Kylie's finger hovered over the 'call' button on her phone. She didn't know why, but it felt wrong to do this. Sure, she'd talked to Winter a few times in person, but calling her was a new experience.
And a very nerve wracking one at that, holy shit.
Kylie hated phone calls- yes, it was the number one way to connect with others, but she constantly had to worry about her weird hearing. She could always pick up on the sound of a cat meowing faintly in the distance but could barely comprehend a conversation happening in the now- maybe she should have Ari check that out.
But for now, she had to make this call.
Why?
Because her finger slipped on the call button and holy shit hanging up right now would be a fucking death sentence, especially to someone of such prestige.
"FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK-!" Kylie cursed as the phone rang. What were the chances Winter would pick up? Low, Kylie hoped. An Atlas military personnel would obviously have a loaded schedule- yeah, that was a valid possibility!
There was nothing that could prove her wrong.
"Hello? Who is this?" Winter's voice asked from the phone. Kylie could scream right now. THIS WAS THE WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIO.
Kylie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "H-hi. Is this Winter Schnee?"
"Yes, this is Winter...who is this?" she asked.
Kylie's face fell- did Winter not have her number saved? Winter had once given Kylie her number 'should she need it', and in turn, Kylie gave the older woman her own personal number.
Kylie had saved and cherished the number just in case a situation arose. And, surprisingly, it had. Kylie had recalled something Weiss had said at the group session a few weeks back- something about summoning glyphs. Perhaps...perhaps she and the others could help Weiss hone that skill?
"Uh, this is Kylie Dombrowski," Kylie stammered. "You know, short Filipino girl with the pistol and dark green curly hair?"
Silence.
"Ah, yes, I remember...why are you calling me, exactly?" Winter asked. Kylie couldn't tell if that was asked as a genuine question or in an annoyed sort of way. Winter had a definitive case of 'resting bitch voice'.
"I wanted to ask you something," Kylie said slowly. "Concerning Weiss."
Winter took a deep breath. "I believe I know what this is about."
"Wait, really?" she chirped. "That's great, actual-"
"You don't need to ask my permission to date Weiss, Kylie," Winter said. "Weiss is free to express herself in any way, and I am not her-"
Kylie turned bright red. "W-what? No! It's not about that! Weiss..Weiss is...AH!" She had to stop herself from shrieking and turning into an absolute mess.
Winter paused. "Oh, my apologies then...so, what's your concern?"
Kylie took a moment to regain her composure. "It...it's about her semblance," she sputtered. "The summoning aspect of it."
"What of it?"
"We want to help Weiss hone it," she explained. "Like, she mentioned in passing you had some concerns about her skills in that category, and, well, like any friend, we wanna help her perfect it."
"...I see," Winter said.
"So, uh, yeah- what advice do you have?" Kylie asked hopefully.
"Weiss' situation is...complicated," Winter sighed. "Schnees have a natural affinity for summoning glyphs. Our grandfather was able to summon things like Megoliaths and Sphinxes with ease. The same applies to me. Weiss, on the other hand, doubts her abilities."
Kylie nodded. "She did mention that as a hindrance to her abilities. From what she said, I mean."
"Weiss' main issue is that she's focusing on the success of others and not her own," Winter explained, the sound of footsteps in the background. "Despite our upbringing and her efforts, she's yet to break down the wall standing in her way. Her perfectionist nature and newly rebellious personality work against her- she wants to both break down the wall and also be the one to clean up the mess made. It's a bit strange."
"I see," Kylie mused, pulling out a notebook from her bag and writing something down- Weiss = doubtful of abilities, contradictory nature.
"She's so focused on my abilities that she doesn't have that much to say about her own," Winter continued. "Comparing herself to others hurts her more than anything. I may know the source of that issue, but..." She paused for a moment. "It's personal."
"I won't ask, then," Kylie said, finishing up her writing. "I just know that comparing yourself to others doesn't usually end well. Like, imagine being right-handed, and then seeing and trying to play an instrument with your left hand."
Winter blinked. "I do not understand your analogy."
Kylie blushed. "Uh, forget that." She cursed to herself again. "A-anyways, we probably get her to stop that self depreciation now..."
"That's a good starting point," Winter hummed. "I do appreciate you approaching me for advice."
"Of course," Kylie said, writing a few more ideas down. "I don't really know that much about the situation, but I wanna be as helpful as I can."
Winter smiled from the other end. "A welcome trait. Now, I'm afraid I'll have to end our conversation now. You caught me at a bad time."
Kylie's face flushed a bit. "Oh! I'm sorry about that."
"You have nothing to apologize for," Winter lightly scolded her. "I wish you and your friends luck."
"I'm sure we'll make a breakthrough," Kylie declared. "And I'll be sure to update you when we do."
Winter smiled. "I look forward to that. Goodbye." With that, she hung up. Winter took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
It was reassuring to know Weiss was with good people. She admittedly worried about her sister a lot, maybe more so than their mother, but after that conversation?
Winter could feel her worries just vanish.
"What was that about?"
Winter looked over to her current 'assignment'- babysitting was something an Atlesian soldier should NOT be considered for.
"It's nothing you should be worried about," she said, putting her phone away.
Her assignment leaned back a bit. "Aw, what? I hear spicy drama and I don't get any backstory?"
Winter rubbed her temple. "I could ask you the same thing, Mr. Salazar. What 'spicy drama' landed you in here, wasting my afternoon while your team cleans up the mess?"
The boy blinked. "Listen, I thought the landslide strategy was a GOOD idea-"
Winter facepalmed. This was a waste of a Friday night.
