Author's Notes
Hoo boy have I been gone awhile. A lot's been happening in my life, plenty bad at first, but then it was outshined with plenty good. I won't go into too many details, but my mental state and general feeling of self worth was in the gutter. Now, however, I've got my proper medication and I'm feeling so much better than I did before. I can't promise a return to the pace that I used to have, but I can say that I'm going to be writing and posting more frequently than I have been in recent months.
Monkey D Conan: Always glad to see you comment! I hope this chapter continues to impress.
Singular Ash: Man, it's been awhile huh? Great to see you again, I hope to see more of your reviews in the future.
Essiter: Always glad to see you too! Your reviews are very in-depth and incredibly appreciated. I will say one thing though: Don't forget the B in LGBT!
Thankfully, the rest of the semester was uneventful for COVE.
The most eventful things had gotten was the finals, mixed with the Haven and Shade students arriving.
Most students went back home during vacation—Ruby and Yang did, and Jaune took his whole team to Domremy with him. However, none of COVE had really anywhere they wanted to be.
Orchid had her family, but she had told them that she wanted to spend the summer with her team, and though her parents missed her, they understood. Neve, meanwhile, lived in the residential district and could see his family whenever he wanted, so he didn't see much of a reason to go back for the summer. So, it was decided that Team COVE would spend break together, and find ways to make the most of their time before it was back to the academic and physical grind.
When finals were finished, and the first day of break had officially begun, Violet woke up surprisingly early by her standards. Granted, by 'normal' standards, she was still a late riser, but waking up at 10 AM instead of 3 PM on a day off was, by all accounts, miraculous for her. She valued her sleep, and tended to stay up late into the night on days off when she had nothing else to do, but today was different.
Today they were going to spend the day out on the town, which was something that normally Violet wouldn't exactly be all for, but if it was with the rest of the team, she could deal with it. Hanging out with them had proved the best way to blunt the annoyance and distaste Violet, the veritable hermit she was, felt around larger groups of people.
Before she had even opened her eyes, her mind had begun to pull itself out of its slumber. Not because of the sun peering through the windows, rising in the sky as it was, nor because of any alarm, she had found that she didn't need one with her team around. Instead, it was a delicious and beckoning smell. Sweet and warm, it smelled kind of like…
Home.
As Violet stirred and sat up while blinking her eyes open, she couldn't help but feel a small smile tugging at her lips. Never before would she have imagined herself as being happy to wake up anytime before the afternoon, but then again, she had never believed that she'd get such good friends as a result of following in her grandfather's footfalls.
'Footfalls, hah.'
Violet snickered to herself before throwing back her covers. She was wearing the same pajamas she usually wore, a black silk top with a matching pair of bottoms. She heard Orchid talking to Neve, though she didn't pay much attention to what it was about. She also saw Ebony, sleeping on the balcony this time. Though they hadn't gotten her to kick her habit of sleeping in random places, they had at least gotten her to sleep closer to the dorms, rather than further out like she used to on occasion.
She normally would go straight to showering, but she figured that today the best thing to do first would be to wake Ebony. She cleared her throat as she made her way over to the sliding door of the balcony and pulled it open. Ebony was sleeping on her side, facing the door, and Violet saw the uneasy expression she wore. She couldn't remember a time they had found Ebony asleep and she actually looked peaceful, she mentioned nightmares, but was never particular about what they were.
Violet reached out and gently shook Ebony's shoulder while softly saying, "Ebony, time to get up." Ebony whined, an admittedly surprisingly cute sound from the otherwise very closed off and distant girl. Violet smiled slightly, but still shook her again. "C'mon…"
Ebony turned away, and so Violet huffed before saying, "Neve's making waffles. Smells like Red Sap to me."
Almost immediately, Ebony sat up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, but muttered. "Alright, alright, I'm awake." As both girls stood up, Ebony moved past Violet while saying mid-yawn, "I'm gonna use the bathroom."
After Ebony disappeared into the bathroom, Violet stepped fully inside again and closed the sliding door. She then walked over to the kitchen to see what the others were up to. Once there, she saw that Orchid was setting out the plates as Neve filled them with waffles. They noticed her as she stepped into view, and Orchid smiled at her. "Morning, Violet. Putting off your shower for a bit?"
"Yeah." Violet responded, moving to take a seat. "Ebony's in the bathroom right now, but you know her. She'll be out in a second." She looked at the plate placed in front of her, the waffles were red in color due to the Red Sap, and between the sight and smell, Violet's mouth was already watering. Yet, she held herself back. "So, what are we doing first?"
Orchid grinned as she set down the last plate, her own, and then promptly took a seat. "We're going shopping! I've been talking about taking you and Ebony out for months to get some new clothes, and now's the perfect time to do it."
Violet's face scrunched up slightly, but she relented with a huff. "That's right, I did say I'd do that eventually…" She shrugged. "I've never felt like I needed that many outfits, but if you're paying, then…"
Orchid nodded. "Yep, I'm paying, it's only fair after all. Besides, I've got a decent amount saved up from the stipend the school gives us. Been waiting for a chance to splurge, and today's definitely the day."
During their discussion, Neve continued to move about the kitchen, grabbing a Dr. Spicy out of the fridge and setting it down in front of Violet, and she flashed him a grateful smile as he went about grabbing everyone else's drinks. While he was doing so, he said, "I can't say I'll be getting much out of clothes shopping, but I don't mind just seeing what Orchid ends up doing with Ebony."
"Doing with Ebony?" Violet pondered, rubbing her chin as she turned her attention towards the songstress of the team. "What're you planning?" Already, her mind was awash with all kinds of scenarios, both wholesome and not-so. There were, after all, tons of things that could happen on a day such as this, and especially where clothes were involved.
Orchid huffed and shook her head as Neve handed her her own drink, iced tea, and went off to get his own drink. Once she had her drink, she said, "Nothing weird, unlike all the things I know are going on in your head. I'm just going to get her some new outfits. She's worn the same pair of clothes for months! I swear, if it wasn't for the uniform, we'd never get a chance to wash it. That's all, so keep the fanfiction on your computer, huh? I know you've written lots of weird things."
Violet sputtered and had the audacity to look indignant as she crossed her arms and looked away. "Wh-What are you talking about? I've never written anything weird before, all my fanfiction is entirely normal stuff." A blatant lie, but the depths of her true depravity were not to be breached without good reason!
Neve, now with his own Dr. Spicy, sat down at the table, where he had already put his plate, and shook his head. "You're not a good liar, Violet. You're practically sweating. Besides, Ebony and I already saw some of it."
Violet's face barely had time to pale before Ebony was heard in the back, having finished 'cleaning', wearing much the same clothes she had gone to sleep in. "Yeah, some weird story about a black haired girl and a blue eyed boy starting off enemies and then becoming lovers. You left it open on your computer one day."
To say Violet had never known such horror before would be an understatement, she was entirely mortified of what she was hearing. She stammered as she lowered her silver gaze to her plate, "L-Look, it's just for a fandom I'm in. That's just regular stuff, I swear!"
Mercifully, Neve chuckled and said, "Don't worry about it Violet, I know it's just some piece of fanfiction for some show or manga you like." He shrugged. "I might have no idea what the story was really about, but hey, you're a good writer."
Violet's relief was palpable as she let out a sigh and smiled as she looked at Neve. "O-Oh, good. Thank you." She shifted awkwardly in her seat, especially as she felt Orchid's gaze on her. The other girl was, by most metrics, what Violet would consider a 'normie', but she had a surprising depth of knowledge on a lot of things that Violet thought were only to be spoken of online.
However, thankfully for Violet, Neve turned his attention to Orchid and asked, "So, when do you want to leave? As soon as we all eat?" He glanced at Ebony as she walked past and grabbed the plate he'd prepared for her, stacked high with waffles, and the syrup bottle that had a simple paper note drawn over the branding, 'Ebony'.
Orchid smiled, thankfully (once again) for Violet more than willing to let the previous matter drop. "Yeah, after Violet takes a shower we'll head out." She looked to her fellow Faunus and said, "Just don't take an hour! I'm giving you thirty minutes, any longer than that and I'll drag you out myself." Meanwhile, Ebony headed for her chair and sat down at the table, dumping a large amount of the bottled syrup onto the pancakes and then beginning to eat them, not even bothering with a fork and knife, instead just grabbing them and tearing them apart, devouring them with little care for her cleanliness.
Neve huffed at Ebony's display, but didn't say anything. At least, not yet. Instead, he turned his attention to Orchid and tried to ignore the frankly barbaric behavior on full display at his table. "Alright," he turned his attention to the subject of Orchid's warning, "that sound good Violet?"
As if the morning couldn't get any worse! Violet wished that she had taken a bath first, before sitting down. That'll teach her to socialize! "No, but I know better than to hold Orchid up." She crossed her arms and huffed. "I still can't believe you actually did that, you know."
"What can I say?" Orchid smirked. "You were taking too long and I needed to shower, I wasn't about to wait until you'd killed every germ on your body. You know there's no germ Grimm right?"
"You don't know that!" Violet responded quickly and sharply, huffing before focusing on her food. A girl could only take so much bullying before her shower! 'Oh well, at least I'll be able to shower soon.'
Bullying aside, she still felt today was going to be fun.
/-/
To say Orchid was excited was an understatement.
Orchid was absolutely ecstatic at the idea of being able to finally get Ebony some new clothes. The girl had worn the same outfit every day, the only exception being her school uniform, and thank the Brothers for that, because otherwise they'd have never been able to wash the thing.
But no more! The team headed for Diogenes' Closet, a fair-priced clothing chain that Orchid found she liked after a few visits on her own.
Neither Neve nor Violet particularly cared for the idea of getting any new clothes—much to Orchid's chagrin in Violet's case—so they ended up sitting on a bench outside the changing rooms while Orchid led Ebony through the shop, gathering up piles of clothes and singing under her breath while seemingly ignoring the look on Ebony's face, that of a woman who really wished she wasn't there.
Not that one needed to look at her face to tell she didn't want to be here, her words were proof enough. "Do we really have to do this? I've been living off one or two sets of clothes my whole life, it's nothing."
"'It's nothing' she says." Orchid resisted the urge to scoff, that'd be uncalled for. "Yeah, it's nothing, that's the point. You need to have more outfits, and that's final!"
Though Ebony grumbled, she didn't make any efforts to leave. Instead, she followed along as if it were a funeral march. Orchid collected several different types of outfits: Things that Ebony might wear normally, things Orchid wasn't sure if Ebony would wear, and things she was almost certain Ebony wouldn't wear, but she wanted to see her in them anyway.
Once she'd gathered it all, they headed to the changing room that Neve and Violet were outside of, waiting. However, Orchid didn't really pay much attention to it, too intent on shepherding Ebony into the clothing stall and then following her in to help her out (and to make sure she actually put the clothes on).
Once they were inside, Orchid selected an outfit and held it out to her. "Here, try this one on."
Ebony grimaced at it, but did as she was asked. The first outfit was mercifully simple: A solid pink short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans along with her usual shoes. When Ebony looked herself over in the mirror, her first reaction was simply to say, "I don't like pink."
To which Orchid pouted, but relented nonetheless. "Alright, hold on." She separated a couple more outfits that had pink as a primary color and set them aside to be returned to where they came from. "Go ahead and get out of that, let's try something different."
Ebony did as she was asked, setting aside the clothes. Orchid handed her yet another outfit, and this one seemed significantly more her speed. A sleeveless black zip-up top with a small v-neck, a short black skirt with frills at the end, a pair of black and red horizontally striped socks, and a new pair of black boots. She looked herself over, and she had to do her best to suppress a small smirk—the idea of Orchid getting the idea that she wanted to do this more often was horrifying to her. "I like this one."
Orchid grinned slightly. "Great, we'll buy that one. Let's move on to the next one." While she was gathering up the next outfit, she asked, "So, you've never been clothes shopping, have you ever really… done anything for fun?" She realized that that comment might have come off as a bit insensitive, but she also knew that Ebony wouldn't mind.
Indeed, Ebony didn't even register the comment as being off. "Not really. Life's always just been about survival for me. It's never been anything but." She lowered her head slightly in contemplation before looking over herself in the mirror. "This is… the most 'normal' I've ever felt, admittedly." It was a strange feeling, but a good one.
"Don't worry," Orchid began, already sorting out another outfit, "if it's up to Neve and I, then you'll be a lot more used to doing normal things in no time! Not that Violet isn't normal, but, well… she's kind of not, and she knows that." She chuckled.
Ebony tilted her head slightly as she heard Neve's name mentioned, and then at the comment on Violet she snickered slightly. "Even I know she's not normal. As for Neve… he's already been a lot of help." She smiled softly. "He helped me learn how to cook better. I'm still not great at it, but I'm better." A question came to her mind, maybe a strange one for her to ask, but this whole circumstance was weird. "So… what do you think of Neve? I hear talking about boys is… normal, but… I know you like girls."
Orchid chuckled. "Oh, I put the bee in LGBT, Ebony. I like everybody. As for him… I don't know." She smiled at the thought of him. "He's a great friend, but… I don't know if I feel anything like that towards him, and I'm pretty sure he just views me as a friend too. That's no big deal." She took the clothes she'd prepared and held them out. "Here, change into this."
"Right, that's a thing." Ebony commented, having genuinely forgotten about it. She had trouble remembering what the different kinds of things were, hell, she didn't even know what she was! "I'm not sure how I feel about… people. I don't care about anyone that's not you guys, I know that much." She began to change into the next outfit.
Meanwhile, Orchid nodded, having more or less been expecting something like that. After all, Ebony had, as far as she knew, only one positive adult figure in her life. What happened to her was still a mystery to Orchid, but she supposed Ebony would tell her when she was ready. "Figuring out these things can take time, there's no harm in it. Maybe you just don't care about romance? Or maybe someone has to be really close to you first." She shrugged. "Like I said, you'll figure it out."
The next outfit went on and the old one was set aside to be purchased later. This one began with a burnt orange short-sleeve shirt with a little flame over the heart and a pair of black travel pants. Then, on went a bolero that stopped around her stomach, above her waist. It was colored blue close to the top, but faded into burnt orange and then fiery red at the ends. Finally, there was a regular pair of black boots without the long 'necks' as Ebony had taken to calling them.
As Ebony looked over the outfit, her eyes widened and her heart twisted, seeing herself in it. It reminded her of the kind of outfit her mom would wear, the kind of outfit she'd put her in. She stared at herself, her ears began to ring, and her eyes glistened.
Orchid at first wasn't sure what Ebony was feeling, but seeing the way she stared and ignored as she tried to get her attention, Orchid realized she had accidentally struck some kind of chord. She needed a way to get Ebony out of whatever spiral she was going down, and so she looked around before finally finding what she was looking for. She grabbed a black and red choker, styled kind of like a dog collar, although without the spikes that Ebony had. "Here!"
She reached out and gently took off Ebony's already-existent choker, and as she did, moving the other girl's hair out of the way and seeing the back of her neck, she noticed something. There was a tattoo on the back of her neck, a black spoked wheel with a yellow eye turned sideways. She thought about bringing it up, but she felt that Ebony probably kept it hidden for a reason.
Ebony, meanwhile, noticed the removal of her choker, but she didn't panic. She didn't mind if Orchid saw the tattoo—she wouldn't know what it meant, anyway. She didn't know what it tied back to. "Ah… sorry." A rare apology from the girl. She blinked a few times. "This outfit, it just… it reminded me of something my mom would've gotten for me. She was never very creative with her outfits, she kind of just dressed me up as a mini-her a lot of the time." Except Shi wore chest-wrapping as part of her regular outfit, and she expressly forbade Ebony from doing the same, saying she was too young. Ebony then decided to change the topic. "Is this…?"
"A new choker." Orchid began, glad to see that Ebony was brought back to Remnant. Nobody should be allowed to float that far off on their own—the air was cold up in the atmosphere, and it made one forget how to breathe.
She heard Violet and Neve talking outside—the conversation had briefly shifted to Ebony. Violet made a joke about Ebony wandering off all the time and suggested buying a leash. Orchid was intrigued to see how that comment made Ebony's pale skin heat a dark red. "You do need a leash, you know." Orchid coyly joked as she fastened the new choker to her. "How else are we going to keep you from running off all the time?" She giggled slightly. "You don't seem to have a problem with that concept."
Ebony's blush only darkened as her eyes tried to look anywhere but the smirk on Orchid's face, especially as the other girl still had her hands on the choker, which was now around Ebony's neck. "U-Uhm… I-I- ah… i-it's…. I… I don't know what this feeling is."
Orchid felt she had an idea, she tapped on the choker. "I know what it is, but…" she grinned a lopsided grin, "for your sake I'll explain it later. So… is the outfit… too much?" That seemed the best way to change the topic again, now that Ebony was not so distant.
Ebony, to Orchid's surprise, shook her head. "N-No. It just… reminded me of my mom. That's…. Not a bad thing." She swallowed a lump in her throat, still all too keenly aware of the choker around her neck. "I want to keep it. D-Do we have any other outfits?"
"Yep!" Orchid was relieved that Ebony liked the outfit, she was genuinely scared for a moment that she'd done something to offend the girl.
With that over with, the girls went through a few different outfits, some of which Ebony liked, others Ebony very much didn't (no matter how hard Orchid tried, Ebony was never going to like the 'girly' aesthetic), and eventually there was only one more outfit that they hadn't tried on. Ebony looked at it, and asked, "What about that one?"
Orchid smirked. "Oh, that one? It's a special little something I got you for later. Try it on, but you won't be wearing it until… later. Trust me, though, you're going to look absolutely beautiful."
While the two girls were still trying on outfits, Neve and Violet had been having their own conversation the whole time. It had gone through a few different topics, but now it was on a distinctly Violet topic. The girl's incredulous voice set the mood. "What do you mean you've never watched Spirit Eater?!"
Neve shrugged, smiling slightly in spite of Violet's chagrin. "Just never saw it, same with that one about people who are… what was it, death spirits or something?"
Frankly, Violet was about ready to smack Neve upside the head for not knowing about that. Yet, she restrained herself, instead taking a deep breath and huffing. "So I'm guessing you don't know about Melancholy?"
"I've… heard of it?" Neve shrugged. "Something about a girl with god-like powers? Very anime." He had never previously been that big into anime, instead preferring to consume western media, though he had no problems with anime, he had simply never really thought much about it.
Violet rubbed her forehead, muttering, "Gods above you're such a normie." She then looked at him again. "I think I'm starting to get what kind of person you are, now more than ever." She asked the question that would confirm or deny it, "Have you watched Kamaboko?" The mega-hit show about a world where ninjas instead of Huntsmen dominated the world, living in hidden villages and practicing Jutsu.
Just as Violet suspected, Neve's eyes lit up with recognition. "Ah, yeah! I watched that one all the time on Cartoonami when I was a kid, it was really the only anime I knew anything about growing up. I stopped watching it when that block ended, though."
Violet sighed, but she supposed she could understand. Most people didn't exactly partake in anime, and while it was a lot more popular now than it used to be, there were still plenty of people who didn't know the first thing about it. "Clearly, we're going to have to fix that." She smirked. "One of these days soon, we'll have a viewing party, and we're all going to watch some classic anime together."
To which, Neve found that he couldn't really complain. He shrugged and smiled as he said, "That sounds fun, sure." Of course he didn't mind—it was another thing they could do together as friends, and as a team, the way he saw it, there was no downside to this.
Before the conversation could continue, the door to the changing room finally opened. Ebony was carrying several bags of clothes, while Orchid was holding a bunch still on their hangers, clearly stuff that didn't make the cut. She grinned at the other two and said, "All done! I'm going to put these back where they were, be right back."
As she walked off, Violet looked at Ebony sympathetically. "You're finally free. She didn't traumatize you or anything, did she?" She stood up and went over to her partner, stopping short of putting a hand on her shoulder, although it was clear she was thinking about it, at least to Neve, still watching from where he was sitting.
Ebony thought about the experience, and though her face heated up at the thought of the 'choker incident', she was surprisingly okay with how everything went. Although, she still felt glad to be back in her old outfit for right now. "No, it was… it was okay. I'm glad I don't have to do it again anytime soon, though."
Neve pitched in as he stood up, stretching and saying, "Yep, luckily clothes shopping isn't something you need to worry about regularly unless you want to, and I don't think Orchid is going to force you to go shopping with her every weekend." Orchid was many things, but unreasonable wasn't one of them.
Ebony was glad for that, they'd been in there for almost two hours, and though it hadn't been a negative experience overall, she was glad to keep it in the past for now. "So… what next?"
That was when Orchid returned, now without the clothes that had been cast aside, consigned to remain in the store as they were. "We should take a walk around town, just see where the day takes us! Once we get hungry, we can stop and eat somewhere. I'd say we should go to Neve's place, but I imagine he wants to try something else."
Neve nodded at that. "As much as I love the food at the Changing Seasons, today's a day for new things, not relying on the old." He thought for a moment before saying, "I've heard there's this place called the Tekk and Toast Cafe on the other side of the commercial district. I've heard good things from it, so we should check that place out."
Neither Ebony nor Violet really had any opinions on where to go, and so it fell to Orchid, who simply nodded. "Sounds like a plan! Then let's go and pay for this stuff and get it back to Beacon before we hit the town again, don't want Ebony to have to carry all of this around all day."
And so they did, together they turned and left, with Orchid paying for the clothes before they did.
/-/
The trip back to Beacon before heading back into the city didn't take very long.
With most schools and academies on break combined with the continued preparations for the Vytal Festival, the streets were fairly busy. Granted, the Commercial District was almost always busy, but it had become busier still thanks to the aforementioned circumstances.
The team went around, mostly just taking in the sights and hanging out together, although at one point they stopped at an arcade. Violet was able to handily win just about every game she set her mind to, and got a prize, although she only showed what it was to Orchid, who promptly hid it in her purse (which she had gotten from their dorm prior to heading back out). When asked about it, Violet said that it was something she'd show them later.
When it came to be around two PM, they were all hungry enough to head to the Tekk and Toast cafe for lunch.
It was called a cafe, but that was really an understatement. It was a decent sized building with plenty of places to sit, booths for people to order food at, tables to sit at, and even a bar, though it was clear that it was closed at this time of day, no doubt nobody there was quite a fan of daylight alcoholics. The general aesthetic of the place was very modern, compared to the more homey style of The Changing Seasons, with a color scheme of white, blue, and a veritable rainbow of other colors for the various booths.
They were greeted by someone when they entered, a black haired woman with earthy brown eyes and pale skin, her hair was cut short, and she wore a pair of jeans and a dark green T-shirt. The nametag she had named her as Gaia, and she greeted them, "Hey guys! Table for four?
They agreed and were shown to a booth, and once they were settled in, a waiter approached them, a cat Faunus boy with brown hair, a blue and yellow jacket with purple around the wrists and a massive golden zipper that looked like a soda can top, finished off with loose purple pants and running shoes. The man regarded them with a neutral expression while he dryly remarked, "Welcome to the Tekk and Toast cafe, the bombest cafe in Vale. What'll you be having for drinks?"
Orchid felt the only thing that was missing from him was a large purple button that read 'I Really Wish I Weren't Here Right Now', but she didn't think about that for long. Instead, they each gave their answer for what they wanted before the waiter turned and left to gather their drinks.
While he was gone, Ebony took time to look around the cafe. It was busy, but there were a few different kinds of people that stood out to her. For example, she saw a man in a flannel having a debate with a man wearing fleece and a fedora with blue glasses about which of their clothing tastes was better, and it seemed to be a fairly lively debate.
Aside from them, there was a man messing with what looked to be a handheld radio sitting at one of the tables, a woman with snow white hair and blue eyes who looked kind of like Weiss was taking his order (or trying to, he seemed distracted), although based on the dress she was wearing Ebony felt that she was probably more than just a waiter. There was also a guy sitting in a corner with someone else, they looked like brothers, and one of them was waving around the key to some sort of car as if he'd won the lottery.
In addition, there was another man who looked fairly skinny, with red hair that went down to his back as he seemed to be working on a poster of some kind, which from what Ebony could tell was some sort of advertisement for the cafe of his own design.
A man who was drawing at a table, a woman who looked as if she really wanted a drink but was holding back so she wouldn't get thrown out… the place was eclectic, there was no doubt about that.
Their waiter came back and gave them their drinks, and he was about to take their orders when the door to the cafe opened and a blue-haired woman stepped in, though she didn't seem intent on getting a table. Instead, she marched towards the waiter, and he muttered, "Oh crap." before he turned and ran, while she gave chase.
COVE was left without a waiter for a moment as Ebony blinked a few times. "What just happened?" She pondered, though the others shrugged and had no idea themselves, either.
Eventually someone new came, a waitress with light blonde hair with purple tips that went to her back and was very unkempt and messy. She had a fox tail, her skin was pale, and she looked tired, as if she hadn't gotten much sleep or if she'd just been that busy. She muttered, "Fuckin' hell, every year…" before managing a smile and speaking up to the four, "Sorry about that. I'll take your orders, what'll you have?"
Ebony felt like she recognized the woman somehow, but she wasn't sure from where. It was likely she'd stolen from her before when she was younger, or maybe she just had a familiar face. Either way, there really wasn't much time to dwell on it as everyone made their orders and the woman took their orders before stepping away.
Violet stated the obvious after taking a sip from her Dr. Spicy, "This place is busy. Filled with weird people, too." Not that she was in any place to call people 'weird', she was really damn weird herself. "I'm surprised I haven't heard of it before."
Neve shrugged as he leaned back in his booth seat, Orchid was sitting next to him closer to the window, while Violet and Ebony were opposite to them. "It's pretty popular, but they don't do any advertising really, so it's all word of mouth. It works for them since their service and food is so good, even if things can get… weird here sometimes."
Orchid looked to where their previous waiter had gotten to. He had apparently taken to hiding in a utility closet, and she could only tell that by the blue haired woman continuing to bang on the door and telling him to come out so they could 'finish their debate about her vocal range'. Apparently this was a regular enough occurrence that nobody batted an eye at it. "It's got personality, that's for sure. We'll have to come here more often."
Neve nodded in agreement, while Ebony merely remarked, "I want to see how good the food tastes first…" Not that she was a picky eater, but they all needed to agree that the food was good if this was going to become a new meeting spot for them when they didn't want to go to the Changing Seasons.
They chatted idly while they waited for their food, with Violet remembering what she wanted to do and saying, "Hey, Ebony, Orchid. I'm gonna for- uhm, have Neve watch some classic anime with me tomorrow or the day after, you guys want in too?"
Ebony had only ever really been able to sit around and watch TV if the others were there, and given that she had such trouble reading manga (thankfully Violet had been helping her with that), she found the idea of watching with the others to be appealing. "Sure thing."
Orchid, meanwhile, smirked. "I've watched some anime in my time, not a lot, but more than Neve I imagine." She giggled. "Not that I can blame him, it's not something someone would come across on their own normally." How she had gotten into it was left a mystery, as she simply said, "Yeah, that sounds great."
The waitress came back not long afterward, carrying their food on a tray. The fare looked good, with Orchid getting a salad and some pasta, Neve getting a Reuben sandwich, Violet getting a plate stacked high with different kinds of meat, and Ebony getting spaghetti, complete with parmesan on the top.
They all began to eat, although quickly their enjoyment of the fare was put aside as Ebony grabbed a handful of spaghetti with her hand and stuffed it into her mouth, getting sauce all over her face.
It wasn't the first time they'd done that, but while Orchid and Violet were both sort of resigned to it, Neve certainly wasn't. He tutted and grabbed some napkins. "Ebony, what have I told you about doing this? I know you grew up eating stuff in the wild, but you've gotta break that habit." He reached out with the napkin and Ebony could only make a face as Neve wiped the sauce off of her. The blush on Ebony's face was easy to miss, given the amount of red sauce she'd gotten on her.
Once Neve was finished cleaning her face, he took her hand and did the same thing. "Remember to use your fork." Once he was finished, he grabbed her fork and showed her what to do, twisting it until a bundle of spaghetti had gathered into it, then he held it out for Ebony to take. "Here, take the fork."
He really should have expected what happened next, but somehow he hadn't. Instead of taking the fork, Ebony just opened her mouth and ate the spaghetti off the fork he was holding. The other two snickered, while he watched her with a look of surprise for a moment, before it softened and he just smirked. "You know that's not what I was trying to do, but okay. Do you get it now?"
Ebony nodded and took the fork. "Yeah, uhm… thanks." She had to stop and wonder why she'd just done what she did, but ultimately she decided that it didn't really need to be investigated that deeply. Instead, she focused on eating her food—this time, the right way.
Violet looked as if she was taking mental notes of that whole exchange. The smile on her face was once again best described as 'perverse', although this time she didn't say anything. Instead, she focused on eating her food while making mental notes about things she could add to the next chapter of her fanfiction.
Orchid was smiling all the while as well, although her smile was just one of happiness. Seeing Ebony and Neve getting along so well had never quite gotten old, after the amount of vitriol Ebony had for him before. Now, they were clearly a hell of a lot closer. 'Almost… that close. I think I kind of get what Violet was talking about now…' Not that Orchid would ever admit that, because it was just wrong to think of friends that way.
After a beat, Violet asked, "So… what's next after this? Do we have anywhere else we want to go?"
Now Orchid's smile turned to a smirk, because she knew exactly where they were going to go. "Oh, absolutely. There's this karaoke place where we could get a private room and sing our hearts out. We could get some drinks and stuff too! Although we should really be light on the alcohol." Alcohol and karaoke went about as well together as one might think, but they were still popular together. Huntsmen students were allowed to drink at age seventeen, given the dangerous profession they had, rules regarding liquor were different for them.
Violet looked a bit horrified at the idea. "Karaoke?! I'm terrible at singing!" Yet, she huffed and looked away. "Still… I guess if it's with you guys, then it's no big deal." When she was with them, she really felt like she could do just about anything, and then some extra on top. "Fine, I'm in."
Ebony tilted her head at the idea, before shrugging. "Alright, sure." She didn't exactly know what 'shame' was, so the idea of singing with them didn't register as something to be embarrassed about. Instead, she kind of liked the idea. "It could be fun."
Neve was slightly apprehensive at the idea, but that was, he felt, normal. He felt close enough to all of them that the idea of singing didn't bother him much at all, so long as there was nobody else watching them. "Sounds like a fun time, especially if there's a bit of drinking involved. I'll make sure we don't go overboard." He could only imagine what a drunk Ebony would be like, and he'd rather not find out for real.
So, with their plan set, they returned to eating. Mercifully, they had no more incidents with food, and it seemed like their old waiter was able to escape the woman chasing after him after a while, as he returned to give them their check and apologized for running off before leaving.
None of them paid it might mind, especially not Orchid, because she had karaoke to look forward to.
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After they finished eating, they left and made their way towards the karaoke place Orchid had in mind.
The Karaoke Korner was a nicely sized karaoke joint, with a person at the desk up front. Orchid talked to them and received four mics and the tablets they needed to select and play the music they wanted to. Then, they made their way to one of the rooms.
It was decently sized, with blue carpets, noise-canceling wall paneling, two dark blue couches, and a flatscreen TV they could use the tablet to send the lyrics of the song they were singing to. There were different screens on all sides of the wall, so that one could look anywhere they needed to and could still see the lyrics they wanted to sing.
They decided to go in the order of their team name, which meant Neve was first, followed by Orchid, then Violet, and finishing with Ebony.
After they settled into the couches, Neve looked through the tablet to find a song to sing. There were a lot of options, but he decided not to overthink it too much, given that the others were going to be waiting for their turn while he looked. Finally, he settled on a song named True Kind of Love and grabbed the mic, smirking slightly as Orchid and the others cheered him on as he stepped forward and turned towards them, clearing his throat as he did.
The song began, a syncopated and jazzy beat that maintained a certain lightness to it. Neve began to sing, "Oh, when a difficult day goes by~ Keeping it together is hard but that's why~ You've got to try… You've got to try…"
Orchid leaned forward slightly, smiling. Violet smiled as well, recognizing the song well, while Ebony had clearly never heard it before, but was giving it her full attention.
Neve remained focused on the song, watching the lyrics as they came. "And when~ there's a thundering storm outside~ Underneath the covers you huddle and hide… Open your eyes! Open your eyes~" He briefly cast his gaze out over the team, smiling as he saw them watching intently.
He continued to look at them as he sang the first chorus. "It's the true, it's the true, It's the true kinda love! It's the true, it's the true It's the true kinda love!" As the song continued, he held out a hand briefly at the first lyric. "Stuck! In the middle of fear and shame…" He lowered his hand. "Everybody's looking for someone to blame! Like it's a game… Like it's a game…"
He placed a hand on his chest. "And now! I am better than 'win-or-lose'~ There's a new direction that I'd like to choose! It's called the truth! It's called the truth~!"
His gaze shifted to Ebony specifically at the next verse. "Oh, tell me how does it feel to cry~? Let your armor down, we've got nothing but time… nothing but time… nothing but time…" It clearly surprised her, but she smiled softly and her gaze held a certain softness to it as well.
He once more cast his gaze out to the whole team. "And when! There's a murmur inside your heart…Lying to you saying we're worlds apart… Don't even start! You're a work of art… You're a work of art…"
As the song entered another chorus, he saw Orchid's smile was now a grin, while Ebony was listening more intently than ever, and Violet kept a smile on her face. "Yeah, it's the true kinda love… It's the true kinda love…"
He held his hand out to them again, as if offering it for them to take. "Hey, you, show me that solvable problem~! We can get through this. I'll do the hardest part with you~"
As the song reached its final chorus, he retracted his hand. "It's the true, it's the true… It's the true kinda love… It's the true, it's the true… It's the true kinda love… It's the true, it's the true… It's the true kinda love! It's the true, it's the true~ It's the true kinda love…"
As the lyrics came to an end, the others began to clap. Orchid's grin was infectious as Neve, too, grinned, while she said, "I didn't know you could sing! It had some parts that could use work, but you're a lot better than some people!"
Neve shrugged awkwardly as he smiled and went to sit down, "Ah, well… thank you." He wasn't quite sure how to take that compliment, but luckily for him, Orchid got up after entering the song she wanted to sing, Fallen Angel.
He watched as she went to lean against the wall near them, closing her eyes but holding the mic up to sing into it as the song's synthwave and rock mixture began. She sang softly, "Heaven, please sing for me a song of life… Heaven, take me into your skies… There's no place here for me to hide my cries! Night and day, I'm missing you, ooh…"
She pushed off the wall and began to pace slightly, a hand on her chest as she sang. "I know I'm here for the magic… All your stars guiding me through and through~"
She leaned on the opposite wall, a small smile on her face as she closed her eyes again. "Oh why, this loneliness feels like forever, and ever. I gotta be, I gotta be, in your arms, baby! You're so close! And it's you that I believe in! So close, but far away— so far I can't touch-"
She pushed off the wall, her honey gold eyes opening as she smiled at them. "I'll hold on!" She held out a hand towards them. "'Causе it's you I love so dearly… When thе rain, the storm, and all is done, caress me with your sweet lullaby" She retracted her hand and continued nodding her head along to the song as she went back to pacing.
All the while, as Neve watched her sing this ethereal song, and watched her embody it so perfectly, he couldn't help but find himself… enamored. He leaned forward, watching with all of his attention focused on her.
"Heaven, please sing for me a song of life! Heaven, save me in my dreams tonight…: She gestured back, as if she was gesturing to something behind her. "Someday these wings will perish at your sight!"
She turned in place as she reached the wall opposite to her, leaning against it again. "Night and day I call for you, ooh…"
She continued to sing, staying against the wall as she leaned her head against it. "Flashing in a moment so tragic! Wandering souls, they fall along the way~ Tell me you will never leave me forever, and ever… I gotta be, I gotta be, in your arms, hear me!"
She was entirely in her element, and the other three could see that. Neve, more than anything, found himself trying to ignore a fluttering feeling in his chest.
She pushed off the wall and began to act, placing the back of her wrist on her forehead as she turned slightly, mimicking the classic image of a woman in distress. "You're so close! And it's you that I believe in!" She broke the pose and swept her hand out to them. "So close, but far away so far I can't touch! I'll hold on! 'Cause it's you I love so dearly! When the wind, the fire, and all is calm, caress me with your sweet lullaby…"
She turned away again, pacing slower than before as she softly sang the next verse. "Will you be my light? Will you be my strength? Promise you won't let me go! I'll never betray and, in the end of time~ Still, my love's gonna be there!"
As the song picked up again, she too picked up, turning towards them and holding her hand to her chest as she kept singing. "You're so close! And it's you that I believe in! So close, but far away so far I can't touch! I'll hold on! 'Cause it's you I love so dearly. When the rain, the storm, and all is done, caress me with your sweet lullaby."
She clenched her fist, keeping it near to her heart. "You're so close, so close… And it's you that I believe in!"
She backed away from them, holding out her hand as if she was reaching out to them. "So close, but far away so far I can't touch. I'll hold on! 'Cause it's you I love so dearly! When the rain, the storm, and all is done! Caress me with your sweet lullaby!"
As she sang the last lyric, she moved back to her seat, sitting next to Neve as she leaned back and closed her eyes while looking towards the ceiling, continuing to sing. "You're so close, so close. You're so close, so close…"
As the song ended, Violet and Ebony began to clap and she grinned as she opened her eyes and set the mic down. "Well, how was that?"
Violet chuckled as she crossed her arms and leaned back. "As if it would be anything but amazing, you're the one who's a professional singer here."
Ebony nodded in agreement. "There wasn't any way it was going to be bad, unless you were trying really hard to make it suck."
Orchid looked at Neve and asked him with a smile, "How about you, Neve?"
Neve had just been looking at her for a few moments, especially as she sat next to him. As she addressed him, he cleared his throat and looked away, failing to ignore the butterflies and the way his heart pounded. Luckily, the others didn't notice. "It was fantastic. The others are right…" he chuckled softly, "what else could it be?"
Violet stood up after entering her song, replying with, "It could be this!" She stepped forward, having selected a song called This is Why. Neve was grateful for the swift continuation, it meant he could get himself under control a lot easier.
The song began smooth and with a steady drum beat before rising and having a bass take center stage before the singing began. Violet sang with a sweet tone at first. "If you have an opinion…" Her tone grew a bit sharper as she smirked. "Maybe you should shove it! Or maybe you could scream it… Might be best to keep it!"
She didn't perform like Orchid did, but she did put everything she had into the song. "To yourself! To yourself~"
She stomped her foot once as the next verse began. "This is why! I don't leave the house! You say the coast is clear, but you won't catch me out! Oh, why~? This is why!"
She pointed outward towards them all. "Better have conviction! 'Cause we want crimes of passion! Survival of the fittest! You're either with us or you can keep it…" She retracted her hand. "To yourself! To yourself! To yourself, yourself, yourself To yourself~!"
At the next verse, she began to pace. "This is why I don't leave the house! You say the coast is clear, but you won't catch me out! Oh, why~? This is why!"
Once more, she came to a stop and placed her free hand on her hip, leaning forward slightly as if she was telling them something obvious. "This is why I don't leave the house. You say the coast is clear, but you won't catch me out! Oh, why~? This is why!"
She leaned back up and walked over to a wall, leaning against it as she continued to sing. "One step beyond your door! It might as well have been a free fall~" She gestured downward with her free hand, mimicking something falling. "One step beyond your door… Falling down an endless hall. One step beyond your door, might as well have been a free fall! One step beyond your door, and I'm floating like a cannonball~!"
She pushed off the wall and stomped her foot once. "This is why I don't leave the house! You say the coast is clear, but you won't catch me out! Oh, why~? This is why! This is why I don't leave the house!"
As she played out the final chorus, the others began to clap as she finished the song. "You say the coast is clear, but, oh no, won't catch me out! Oh, why~? This is why!"
Once the song was over, Orchid clapped again and exclaimed, "That was fun! Are you sure that song's not your life motto or something?"
Violet huffed as she went to sit down next to Ebony again. "I mean maybe it used to be, maybe, but I go outside now! All the time! Granted, it's… because of you guys, but still!"
Before any of them could say anything else, Ebony stood up. "Alright, let's do this." She took her mic and stalked forward, not looking at any of them. She seemed downright determined to sing this song, and it was likely that she'd spent the past several minutes talking herself into doing just that. Now, there was no stopping her as the beginning of Bury the Light began to play with an ominous violin and building orchestra.
She began to sing in her husky voice, keeping the lyrics soft at first. "Immortal temptation, takes over my mind. Condemned~ Falling weak on my knees… Summon the strength… Of mayhem~!"
As the guitar continued to play, she nodded her head along to it while keeping her eyes closed and looking down. It was only when the lyrics were about to kick in again that she looked up, and her blood red eyes seemed to burn with a passion rarely seen in the girl. "I am the storm that is APPROACHING~! PROVOKING! Black clouds in isolation! I am reclaimer of my NAME~!" As the next segment began, she turned away, holding a hand up as she did. "Born in flames! I have been blessed!" She clenched her fist and brought it down, while similarly looking down and growling out. "My family crest is A DEMON OF DEATH!"
As the next verse began, she started to pace, her voice remaining soft and gravelly. "Forsakened, I am awakened! A phoenix's ash in dark divine! Descending misery! Destiny chasing time~!"
She picked up and matched time as the lyrics got quicker, walking back and forth while staring down and occasionally looking up towards the lyrics to make sure she was going to get them right. "Inherit the nightmare, surrounded by fate… Can't run away… Keep walking the line… Between the light… Led astray~ Through vacant halls I won't surrendеr~! The truth revealеd in eyes of ember~! We fight through fire and ice forever~! Two souls once lost, and now they remember~!"
Her voice grew louder and more serious as the next verse hit. "I am the storm that is approaching! PROVOKING! Black clouds in isolation! I am reclaimer of my name~! Born in flames! I have been blessed!" Once more, she growled out the next lyric. "My family crest is a DEMON OF DEATH!"
She continued pacing while singing, loud and uncaring from her very heart. "Forsakened, I am awakened! A phoenix's ash in dark divine! Descending misery! Destiny chasing time~! Disappear into the night! Lost shadows left behind~! Obsession's pulling me~!" She mimed being pulled backwards, leaning on the wall as she sang the next lyric. "Fading, I've come to take what's mine~!"
She began to pace again as the lyrics grew softer and quicker, more conversational as she looked down and sang. "Lurking in the shadows under veil of night, constellations of blood pirouette, dancing through the graves of those who stand at my feet. Dreams of the black throne I keep on repeat. A derelict of dark, summoned from the ashes. The puppetmaster congregates all the masses. Pulling strings, twisting minds as blades hit. You want this power? Then come try and take it!"
She stopped pacing, but kept her eyes trained downward as she continued to sing. "Beyond the tree~! Fire~ burns~ Secret love~ Bloodline yearns~ Dark minds embrace… Crimson joy… Does your dim heart… Heal or destroy?"
At the massive instrumental breakdown, she finally looked up. She screamed out the lyrics with a powerful conviction, as if her life depended on and had built up to her singing this one verse. "BURY THE LIIIGHTT DEEP WITHIN!" She threw her hand outward as if throwing something away. "CAST ASIIDEE, THERE'S NO COOMINGG HOOOMEE! WE'RE BURNING CHAOS IN THE WIND~! DRIFTING IN THE OCEAN ALL ALLOOONEEE!"
As the lyrics reached their end and the instrumental took over, she panted, having put a lot of effort into singing, and it was easy to tell. Orchid had never heard her sing before, but now she was convinced that Ebony should have been a metal singer instead of a Huntsmen. The lyrics winded down entirely, while Ebony stayed staring at the ground, not moving.
When, finally, the guitar played out the final chord, the other three finally came to their senses, having just been staring at her in shock and awe the whole time. They all clapped, with Violet whistling and exclaiming, "Holy shit Ebony! That was amazing!"
Neve agreed, smiling brightly as he said, "Who knew you had pipes like that on you? I guess screaming at people you hate has paid off! That was amazing."
Orchid nodded in agreement, getting up and hurrying over to hug Ebony, much to her surprise as she lifted the girl up and twirled her around a bit. "Brilliant! You're amazing!" She let the girl go and her grin turned to a smile. "How do you feel?"
Ebony, her face red from all the praise, looked away. "U-Uhm… tired. Can we go home?"
Neve chuckled as he stood up and walked over, standing next to Orchid while saying, "Yeah, we can. I can make us something for dessert… how about ice cream? That doesn't take too long to make. At least, not with careful use of my semblance."
Violet grinned as she stood up. "Now you're speaking my language!"
Orchid gasped. "Oh, you're going to make ice cream? I wanna help!" She grinned. "I haven't made ice cream since I was young, but I'd love to do it again!"
Neve's smile only widened as he quietly asked his beating heart to calm itself. "Sure, sounds like a plan. Now, how about we get going?" It was a bit early for dessert, technically, but they'd had a full day, Neve felt they might as well enjoy something sweet to round it all out.
After the team's resounding agreement, the team left, heading back home.
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Once they got home, they all took some time to relax, while Neve made a light dinner so they didn't miss it. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was more than enough to satisfy all four of them.
By the time Neve got everything he needed to make ice cream together, it was about eight, and Orchid was quick to join him in the kitchen. Normally, making ice cream would have taken a long time, but given his semblance, he was able to shorten the steps significantly.
Once Orchid was working with him, while Violet and Ebony read manga in the main room, they worked for around thirty minutes in relative silence. After that, though, Orchid softly said to him with an equally soft smile, "Today's been amazing, hasn't it?"
Neve tried his best to avoid looking at her, because while he had always known she was beautiful beforehand, now was… different. He glanced at her when looking up from mixing what would become their ice cream (this was preceded by several other steps that he'd taken). "Ah, yeah. Today's been some of the most fun I've had in years." He looked past her, leaning back slightly to see Ebony sitting next to Violet while she read the manga they were reading out loud. "It's all the better because it's with you guys-" he was interrupted when he noticed Orchid going for the bowl, "what're you doing?"
Orchid smiled innocently. "Just sampling the fruits of our labor. Is that such a bad thing?"
Neve huffed and dipped his finger into it before flinging a bit of it at her, the chocolate soon-to-be soft-serve getting on her cheek as she gasped in surprise. All the while, he smirked. "No touching, we're going to eat this together, and it's not even ice cream yet."
What Neve had meant as a deterrent, Orchid took as a challenge. She squinted at him before smirking right back and, in one smooth motion, dipping her finger into the softserve and then bringing it up, smearing it on his cheek and causing him to gasp. "Oh yeah? How do you like that then?"
Neve squinted at her and dipped his finger into the bowl again. As he did, she stepped back, and he put a foot forward. She tried to run to the other side of the kitchen, but he hurried after her, flinging a bit of soft serve at her as she squealed and called out, "H-Hey! Isn't this wasting it?"
"Don't care!" Neve responded with a grin, "I can make more easily!"
Orchid hurried to the bowl and got another bit on her finger, tossing it at him in retaliation while saying, "In that case, have at you!"
The two of them continued to fight their ice cream war for a few minutes, with their exclamations, Orchid's squeals, and Neve's laughs gaining the attention of the other two.
Violet and Ebony got up after a few minutes and went to go see what was going on, and Violet couldn't help but smirk as she said, "You guys aren't wasting my ice cream are you?"
The two normally more mature members of the team froze in place, Neve's finger on Orchid's cheek and hers on his. "Uhm…" Neve began, "don't worry, I can make more in a few minutes." Their faces were covered in streaks of would-be ice-cream, only adding to the novelty of the scene to their teammates.
Ebony snickered, covering her mouth and averting her gaze for a moment before looking back at them with a smirk. "Mom, Dad, you guys should really save this stuff for later."
The name caused both Neve and Orchid to sputter as they quickly stepped away from one another. Orchid stammered, "M-Mom and Dad? We are not!" Her face was red as she glanced at Neve, but both avoided actually looking at each other.
"Y-Yeah." Neve agreed, trying to keep his already slipping composure. "I mean, how are we like a mom and dad?"
Violet hummed and tapped her chin. "I dunno guys, I think she's got a point. I mean, Orchid took Ebony clothes shopping and paid for all of it, and you're always giving her advice and teaching her how to do things. Sounds like a mom and dad to me!" She grinned. "Works perfectly."
"P-Psh, what do you know?" Orchid waved her hand dismissively before shooing the two of them away. "Shoo! Go on! We'll bring the ice cream when it's finished."
They left, although both were snickering, and the two were markedly more awkward as they continued their efforts, having to make a bit more than they already had after their little ice cream war.
Meanwhile, Violet and Ebony returned to reading manga. Time passed, and eventually they got their ice cream. After they enjoyed it, they returned to reading, while Orchid and Neve cleaned up the kitchen and talked amongst themselves.
When they left and came to see what the other two were doing, they saw a very peculiar sight.
Ebony was laying across Violet's lap, sleeping soundly. Meanwhile, Violet was sitting there, looking a bit surprised, but with a broad smile on her face all the same.
The three had never once seen Ebony go to sleep in the dorm—her bed was still unused after all these months. So the three of them silently exchanged looks, before eventually Orchid and Neve moved to avoid accidentally waking her up.
A couple hours later, Violet was reading her manga on her own while the other two were on their Scrolls and quietly talking to each other when she felt a shifting.
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Ebony wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep. One moment, she had been reading with Violet, and feeling so comfortable and… safe that she began to doze off.
The next moment, she was dreaming about spending time with the rest of her team. She dreamed of a day much like the one they'd just had, going into town, doing things, seeing places, laughing and having fun….
She remembered hugging Violet in that dream, and staring at her smiling face, enamored with it in a way she'd never been enamored with something before.
Then, when the dream ended, and she blinked open her eyes, she saw that same smiling face looking down at her. Violet's smile was warm as she softly said, "Hey, sleepyhead. Comfortable?" She giggled as Ebony's face reddened and she opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't quite find the words. "It's okay, you can sleep there for as long as you want."
Ebony's heart pounded, and she felt a fluttering deep within her, and she found herself unable to look away from Violet. As she finally found her voice, she could only say one thing…
"Oh."