"This is really lame." Kris mumbled in a whisper before giving a very long yawn, leaning on her hand. "Really, really lame."
Inside Doctor Oobleck's classroom, the four MACE girls were spending one of their few classes which they all had together. And while he was going on and on about history while standing in front of a board which had a map of Remnant and red string connecting pictures taped to it, Kris was just seconds from passing out from boredness.
"Hey... come on." Cheyenne whispered back, quickly scribbling down notes. More than notes actually. Everything the green haired teacher said, she wrote down. Of course it was sloppy since she had to write so fast, but later on tonight she would rewrite down all he said in much neater handwriting. "History is important. If you don't learn from it-"
"You're doomed to repeat it bla bla bla." The red head rolled her eyes, groaning a bit with another deep sigh. "I have heard that over a million times. It's so freaking boring." She couldn't help but yawn again as Cheyenne just sighed, continuing to write.
Sitting next to the two of them, Elise was gritting her teeth as she tried to take notes. Not only were they a scribbled mess of letters and words, but she wasn't getting everything down. After a while, she just sighed, giving up on trying to keep up with Oobleck's quick speaking and zooming around.
"Why's this so hard...?" She let out a huff of air, holding her head up with both her hands. "How are you doing Ka-" She stopped herself, blinking a few times at the jade haired girl who just leaned on her hand and stared at the doctor with sleepy eyes. "Um... okay then..." She just kept blinking. Slowly, Kagami glanced over at her with raised eyebrows.
"Huh? What you want?" She asked, tilting her head a bit.
"Are you... even paying attention?" She asked before yelping and falling back in her chair as Oobleck suddenly appeared in front of her and took a sip of his coffee mug.
"Who is not listening?" His eyes narrowed before he took another quick sip.
Kagami just raised her hand a bit, her fingers curled slightly. "Me."
Both Kris amd Cheyenne looked over, glancing between the two people with green hair several times before facepalming.
"And why not? Is the history of Mountain Glenn not important enough to you?" Oobleck raised an eyebrow, taking yet another swig of coffee. He then leaned forward, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses.
Kagami just sighed, leaning back in her seat. In an very bored amd exaggerated tone, she started to speak. "Mountain Glenn was the kingdom of Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. The kingdom developed an elaborate underground metro system that allowed the settlers to commute to and from the main kingdom and the new territory, thus bypassing the danger of the Grimm, while also setting up an aggressive perimeter defense that worked for a short period of time, keeping the thousands of the city's residents safe in their new home.
"However, Mountain Glenn did not boast the type of natural barriers Vale did, and as such Grimm attacks began to increase daily until inevitably they overwhelmed the city's defenses. These ever increasing attacks were partly due to the actions of Merlot Industries which worked to attract more Grimm for the purpose of experimentation.
"In a last ditch effort to stave off destruction, the citizens of Mountain Glenn took refuge in the tunnels they had initially cleared for their subways, converting them into an underground settlement and cutting themselves off from the surface entirely.
"Unfortunately, this supposed safe haven was eventually compromised when an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern filled with subterranean Grimm. This left the town completely exposed and the remaining citizens beyond saving. With no other recourse, Vale sealed off the tunnels permanently, creating the world's largest tomb. The ruins of Mountain Glenn now stand as a dark reminder for history to reflect upon."
She have a small yawn, ignoring all the eyes staring at her now. "Though... you don't seem to talk about Merlot Industries that much." She put her elbows on the desk, leaning forward to be face to face with Oobleck. "If you're not going to teach all of history, you don't need to teach any of it at all. Even people on Vytal knew that. They couldn't care less about what happened outside its islands, but they still thought it was important to know and learn from."
The doctor just stared back at her, blinking as quick as he would normally talk. The room filled with silence so quiet you could have heard a pin drop from a mile away. This girl had just summed up the whole entire history of the failed attempt at expanding Vale in a far shorter amount of time than he could ever.
After what felt like an eternity, Oobleck spoke up. "Kagami, correct?"
Said girl just nodded, sticking her hands in her hoodie pocket. "Yep. That's me."
"Who told you about Merlot?" His voice was slowing down for once as he stood up straight, taking a very small and slow sip of coffee.
Kagami just blinked a little before shrugging. "Does it matter? You seem to know a lot about it by your reaction. Surprised you don't tell students about their actions."
"I-" Oobleck stopped himself, giving a nod before taking a quick sip from his mug. "Very well." In the blink of an eye, he was suddenly back at his desk. "Now where was I." He took another drink, looking at his class just as the bell rang.
"Well it seems we are out of time for today because of someone." He gave a quick glance at Kagami before looking at the group of students. "Off you go. All of you." His eyes then locked on Kagami again. "All except you."
The jade haired girl just sighed, leaning back again. She glanced over at her three teammates who were staring at her with blank faces and rapidly blinking. "Go on ahead."
"You're... beyond weird." Elise muttered as she slowly stood up. What type of person even knew that much about something?
"She's an idiot." Kris mumbled, rubbing her face with a groan. She wasn't upset at Kagami's outburst, but more at the fact she didn't know as much as her.
Cheyenne just glanced at Oobleck before back at Kagami. "Good luck." Was all she said in a rather concerned tone before half running off after the other two.
Just as the door shut, Kagami looked forward to see Oobleck suddenly appearing in front of her while sipping from his coffee. "So what do you want?" She calmly asked.
His eyes just narrowed, locking with her's again. "A talk." Cold harsh seriousness slowly filled the air between the two of them before spreading around them.
Later that day, after lunch, the door to team MACE's dorm opened up. On the inside of it, Kris was standing between Cheyenne and Elise. All three girls had wide eyes as they leaned forward. On the other side of the door, Kagami was blinking several times.
"So what happened!?" Elise shouted, moving forward a bit more.
"Yea! Did you get in trouble!?' Kris asked, leaning forward.
"What did you guys talk about!?" Cheyenne moved closer for her antlers to just barely scrape the door frame.
"Uh... talk." Kagami just blinked, taking a step back. "That's all we did. We just talked. Nothing bad at all. He just hasn't met someone who knew as much about history as he does and wanted to have a conversation about Atlas' studies and strides in technology over the past few years."
"Oh." Elise just blinked, clearly expecting something more to have happened.
"Darn... I wanted you in detention..." Kris mumbled, raising an eyebrow at the strange looks her teammates gave her.
"You... never heard the saying, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all, have you?" The deer Faunus asked before shaking her head. "Nevermind, I don't want to know."
"Okay then." The jade haired girl just slowly nodded as she stepped inside the dorm. "And here I thought you guys could get less strange."
"Hey! I'm not weird! I am unique!" Elise smiled from ear to ear, pointing at herself.
"I can honestly say you are something else." Kris muttered, walking over to the bottom bed.
"Please no, I thought we settled all this arguing?" Cheyenne sighed a bit, sitting down in a chair next to a desk.
"We did, and we're not fighting." Elise pointed at Kris.
Said red head just nodded. "Yep. It's true. We're just throwing harsh words back at each other."
"Until one of us, and by one of us I mean Kris, apologies for everything she has said." The brunet said, crossing her arms.
The two of them just glared at each other for a few minutes in complete silence before sighing. "Alright. This place is boring." They both said at the same tine, looking around the dorm room filled with junk but with nothing to do.
"You know, they're a lot alike." Kagami mumbled to Cheyenne who just nodded back.
"Opposites repel really well too which would make sense of their bickering." Her arms crossed. "They're too much alike. It's like putting a group of leaders in a room and telling only one of them to lead."
"Yea, I guess you're right." She just nodded back before looking over at the red head and brunet. She then took a step back as Elise suddenly appeared in the middle of the room.
"I got it!" She shouted, holding a fist up in the air. "We should go on an adventure around Vale to not be bored when we don't have classes!"
"A walk doesn't sound that bad either." Cheyenne added. "And I bet it would be really healthy for all of us." She gave a faint smile.
Kagami just blinked before shrugging. "Sure, why not. Vale seems like a pretty cool place."
"No." Kris said plainly as they finished, her arms corssed. "I am not going."
"Well we are!" Elise smiled, suddenly skipping out of the room.
"I guess we're going?" Kagami glanced at Cheyenne before slowly following behind Elise.
"I said no! No, no, no!" Kris shouted again before yelping as Cheyenne grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.
"Come on you. I bet you need sunlight. It's good for your skin." The deer Faunus smiled, her antlers gleaming in the light. How could Kris say no to that?
"Fiiiiie!" She groaned out, flailing her arms. "Just let me redo my makeup! I look ugly!"
"You look fine, Kris." Cheyenne just glanced back at the struggling girl and walked on, dragging her behind to the outside world and to the center of the city Beacon watched over.
Deep inside Vale, while Cheyenne was forcing Kris to walk around and socialize, Elise was jumping from window to window, completely star struck over anything she cpuld look at.
"Ohhh! Look at that!" She stopped at a window, pointing and waving her arm around at it. "Look at that! It's so beautifuuul!" She pushed her face up against the glass. She just shut one eye, smiling brightly at a tea set.
Said set was a porcelain white, a thin line of gold around the rims of both the cups, saucers. as well as the bottom of the lid and rim of the tea pot. On the side of the tea pot, there was a family of swans colored in crimson red on bright blue waters with birds flying above. Each of the cups had a single swan, the saucers below them having the sky with a glowing sun.
"Mama has a set sorta like this back at our house." She muttered, slowly pulling her face off the window. "Every day at two she would always sit down and have a cup. If I wasn't busy running around, I would always join her. And when papa had trouble sleeping, she'd brew this really nice smelling tea for him and he'd be out in an instant. I mean... papa could sleep anywhere except his own bed. It's kinda funny if you think about it." She glanced back at Kagami.
"So, you like tea I guess?" She asked, walking up to the window with her hands in her pocket. She grew up on tea and absolutely adored it.
"Yep." She just smiled and nodded. She then sighed incredibly long as she glanced at the price tag. "I just wish I had enough lien to buy it."
"Buy it?" Kagami glanced at her with a bit of confusion in her voice. "Why would you buy something like that when you can just make it?"
Elise blinked, looking over at her. "You think I can make that?" She pointed at the set before chuckling softly. "You're more crazy than I thought."
"What?" She raised an eyebrow. "They're not that hard to make."
"Wait..." The brunet trailed off a bit, her arm slowly lowering. "Are you telling me... that you could make that?"
She just nodded back. "Yea. Ever since I was little-" She was cut off, grunting as her partner tackled her to the ground.
With her hands on her shoulders, Elise shook her a bit. "Can you make me one!? Please!? I'll do anythiiiiiiiiiiiing! I miss warm cups of tea! Please Kagami! Please, please, please!"
"I..." The jade haired girl just groaned, her eyes turning to swirls. Taking a deep breath, she reached up and grabbed Elise. She shook her head a bit before looking up. "Okay, stop. Stop and I will make you one."
In an instant, she jumped off Kagami with a squeal. "Yeeeeeeeees! That's wonderful! And amazing! And great! And aaaaaaahhhhh!" She bounced around a bit as Kagami stood up. She only remained still for a second before Elise grabbed her wrist, dragging her off. "Come onnnn! Cheyenne and that vegan gotta be somewhere around here!"
Kagami couldn't help but smile just a bit. Sure, she didn't approve of talking to people, but not all of them were that bad. Including this girl that is.
A few blocks away, Kris was groaning as Cheyenne pulled her down the sidewalk by her hood. And even though people were staring, it seemed like Kris seemed to be more embarrassed than Cheyenne.
"Will you stop struggling." The deer Faunus mumbled. "Look at the scene you are causing. All we need to do is find Elise and Kagami so stand up straight and walk."
"Or you could have let me put my makeup on." She grumbled, her arms crossed with a bright red face. "I look like trash. And everyone is looking at my face. And I'm ugly. Just so ugly." She groaned more, reaching up and rubbing her face with her hands. "Please let me redo my makeup..."
"Kris," Cheyenne glanced back, smiling softly. "I told you that you look fine. Trust me, okay?" She looked forward again, still dragging the small girl behind. "So stop complaining and start walking. Pleeeaaase?"
The red head just groaned, grumbling some words to herself before slowly standing up on her two feet and taking a few steps. "If anyone walks up to me and looks right at my face, you're dead." She blinked a little, looking up at those antlers that towered above her. "Well... Maybe you're dead. You're antlers are really pretty."
Said Faunu' face went a deep shade of red. She quickly turned around, facing forward before taking several quick steps. "C-Come on! Hurry up already! I am not letting you walk on your own and be slow at it!" Ever since she was little, compliments on her Faunus heritage always made her blush.
Kris just blinked, tilting her head some. "Was it... something I said?" She raised and eyebrow, quickly taking steps to follow behind her.
A while later, Elise jumped to her feet and pointed across the road. "Found 'em!" She called out.
Kagami just glanced over, watching Cheyenne wave from the other sidewalk while Kris just death glared. "Well... they seem to be having fun." She blinked, looking over at Elise who shrugged.
Cheyenne and Kris waited a few seconds before crossing, letting the cars past by. Once back together, Cheyenne moved her hands behind her back and held them tight. "So... how do you guys like Vale?"
"It's a nice city." Kagami mumbled, though honestly, she could have stand with less buildings and a lot less air pollution.
"They have so many pretty things!" Elise screeched, her hands together as she jumped up and down slightly. "I am going to buy them all one day and take them back home for my parents! I... just need the lien first... then maybe I could buy one thing..." She blinked a little before sighing.
Kris just blinked a little before tilting her head. "You... can't tell me you're THAT poor." All the attention was suddenly on the small girl. She slowly reached up, grabbing her hood and pulling it over her face. "Don't look at me like that!"
"Huh?" Elise blinked, looking over at Cheyenne.
Cheyenne just sighed, pointing over at Kris. "She's freaking out because she doesn't have the so called, right makeup on or something. I'm not for sure. But she doesn't want to be looked at."
"I LOOK UGLY!" The small girl cried out, hiding her face in her hands. "I LOOK COMPLETELY LIKE TRASH!"
"Uh..." Elise had a blank face while holding up her hand. "I... nevermind." She shook her head. "Anyway," She looked up at her two other teammates. "Who wants to go swimming!"
"Do you ever stop wanting to do things?" Kagami asked, glancing over at her.
"Yea," Cheyenne blinked. "I mean, I get not wanting to do nothing, but how fast does your brain move?" She raised an eyebrow.
She just blinked a few times before shrugging. "I dunno. But we should do something else. I'm bored of walking already."
Kagami just sighed, shaking her head softly. "Wow. Just wow."
"You're telling me." Cheyenne added. She just sighed, shrugging a bit. "Alright then, what shall we do then?"
"And preferably not swimming." The jade haired girl added with her hand up. "I can't swim and don't feel like drowning."
"You... can't swim?" Kris slowly pulled her hood down, blinking several times at Kagami.
Said girl's face just grew a faint shade of red before she quickly looked away. "No... not exactly. You see..." She trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Nevermind. I just can't swim."
The four stood in silence, all blinking for a while before stumbling from the sound of something exploding in the distance.
"Holy..." Kris looked up at the sky, seeing smoke fill the air.
"That's in the direction of the train tracks." Cheyenne mumbled. "Some wheels may have skipped the track and there might have been a wreck."
"All in favor of going and checking it out?" Elise asked, glancing back to the three others.
"I second you, but this is the only time." Kris said. She may be an immature child and she may hate the whole idea of being a Huntress, but still, like most other people, she didn't want to see anyone die. Even if humans were dumb and worthless in her mind.
Cheyenne just raised her hand with a nod. "People may need help. Whoever is there could use as much assistance as needed." Not only that, but there was also the fact it could have been a White Fang attack. If so, she felt too obligated to go help.
"Are you coming or what?" Kagami asked, already running down the sidewalk towards the smoke.
All three girls blinked, titling their heads before sprinting after her.
"Hey!" Elise cried out, flailing her arms.
"Wait up!" Cheyenne shouted, her hands cupped around hed mouth.
"Or slow down, damn it!" Kris snapped, already panting a little. They just had to run there. She just couldn't be a bird and fly there.
"Well how about you hurry up!" Kagami called back, moving her hand and motioning for the three of them to move faster. "Fire isn't going to put out itself!"
Kris just groaned, her jaw clenching. She just took a deep breath, bolting after her most likely insane leader.