Closing the black suitcase with a satisfying zip and a pair of clicks, Ruby beamed at the progress she'd made so far, it would be her last week at Beacon for a few months, so she needed to finish packing. Despite the concern of her coworkers over her not having not finished, like, a week ago at the latest, she saw no reason to panic, she already had the essentials packed, her favorite summer clothes, her underwear, her hygiene products, and spare tools for on the fly repairs. Really, she didn't know why they were all stressing out over it, she'd already traveled to two other Vytal Festivals since getting hired about five years ago, and it wasn't like her packing practices had caused any issues either of those times, although she always had the least amount of luggage when compared to her peers. As always, the reassurance that she could just buy anything she forgot at home didn't assuage her dear friends for some reason, and they insisted on helping her finish the job. Jaune was running late for some reason, but Touko was already working on her own suitcase, making three, which Ruby already thought was excessive. But, if they were going to insist, then at least she could pack her backup tools and some extra Dust, oh, maybe her Dust-deck too.

"Hey! You guys got everything packed yet?" Jaune asked as he finally came through the door, carrying another suitcase and setting it on her bed. Okay, this was getting ridiculous, she was pretty sure she didn't even have enough clothes to fill all of them. Well, if they really insisted she needed to pack more, there were some things she could bring along that would be helpful.

"Almost, just gotta pack a few extra spare parts for my baby." Ruby said, turning to her workbench. She promptly began looking through the cluttered drawers, grabbing some assorted components as well as a few slightly tattered blueprints she wouldn't mind bringing along. The last thing she wanted was to leave them behind and forget what components she was looking for for future upgrades over the trip.

"You mean Touko, or Crescent Rose?" Jaune asked cheekily, doing his best to hide the snicker as the woman in question went red-faced, her partially-artificial heart jumping up into her throat before she scowled at the man.

"Ha-ha-ha, very funny." Touko said without a drop of amusement in her tone, emphasizing just how funny she found it with a slap to Jaune's shoulder from her crystalline arm. When the man actually winced from the blow, Touko suddenly felt bad, she hadn't actually tried to hurt him. She was about to apologize when he dropped the act and snickered that she had caved so easily from the hard ass act. She almost slapped him again for that, harder this time so he'd have a reason to flinch.

"I packed for both actually!" Ruby said, her hands full of tools and papers detailing upgrades for a few weapons. Her friends shared a knowing glance as Ruby started to fill the suitcase Jaune had provided with items that really weren't necessary. Then again, she didn't really have many other clothes, and in the end, they decided not to fight it, even if for no other reason than Touko already making sure that she had everything important packed.

"That's smart, I already got all my stuff packed. Figured it was better to start early and all, if making sure eleven kids have all their stuff is hard, I don't even know how we're gonna deal with two-hundred." Jaune said, remembering the countless times he and his family had left on trips and how grueling the preparation alone had been over the years, even with Lumi, Nicholas, and the twins stepping up more as they had gotten older. Without fail, at least one of them would wait until the last moment to get ready, causing them to need to scramble to get everything in order, and that was just the preparation phase, actually traveling was a nightmare in itself.

"Oh that's right, I forgot you normally don't chauffeur for the festival. Don't worry, it's nowhere near as bad as you're probably thinking."

"Yeah, Weiss wasn't happy I wouldn't get to visit home this year, but she's planning to come over for the festival anyways to cheer on Lumi." Hearing that, the women went silent. Ruby suddenly found herself conflicted, it had been too long since she'd seen Weiss, and just the thought of her being there had her excited, but at the same time the situation was far from ideal with the Grimm cult lurking around and the Summer Maiden being found. Touko, however, was much less conflicted.

"Weiss is gonna be there? Great, that's… great… Guess I should pack some extra herbs then for the migraines." Touko muttered, briefly wondering about the legality of her herbs in Vacuo when compared to Vale.

"Weiss is coming? With the kids? You did tell her what you guys found, right?" Hearing the concern in Ruby's voice, Jaune knew her mind was probably going to the worst possible scenario. Normally, his mind would too, he knew Weiss was capable, she was probably even better than him in a fight with her Semblance, but even with all the protection that would come from the festival being in full swing, he wouldn't be able to sleep with his family being in such close proximity to a known threat, especially his younger girls, who couldn't defend themselves like Lumi, Nicolas, and the twins.

"No, the girls are staying at home with Klien, though they weren't happy about it, especially since Lumi and Nicholas are both outta the house now." Ruby perked up upon hearing that, the last she'd heard Nick was training as a Paladin pilot, if he was out of the house, then that meant he was training full time, probably with his aunt and the former General, or Penny.

"Nick started early?" Ruby asked with a mixture of surprise and pride in her godson. She'd seen how hard the boy worked, trying to keep up with his big sister, especially considering how competitive Lumi could get.

"Yeah, I guess Penny pulled some strings to get him under someone named Indigo. I dunno much about the military stuff, but she and James both vouched for her, apparently she's eccentric, but has a good head on her shoulders."

"So, what are we gonna do with that information?" Touko asked quietly, bringing up the question they wanted to avoid but couldn't, and considering how Ruby looked away, she knew that she didn't have an answer they'd like.

"Officially, the info was too vague, their 'sanctuary' is an entire city, and even if we had something more concrete, a set of foreign Huntsmen investigating would be too obvious. Our priority should be keeping threats away from the festival." Ruby said, not making eye contact. It wasn't as if they were doing nothing, but direct involvement in a case like this was next to impossible without already knowing where to look.

"Please tell me Glynda's not expecting us to sit around and do nothing when Salem knows who the Summer Maiden is." Jaune pleaded. The very idea of them letting themselves be in such a helpless position made his blood boil. It was the same mistake they'd made nearly twenty years ago, one they'd all paid for already, and they were just going to potentially let it happen again?

"I can't do anything, Lavender recognized me immediately, and if someone as young as her knew who I was on sight, anyone with actual rank to pull in that cult will almost certainly have eyes on me the whole time. If I go poking around, they'll know it." The same was probably true about the two of them after the Moon incident down by the docks, now that she thought about it.

"So there's nothing we can do? Nothing at all?" Touko asked dejectedly, looking to her friend and hoping not to get the answer she knew was coming.

"We're hiring some local Huntsmen and bounty hunters to look into things on our behalf. Hopefully, they'll get us a location, but if they get word of us having a bead on them before we drop the hammer on them, chances are that they'll just go into hiding until after the festival."

"Or panic and spring their plan early." Jaune muttered. The reality of their situation had begun to set in, sitting around and complaining about Glynda's lack of action before was easy, but looking at it from a larger perspective, their only real options were either waiting around or canceling the festival entirely, something that was not only logistically impossible to do on such a short notice, but wouldn't be a set back to Salem's forces in the slightest. Put simply, their hands were completely tied here, stuck playing defense. Jaune wondered how Glynda could put up with it all, spending decades of her life as a meager pawn in a game of chess between two immortals. If he was feeling helpless now, he could only imagine what she felt.

"Do you think your… friend could help us?" Touko asked, breaking the silence that had set in, and revealing just how desperate she was about this to even consider that option. She didn't judge her for that in the slightest though, they would all do just about anything to prevent another event like the Fall of Beacon.

Ruby sighed, looking down at her scroll as she opened up her messages, seeing that the contact simply listed as 'RT' hadn't reached out in a while. She hated putting him in the position of spying on his own sister, but what other option did she have? Sighing, she typed out a short greeting, she had a favor or two she could still cash in from the boy, so an update should be easy… if he got back to her, that is. "I'll... see what I can do."


Scarlet happily sunk her teeth into the crispy, slightly burnt crust of her grilled cheese, savoring the melted and stringy blend with a sigh of both bliss and contentment that only Jet knew was not at all exaggerated. Her other friends thought it was weird when out of the many dishes Beacon served, such as steak, salads, and even some choices from other continents, she'd happily pass by all of them and go right for the comparatively simple option of toasted bread and melted cheese. Yet the girl had no regrets; she just really liked cheese. Besides, her choice of food was nowhere near the weirdest, that crown went to Goose as she spread an utterly obscene amount of ranch dressing all over her pasta. No one at the table understood how the drastically clashing flavors of ranch flavored pasta were in any way appealing, but Goose was already weird, they expected as much from her, but Scarlet loudly expressing her bliss from a simple mixture of cheese, butter, and toast? Not so much.

"Is she okay?" Elizabeth whispered as she leaned over to Jet, giving the horned girl a worried side eye as strands of melted cheese were slurped into her mouth.

"Trust me, she's in her happy place right now." Jet said so flatly that Liz had no choice but to believe him. She guessed it wasn't the strangest thing she'd experienced, although Goose happily shoveling a spoonful of 'food' that was more ranch dressing than pasta into her mouth certainly was a contender. Then again, she supposed the fact that she had nothing better to think about than the weird food choices of those around her was a welcome change from the chaos and drama that was the first few months of her tenure at Beacon, and as bad as it sounded at the time, things had somehow improved since the incident with Lao and SLVR.

"Psst- hey, you're that Lao dude's partner, right?" Well, in some ways, there were already eyes on their team after Belka had stood up and practically called out the entire school, but after news got out that Lao had single handedly put SLVR in the infirmary, it was inescapable. Most people didn't even try to hide the fact that they were talking about their team right behind their backs any more.

"Yes, he's my partner, why?" Turning to face the boy, he was vaguely familiar, a second year student if she wasn't mistaken.

"Is it true he beat the crap out of SLVR?" he asked, leaning in far too close into her personal space. She might have overlooked it if he had been asking privately, but the fact that he was speaking so loudly that the next table over could clearly hear him soured her opinion of him.

"That's not really any of your business, is it?" Scarlet butted in, her scathing tone surprising the man and her glare almost burning holes right through him. After dealing with getting put through Beacon's gossip and rumor mill herself, she had no patience for watching it happen to her friends too.

"Come on, don't be like that. We're just looking out for her!" One of the boy's teammates said, also with the same flagrant disregard for privacy as the first. She also somewhat recognised the newcomer, and as she wondered why he and the first boy both seemed familiar, it suddenly clicked into place, she'd seen Aethelflad hanging off their arms more than once. They'd definitely been fed some bullshit version of events that painted Lao as the villain, it was either that, or they were just mad that their little loose friend wasn't in shape for the sort of activities they were doing before the beatdown.

"You want to look out for me? "

"I mean he already put his hands on a woman before, multiple women before, right? Who's to say he wouldn't again?" Already feeling insulted at the notion that she needed to be protected, Elizabeth growled, but, when he labeled Lao as some serial abuser, she had every intention of backhanding him and seeing how he reacted to a woman antagonizing him before a new entrant into the conversation cut her off.

"Oh, how noble of you." The dry sarcasm from Belka nearly made Liz jump out of her skin as her aunt took a seat across from her, clearly unamused by the bits of conversation she'd overheard coming over. "Frankly, I don't know what's more embarrassing, your attempt to act as the gallant knight to a military-raised woman, or the unwavering confidence with which you speak on something you are so clearly ignorant about."

Elizabeth scowled in confusion at her words, was that her idea of flirting? If so, it was the worst attempt she'd ever seen, but then again, it could have just been her aunt going out of her way to emasculate him further. Either way, it worked, as the man's face instantly flushed red with embarrassment and he scowled at the unwanted intruder into the private conversation, right up until Lao took his seat next to her. For a brief moment, he locked eyes with the man, who immediately flinched away. As usual, he didn't react much, just going back to his food as the boys got up and left.

"I suppose I should thank you?" she asked, turning her attention back on Belka, the woman already getting started on her steak as if everything was normal between them. She was grateful, but that in itself was a weird feeling to associate with the girl across from her.

"That would be the polite response, but if you're incapable of humility, you can just let me and Lao split this as payment." Before Elizabeth could react, her aunt reached over and across the table to her plate, swiftly grabbing the chocolate chip cookie that had come with her meal.

"Wha- hey, that's mine!"

"And you should know better than to have it. Aren't you diabetic? Are you trying to send yourself into shock?" Belka chided as if speaking to a small child, casually offering half of the treat to Lao, who politely declined. Before Elizabeth could say anything, Goose spoke up.

"Belka's right, you need to be more careful about what you're eating." The small woman's mouth went slack as Goose actually took Belka's side against her, the shock of her betrayal only rivaled by her anger as the taller woman sunk her teeth into the treat she'd been looking forward rose to her feet in righteous anger, but from everyone else's point of view, the fact that her height had shifted less than a foot made any intimidation from her display instantly fall flat.

"Guys, c'mon. Quit bickering, they're about to announce the qualifiers for the tournament." Scarlet said, having pulled out her Scroll, eagerly awaiting the announcement that should be coming any minute.

"Do you think that we made it in?" Jin asked, hunching over to wait with Scarlet who nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course we did, we're the most badass team in the school!" However, despite her bravado, there was a nagging voice in her head, one that reminded her that her Mom and Dad had committed a major act of terrorism at one of these festivals and that they may not want her front and center. The thought of herself being excluded because of her heritage… well, to be honest, it hurt, but it didn't bother her as much as the idea that her team would suffer by association. But she swallowed that thought, instead focusing on the positives. "Besides, Lumi's parents are beyond rich and Jin's one of the professor's nephews. We're guaranteed a spot."

"Hurray for nepotism I guess." Jet said dryly, trying to play it cool and hide his own excitement, but Scarlet saw right through that, his eyes glancing down toward the screen, chewing his bottom lip cutely. Scarlet chuckled, the thought of her and Jet going to another kingdom without their parents looking over their shoulders… It was just like the sort of adventures they'd pretend to have as kids, running out into the woods behind and between their houses. It filled her with a nostalgic warmth, she'd definitely have to drag him around on her own time.

"Please, is it really nepotism if we happen to be as good as our names suggest?" Lumi said, somehow missing the point entirely, or maybe she just thought her own family was above that sort of thing. Then again, it was just as possible that Lumi actually thought she deserved a spot simply due to her inherited abilities which… well, now that Jet thought about it, wasn't completely untrue, Lumi was arguably the statistically strongest person in their year level, perhaps even the whole school thanks to her absurd combination of an extremely large Aura pool and a Semblance of unmatched versatility in combat.

"That's the only way we're making it in." Belka muttered, poking the fat of her steak with her fork. Her teammates all performed at above average rates, normally a sign that they had a chance, if not for the fact that her own combat skills were… below average. She was a decent shot, she'd even argue a really good one, but precisely plinking a target from a few hundred feet away wasn't feasible in one on one combat, and she struggled in melee range thanks to her crappy Semblance and low Aura, hence why Morgan doubled as a naginata/polearm, to try and keep away opponents, but she wasn't the best at using it, which, as a result, brought her entire team's odds down. The recent incident with SLVR and a general lack of respect from her team probably didn't help either.

"Come on Belka, sure we've had our downs… and… more downs, but that's no reason to give up hope!" Goose said, nudging Belka in an attempt to raise spirits, but her words were far less reassuring than she'd hoped they would be, even Liz and Lao seemed to stew on recent events. Goose's smile faded as she realized that her attempt had fallen flat, laughing awkwardly as she shoved more ranch covered strands of spaghetti into her mouth.

"It's probably for the best, I need to work on finding my center." Lao muttered, his mind going over what he'd done to SLVR. That memory wasn't one he was proud of, the sounds of snapping bones and the gurgling of bile and blood playing once more in his head. He wasn't ready for something like a tournament, his own father would say as much, let alone the faculty at the school.

"What? Come on, you guys are all great!" Jin spoke up, giving Lao a gentle nudge, to which the boy responded with his usual blank mask. Seeing that fail, he shrugged. "Well, none of you are failing, Lumi's dad didn't even know what Aura was when he started at Beacon and he got to be in the tournament."

Lumi nearly choked upon that bit of information being revealed, elbowing the large Faunus boy in the ribs. Jin winced in pain, confused as to what he had done wrong, but instead of an answer, Lumi shot him a glare clearly meant to shut him up. Unfortunately, the damage was already done, as Belka smirked and stared Lumi down.

"Oh, is that right? Well, if the great Jaune Arc can overcome a setback of that magnitude, then this should be child's play for me." Before Lumi could reach across the table to strangle her aunt, Scarlet shushed them all, shoving her scroll in the middle of the table for everyone to see as the announcement played with a little animation of Beacon's symbol.

To the surprise of everyone at the table, they all recognized the first team to be revealed: SLVR, with the smug looks of Alaska, Aethelflad, and Vera, as well as the big dopey smile of Loyal, displayed on screen at the top spot. The announcement didn't get much of a reaction outside of their small group, in fact, the two Faunus amongst them could hear people talking about it being obvious, which was news to Scarlet, but then again, all she really knew about the team was that they were all bitches. The next face that slid into frame was her own, and this time, the reaction was immediate before the letters spelling SJJL were even done appearing on screen, their entire table immediately bursting into uproar. For once, the murmurs and stray looks sent her way didn't bother her in the slightest, standing up and cheering.

"Hell yeah!" She was soon joined by the rest of her team, Jin picking Lumi and Jet up effortlessly as they all came together for a hug. Lumi tried to resist for a moment, but soon gave in, wrapping her arms around Jin. Belka smiled for her friends and niece, she was happy for them, even if there was a snowball's chance in hell of her team making it in, she could still root for someone at least. Though, their celebration did seem a tad excessive, especially when Scarlet pulled Jet's face into her chest, causing the poor boy to sputter and blush while she laughed, it was just a bit too uncouth for her tastes. Looking back to the announcement, the next team was another one they knew, JWEL. Looking over at their table, the team was having their own small celebration. Juliet let out her own cheer before high fiving Elena, the redhead so excited for a moment before looking down at her hand with a weird face. Luna gasped before throwing her arms around Rosaria, getting a pat on the back in return.

"We… we actually made it?"

"JWEL too! See, I told you it would be alright!" Despite Goose's cheerful words and the way Elizabeth all but bounced with joy, Belka could only force a small smile. She should have been happy, she should have been ecstatic even, but the news was nearly enough to make her sweat. She wasn't ready for that, she knew it for a fact, and the faculty had to know it too, she had to assume her teammates must have carried them through despite her comparatively low performance. Or was this some kind of test? Was Goodwitch throwing her to the wolves and seeing how she fared? That didn't sound like something she'd do, but then again, how well did she actually know her? For once, she found herself thankful for Lao's lack of reaction, it let her pretend someone else was as uncertain as she was.

"Fucking SLVR made it in!?" Scarlet groaned as soon as the excitement of her own selection had finally worn off. "Ugh, whatever, at least this means I get a chance to knock that blue-haired bitch's teeth out myself."

"I wouldn't be so sure, isn't this ranked by performance?" Jet asked, searching his own screen for answers. If that was the case, and SLVR really was just outright better than them, then the last thing they needed was for the team of bullies to come back even more motivated to cause mayhem.

"Oh come on, they all got their asses kicked by Lao, how tough can they be?" Scarlet asked, only getting unamused looks from the table, and realizing that the boy was literally sitting just to her left. "Uh, no offense."

"None taken."

"Look, enough about SLVR, do you know what they're doing tonight? Finishing up detention with Goodwitch." Belka announced, swallowing her nerves and putting on a wide confident grin. "I say we celebrate, we never did end up having our day together."

"Oh, can we throw a party?" Scarlet asked, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Yeah, let's do it, I know the best drinks!" Goose said to the surprise of most at the table, but to the horror of her nieces.

"Aunt Goose, no, we are not making pilk for everyone." The blonde actually seemed worried, a confusing notion considering none of them had ever heard of this strange and apparently dangerous 'pilk' before.

"What? No, I mean really celebrate, I happen to know a place where we can really cut loose." Belka said, remembering a certain club where she knew they could get a good deal on drinks.


"Holy shit, your boyfriend owns a club!?" Juliet asked loud enough to overpower the booming music. She hadn't even intended to, she was just that naturally loud and her surprise overpowered any amount of volume control she may have had. In her defense, they were all a little surprised, most of them had been expecting a small family-owned bar, not a nightclub packed to the brim with partygoers. Belka, meanwhile, stood smugly with her arms crossed, taking in the shocked and impressed expressions of her friends and especially her nieces.

"He just helps his family run it." Looking around, the absence of the man she knew as Sherbet was a bit concerning, he was usually very punctual, in fact, this was the first time he had been late to any of their meetups. She shook the feeling off, he was at work after all, he'd be around somewhere. "He should be around here somewhere. I told him we were coming."

"Well, let's go look for him at the bar then!" Before she'd even finished talking, Juliet had taken off, eager to get the celebration started. The more excitable amongst them like Scarlet, Jin, and Goose quickly followed after her, with the rest of SJJL and Elizabeth soon in tow, but less hurried.

"Of course they'd run there immediately." Rosaria muttered to no one in particular as she followed at a more calm pace, leaving Belka, Lao, Luna, and Elena as the only ones remaining at the entrance. While the rest stood around awkwardly, Belka checked her scroll to see if she'd missed a message from Sherbet since leaving for the club, but was just met with the same winky face emoji she'd received when he first saw her text.

"Everything okay?" Elena asked, Belka's not so subtle sigh of disappointment having drawn her attention.

"He said he'd meet me when he got here, he's usually right on time." As she relented her boyfriend's absence, she failed to notice the very man she was looking for sneaking up behind her, holding a finger up to his lips to silence the three in front of her. By the time she noticed how confused the others looked, it was too late and she was startled by a pair of hands playfully covering her eyes.

"Did ya' miss me?" Letting out a quick shriek upon being startled, Belka spun around, ready to give the man a piece of her mind, but her face lit up when she saw the man before her.

"Sherbet!" In an instant, her shock gave way to joy as she laid eyes on him. Without thinking, she threw her arms around the man's shoulders, planting a kiss on his lips, much to her friends and even his surprise. After everything… she needed this, it had been far too much time with just text messages between them. Blushing like mad, she broke the kiss, her first real kiss as far as she was concerned, and smiled at him. "Where were you?"

"Oh, just had to take care of a little rowdy customer, it's all taken care of now." Romeo said, rubbing his bruised knuckles through his gloves. Some little punk had pulled a knife in his drunken stupidity and as a result was now laying in the back alley with a busted lip and a few broken ribs. Before Belka could ask any further, Romeo put an arm around the girl's shoulders and motioned to the three, recognizing Lao from his file, though the other two were strangers. "These must be your friends."

"Right. Guys, this is my boyfriend Sherbet. Sherbet, this is Lao, Elena, and Luna, the rest kinda went straight for the bar." Romeo nodded, memorizing the ones he wasn't familiar with in case they proved to be trouble, not that the trembling moth or the uptight redhead looked like they would be an issue if they needed to disappear. He didn't really care either way at the moment, really he just wanted to get Belka drunk and occupied enough so that his presence wouldn't be missed. Thankfully, he knew his fair share of deceptively sweet drinks that would keep her mind off of him. Then, he could focus on the big game.

"Of course, tonight's about celebrating. Speaking of which, come, we should have a drink, just you and me, and afterwards you can parade me around on your arm to all your friends." Just like that, almost as soon as he had appeared, Romeo disappeared into the crowd, whisking away a giggling and giddy Belka into the throng with him. Sighing, Elena similarly took off after their group, leaving just Lao and Luna. The pair stood in silence, neither really knowing what to do in the new environment they found themselves in. Looking over to Luna, Lao was surprised to see the girl trembling in her boots.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah it's just… dark, I thought clubs had a lot of lights." she said, trying her best to appear as if she wasn't petrified by how the lights just randomly moved about, leaving most of the room covered in darkness where just about anything could be hiding. Lao tilted his head, vaguely recalling how it had been mentioned that, ever since the incident with her mother, the girl's once minor fear of the dark had exploded into a full-on phobia that left her terrified at night. Lao watched the girl, clearly afraid despite the casual front she tried and failed to put on, and despite not knowing her very well, he didn't like seeing her so scared and wished there was something he could do. Well… maybe there was? After all, he had an above average control over his own emotions, and maybe helping Luna with her fear would help him regain some of his lost control in turn.

"Come here." Despite a small part of Luna being weary, the calm tone in which he spoke eased her nerves. Stepping forward with her, Lao took her hands into his own surprisingly soft ones. While not a deeply intimate gesture the fact that Lao was so comfortable surprised her. "Take a deep breath and try to close yourself off from that feeling."

Doing as he said, she closed her eyes, trying to distance herself from her current location, and without clear instructions, she imagined herself in her 'happy place' back at her father's workshop in Menagerie. It was always a special place for her, it was where he had shown her how to first assemble a weapon, where she'd stayed up late over countless nights drawing blueprints and assembling prototypes, where she'd first put together Cigarette Lighter, where her father would praise her and encourage her when she was struggling. She didn't know if this was what he had meant, but it was helping somewhat, as her nerves faded, even if not completely. But then a man drunkenly stumbled into her, causing the girl to let out a small "Eep!" in panic as she instinctively pressed herself against Lao. The boy in turn sighed as he stroked her head gently, maybe she'd just need a better environment for it.

"Maybe we should just go find the others." he suggested, leading her toward the bar by the hand.

"Y-Yes please." she whispered, clutching his hand tightly as she let him lead her through the crowd.


The night progressed smoothly after that point, Goose wasn't really keeping track of time, it didn't really feel like that long, but at the same time, it sort of did. What mattered was that Belka wasn't back yet, so it couldn't have been more than an hour. Most of them had just focused on their drinks, Juliet had somehow dragged Jet into a drinking contest and was currently drinking the poor boy under the table. He looked like he had wanted to give up a long time ago, but with Scarlet cheering him on, that had never been an option. There were also a few of them barred from drinking entirely, Jin, Rosaria, and Elena were all marked as unable to order anything alcoholic by a small pink stamp that glowed under the neon lights, marking them as underaged, though that didn't stop Scarlet and Juliet from slipping them a couple of drinks when the bartender wasn't looking. Goose, meanwhile, entertained herself by entertaining others, using her trusty coin trick to bewilder her fellow club goers, especially the ones who were already well and truly drunk. It always made her smile to see the various shocked faces people would make whenever she launched the coin from her thumb and let it drop onto the counter to land perfectly on its side. After all, when else would she use a party trick if not at a party? Rosaria especially was baffled by the trick, muttering under her breath how it was 'statistically impossible', only for her eyelid to twitch as she effortlessly pulled it off again, much to the delight of Luna and the rest of the small crowd that had built up around her. Eventually, she moved away from the group to order a soda, mostly because she wanted to wait a little longer before ordering anything strong. She had absolutely no idea if or how being drunk would affect her Semblance, and Mom and Dad both frowned on alcohol back at home, so she didn't exactly feel like she was missing out on much. Looking at those who had already started to drink, most of them were fine, but Jet was left moaning into the counter after what Juliet had put him through, with Liz having steppeding in to replace him, a frankly unfair match considering the comical size difference, but it was all in good fun! On the other end of things, despite only drinking a little so far, Lumi was tipsily eyeing Jin up like he was a tall cup of water and she was a woman dying of thirst in one of Vacuo's deserts. Yeah, the night was still young, no need to rush into it yet.

"Goooose!" Looking towards the source of the sudden noise, she was surprised to see her partner wobbling on her feet towards her. Speaking of rushing into it, the poor girl was well and truly drunk, that much was obvious, but it didn't explain the tears. She stood up just in the nick of time as the poor drunk stumbled over her own feet into the larger girl, clutching tightly around her as she tried to regain her balance.

"Oh hi Belka, what's up?" Goose asked casually, causing her to look up with tears in her amethyst eyes as the taller girl rubbed her back, hoping she was providing a bit of comfort as she led her over to the wall, letting her lean against it to take some of the strain off of her.

"I-I..." Her words were interrupted by a loud sniffle, she was clearly barely holding herself together. "I'm sorry!"

"Aw, what happened? Did you throw up? she asked her leader gently. She didn't smell any barf, but her friend was definitely at that point, so she offered the girl some of her Pixie lemonade to help settle her tummy. She graciously took the can and slowly sipped at the sweet carbonated beverage, but that just seemed to make her sadder. It bothered her immensely, why was Belka so sad? Had someone been mean to her? Was she just a sad drunk? She got her answer a moment later as the smaller girl looked down at her drink, tearing up once more before turning to her friend.

"No… not yet, but that'sh not important! I'm shorry for being so mean to you, it'sh not fair, you're sho nice… and… and I shuck fer being mean to you!" Goose frowned hearing her talk about herself like that, was this about before? When Belka was being bullied really bad? She didn't know her leader still thought about that, and she especially didn't know she'd felt that bad about it, she had forgiven the girl almost immediately, but then again, she'd never exactly been the sort of person to hold a grudge in the first place, Mom had told her it was bad to hold onto those bad feelings, and that if she did, she'd get wrinkles like her Dad. It was hard not to giggle as she imagined the look on her Father's face when she repeated that to him, but her friend was in a bad mood, so she pulled it in and gently stroked her hair.

"Aww, no you don't Belka."

"Yesh I do! I bet you hate me fer being a big shtupid jerk!" Not wanting to hear any more, she wrapped her arms around Belka, pulling her into a tight hug and smothering the girl's self-deprecating words in her shoulder before speaking in a gentle but firm voice.

"Belka, come on, don't talk that way about yourself, I never stopped liking you." That did the trick as Belka looked up, marveling at the words. She'd been expecting her partner to still be mad.

"You do? You like me?"

"Of course I do, you're my friend!" The pair stood in silence after that, the smaller girl tightening her grip on her partner, just enjoying the moment until she felt something… uncomfortable in the pit of her stomach.

"Goose?" the drunk asked, finally breaking the silence with a timid and shaky voice, to which Goose responded in the calmest and most reassuring tone she could muster.

"Yeah?"

"I… I think I need to do the throw up." There it was, and with a gentle chuckle, she pulled the smaller girl into her, bringing her arm over her shoulder to help her walk as she helped her make her way towards the ladies' room.

"Do you want me to hold your hair?"

"Yesh preashe?" She barely registered the pained moan over the audial assault of the speakers, so she just gave her leader a sincere smile as they neared the restrooms. Yeah, she was done for now.

"Okay, come on buddy." Goose giggled as they stumbled into the bathroom together.

Back at the bar, Lumi scowled as one of the bartenders leaned closer to Jin, a woman with her dress shirt buttoned down one too many, exposing her cleavage to the boy in an obvious grab at his attention, because of course she would, the shameless wench probably had nothing else but her body to entice anyone to pay attention to her if she was flirting with someone who was still legally a minor, even if he would be an adult in just a few short weeks. She tried not to let it bother her, to remind herself that he was a good man who cared about more than a woman's bust size, after all, it was just extraneous fat, but at the end of the day he was a teenage boy, and Scarlet had snuck him a pair of shots earlier, what if he just wasn't thinking straight? Scarlet's words ran through her head in a taunting reminder, 'You're gonna feel real stupid when we head out for the Vytal festival and he finds a nice, if kinda loose, chick who isn't afraid to take him for a ride'. While she'd initially firmly denied the possibility, when she looked at him now, seeing him being openly flirted with sparked no small amount of jealousy within her. Thankfully, he didn't seem interested in much more than polite conversation, not even considering the woman's lewd intentions with him. It was a big part of what she loved about him, that he always saw the best in people. Unfortunately, it made him easy to take advantage of by those who would use his kindness, which was why it was up to her to protect him from those who would try to do such a thing. Fueled by a mixture of protectiveness, jealousy, and alcohol, she summoned a tiny glyph behind a bottle that was carelessly left open on the vast shelves that lined the back wall of the bar. All it took was one tiny nudge for it to fall over, spilling a dark brown, vaguely cinnamon-scented liquid onto the woman's hair and back. She couldn't help but giggle watching the woman go stiff in shock, that would teach her a lesson, or maybe not, she didn't really care so long as she stopped trying to seduce her friend.

As it turned out, Lumi's plan had worked even better than she had expected, as the woman immediately went off on one of her fellow bartenders, a man who was even bigger and bulkier than Jin, accusing the man of flirting with the women, particularly Faunus women, at the bar rather than paying attention to the drinks and customers, the argument eventually escalating to the point of her threatening to call his girlfriend to tell her just what exactly he was getting up to behind her back. While everyone else was enthralled by the drama unfolding before them behind the bar, she only had eyes on one thing. Taking a drink of liquid courage, she stood up and ignored the goosebumps as she approached the monkey boy. Seeing him get openly flirted with was enough to kick her rump into gear, she wasn't going to just sit back and watch him get wooed while she just stood there impotently! She closed the distance and made her entrance by wrapping her arms around his bicep, clearly claiming the boy as hers to any other hussies who might be watching, and catching his attention at the same time. He was also tipsy, nowhere as much as she was, but still noticeably not all there. That was okay, she could fix that, he was a boy after all.

"You know, I've always liked your muscles." she said in a sweet tone, rubbing his arm in what was most definitely not just an excuse to feel said muscles she admired so much. The Faunus didn't seem to mind the touch, if anything, he was enjoying it if his flushed cheeks were anything to go by. It was only natural, while she may not have the most… voluptuous figure, she was certainly attractive, and while some may have called it vanity, it was undeniable to anyone with functioning eyes that she had good genes.

"You have?" She couldn't help but giggle at how genuinely surprised he sounded, what a silly boy, as if she couldn't admire him the same way he'd admired her. She'd caught him stealing a glance at her before, particularly at the toned legs and tight posterior that made up her lower half. She'd show Scarlet, she didn't need some fat udders that were at least the size of her head hanging off her chest to get a boy's attention!

"Mhm… they make me feel so safe." The gears began to turn in Jin's head as Lumi spun around, wrapping herself up in his right arm, leaning into him as if to emphasize how small she was compared to him, how she could easily put both her arms together and it would still be dwarfed by just one of his arms. Then it clicked, if his muscles made her feel safe, he could help her get her own!

"Well, if you'd like, I could help you with your workouts, help you bulk up!" Okay, that was not at all the direction she had expected this to go, maybe she'd been too vague? Yes, that had to be it, she wasn't shy about touching him in the past, but by the gods, how on Remnant did he mistake her voice for anything but seductive!? Before she could go on though, his mouth opened again.

"Well- yes I would like something like that but-"

"You're kinda a twig at the moment anyway, it'll be good for you." He didn't really think about the words before they came out, something that was painfully obvious going off of how, in a split second, Lumi's expression went from this weird, almost tired looking look he couldn't really figure out, to angry, very angry. Had… had he said something wrong?

"Excuse you?" The shrill shriek that escaped her gathered a decent amount of attention, and doing her best to ignore the audience she now had, she decided to just put her cards on the table. She reached out and placed her hand on the boy's broad, ever so tantalizing chest and looked right into his amethyst eyes before clearing her throat and saying "Jin, I think you're hot."

"Huh? Oh, no, it's probably just the booze, it opens up the blood flow and makes your skin feel warmer. Thanks for worrying though!" Lumi was just confused at this point, how had he misinterpreted that as anything other than her coming onto him? He wasn't even that drunk, but then again, how would she even be able to tell if that was the case? Before she could get her answer, her friend looked up, seeing Lao and Luna alone, and a few men around them, mostly gravitating towards Lao and laughing. While Luna forced a polite chuckle, the ginger was as blank faced as ever. "Uh oh, some guys are hitting on Lao. I gotta go bail him out, can you watch my drink?"

"Y-yeah… sure…" she muttered, unable to do anything but watch as he went to clear up the conversation. Sitting back down in her stool, she picked up her glass and downed it as Juliet patted her back in what was probably meant to be a comforting gesture, provided it didn't hit with the force of a rabid Beringal. She decided to let it go this time, too preoccupied with her complete and utter failure at flirting. "What the hell just happened?"

"You hit on a guy, and no offense to Jin, but an unbelievably dense one at that." Juliet said. She figured it had to sting getting friendzoned, even if unintentionally. She found herself waving down the bartender to once again take advantage of their discounted drinks, something that got a pair of matching groans from Jet and Liz, both of whom were slumped over, Jet holding his skull and Liz completely blacked out with her face on the counter.

Scarlet chuckled from her spot, having watched the whole affair from the platform that overlooked the bar, wandering off to explore after Jet gave up trying to outdrink Juliet and slumped over in his seat. She'd felt a little bad leaving him there, a part of her had wanted to sit with him and hold him steady as he tried to ease the spinning feeling in his head, but at the same time she didn't want to be covered in puke if he decided to follow in Belka's footsteps. Besides, it wasn't like she hadn't left him in safe hands and she'd never been to a club before, she just had to check everything out before the night was over, though without her friends she found herself lacking much to do. The dance floor looked fun, but on her own she didn't want to risk wandering hands, the only boy she wanted to bump and grind against was currently somewhere in between consciousness and unconsciousness. So, with that ruled out, she skirted the outer edge of the dance floor, eventually finding herself next to the restroom, where she overheard the sound of Belka emptying her guts while Goose soothingly told her she was going to be okay and that they'd get her something to wash the taste out back at the bar. She did some more wandering after that, mostly just meandering about, enjoying the beat of the pounding music as well as the obvious looks she was getting from the club's various attendees. Granted, she already knew she was hot, but seeing more than a few heads turn her way was a nice ego boost, and seeing one of the guys get in trouble with who she assumed was his girlfriend for looking at her for too long was nothing short of hilarious. Eventually, she found herself heading up onto one of the raised walkways that encircled the main floor of the club and gazing out over the sea of people just in the nick of time to see Lumi strike out. She laughed her ass off, of course, but she had to give her partner credit, she'd still taken her shot, which was more than she could say about herself. Then again, it wasn't like she really had an opportunity to do that herself now that he was completely legless from Juliet's bet, although maybe that was for the best, things were getting floaty and she tended to just run her mouth without thinking when she got drunk, at least, more than usual. The absolute last thing she needed was the intrusive thoughts of how badly she wanted to just pin him down slip out in the middle of conversation. It would be even worse if she actually did it, he'd never live that down, and they'd all probably get kicked out of the club to boot.

"Well, you all seem to be having a good time." Not recognizing the voice, she turned to see… okay no, she couldn't take this guy seriously, not with that hair.

"So what's with the hair? Do you represent the lollipop guild or somethin'?" Being stunned into silence wasn't something Romeo was really used to, his mouth was one of his greatest assets, so he'd long since learned to just roll with the punches, getting into people's heads in any scenario and being absolutely hilarious while doing so. So, when he strolled up all confident only for that to come out of her mouth… How the hell does he respond to that?

"You know missy, there's probably a really cheesy line about sugar and where lollipops go, but how about a drink instead?" As the man pulled a flask from his coat, she raised an eyebrow as if to ask if he thought she was born yesterday, like there couldn't be any number of roofies or gods knows what mixed in there. Picking up on this, he felt a little insulted at the implication, so much in fact that he took a swig himself, making a show about swallowing the drink just to prove that there was nothing underhanded happening. Satisfied with his little display, she accepted the flask. Hey, if he wanted to give away free booze, who was she to say no?

"So, you gotta name?" she asked before taking a sip. The drink was surprisingly fruity… well, okay, after taking even a single look at him, it wasn't surprising in the slightest, but if she hadn't known any better, she'd think there was no alcohol in that thing.

"Romeo Torchwick, It's nice to finally meet you Scarlet." No aliases, no lies, and no bullshit, he preferred it that way, the number of people you could be straight within his line of work could be counted on one hand, so when faced with someone he had no reason to lie to, he'd prefer being honest. Sure, it was a risk just telling her his real name, though not a big one. What did he stand to lose, exactly? His self-proclaimed girlfriend in Belka? Not much of a loss in his eyes. No, this was far more important, he needed this one on one, even if it was just for a moment. Scarlet, however, just turned and stared him down. She definitely hadn't told this guy her name, maybe he'd gotten it from the news back at the beginning of the school year? No, that didn't explain why he'd want to meet with her like this. Maybe he was a Huntsman? That cane of his was definitely modified given that she could see a hint of a trigger nestled in its handle, and he wasn't threatening her, hell, he was downright friendly, but for some reason, he was giving her this weird pit in her stomach.

"Do I know you?"

"No, but our families are more tangled up than I'd like." Those words instantly sent her into a panic as she habitually reached for one of the blades that typically rested on her hip, only to find nothing as she'd left Wilt and Bleed at school. Damn it, why now of all times, screw it, she'd just headbutt him, her horns could probably knock him on his ass long enough for her to make her escape, but to her surprise, before she could act, the man just laughed at her reaction, leaning on his cane. "Oh don't give me that look, do you really think I'd do you in right here? In front of everyone?"

"You don't exactly look like you try to avoid attention." Despite remaining cautious, he had a point, it would be downright stupid to try anything now, something that just confused and frustrated her more. "What's your game, do we have beef or what?"

He dropped the smile, sighing and leaning against the rail. Now that was the question, wasn't it? Did he have a good reason to hate this girl? Sure, her very existence had put him in a fine little mess, but without her, he still wouldn't know where his sister was.

"Honestly, with your little spat with your partner exploding the way it did, I honestly don't know if I want to shoot you or kiss you."

"This… isn't about my Mom or Dad?" That was new, and actually kinda refreshing, so far everyone who knew about her beforehand had some vendetta against her parents or, even worse, just used it as an excuse to screw with her. To her surprise, when he looked over, she could have sworn she saw… sympathy?

"Yeah, I get that bullshit too, sorry." To say she was surprised was an understatement, this had to have been the most polite conversation she'd ever had with someone who was seemingly an enemy, and what was even stranger was that she actually believed him, there were no signs or even a hint of a feeling that he was bullshitting her. Of all the things in the world, she certainly hadn't expected him to be able to relate to him on this.

"Huh, thanks I guess."

"Thanks? That's a weird thing to say considering I'm still considering letting you die."

"Well, okay, yeah, but I mean… thanks for having a problem with me." Romeo's eyebrow raised at that, and to be fair, the moment it came out of her mouth, she realized just how stupid it actually sounded out of context. "So far It's just 'your Dad killed my Dad' or 'Your Mom was a dangerous terrorist' I guess I'm just happy someone's looking at just me for once."

As much as he didn't want to agree with something that sounded so unbelievably stupid, he was pretty sure he understood what she meant, being judged based on his parents' actions, being seen as just an extension of them… damn it, not this again, he couldn't get personal with this one.

"Well… I can't blame him, to my knowledge, it was Tyrian or his kid, that's an obvious call. You on the other hand have my sister in a right tizzy." Scarlet couldn't help but smile at that, at least someone got it, that it wasn't her fault… but how did he know who Tyrian was, and what was that about a sister?

"Wait a minute, how the hell do you know about-" When she turned back to face him, she was shocked to see no one there, which quickly grew into annoyance. Really? The dramatic disappearing act? Talk about corny. Reaching down inside her jacket to take a free drink of the flask he'd left in her possession, she was greeted with an empty pocket. Okay, now this was weird, did he just lift it off of her? But she hadn't even felt a bump, maybe she imagined it? No, no, she was drinking, not smoking, there was definitely a flask of booze in there before, but still, that didn't make sense. As she looked around on the floor, she saw her friends heading over to the dance floor, Juliet spotting her from below and waving.

"Scarlet come on! We're getting messed up without you!" Taking one last look around, it bothered her, but at the same time maybe she was overthinking it, maybe he decided not to kill her or something. Besides, the guy was a total twink, she could easily kick his ass if she needed to.

"Oh you'd better not!" Tonight was about celebrating, she could figure out this guy later, what was his name again, Roman or something?


The elevator ride back up to his penthouse gave Romeo a much-needed chance to decompress and get his nerves under control. Of course she had to go through the same shit he had, she just had to be a good kid and not the brooding bitch he had expected with those katanas and utterly atrocious black and red get-up. If he didn't know any better, he'd think she was trying to pull at his emotions. Really, he should have expected it, nothing, from the grandest plan to the most spur of the moment decision could just go simply nowadays. Seeing that he had a few more floors to go, he took another swig from his personal flask, the strong mix helping him shed his worries and loosen up just in time for the doors to open. Stepping inside, he made his way over to the couch where Lavender sat, where, hearing him approach, she glanced over, lazily clicking through cheesy rom-coms, terrible low-budget horror movies, and reruns of old sitcoms that weren't funny when they were airing, let alone now after they'd aged like milk.

"So?" she said with all the enthusiasm a teenager confined to the house on a weekend night could muster. She knew why, not that she liked it, but if a visiting Beacon student recognized her down in the club, it would be bad for the both of them. That, and… well, she'd already caused her brother enough trouble, he was extending an olive branch by going with her to Vacuo, so she could handle one night of boredom. Still, she was curious, he'd mentioned a meet-up with some girl, yet he lacked that same enthusiasm he had when he knew he was meeting with other girls. Probably because she wouldn't put out if she had to guess

"I bumped into our favorite little heifer today, and gotta say, I was imagining a lot more brooding and edginess." Lavender practically choked on air hearing that, Scarlet was downstairs, in her home!? Without even giving it a second thought, she rose to her feet, ready to head downstairs, run that stupid cow through with her tail and bring drinks back up to celebrate, maybe that cake flavored vodka she'd been meaning to try. But, before she could make headway, her brother stepped in front of her, shaking his head slowly.

"If you just let me down there, I could handle it, we'd be done in ten minutes." He had been expecting that answer, Lavender was an opportunist at heart, if she saw a chance at something, she wanted to jump at it. He couldn't really complain, it was a good quality to have, someone who'd look for any avenue to achieve their goals, the issue was she was too emotionally invested this time, she being impulsive and wasn't doing proper threat assessment. Really, it was his fault, he should have been teaching her these things instead of dancing around the uncomfortable conversations when they were younger. Oh well, just another mistake he'd need to fix, but one thing at a time.

"Right, you and that glow-in-the-dark death stick on your back that's bigger than you? Definitely won't draw any attention whatsoever."

"But she's right downstairs! I almost beat her alone, if we both go down there-"

"Word would get out that I killed a Huntress in training in less than an hour, and everyone we know would be gaffled up by morning." She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out, . sStopping to think for a moment, there really didn't seem to be a way out if she did kill the girl right now, and in her uncle's beloved club with JJ downstairs no less… Sighing in defeat, Lavender sulked back to the couch, collapsing onto it with a frown as Romeo took a seat beside her, handing her back the remote and staying by her side as she flicked through the channels once more. "Now's not the time or place, besides, there's no way we'd meet up with your little Sunday school club, they'd be watching every way out of the kingdom for us."

His deflection worked as he could see her expression shift away from bloodlust into something more thoughtful, after a moment, she took her seat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder as she eventually settled on a channel, an older movie she remembered vaguely from their childhood, and judging from her brother's hum, he remembered it as well. If her memory was correct, it was about a crime family, telling the story of their rise to power and eventual fall, a generic and a predictable pick for them, but the nostalgia stopped her from seeking out something else to watch. It made her feel like they were kids again, staying up past bedtime behind Neo's back, back when things were so much simpler. Besides, she remembered liking the ending while he absolutely hated it, so there was no way she was changing channels now.

"Thank you, I know you don't want to go."

"Oh, on the contrary, I am very invested in finding out just what our dear old Dad was about."


Sharp green eyes glanced down at the Scroll, double checking that he was at the right location, and sure enough, the address matched the high class mansion he had arrived at, but that just made it stranger. He was used to discussing his business in more secluded spots, back alley's, in the back of bars away from prying eyes, even abandoned buildings or outside the walls of the kingdom if it was necessary, not somewhere this nice and certainly never in a client's home. This was undoubtedly weird. Why have him meet up in some high class neighborhood? It didn't help that he didn't blend in at all with the locals, the casual black outfit he wore specifically to be unassuming now just made him stand out to anyone that glanced in his direction. He kept his left hand in his pocket to hide the shackle loosely dangling on his left wrist, given that it was just a bit too large to pass off as some sort of bracelet, alongside zipping up his jacket to hide his cheap gray shirt, and sweeping his unkempt hair back to hopefully look more 'dignified' at a glance. As he cautiously approached the building, he felt his Scroll vibrate, briefly glancing down and seeing the message from a private number.

The door is unlocked.

"Ah sod it." the brunette sighed. He wasn't surprised to learn he was being watched, but he wasn't expecting them to be so open about it. Cautiously, he walked right up to the door, stepping in to find the gaudy, upper-crust Valean architecture he'd expected, a vast open living room complete with a spiral staircase leading upstairs and a window almost as big as the wall itself that left absolutely no room for privacy. In the center of the room, he saw who he assumed was his client, or at the very least, the man he assumed he'd be discussing the details of his job with. Before he could approach, the man glanced up, greeting him with a warm smile as he stood, motioning for his guest to follow as he opened a side door. This whole thing felt off, first it was the strange meeting point, then how strangely transparent they were about watching him, and now the strangely silent man greeting him, it left him on edge, only morons or those too green to know better fully trusted their clients on a normal job, and so far, this was the very definition of abnormal. But, if this wasn't some sort of trap, his payment was already more than enough to justify it, and if it was, then he was confident he could take anyone waiting for him deeper inside.

As soon as they were past the living room, the facade of a normal mansion, if there was ever such a thing, quickly shed itself as he stepped into a dark and ornate corridor filled with masked figures in robes. For a brief moment, he thought he'd just been brought into a White Fang safe house with all the faces hidden by Grimm masks, but that didn't track, the masks were different and covered their entire faces, not to mention they were far more intricate and detailed than what the Fang used for their grunts. They paid him no mind, going about their business, but he still couldn't help but notice that a few of them kept weapons on them. The further in he went, the less normal the building looked, instead of the typical statues, art, and other colossal wastes of money the rich typically got to show off their status, he saw small armories, what looked to be macabre altars of some kind being prayed over, and in one room he could even hear snarling. Suddenly, the location made perfect sense, no one in their right mind would expect this sort of operation out of a place that outwardly looked so stuck up and proper. Granted, aside from that, he didn't pay the operation much mind, as unsettling as it looked, he really couldn't bring himself to be bothered so long as they played nice.

Following the man deeper, eventually they reached a set of quarters. At first he thought this was simply where they'd be conducting business, a more secluded area away from prying eyes, but as the man peered into the room, he noticed a tall and distinctly feminine figure covered in what looked like a similar cloak to the rest of her associates. As she turned, the man leading him took a bow before speaking.

"Mother Moon, the mercenary has arrived." The man tried not to show his annoyance at just being referred to as 'the mercenary', after all, he wasn't just some failed Huntsmen turned hired gun, he liked to think that after all this time and all he'd done, he had a bit more of a reputation at the very least, the frankly absurd amount they were apparently willing to pay him should have made that clear. Moon took note of her guest's displeasure, but decided not to comment on it, dismissing the servant and motioning for her guest to take a seat with her at the table.

"Please, take a seat, is there anything I can have a member of my congregation get you?"

"I'm good if it's all the same." He declined, politely but firmly, very much adverse to anything that would have been prepared or served by the type of people he'd seen on the way in. He took a seat as Moon pulled a large manilla folder from her cloak which he could've sworn had opened up on its own, though then again, he was probably mistaken on that part. A moment later, she set a Scroll down on the table which swiftly lit up, showing a call screen with no contact name or image to identify the caller by, most likely some unseen benefactor whom she was meeting him on behalf of. Or something like that, he was smart enough not to ask and frankly didn't care whether that was the case or not.

"In these files are five students at Beacon Academy, detailing everything you'll need to know, weaponry, combat style, Semblance. The first four targets, SJJL, are to be eliminated, the other girl is to be brought directly to me." Ah, right down to business, just the way he liked it.

"May I?" Without hesitation, Moon slid the files over to him. They were surprisingly detailed, though he paid no attention to the pages and pages of their personal details, instead focusing on what would effect combat, the weapons weren't much to worry about, basic blades, gauntlets, and a handgun that didn't even have a melee function, their Semblances were a bit more complicated, especially the Arc-Schnee girl's. "Yeah, just one problem though, you're a little light for this job. For a target this hot, your original price just won't cut it."

Moon's brow furrowed at his words, offended by the insinuation. "Explain."

"Well first off, see that one there?" he tapped on the folder labeled Lumi "That's an Arc-Schnee. You're looking at significantly heightened security if it's in public, which, considering the festival might just be the case with it's colored history as of late, along with some serious attention after the fact, that's a significant markup for her alone."

"I assure you, we've taken into account the risks factored into this task." Moon explained, already irritated by his dry sarcasm and outright insulted by what she saw as a blatant attempt to squeeze more money out of this task, though she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised given the sort of person he was. After all, he had no qualms killing for money, no loyalties nor faith except to whomever had more Lien to spend.

"It's in the middle of the Vytal Festival, all of Vacuo will be crawling with Huntsmen, not just ones in training, that complicates things. It's not a simple shivving, even when they're alone."

"If the task is too difficult, then you're free to say so, we are capable of dealing with these pests ourselves." The man let out a scoff of amusement at her words, leaning forward and resting his hands on the table. While he didn't doubt her group's ability to strike, given what he'd seen coming in, the fact that they had brought him in called her bluff.

"No offense love, but if you thought you could deal with this on your own, we wouldn't be having this conversation to begin with." Silence lingered between them as Moon wrestled with wiping the smug expression off of his face, but as much as she hated to admit it, they did need him, even if he was mistaken as to why. Though there were plenty of her congregation who could slay SJJL, they would all undoubtedly be tied back to the congregation sooner or later, which was something she could not allow. Whether she liked it or not, she'd be relying on outside assistance, and this man was the one Watts was certain would get the job done. The man, still listening in, swiftly reminded her through her earpiece that money was of no object when it wasn't their money being spent in the first place.

"Name your price." The man smiled, leaning back as he started to tally up all the risks and possible complications.

"Let's see, a trained high profile target at a heavily populated event… three more targets alongside the first one… factoring in the risks of the festival and increased Huntsman presence… I'll need a billion Lien for this to be worth my while. Half up front, as agreed." In truth, he was going a little light on the pricing based on the targets and danger alone, but despite knowing that he could easily justify an extra hundred million for such a dangerous job, he'd have other, equally lucrative means of making money after this job if all went to plan. To be frank, the woman in front of him probably had no idea about the magnitude of the opportunity she'd just laid before him, Adam Taurus's daughter was a find he hadn't been expecting, not necessarily because she was extremely dangerous or would garner a high price on her own, but because the bounty on her dad's head in Mistral was still as high as ever, if he just had played his cards right, he could handily make this an easy two for one deal. Moon glanced down at her Scroll, a message from Watts just a moment later indicating that the misplaced funds from various banks had already been wired into his account.

"Your terms are acceptable."

"One more thing, smuggling this one? That's a whole other can of worms. Frankly, it would be easier for me to just do her in with the others." Not even taking a moment to glance at her daughter's file, she shook her head, while they'd never dare admit it in her presence, she knew some would see the move as favoritism, and to an extent, they were right. But was that not her duty as a mother? To try and show her child the error of her ways? And should that fail, then it was certainly her duty to put her out of her misery, lest she meet her end at the hands of a more cruel servant of the Goddess.

"No, that one is mine, a personal mistake I need to correct with my own hands." The man shrugged, while not ideal, she just said she wanted her alive after all, didn't mean he couldn't do what he needed to in order to make sure she wouldn't be a problem during transport.

"Sounds like a deal then." he said, standing and holding his hand out for the woman to shake.

"Of course, it was a pleasure doing business with you Mister K." she responded in kind, sealing their deal with a surprisingly heavy handshake given the man's average build, the only thing she could think adding the weight was what she had assumed was a decorative shackle on his left wrist. The only thing giving away that it could be something more was the engraving that read HADES.

"Just 'K' is fine, love."