her leader's words had been more accurate than Glynda had assumed. At the very least, petty thievery was a pretty easy problem to solve, with simple threats of academic punishment. At the very least, she had returned the volumes of Ms. Belladonna's books that she'd finished, before… well… stealing the next one's.
Glynda wasn't sure that excuse would land well with Ms. Belladonna, so she decided perhaps she'd simply pretend she didn't know anything, and hope the problem resolved itself. If she was pushed, she'd give the girl detention, and go from there.
And then came the real source of Glynda's intrigue. Team CMME's leader.
Those deadened eyes were the real problem. Even if Ms. Fall tried with all her might to smile, to laugh and joke with the rest of her team when in the presence of others, Glynda couldn't help feeling like those emotions were… perhaps not fake but exaggerated at the very least. Which meant that when a real emotion showed itself, it was to be encouraged as much as possible.
Glynda hadn't exactly been subtle about pointing out to Cinder Fall that if she was crushing on Yang Xiao-Long, that she could perhaps make her feelings known in a wondrous setting like Forever Fall, but when it came to people with those eyes, it was sometimes best, Glynda had found, to be a little… blunt.
Perhaps she'd been too blunt, seeing as how she'd made the poor girl sputter like she wanted to deny everything, but apparently she'd simply accepted the fact that Glynda had, somehow, figured out about her crush on Ms. Xiao-Long.
Glynda hoped, for Ms. Sustrai's sake, that the leak would not come back to her. If Ms. Fall felt like her trust in the girl had been violated, then…
Well, it was best not to dwell on the possible. For now, Glynda would focus on more immediate worries.
Namely, the field trip that she still had to finish planning for… that was in less than a week.
Not for the first time that day, Glynda Goodwitch let out a pained sigh.
/
Mercury's bloodshot eyes stared, with an almost Sisyphean air, at the 'defeat' screen after a particularly brutal match of Supreme Smash Sisters. In the background, his character politely clapped as his adversary was proclaimed '1st'.
The dissonance between his character – calm, composed, and collected – and himself – furiously gripping the handles of his eighth controller in two weeks – was palpable, and given Mercury was beginning to run low on funds, he couldn't exactly afford to chuck this controller against the opposite wall.
Even if he wanted nothing more.
Mercury bit down on the rage coursing through his breast as he, for the first time that day, pressed not the play again button, but instead retreated to the menu screen. He moved into his personal statistics and stared.
His data said that he had played Supreme Smash Sisters for one hundred and fifty-seven hours over the last few weeks.
He'd won three matches.
Two of which the other character hadn't moved.
Mercury took a long, shuddering breath.
So. Plan A – practice over and over and over again until he was good enough on his own to challenge those bastards – was… regrettably… a failure. At this point, he had no other option other than to admit that.
He… didn't really have a plan B.
Well, okay, no, he did. Mercury had simply desperately, desperately hoped that it wouldn't come to that.
But, well, these were, by admission, desperate times.
He took his controller along with him as he navigated the halls, trying to pretend like he wasn't outwardly seething and causing just about every other kid in the corridor to reconsider their choice of route. Several saw the look on his face, and actively turned around.
Ultimately, he stopped in front of a rather nondescript door, and knocked repeatedly until those inside began complaining incessantly.
"I said I'm coming, gods," Jaune Arc answered as he swung open the door, glaring his way before seeing who it was. "Oh, Merc, what's–"
"Teach me!" He gritted out between his teeth.
"H-Huh?"
"That game!" Mercury snarled, looking away. "I said teach me that damned game! I've been practicing by myself every night, but I barely ever win! So, teach me damnit, so I can wipe that damned smirk off all your faces!"
Arc was quiet for a few seconds, and right around where Mercury was considering just running away like a bitch with his tail between his legs, the guy just snorted. Mercury was this close to breaking their cover right then and there and kicking the man's head free from his spine, before Arc pushed the door open behind him, and said, "Alright. Sure, sounds fun. We can make it a team activity, then, same as last time!"
Mercury let out a breath between his teeth as he slid into the room, letting the door close behind him as the other present members of JNPR, which was everyone, except the 'P', stared up at him. Nora Valkyrie gave a Cheshire grin.
"Weeeeell, look who came crawling back!"
You can't kill her. Mercury's brain helpfully reminded him. Killing her would mean Cinder killing you.
It was a good thing his brain had added that. Even so, he still had to debate the idea for a second or two before he eventually conceded. "Seems like it."
Valkyrie just giggled, even as her boytoy glanced her way disapprovingly. "Nah, I'm just playin' with ya'! It's good to see you, Merc!"
"Does everyone call me that now?" Mercury couldn't help but ask. "Because last I checked, you didn't call me that."
"Eh, Nora came up with it," Arc said, shrugging. "The rest of us just kind of decided the name fit well."
"And I get zero say in this?"
"Yup!" Nora Valkyrie beamed.
Mercury groaned blearily, even as he saw a figure in the corner of the room vibrate with silent laughter.
He really wasn't sure when Neo had gotten here, but she was laid upon Arc's bed as she usually was when the two of them were in JNPR's dorm room. Mercury couldn't really tell if she'd determined it was the most comfortable, or simply chosen the bed the furthest from the rest of them, but either way, he guessed it didn't really matter.
Hell, maybe she was secretly hot for the idiot, it didn't affect him at all.
"So, you're here to learn how to play Smash Sister's better?" Arc asked as he turned on his console, and then the TV. "I gotta' say, I didn't exactly take you as the kind of person to ask for help. N-Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course!"
"Yeah, totally." Nora Valkyrie, despite her cheery tone, looked almost aggrieved as she glimpsed at her leader. "Cause' there's no shame in accepting help, right?"
Arc looked away at that, even as his teammates shot him sorrowful looks.
Mercury, if he were a better person, might've given a shit.
He wasn't, thus he didn't.
Mercury did notice the way Jaune's eyes briefly flicked towards his partners empty bed, the girl out and about somewhere.
Huh, trouble in paradise, it seemed.
"Yeah, trust me, I'm normally not the type." He spoke, snapping everyone in the room – sans Neo, who'd yet to look up from her book for anything – out of their weird little funk. "But if I want to win, I don't have a choice."
Arc nodded, apparently having recovered from his mood, though he appeared rather puzzled. "Well, I'm all for teaching you a bit, but why not just look up some videos online or something if you needed help?"
"Wasn't an option." He grunted out.
"…Ooookay. Well, I'm not exactly a professional in this game, I only really played it with my family, mostly my sisters." The boy laughed, as if recalling a specific moment from what must've been several hundred. "Speaking of my sisters," Arc turned and looked at all of them as he got the game set up. "Do any you have any siblings?"
Mercury was unsurprised to find that every face in the room shook their heads 'no' almost simultaneously.
"Wha–" Arc's eyes widened. "None of you?"
For some reason, it was Mercury who answered the boy. "I don't have any family. Hell, I'm willing to bet none of us do. I mean, you know Ren and Nora's story through Cinder's. Mint…"
He looked to the girl just in time to catch Mint shaking her head, holding her arms up to make an 'X'.
"She doesn't either."
Jaune's eyes were wide. "You guys… none of you? W-What about family? Any family?"
"I had a mother and father." Ren offered, though it was voiced rather weakly. "They were… killed in the attack on Kuroyuri."
"My mom abandoned me. Same day." Nora laughed, but it was clearly put on for their sake. "Guess I must not have mattered to her too much, huh?"
Hearing sob stories wasn't unusual for Mercury. A lot of the targets his father had set up for him to hunt during his training were people shit out of both money and luck, who'd been dealt a bad hand in life. It hadn't mattered to his father, or to the people who'd hired him, but it had, at least for a while, mattered to Mercury.
He could still remember the face of the guy he'd killed first. The guy who'd done nothing wrong other than wrack up a debt, and a debt that would be collected, monetarily or not. The way his eyes had widened as he and his father cornered him in an alleyway, the way he'd begged and pleaded…
Mercury's life was different now. he was different now…
But he'd never forget the vomit he'd loosed upon the concrete once the man's eyes had gone dead.
Still… he wasn't really sure why the Valkyrie girl's words affected him. Sure, her situation was a bit similar to his own, but so were the situations of so many others out there. Dealt a bad hand, a bad parent, or two. That was just how the world worked. Some people learned it early, others later, but everyone figured out the truth eventually.
So, why, then, did Mercury's throat dry, and his mouth open?
"My dad…"
Mercury knew it was a mistake the moment he opened his mouth, and internally, he cursed to himself as he looked away from the inquisitive gazes of the four others in the room. Neo seemed to know the real cause for his concern, though she was, for once, not looking at him in an amused way.
No, for perhaps the first time, the diminutive beast eyed him with something more akin to curiosity.
And just the smallest hint of concern.
Mercury should keep quiet. He knew that. Cinder would have his head for saying anything more than was necessary about himself. So, Mercury really wasn't sure why he spoke up, anyways.
"My mom ran out on me and my dad when we were young. I think… I think my dad blamed me for it. He used to beat me. Beat me real fuckin' bad. Called it training. I…"
A hand touched his arm, and it was the only thing that broke him out of whatever spell had hold of him. Mercury gasped, and he looked into Arc's eyes, completely bewildered.
What was I–
"I'm sorry." Arc said with a kind of compassion that had never been directed at him in his entire life. "I… I shouldn't have pried so much. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." The boy looked to the rest of his team. "None of you do. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to–"
"You're fine, Jaune." Ren said with an even expression, but bright eyes. "I know I do not blame you. Neither does Nora."
Mint just shrugged, flipping a page in her smut, and then Mercury had just enough time to realize that they were all going to turn and look at him before Arc did.
He couldn't help it. He looked away.
What the fuck is wrong with me!? He mentally chastised himself. What am I doing!?
"Uhm… Merc?"
He was broken out of his self-flagellation by blondie's sorry look, and he had to bite down on the easy retort hanging on the edge of his tongue as he met the guy's gaze.
"I… you don't have to forgive me if you don't want." Jaune Arc was the one to break eye contact this time, staring down at his hands balling into fists atop his knees. "I know I probably pushed too hard, and I–"
"Oh, shut it."
"H-huh?"
"You didn't do anything." He shook his head. "If I didn't want to spill the beans, I shouldn't have done it. It's not on you."
"But I–"
"Didn't I just tell you to shut it!?" He said a bit more forcefully than he probably should've, causing Arc to wince backwards, and he realized he probably had to do something about that, as annoying as it was, because Cinder wanted them to all look like 'friends'. "Look, just… if it really makes you feel better, then consider taking the time to teach me this damned game as recompense for prying, how about that?"
Arc looked up, and this time, it was with an earnest smile.
"I… yeah. Yeah! That I can do!"
And so, the boy did. He walked Mercury, first, through every one of the basic combos that all characters shared, and then talked a little about game balance and other things that would've gone right over Mercury's head less than a month ago. Here and now, however, there was little he cared about more.
Arc then proceeded to explain pieces of the character he'd chosen to him. Apparently his character was supposed to duck in and out of combat, never really committing to an extended brawl or melee. It made sense, Mercury supposed, even if it wasn't exactly his style. Still, at this point, he'd played every single game as this same chick with the rocket boots, so he was pretty much committed.
Arc walked him through some basic combos while Ren and Valkyrie battled it out on the other side of the arena, the latter shouting like her life depended on it whilst the former stayed completely silent.
"Alright, I think you can probably manage this now," Blondie said. "Try to combo me here. That same one I just showed you."
Mercury took a deep breath, the same he'd do before partaking in combat, a ritual meant to calm his nerves, keep him steady.
And then he moved.
His character juggled Arc's, some blonde twink with a sword and shield, back and forth, before launching them up in the air, and off the screen.
"Yeah, that's it, nice–"
"HAH! SEE THAT SHIT!?" Mercury roared, rocketing to his feet as he snarled with victory. "I WIN! SUCK MY CHODE, ARC!"
Once more, the present members of JNPR laughed at him, as did Neo from what was fast becoming her usual spot atop Arc's bed, but this time, Mercury couldn't have given less of a shit about their idiotic prattling. He'd won, that was all that mattered.
Finally, victory was his.
"You're very… spirited." Lie Ren spoke past his curled lips.
"Yeah, spirited is a word for it." Arc laughed. "Gods, hearing you screaming like that reminds me of one of my older sisters. She used to get in trouble with mom and dad all the time about swearing, and then whenever they were out, she'd start cursing up a storm like she'd been a dam fit to bursting."
Being compared to what was likely a young woman in her twenties was not exactly the most flattered Mercury had ever been, but at the moment, he couldn't really find it in himself to worry about that.
Abruptly, however, Arc's scroll buzzed, and the man pulled it out with a wince.
"Uh, sorry guys, I gotta'…" Arc said all of a sudden, reaching over and unplugging his controller. "I uhm…"
Valkyrie and Ren nodded curtly, and the boy stood and exited out before anything else could be said. Mercury himself gazed between the two of them, before looking back towards Mint in confusion.
The girl just shrugged her shoulders, clearly as out of the loop as he was.
It was clear, however, from the way the other two wouldn't look up at either he nor Neo, that something was up. As annoying as it was to have to dig into it, Cinder would probably want to know just what was going on just in case it was something worth worrying about.
"What's up with him?" Mercury inquired casually, trying to sound disinterested, which really wasn't that hard.
"It's… nothing." Lie Ren lied. "Just a team issue."
"Uh-huh." He muttered, shaking his head.
Honestly, this whole… fishing for information thing wasn't his strong suit. That had always been Cinder's thing, and Emerald had taken to trying to imitate the woman out of some sick sense of flattery, even if she didn't have near as much talent for it as their boss.
Regardless, it was clear the two weren't going to cave on this, and really, Mercury couldn't blame them. It wasn't like some dude who showed up to play video games was the most trustworthy individual around.
And so, he bid them farewell, paying little attention to the way Neo skulked along behind him. Perhaps a few weeks ago he would've been suspicious of such a thing, or untrusting, but honestly, he and Neo had built up a bit of a rapport over the past little while.
Even if said rapport was mostly Neo not talking to him, and him answering in kind.
Hell, it was a better working relationship than he had with Emerald.
Still, as he entered into his dorm, he put all thoughts of JNPR out of his mind. He wouldn't be worrying about such meaningless things.
After all, he had some new techniques to try out on the hapless masses of the online, didn't he?
/
Cinder Fall let out a strained breath, her body, and her muscles both cooling down from the workout she'd just gone through.
Said workout had been repeatedly dueling one Pyrrha Nikos, who was currently propped against one of the lockers in the girl's locker-room, fresh out of the shower to wash off the sweat of their matches. She hadn't quite been able to defeat Cinder, but one thing was clear.
Nikos was getting better. Enough so that she was able to legitimately challenge Cinder now, make it so that without Midnight, and without her Semblance, she couldn't easily defeat the girl.
It was clear that Pyrrha Nikos was no cheese champion, that was for sure. She was raw talent and skill backed against a foundation of training and conditioning, with a razor-sharp mind to boot. Cinder was now certain of the fact that only she would be able to challenge the girl, if it came down to it.
Still, the entire purpose of this little exchange had, even if Cinder didn't want to admit it, been to distract herself from the whirlwind of feelings that'd been coursing through her for the last few weeks or so, a whirlwind that had only grown more fearsome over the last twenty-four hours.
Namely, over one Glynda Goodwitch.
Ever since she'd learned that she might have had… feelings for the woman, she couldn't help her mind from wandering, from rebuking herself for her own stupidity.
…Even if the rest of her just wanted to know what the hell Cinder was supposed to do now.
Because like it or not, she was here. She, and the rest of 'CMME' were trapped in Beacon Academy for the time being, which meant that Cinder might as well investigate just what it was she was feeling further. Or, well, that was the excuse her stomach gave every time it turned whenever she looked into Glynda Goodwitch's eyes.
She growled, even as she slammed her hand down on the bench next to her, startling Nikos out of her cooldown period.
"Uhm… Cinder? Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine." She lied.
"I… okay."
It was clear the girl didn't believe her in the slightest, but her guess on Nikos' personality was correct. She wouldn't pry, she was far too polite for such a thing, even when it actively went against her best interests. If she thought it might make another person even slightly uncomfortable, she would clam up, and not say a word.
Cinder hated that kind of person. Likely, because she'd been forced to pretend to be one for most of her early life. Now…
Now she was free. And she would never act that way again.
Still, if there was one thing she could count on, it was that anything she told Pyrrha Nikos not to share would remain a secret. She could… gods the very idea was repugnant, but she could confide in the girl if she needed to.
And, well, Cinder had very few other ideas.
Perhaps, if she got the opinion of the average teenaged girl, she might have some idea as to how to proceed from here.
It was worth a shot, at least, so she cleared her throat, and went straight for the metaphorical jugular, as was custom for her.
"Pyrrha…" Cinder began, watching as Nikos tilted her head towards her to indicate she was listening as she took a small swig from her water bottle. "What would you do if you thought you might have feelings for someone?"
Pyrrha spat water on the locker-room floor, coughing and hacking rather violently.
"Oh, well, I uhm–" She coughed again. "Well, I, of course, have absolutely never encountered this scenario… ever. Not even once."
Ah, right. Pyrrha Nikos wasn't exactly a normal teenaged girl herself. A champion, someone who was expected to be above all others.
"My apologies. I forgot you must know nothing of such a thing."
"Yes… I know… absolutely nothing about maybe-sort-of having feelings for someone." Pyrrha Nikos nodded, her face bright red. "Nothing at all."
She stared at the girl, somehow causing Nikos' already scarlet face to deepen in color.
"You've said that."
"I… er… well," Nikos took a deep, trembling breath, before righting herself, and looking determinedly into Cinder's eyes. "Hypothetically, we could maybe… pretend that I do have such feelings for J– someone, and you could still talk to me about y-your feelings, if you'd like?"
That… wasn't exactly what Cinder had planned for, she'd been hoping to gain some advice from someone with actual experience in the matter, and yet here she was, asking someone who, apparently, was one step removed from entirely clueless.
Still, Cinder supposed, in for a lien…
"I just mean, well, it's not as if–"
"Alright." Cinder sighed. "Then, hypothetically, what would you do?"
"I would… well, talk to them, I suppose?" Pyrrha said, rubbing her chin absently with one hand. "I would try and be near them as much as I could without being creepy? And I would try to speak with them as much as I could?"
"I see." Cinder took note of the girl's strategy, even if it was coming from a place of experience much the same as her own. "I must admit, this is entirely new to me."
"I… yes. I understand why it could be… unsettling. I'm sure that's… overwhelming. For you. And only you. To be… uhm… experiencing that."
"Yes. Way to rub it in."
"I – I'm terribly sorry! I didn't… well," The girl sighed wearily, before looking back up at Cinder. "Would you like to tell me anything about them?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Why would I do that?"
"I just… well… if I knew who they were, then I might be able to… assist you?"
"You don't sound particularly certain."
"I'm… er… not?"
"Very reassuring, Pyrrha."
"Sorry." Nikos squeaked out awkwardly. "I'm not… I've always been very good at putting on a façade, and pretending to be someone I'm not, but… well, my actual self isn't very confident, or assured, or… I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can be a bit awkward, and I'm sorry about that."
Cinder sighed, even as she ran a hand down her face, and weighed her options. She could just leave. It wasn't like Pyrrha 'most awkward human being on Remnant' Nikos was going to stop her. But even so…
Well, she'd already made up her mind to get the girl's opinion. If it was a terrible one, she'd simply ignore it.
And so, Cinder Fall spoke in earnest.
"They're… blonde."
"Oh, you're actually–"
"I am. Keep up." She snapped.
"Y-Yes! I will!"
She tried to think of more descriptors. Glynda Goodwitch was surprisingly… different to how Cinder would've pictured her. She was stern and disciplined, certainly, but it seemed that those traits belied a more pleasant side hidden beneath. She had chuckled and joked with Cinder when the two had been inside her office.
"They are… surprisingly witty." She decided would work.
"Okay… that one kind of narrows it down…"
What else…?
For some reason, Cinder's brain rather unhelpfully provided an image of Glynda Goodwitch's top, drawn quite tightly around her striking figure.
Cinder did not deign to think any further on such things.
"I suppose you could say that they wear an outfit that draws the eye."
At that, Pyrrha seemed to have it.
"Mhm, yep, I think I know who you're talking–"
"And they have rather impressive breasts."
Pyrrha spat water across the locker-room floor. It trickled rather pathetically down her armor as well, further staining her outfit, and the room itself, from where she'd done nearly the same thing not five minutes prior.
"You should drink less while we talk if you're going to keep doing that."
"Y-Yeah, okay." Nikos wheezed out between coughs. "I think… I think I really know who you're talking about, even if that last one was sort of out of nowhere… so feel free to stop feeding me information now."
Cinder shrugged. "It seemed as relevant as anything else."
"I… sure. Yeah."
"So?" She almost demanded, snapping Nikos' attention back to the then and there. "How would you go about approaching them?"
"Well, I would say… I think Ya– er, whoever it is you're talking about, probably receives an awful lot of attention."
Yes, Cinder could see that. Glynda Goodwitch was, after all, a beautiful woman, and she carried an aura of maturity that would've drawn the eye of nearly anyone who interacted with her. It was likely she received flirtatious gazes and remarks from pubescent boys near daily.
Cinder wasn't sure why such thoughts made her want to burn said metaphorical pubescent boys at the stake, but they did.
"So… it might be better, instead of coming on strong with flirting, or something equally direct, to instead just… be kind, and polite. Be friendly and try and earn her trust that way. Interact with her a lot. Try and find times where it can be just the two of you without pushing, and… don't put on a character or anything. Just… be yourself, Cinder. After all, you're a lovely person, anyone would be lucky to have you."
Yes, that was true. She was rather lovely, although she couldn't help thinking Pyrrha Nikos perhaps had a different definition of 'lovely' than Cinder's own.
There was also a tiny warmth in the very depths of Cinder's chest, one which she knew not how to identify.
"I will take your advice into consideration."
"I'm glad." Pyrrha Nikos smiled at her, and it was a wide, bright thing. Cinder had half a mind to shield her eyes. "More than that, I'm happy you trusted me enough to come to me, Cinder."
"Trusted you?"
"I guess I just kind of got the vibe from you that you're not really a… people person?"
The woman spoke in such a way that seemed to indicate Pyrrha assumed she might offend Cinder, which had her breathing out a laugh instead.
She was right, after all. There was no point being offended by the truth.
"You're correct on that front. I do not often interact with others."
"Well… then I'm glad we're friends. I'm not really a people person either."
…Friends?
Cinder knew the term, though more than that, she knew how erroneous such a thing was in this world. People who chose to interact with one another for no gain, no reason, no exchange. But that was not this. Cinder provided Pyrrha Nikos training, and she provided back advice. Apparently, in Nikos' eyes, a 'friendship' was complete when both parties no longer owed the other anything. When both stood on equal ground.
Cinder supposed Salem considered it as such as well, what with Cinder having to interact with Watts, Hazel, and Tyrian despite her wishes.
Friends. The very terminology had Cinder haughtily laughing beneath her breath. She'd learned an awfully long time ago that such drivel… it could not exist.
Still, for now, she was a young schoolgirl from Mistral, wasn't she? Someone who, likely, had friends before, and wasn't unused to making them.
Such a thing couldn't have been further from the truth, but that didn't really matter, Cinder supposed.
"Yes." She said, as she held out her hand with a warm smile, and gripped Pyrrha Nikos' own.
She'd always been awfully good at pretending.
"Friends."
End Chapter 5
Not a ton to say. Next week another chapter shall be uploaded. I have not done any writing in like four days, just playing Xenoblade. It's very good. I recommend it.
Anyways, see you all next week.